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Zond 6

NSSDC/COSPAR ID: 1968-101A

Description

Zond 6 was launched on a lunar flyby mission from a parent satellite (68-101B) in earth parking orbit. The spacecraft, which carried scientific probes including cosmic-ray and micrometeoroid detectors, photography equipment, and a biological payload, was a precursor to manned spaceflight. Zond 6 flew around the moon on November 14, 1968, at a minimum distance of 2420 km. Photographs of the lunar near and farside were obtained with panchromatic film. Each photo was 12.70 by 17.78 cm. Some of the views allowed for stereo pictures. The photos were taken from distances of approximately 11,000 km and 3300 km. Controlled reentry of the spacecraft occurred on November 17, 1968, and Zond 6 landed in a predetermined region of the Soviet Union.

Alternate Names

  • 03535

Facts in Brief

Launch Date: 1968-11-10
Launch Vehicle: Proton Booster Plus Upper Stage and Escape Stages
Launch Site: Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R
Mass: 5375.0 kg

Funding Agency

  • Unknown (France)

Discipline

  • Planetary Science

Additional Information

Questions or comments about this spacecraft can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office.

 

Selected References

Zond-6 takes photographs, NASA-GSFC, ST-PR-10781, Greenbelt, MD, Dec. 1968.

Harvey, B., The new Russian space programme from competition to collaboration, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England, 1996.

Johnson, N. L., Handbook of soviet lunar and planetary exploration - volume 47 science and technology series, Amer. Astronau. Soc. Publ., 1979.

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