||This article contains orbital elements but does not include an epoch, or date when those elements, which typically vary over time, were correct.|
|This article does not cite any references or sources. (October 2008)|
|Mission type||Lunar orbiter|
|Mission duration||60 days|
|Launch mass||1,582 kilograms (3,488 lb)|
|Start of mission|
|Launch date||March 31, 1966, 10:48:00UTC|
|Launch site||Baikonur 31/6|
|End of mission|
|Last contact||May 30, 1966|
|Semi-major axis||2,413.0 kilometres (1,499.4 mi)|
|Periselene||2,088 kilometres (1,297 mi)|
|Aposelene||2,738 kilometres (1,701 mi)|
|Orbital insertion||April 3, 1966, 18:44 UTC|
Five gas-discharge counters
Two ion traps/charged particle trap
Piezoelectric micrometeorite detector
Low-energy x-ray photon counters
Scientific instruments included a gamma-ray spectrometer for energies between 0.3—3 MeV (50–500 pJ), a triaxial magnetometer, a meteorite detector, instruments for solar-plasma studies, and devices for measuring infrared emissions from the Moon and radiation conditions of the lunar environment. Gravitational studies were also conducted.
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 high density below the mare basins that distort lunar orbital trajectories. Their discovery has usually been credited to the American Lunar Orbiter series.
The Luna 10 spacecraft was launched towards the Moon from an Earth orbiting platform on March 31, 1966. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on April 3, 1966 and completed its first orbit 3 hours later (on April 4, Moscow time). After a midcourse correction on 1 April, Luna 10, the second of two hastily prepared Soviet Ye-6S probes (that is, the backup), successfully entered lunar orbit two days later at 18:44 UT. A 245-kilogram instrument compartment separated from the main bus, which was in a 350 x 1,000-kilometer orbit inclined at 71.9° to the lunar equator.
Luna 10 was battery powered and operated for 460 lunar orbits and 219 active data transmissions before radio signals were discontinued on May 30, 1966.
The spacecraft carried a set of solid-state oscillators that had been programmed to reproduce the notes of The Internationale, so that it could be broadcast live to the 23rd Soviet Union Communist Party Congress. During a rehearsal on the night of 3 April, the playback went well, but the following morning, controllers discovered a missing note and played the previous night’s tape to the assembled gathering at the Congress—claiming it was a live broadcast from the Moon.
- Launch Date/Time: 1966-03-31 at 10:48:00 UTC
- On-orbit dry mass: 540 kg
|Luna programme||Succeeded by