Lunokhod 1 was the first of two unmanned lunar rovers landed on the Moon by the Soviet Union as part of its Lunokhod program. The spacecraft which carried Lunokhod 1 was named Luna 17. Lunokhod was the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another celestial body. Read more
Luna 17 (Ye-8 series) was an unmanned space mission of the Luna program, also called Lunik 17. Luna 17 was launched on November 10, 1970 at 14:44:01 UTC. After reaching earth parking orbit, the final stage of Luna 17's launching rocket fired to place it into a trajectory towards the Moon (1970-11-10 at 14:54 UTC). After two course correction manoeuvres (on November 12 and 14), it entered lunar orbit on November 15, 1970 at 22:00 UTC. Read more
After 40 years of silence, researchers interact with a long-lost Russian rover on the moon
After forty years, a long-lost Russian lunar rover has finally contacted home. It's beams may help scientists better understand why the orbit of the moon is slowly pulling away from the earth. Researchers identified and interacted with the Lunokhod 1's light reflector using a telescope in New Mexico. The rover has been silent since September 1971. Read more
An amazing spacecraft gently settled to the lunar surface on 17 November 1970. It carried the first successful robotic lunar rover -- Lunokhod 1. For the next ten months the rover was driven by operators in the Soviet Union, with the total distance travelled exceeding 10 km. Read more
Lunokhod 1 was the first of two unmanned lunar rovers landed on the Moon by the Soviet Union as part of its Lunokhod program. The spacecraft which carried Lunokhod 1 was named Luna 17. Read more