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AGN Fuel · #9 (**permalink**) 29-August-2005, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MG1962A

Sorry I am a little short on references here. But I recall reading sometime ago the Russians actually had a probe in orbit arounf the Moon when Apollo 11 arrived.

If I recall correctly there was even a small amount of concern the two might have a meeting in the night so to speak.

I am not sure if it was because there was so much transparency in the American Space program, but Soviet space history fascinates the hell out of me

MG

Yes, Luna 15.

Quote:

Luna 15 entered lunar orbit two days ahead of Apollo 11, and on the day Apollo 11 began circling the Moon lowered its own orbit to 9 by 203 km. At this point there was concern in the United States that the Russian probe would somehow interfere with the manned mission. However, assurances were quickly given by the Soviets that this would not be the case. On Jul. 20, just hours before Apollo 11’s scheduled landing, Luna 15 carried out another maneuver to put it in a 16 by 110-km orbit. The next day, while Armstrong and Aldrin were on the surface, the little probe made its last retrorocket burn and began to descend to what was supposed to be a soft landing. Unfortunately, it made contact instead at 480 km/hr in the Sea of Crises. Almost twenty years would pass before the Soviets officially admitted that Luna 15 was a failed sample-return attempt. Whether, if all had gone well, it could have beaten Apollo 11 is unclear. Even if its landing attempt had succeeded, it would not have returned to Earth until the day after Apollo 11 splashed down. On the other hand, Lunar 15 did spend one day longer in lunar orbit than was typical of later sample missions. If the probe had made it down in three days instead of four, or if Apollo 11 had failed to return samples, the Soviets might just have pulled off an outrageous coup.