Luna 13 - Korolev / Lavochkin E-6M spacecraft as flown on Luna 13 with soil probe. Credit: Andy Salmon. 23,239 bytes. 434 x 218 pixels.

Soft landed on moon; returned soil density data, photos. Modernised version of the E-6 with the ALS lander mass increased from 84 kg to 150 kg. Conducted further scientific investigation of the moon and circumlunar space. As with the E-6, after impact on the lunar surface by landing bag, the petal encasement of the spacecraft was opened, antennas were erected, and radio transmissions to Earth began four minutes after the landing. The additional payload meant that in addition to the camera the spacecraft was equipped with a mechanical soil-measuring penetrometer, a dynamograph, and a radiation densitometer for obtaining data on the mechanical and physical properties and the cosmic-ray reflectivity of the lunar surface.

Total Mass: 1,700 kg.

Soft landed on Moon 24 December 1966 at 18:01:00 GMT, Latitude 18.87 N, 297.95 E - Oceanus Procellarum. The petal encasement of the spacecraft was opened, antennas were erected, and radio transmissions to Earth began four minutes after the landing. On December 25 and 26, 1966, the spacecraft television system transmitted panoramas of the nearby lunar landscape at different sun angles. Each panorama required approximately 100 minutes to transmit. The spacecraft was equipped with a mechanical soil-measuring penetrometer, a dynamograph, and a radiation densitometer for obtaining data on the mechanical and physical properties and the cosmic-ray reflectivity of the lunar surface. It is believed that transmissions from the spacecraft ceased before the end of December 1966.

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