* Astronomy

Zond 5, a formal member of the Soviet Zond program and unmanned version of Soyuz 7K-L1 manned moon-flyby spacecraft, was launched from a Tyazheliy Sputnik (68-076B) in Earth parking orbit to make scientific studies during a lunar flyby and to return to Earth.
Zond-5 became the first spacecraft to circle the Moon and return to land on Earth. On September 18, 1968, the spacecraft flew around the Moon. The closest distance was 1,950 km. High quality photographs of the Earth were taken at a distance of 90,000 km. A biological payload of two russian tortoises, wine flies, meal worms, plants, seeds, bacteria, and other living matter was included in the flight.
Launch date:    15 September 1968, 21:42:11 UTC
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