Failed · Failure
A Soviet attempt to return a lunar sample ahead of Apollo 11; it reached lunar orbit but was lost during its landing attempt.
- Destinations
- Launch vehicle
- Proton Booster Plus Upper Stage and Escape Stages
- Launch site
- Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R
- Countries
- Soviet Union
- Mission types
- Orbiter, Sample return
Chronology
Mission timeline
Launch
Luna 15 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome
Orbit insertion
Luna 15 entered lunar orbit
NASA’s mission chronicle gives 10:00 UT on 17 July 1969. The NSSDCA page contains a conflicting month typo; this dated event follows the mission chronicle.
MoonImpact
Luna 15 crashed during its lunar descent
The impact date is reported as 21 July 1969. NSSDCA places it at 15:50:40 UT and 17 N, 60 E, while NASA reports that transmissions ceased at that time about 3 km above the surface; actual impact time is therefore unresolved. Published site coordinates also differ.
MoonMilestone
Luna 15 began its descent burn
NASA reports the descent burn began at 15:46:43 UT on 21 July 1969.
MoonLoss of contact
Luna 15 transmissions ceased during descent
NASA reports signal loss 237 seconds into the descent burn, when the spacecraft was approximately 3 km above the lunar surface. NSSDCA assigns this same time to impact; actual impact time is unresolved.
Moon
Mission architecture
Vehicles
Trajectory record
Time-dependent navigation trajectory
Source states place the model at the selected time. Reconstructed flight, estimates, predictions and historical mission plans are identified by interval; gaps remain visible.
Source records and sampling assumptions are retained with the repository data. Model attitude and surface appearance are illustrative.
- Luna 15: Physically reconstructed based on publicly available data. Bounded final lunar revolution and modeled descent; earlier flight and post-signal-loss motion remain uncovered. · July 21, 1969 to July 21, 1969
Provenance
Sources
Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.
Data verified through October 8, 2026
- Lunar Constants and Models (2005), JPL D-32296 — JPLTechnical document · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Luna 15 terminal orbit and descent account in Beyond Earth — NASATechnical document · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Luna 15 mission, spacecraft and orbital records — NSSDCATechnical document · Supports: mission claims
- Luna 15 - NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog — NSSDCAMission page · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- DE421 lunar mean-Earth and principal-axes frame specification — NAIFTechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- DE440 lunar mean-Earth and principal-axes frame specification — NAIFSpice · Supports: destination/body context
- IAU rotational elements and body radii (PCK 00011) — NAIFSpice · Supports: destination/body context
- LOLA global lunar height maps, LDEM_4 V3 original PDS source label — NASATechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- LOLA 2023 south-polar elevation, uncertainty and effective-resolution maps — NASATechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Seen From Above: LROC site and terrain context — NASATechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- Moon Facts — NASAOther · Supports: destination/body context
- SLDEM2015 Blue Ghost region: original PDS elevation-grid label — NASATechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- JPL Solar System Dynamics Astrodynamic Parameters — JPLOther · Supports: destination/body context
- Planet Sizes and Locations in Our Solar System — NASAOther · Supports: destination/body context