Luna 13

Launch data: Designation 02626 / 66116A Launch date 21 Dec 1966 - 10:17 UT Launch site B, LC1 Launch vehicle Molniya 8K78M (N103-45) Satellite type  E-6M n°205 (#) Mission Highlight Lunar soft landing on December 24, 1966

Soft Lunar landing at 18°52' N, 62°3' W on 24 Dec 1966 - 18:04 UT

Specifications: Prime contractor  GSMZ Lavochkin Operator   Mass at launch 1590 (1620?) kg Dry mass 99,8 kg Dimension   Basic shape   Solar array   Soft landing 24 Dec 1966 - 18:04 UT Mission duration 6 days. Last transmission December 28, 1966 at 06:13 UT

Luna 13 soft landing capsule.

Mission details:

• Luna 13 (E-6M series) was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 13. The Luna 13 spacecraft was launched toward the Moon from an earth-orbiting platform and accomplished a soft landing on December 24, 1966; in the region of Oceanus Procellarum.
• The petal encasement of the spacecraft was opened, antennas were erected, and radio transmissions to Earth began four minutes after the landing. On December 25 and December 26, 1966; the spacecraft television system transmitted panoramas of the nearby lunar landscape at different Sun angles. Each panorama required approximately 100 minutes to transmit. The spacecraft was equipped with a mechanical soil-measuring penetrometer, a dynamograph, and a radiation densitometer for obtaining data on the mechanical and physical properties and the cosmic ray reflectivity of the lunar surface. Transmissions from the spacecraft ceased on December 28, 1966.
• Luna 13 became the second Soviet spacecraft to successfully soft-land on the surface of the Moon. The probe landed in the Ocean of Storms at 18:01 UT on 24 December 1966, between the Krafft and Seleucus craters at 18°52' north latitude and 62°3' west longitude. Unlike its predecessor, the heavier Luna 13 lander (113 kilograms) carried a suite of scientific instruments in addition to the usual imaging system.
• A three-axis accelerometer within the pressurized frame of the lander recorded the landing forces during impact to determine the soil structure down to a depth of 20 to 30 centimeters. A pair of spring-loaded booms was also deployed. One of these booms carried a penetrometer, designed to measure the forces required to penetrate the lunar regolith - the penetrating force being supplied by a minute explosive charge. The other boom carried a backscatter densitometer that was used to infer the density of the lunar near-surface regolith. Four radiometers recorded infrared radiation from the surface indicating a noon temperature of 117 ±3°C while a radiation detector indicated that radiation levels would be less than hazardous for humans.
  
  
  Photo shot from Luna 13 on the surface.
  
• The lander returned a total of five panoramas of the lunar surface, showing a more smooth terrain than seen by Luna 9. One of the two cameras (intended to return stereo images) failed, but this did not diminish the quality of the photographs. After a fully successful mission, contact was lost at 06:13 UT on 28 December when the onboard batteries were exhausted.