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Lunokhod 1

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Soviet lunar rover; first rover to operate on the Moon

Key facts

Mission type
Lunar rover
Cospar id
1970-095A
Website
Lunar and Planetary Department Moscow University Lunokhod 1 page
Launch mass
5,600 kilograms (12,300 lb)
Dry mass
756 kilograms (1,667 lb) (rover only)
Power
180 watts
Launch date
November 10, 1970 ( 1970-11-10 )
Rocket
Proton-K / D
Launch site
Baikonur 81/23
Last contact
September 14, 1971 ( 1971-09-15 )
Spacecraft component
Rover
Landing date
November 17, 1970, 03:47:00 UTC
Landing site
38°14′16″N 35°00′06″W / 38.2378°N 35.0017°W / 38.2378; -35.0017

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
solar vehicle
Part of
Luna 17
Operator
Soviet Union
Followed by
Lunokhod 2
Mass
756
Image
Soviet moonrover.JPG
Significant event
rocket launch
Show 5 more facts
Commons category
Lunokhod-1
located on astronomical body
Moon
UTC date of spacecraft launch
1970-11-10
space launch vehicle
Proton
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~9 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Lunokhod 1 (Russian: Луноход-1, 'Moonwalker 1'), also known as Device 8EL No. 203 (Аппарат 8ЕЛ № 203, Apparat 8EL No. 203) was the first robotic rover on the Moon and the first to freely move across the surface of an astronomical object beyond the Earth. Sent by the Soviet Union, it was part of the Lunokhod program of robotic rovers. The Luna 17 spacecraft carried Lunokhod 1 to the Moon in 1970. Lunokhod 0 (No.201), the previous and first attempt to land a rover, launched in February 1969 but failed to reach Earth orbit.

Although only designed for a lifetime of three lunar days (approximately three Earth months), Lunokhod 1 operated on the lunar surface for eleven lunar days (321 Earth days) and traversed a total distance of 10.54 km.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Lunokhod 1” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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