Portal:Space exploration/Featured
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Portal:Space exploration/Featured/June 2008
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[edit] January 2008
The Luna programme (from the Russian word "Luna" meaning "Moon"), occasionally called Lunik or Lunnik, was a series of robotic spacecraft missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976. Fifteen were successful, each designed as either an orbiter or lander, and accomplished many firsts in space exploration. They also performed many experiments, studying the Moon's chemical composition, gravity, temperature, and radiation. Twenty-four spacecraft were formally given the Luna designation, although more were launched. Those which failed to reach orbit were not publicly acknowledged at the time and not assigned a Luna number and ones which failed in low Earth orbit were usually given Cosmos designations. Estimated cost of Luna Program was about $4.5 billion.
Among its achievements are: First man-made object on the Moon (Luna 2), first photographs from the far side (Luna 3), and first soft landing on another solar system object (Luna 9). Luna 16 (and later missions) returned lunar soil samples to Earth in 1970. This was the third returned sample after Apollo 11 and Apollo 12.
Recently featured: Energia – Apollo 12 – Venera 1
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[edit] Archive
- December 2008: Energia
- November 2007: Apollo 12
- October 2007: Venera 1
- September 2007: Mariner 4
- August 2007: Zvezda
- July 2007: Joseph Francis Shea
- June 2007: Shuttle-Mir Program
- May 2007: Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39
- April 2007: Christopher C. Kraft, Jr.
- March 2007: Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
- February 2007: Atmospheric reentry
- January 2007: Apollo 8
- December 2006: Space elevator
- November 2006: Hubble_Space_Telescope
- October 2006: Spacecraft propulsion
- September 2006: Saturn V
