Zond 7

Courtesy of NASA's National Space Science Data Center

Launch Date: 1969-08-07
Launch Site/Country: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R.
Launch Vehicle: Proton Booster Plus Upper Stage and Escape Stages
On-orbit dry mass: 5,979.00 kg. (13,150 lb.)

Description

Zond 7 was launched towards the Moon from a mother spacecraft on a mission of further studies of the Moon and circulmunar space, to obtain color photography of the Earth and the Moon from varying distances, and to flight test the spacecraft systems. Earth photos were obtained on August 9, 1969. On August 11, 1969, the spacecraft flew past the Moon at a distance of 1984.6 kilometers (1,233.2 miles) and conducted two picture taking sessions. Zond 7 reentered the Earth's atmosphere on August 14, 1969, and achieved a soft landing in a preset region south of Kustanai.