Luna 16

Launch data: Designation 04527 / 70072A Launch date 12 Sep 1970 Launch site B, LC-81/23 Launch vehicle Proton-K/Blok-D Satellite type  E8-5 Mission Lunar lander Selencentric orbit Perihelion / Aphelion  110 x 110 Incl. to ecliptic  70.0 ° Period   min

The Luna 16 lander was to drill out a sample core from the Moon's surface and return it to Earth.

Mission details:

• Lunar Sample Return. Landed on Moon 20 September 1970 at 05:18:00 GMT, Latitude 0.68 S, Longitude 56.30 E - Mare Fecunditatis. Luna 16 was launched toward the Moon from a preliminary earth orbit and entered a lunar orbit on September 17, 1970. On September 20, the spacecraft soft landed on the lunar surface as planned. The spacecraft was equipped with an extendable arm with a drilling rig for the collection of a lunar soil sample. After 26 hours and 25 minutes on the lunar surface, the ascent stage, with a hermetically sealed soil sample container, left the lunar surface carrying 100 grams of collected material. It landed in the Soviet Union on September 24, 1970. The lower stage of Luna 16 remained on the lunar surface and continued transmission of lunar temperature and radiation data.
• This was the first successful Soviet sample return, and the first fully robotic sample return of any nation. The Luna 16 lander drilled to a depth of 35 mm before hitting rock, withdrew the core sample and sealed it in a small spherical capsule for return to Earth. The capsule, containing more than 100 grams of lunar soil, landed safely in Kazakhstan 12 days after the initial launch from Earth. The dark, powdery basalt material was found to be very similar to that obtained from another mare site by Apollo 12. It differed slightly from Apollo 11's samples in the levels of titanium and zirconium oxide.