Luna 21

Luna 21

Luna 21 as seen from orbit by the LRO in March 2010
Mission type	Planetary Science
Operator	Soviet space program
COSPAR ID	1973-001A
SATCAT no.	6333
Mission duration	8 days (day of launch to day of landing)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	s/n 204
Spacecraft type	Ye-8
Manufacturer	GSMZ Lavochkin
Launch mass	5,700 kg (12,600 lb)[1]
Dry mass	4,850 kg (10,690 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	06:55:38, 8 January 1973 (UTC) (1973-01-08T06:55:38Z)[1]
Rocket	Proton-K/D
Launch site	Baikonur 81/23
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Selenocentric
Periselene altitude	90 km (56 mi)
Aposelene altitude	100 km (62 mi)
Inclination	60°
Moon orbiter
Orbital insertion	12 January 1973
Orbits	~36
Moon lander
Landing date	22:35, 15 January 1973
Landing site	25°51′N 30°27′E / 25.85°N 30.45°E / 25.85; 30.45[2]
Moon rover
Spacecraft component	Lunokhod 2
Landing date	01:14, 16 January 1973
Distance driven	42 km (26 mi)
Instruments Photographic imaging system X-ray spectrometer Penetrometer Laser reflector Radiation detectors X-ray telescope Odometer/Speedometer Visible/ultraviolet photometer Magnetometer Photodetector
Luna programme ← Luna 20 Luna 22 →

Luna 21 (Ye-8 series) was an uncrewed space mission, and its spacecraft, of the Luna program, also called Lunik 21, in 1973. The spacecraft landed on the Moon and deployed the second Soviet lunar rover, Lunokhod 2. The primary objectives of the mission were to collect images of the lunar surface, examine ambient light levels to determine the feasibility of astronomical observations from the Moon, perform laser ranging experiments from Earth, observe solar X-rays, measure local magnetic fields, and study mechanical properties of the lunar surface material.