Luna 12

Courtesy of NASA's National Space Science Data Center

Launch Date/Time: 1966-10-22 at 08:38:00 UTC
Launch Site/Country: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R.
Launch Vehicle: Modified SS-6 (Sapwood) with 2nd Generation Upper Stage + Escape Stage
On-orbit dry mass: 1620.00 kg. (3,564 lb.)

Description

Luna 12 was launched towards the Moon from an earth-orbiting platform and achieved lunar orbit on October 25, 1966. The spacecraft was equipped with a television system that obtained and transmitted photographs of the lunar surface. The photographs contained 1100 scan lines with a maximum resolution of 14.9 to 19.8 meters (49 to 65 feet). Pictures of the lunar surface were returned on October 27, 1966. The number of photographs is not known. Radio transmissions from Luna 12 ceased on January 19, 1967, after 602 lunar orbits and 302 radio transmissions.