Spacecraft: Past: Lunar Probes

Luna 16Luna 16

Luna 16 was the first robotic probe to land on the Moon and return a sample of lunar soil to Earth. It represented the first lunar sample return mission by the Soviet Union, and was the third lunar sample return mission overall, following the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 missions.

Luna 16 landed on the Moon at 0.68 degrees south, 56.30 degrees east in the Mare Foecundatis, on 20th September 1970, at 5.18 UTC - during the lunar night.