Luna 10
Luna 10 mockup, Le Bourget (France) | |
| Mission type | Lunar orbiter |
|---|---|
| Operator | Soviet space program |
| COSPAR ID | 1966-027A |
| SATCAT no. | 02126 |
| Mission duration | 60 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | E-6S |
| Manufacturer | GSMZ Lavochkin |
| Launch mass | 1,583.7 kg |
| Dry mass | 540 kg |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 31 March 1966, 10:46:59 UTC |
| Rocket | Molniya-M 8K78M |
| Launch site | Baikonur, Site 31/6 |
| End of mission | |
| Last contact | 30 May 1966 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Selenocentric |
| Periselene altitude | 349 km |
| Aposelene altitude | 1015 km |
| Inclination | 71.9° |
| Period | 178.05 minutes |
| Lunar orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | 3 April 1966, 18:44 GMT |
| Instruments | |
| Magnetometer Gamma-ray spectrometer Five gas-discharge counters Two ion traps/charged particle trap Piezoelectric micrometeorite detector Infrared detector Low-energy x-ray photon counters | |
Luna 10 (or Lunik 10) was a 1966 Soviet lunar robotic spacecraft mission in the Luna program. It was the first artificial satellite of the Moon, and any other body other than Earth and the Sun (in heliocentric orbit).
Luna 10 conducted extensive research in lunar orbit, gathering important data on the strength of the Moon's magnetic field, its radiation belts, and the nature of lunar rocks (which were found to be comparable to terrestrial basalt rocks), cosmic radiation, and micrometeoroid density. Perhaps its most important finding was the first evidence of mass concentrations (called "mascons") — areas of denser material below the lunar surface that distort lunar orbital trajectories.