Luna 16 was a Soviet robotic spacecraft that landed on the Moon in the Sea of Fertility, drilled into the soil, and returned a sample to Earth. It was the first robotic mission to bring back lunar material, and the third overall after the American Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 crewed missions. The lander collected about a hundred grams of regolith, which was placed in a capsule on an ascent stage that launched from the lunar surface and returned to land in Kazakhstan. The mission showed that robots could carry out such tasks at a lower cost and risk than a human flight. The Soviet Union flew two further successful sample-return missions, Luna 20 and Luna 24.
Before and after
- 30 July 1970Birth of Christopher Nolan
- 12 August 1970Founding of Paris Saint-Germain FC
- 17 August 1970Launch of Venera 7
- from 6 September 1970 to 17 July 1971Black September
- 12 September 1970Launch of Luna 16
- 18 September 1970Death of Jimi Hendrix
- 28 September 1970Death of Gamal Abdel Nasser
- 8 October 1970Birth of Matt Damon
- 8 October 1970Birth of Sadiq Khan
More in Universe & space
- 30 September 1975Discovery of Themisto
- 24 May 1981Discovery of Larissa
- 22 August 1981Discovery of Pan
- 20 January 1986Discovery of Ophelia
- 19 February 1986Launch of Mir
- 18 September 1989Discovery of Naiad
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.