science · 31 March 1966 · 58 years ago
In 1966, Luna 10, the first spacecraft to orbit the moon, was launched by the USSR from an Earth orbiting platform. It entered lunar orbit on 3 Apr 1966 and completed its first orbit 3 hours later. The scientific instruments on board included a gamma-ray spectrometer, triaxial magnetometer, and a meteorite detector. Other instruments investigated the solar-plasma, infrared emissions from the Moon, radiation conditions of the lunar environment and gravitational studies. Luna 10 transmitted the Internationale during the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It was battery powered, operated for 460 lunar orbits and made 219 radio data transmissions before 30 May 1966, when its batteries were out of power.
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