The Moon

III Exploration of the Moon - 1963 Luna 4 (Luna E-6)

1963 Luna 4 (Luna E-6)

Luna 4 was the second attempted Soviet unmanned lunar soft lander probe. The spacecraft, rather than being sent on a straight trajectory toward the Moon, was placed first in an earth parking orbit. The rocket stage then reignited and put the spaccecraft on a translunar trajectory. Failure of Luna 4 to make a required midcourse correction resulted in it missing the Moon by 8336.2 km on April 6, at 4:26 a.m. Moscow time. It thereafter entered a barycentric Earth orbit. The Soviet news agency, Tass, reported that data had been received from the spacecraft throughout its flight and that radio communication would continue for a few more days.
• 1964 ALS Spacecraft: Luna E-6.
• 1964 Spacecraft: Luna E-6.
The upper stages burnt on re-entry into the atmosphere.
• 1964 ALS Spacecraft: Luna E-6.
• 1964 Spacecraft: Luna E-6.
The upper stages broke up on re-entry into the atmosphere.
• 12 March 1965 Cosmos 60 Spacecraft: Luna E-6. Mass: 6,530 kg.
The stage with the payload remained in Earth orbit as Kosmos-60.
• 10 April 1965 Spacecraft: Luna E-6.
The upper stages fell apart on re-entry into the atmosphere.
• 09 May 1965 Luna 5 Spacecraft: Luna E-6. Mass: 1,474 kg.
Soft lunar landing attempt. The retrorocket system failed, and the spacecraft impacted the lunar surface at the Sea of Clouds. Western observers, among them England's Sir Bernard Lovell, correctly speculated that the craft's mission was a soft landing.