Luna 8

{{Infobox spaceflight

| name = Luna 8

| image = File:Luna 8 and 9 locations Planitia Descensus 3214 med.jpg

| image_caption = Oblique view of Planitia Descensus showing crash site of Luna 8 and the landing point of Luna 9 (Lunar Orbiter 3 image)

| mission_type = Lunar lander

| operator = Soviet space program

| COSPAR_ID = 1965-099A

| SATCAT = 1810

| mission_duration = 3 days

| spacecraft_type = Ye-6

| manufacturer = OKB-1

| dry_mass =

| launch_mass = {{convert|1550|kg|lb}}

| power =

| launch_date = {{start-date|3 December 1965, 10:46:14|timezone=yes}} UTC

| launch_rocket = Molniya 8K78

| launch_site = Baikonur 31/6

| launch_contractor =

| last_contact =

| orbit_epoch =

| orbit_reference =

| orbit_periapsis =

| orbit_apoapsis =

| orbit_inclination =

| apsis =

|interplanetary =

{{Infobox spaceflight/IP

|type = lander_impact

|object = Lunar

|arrival_date = {{end-date|6 December 1965, 21:51:30|timezone=y}} UTC

|location = {{Lunar coords and quad cat|9.1|N|63.3|W}}

}}

| programme = Luna programme

| previous_mission = Luna 7

| next_mission = Luna 9

}}

Luna 8 (E-6 or Ye-6 series), also known as Lunik 8, was a lunar space probe of the Luna program.

Mission

File:Moon map Luna 17 Luna 2 Apollo 15 Surveyor 6 Surveyor 4 Luna 7 Luna 8 Luna 11.png

It was launched in on 3 December 1965 with the objective of achieving a soft landing on the Moon; however, its retrorocket firing occurred too late, and suffered a hard impact on the lunar surface on the Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms). The mission did complete the experimental testing of its stellar-guidance system and the ground-control of its radio telemetry equipment, its flight trajectory, and its other instrumentation.

This, the eleventh Soviet attempt to achieve a lunar soft landing, nearly succeeded. After a successful midcourse correction on 4 December, this spacecraft headed toward the Moon without any apparent problems. Just before the scheduled firing of its retrorocket, a command was sent to inflate cushioning air bags around the landing probe. However, a plastic mounting bracket apparently pierced one of the two air bags. The resulting ejection of the air put the spacecraft into a spin of about 12 degrees per second. The spacecraft momentarily regained its proper attitude, long enough for a nine-second-long retrorocket firing, but Luna 8 became unstable again. Without a retrorocket burn long enough to reduce its velocity sufficiently for a survivable landing, Luna 8 plummeted to the lunar surface and crashed at 21:51:30 UT on 6 December in the west of Oceanus Procellarum. The coordinates of the crash site are {{Lunar coords and quad cat|9.1|N|63.3|W}}.