Luna 24

Ended

Facts last verified against primary sources on 2026-10-10

Landing page: target, Sun and Earth from the site, nearby hardware →

Facts

Operator: Lavochkin design bureau (USSR)
Country: SU
Type: lander
Launch: 1976-08-09 15:04 UTC
Landing: 1976-08-18 06:36 UTC
End: 1976-08-23 05:55 UTC

Landing site

Mare Crisium · 12.7142°N 62.2129°E ± 3.7 m

Soft landing · source: pds.lroc.im-ldi.com

Landed

Planned landing site

Crash or hard landing

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Timeline

1976-08-19 05:25 UTCAscent stage lift-off from the Moon
1976-08-23 05:55 UTCSample capsule landed in western Siberia

Links

Sources

LROC Anthropogenic (man-made) Features on the Moon, PDS LRO-L-LROC-5-RDR-V1.0 EXTRAS/SHAPEFILE/ANTHROPOGENIC_OBJECTS (Wagner et al. 2017, Icarus 283, 92-103)README last updated 2026-08-142026-10-10
Siddiqi, A. A. (2018) Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958-2016, NASA SP-2018-40412nd edition, 20182026-10-10
NSSDCA, Soviet Lunar Missions summary page (D. R. Williams)2026-10-10
NSSDCA Master Catalog: Luna 24 (1976-081A)2026-10-10

Generated 2026-10-10T00:00:00Z

Sample-return lander. Times from Siddiqi (2018). The NSSDCA summary page lists launch 14 Aug 1976 and landing 02:00 UT, which conflict with Siddiqi's 9 Aug 1976 15:04:12 UT launch and 06:36 UT landing; Siddiqi's values are used. Coordinates from LROC (Wagner et al. 2017). end_utc is the return capsule's touchdown on Earth.