View source for Luna 8

{{Short description|Space probe}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020|cs1-dates=y}}
{{italic title}}
{{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&nbsp;days

| spacecraft_type       = [[Ye-6]]
| manufacturer          = [[OKB-1]]
| dry_mass              = 
| launch_mass           = {{convert|1550|kg|lb}}<ref name=NSSDC/>
| power                 =

| launch_date           = {{start-date|3 December 1965, 10:46:14|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC<ref name=NSSDC/>
| launch_rocket         = [[Molniya (rocket)|Molniya]] 8K78
| launch_site           = [[Baikonur Cosmodrome|Baikonur]] [[Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 31|31/6]]
| launch_contractor     = 
| last_contact          =

| orbit_epoch           = 
| orbit_reference       = <!--transfer orbit-->
| orbit_periapsis       = 
| orbit_apoapsis        = 
| orbit_inclination     = 
| apsis                 =

|interplanetary         = 
 {{Infobox spaceflight/IP
   |type                = lander_impact
   |object              = [[Moon|Lunar]]
   |arrival_date        = {{end-date|6 December 1965, 21:51:30|timezone=y}}&nbsp;UTC<ref name=NSSDC/>
   |location            = {{Lunar coords and quad cat|9.1|N|63.3|W}}<ref name=NSSDC/>
 }}

| 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 [[the Moon|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|thumbnail|left|Map showing the location of ''Luna 8'' near the lower left, in relation to other Moon missions.]]
It was launched in on 3 December 1965 with the objective of achieving a [[soft landing (rocketry)|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 [[Degree (angle)|degree]]s 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}}.<ref name=NSSDC/>

==See also==
* [[List of artificial objects on the Moon]]
* [[List of missions to the Moon]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=NSSDC>{{cite web
 |url         = https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-099A
 |title       = Luna 8
 |work        = NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive
 |date        = 26 August 2014
 |access-date  = 5 June 2015
}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}
* [http://www.zarya.info/Diaries/Luna/Luna.php Zarya - Luna programme chronology]

{{Luna programme}}
{{Lunar landers}}
{{Moon spacecraft}}
{{Orbital launches in 1965}}

[[Category:Luna programme|Luna 08]]
[[Category:Spacecraft launched in 1965]]
[[Category:1965 in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Spacecraft that impacted the Moon]]
[[Category:1965 on the Moon]]