Luna 11
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| Missing image Luna_orbiter_photo_bus.jpg Luna 11 | |
| Organization: | Soviet Union |
| Major Contractors: | GSMZ Lavochkin |
| Mission Type: | Planetary Science Lunar Orbit |
| Satellite of: | Moon |
| Launch: | August 24, 1966 at 08:03:00 UTC |
| Launch Vehicle: | Molniya 8K78M (4-Stage R-7 / SS-6) |
| Mission Highlight: | Entered lunar orbit on August 27, 1966, 21:49 UTC. |
| Mission Duration: | 38-days. Last contact October 1, 1966 |
| Mass: | 1,640 kg |
| NSSDC ID: | 1966-078A |
| Webpage: | NASA NSSDC Master Catalog (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1966-078A) |
| Orbital elements | |
|---|---|
| Semimajor Axis: | 2,414.5 km |
| Eccentricity: | .22 |
| Inclination: | 27° |
| Orbital Period: | 178 minutes |
| Apogee: | 1,193 km |
| Perigee: | 160 km |
| Orbits: | 277 |
| Instruments | |
| Imaging system : | Lunar photography |
| Gamma-ray spectrometer : | |
| Magnetometer : | |
| Radiation detectors : | |
| Infrared radiometer : | |
| Meteoroid detector : | |
| R-1 transmission experiment : | |
Luna 11 was an unmanned space mission of the Soviet Union's Luna program. It is also called Lunik 11. Luna 11 was launched towards the Moon from an earth-orbiting platform and entered lunar orbit on 28 August 1966. The objectives of the mission included the study of:
- lunar gamma- and X-ray emissions in order to determine the Moon's chemical composition;
- lunar gravitational anomalies;
- the concentration of meteorite streams near the Moon; and,
- the intensity of hard corpuscular radiation near the Moon.
A total of 137 radio transmissions and 277 orbits of the Moon were completed before the batteries failed on 1 October 1966.
This subset of the “second-generation” Luna spacecraft, the Ye-6LF, was designed to take the first photographs of the surface of the Moon from lunar orbit. A secondary objective was to obtain data on mass concentrations (“mascons”) on the Moon first detected by Luna 10. Using the basic Ye-6 bus, a suite of scientific instruments (plus an imaging system similar to the one used on Zond 3) replaced the small lander capsule used on the soft-landing flights. The resolution of the photos was reportedly 15 to 20 meters. A technological experiment included testing the efficiency of gear transmission in vacuum as a test for a future lunar rover. Luna 11, launched only two weeks after the U.S. Lunar Orbiter, successfully entered lunar orbit at 21:49 UT on 27 August. Parameters were 160 x 1,193 kilometers. During the mission, the TV camera failed to return usable images because the spacecraft lost proper orientation to face the lunar surface when a foreign object was lodged in the nozzle of one of the attitude-control thrusters. The other instruments functioned without fault before the mission formally ended on 1 October 1966 after the power supply had been depleted.
- Launch Date/Time: 1966-08-24 at 08:09:00 UTC
- On-orbit dry mass: 3616 kg
| Preceded by : Luna 10 |
Luna program | Followed by : Luna 12 |
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