Zond: The USSR’s last ditch effort to upstage America on the moon

Zond: a Soviet lunar probe

While America was rushing towards its first moon landing, the USSR was struggling. Its N1 moon rocket failed. They had a good spacecraft (Soyuz), but no way to get it (and its cosmonauts) to the moon.

Still, they were desperate to do something. They wanted to steal the thunder from the United States. And they hoped to do that with Zond.

Unmanned lunar missions

The early Zond missions were preparations for a (hoped for) lunar mission with cosmonauts circling around the moon and returning to earth. They would use the Proton rocket—less powerful than the failed N1, but just powerful enough to send 2 cosmonauts on a free trajectory trip around the moon.

And, unlike the N1, the Proton worked.

Making the Americans rush

When Zond 5 made an unmanned circumlunar flight in September 1968, the CIA  worried that the Soviets were going to soon send a manned mission around the moon. (Zond 5 carried turtles around the moon, and returned them safely to earth.)

The United States, fearing that the Russians would do so first, rushed to launch Apollo 8, with three astronauts aboard, on a successful lunar flight in December.

Racing Apollo 11

The Russians kept trying.

The Proton rocket and the Zond spacecraft (a stripped down version of the new Soyuz) were not dependable enough to send people. So, there would be no manned Russian flight to the moon. But the Americans would send men there in 1969. What could the Russians do?

They decided on the next best thing: send an unmanned spacecraft to the lunar surface, get it to scoop up some  lunar soil, and return to the earth—before Apollo 11.

This was the mission of Luna 15.

Luna 15: a last chance for glory

The last lap of the moon race

Om July 13, 1969, Luna 15 was launched toward the moon. Apollo 11 was launched 3 days later. The space race was on its final lap. Apollo 11 landed safely on July 20.

July 21st, Luna 15 fired its retro rockets and attempted a soft landing in the Sea of Crises. But something went wrong. Instead of landing, Luna 15 plummeted, crashing into the moon.

The race was over. A bland statement from the Soviet Union said that Luna 15 had completed its mission. But, in fact, it has failed.

Too late

Where Luna 15 failed, Luna 16 succeeded. A Soviet probe finally brought back a lunar sample—in September 1970. An impressive feat, but too late.