51
$\begingroup$

I've read somewhere that the Russians have moon rocks. How did they get them?

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
7
  • 8
    $\begingroup$ The Soviet Union were the first to do many things space related: put an object into space, put a creature into space, put a man into space, land a vehicle on the moon, land a robot on the moon, return things from the moon, etc., etc., ... $\endgroup$
    – Octopus
    Jul 4 '18 at 16:44
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ Luna-15 tried to be first with lunar rocks but failed. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_15 $\endgroup$
    – Heopps
    Jul 4 '18 at 17:58
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @DaveBoltman: through the Apollo program. $\endgroup$
    – Hobbes
    Jul 5 '18 at 11:06
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ The main reason this is question is being asked is probably because the Soviet Union never landed a human being on the moon. Before reading the accepted answer, I would have guessed that they simply acquired all of their moon rocks through the US. $\endgroup$
    – Panzercrisis
    Jul 5 '18 at 14:39
  • 5
    $\begingroup$ @Octopus Luna 16 flew September 1970, so Apollo 11 beat them in "returning things from the moon". $\endgroup$
    – user71659
    Jul 6 '18 at 5:19
80
$\begingroup$

The USSR flew three successful automated lunar sample return missions: Luna 16, Luna 20 and Luna 24. The probes landed on the Moon, collected samples, and started a small rocket with the samples back to Earth. The returned mass was very small (101 g, 30 g and 170 g, respectively).

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
5

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.