On 20 October 1970, the Soviet Union launched Zond 8, the final mission of the Zond programme. Although uncrewed, it was a test flight for a planned Soviet lunar mission that never materialised.
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01Summary
- 01Zond 8 launched on 20 October 1970, as the last mission of the Soviet Zond programme.
- 02The spacecraft was designed to carry cosmonauts but flew without a crew, approaching within 1,120 km of the lunar surface.
- 03A guidance system malfunction caused a steeper reentry, but the spacecraft splashed down safely in the Indian Ocean on 27 October 1970.
- 04The failure of the Soviet crewed lunar ambitions was partly due to the US having already landed astronauts on the moon.
- 05Russia’s subsequent moon probe, Luna 25, failed in 2023; the country plans another lunar attempt in 2027.
02Why it matters
This event highlights a critical phase of the space race and the Soviet Union’s ultimately abandoned efforts to send cosmonauts to the moon, shaping the history of lunar exploration.
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