Luna 16

Luna 16 was the first robotic spacecraft to land on the Moon and successfully return a sample of lunar soil to Earth. It drilled 35 cm into the surface and returned 101 grams of regolith.

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Agency / Country

Soviet Space Program (Soviet Union)

Mission Status

LANDED

Launch / Target Year

1970

Spacecraft / Type

Luna 16

Landing Site Zone

Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fertility)

Surface Coordinates

Lat -0.68°, Lon 56.3°

Mission Imagery & Gallery

Luna 16 photograph 1: Wikimedia Commons — Luna 16 sample return capsule, displayed at the Russian exposition, containing 101 grams of lunar soil from Mare Fecunditatis. (Public domain / Soviet Space Program) — Wikimedia Commons — Luna 16 sample return capsule, displayed at the Russian exposition, containing 101 grams of lunar soil from Mare Fecunditatis. (Public domain / Soviet Space Program)

Primary Achievement

First robotic sample return from the Moon

Mission Objectives

First robotic lunar sample return
Drill and collect regolith from Mare Fecunditatis
Return 101 g of lunar soil to Earth

Timeline Events

1970-09-12 — Launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome
1970-09-20 — Lands in Mare Fecunditatis
1970-09-21 — Drill collects 101 g of regolith
1970-09-24 — Return capsule lands in Kazakhstan — first robotic sample return

Related Missions

Luna 20 (1972) · USSR
Luna 24 (1976) · USSR
Chang'e 5 (2020) · China

Historical & Technical Sources

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