Zond 5

Zond 5

Zond 5 (Russian: Зонд 5, lit. 'Probe 5') was a spacecraft of the Soviet Zond program. In September 1968, Zond 5 traveled around the Moon in a circumlunar trajectory. It was the first Moon mission to carry animals and the first to return safely to Earth. This mission was an important step in space exploration.

The first living things to fly near the Moon, and beyond low Earth orbit, were two Russian tortoises, fruit fly eggs, and plants. These creatures helped scientists learn more about how life can survive in space.

The Zond spacecraft was a version of the Soyuz 7K-L1 spacecraft made for lunar flybys. It was launched by a Proton-K rocket with a Block D upper-stage to do scientific studies during its lunar flyby. This mission gave useful information for future human space travel.

Background

The Soviet Union tried to send four missions around the Moon. Only one, called Zond 4, was partly successful. The next mission, Zond 1968A, failed when a mistake turned off part of the rocket too early. The safety system worked and saved the spacecraft.

Later, while getting ready for another mission called Zond 1968B, a big explosion happened on the launch pad. This damaged the rocket but did not destroy the spacecraft. Because of these problems, the leaders decided that the next mission, Zond 5, would not carry any people. They sent it without a crew to test everything first.

Payload

The Zond 5 spacecraft carried living things to learn about space travel. Two Russian tortoises, fruit fly eggs, plants, and tiny green algae traveled around the Moon and back to Earth. Scientists chose these because they can survive in tough conditions.

The spacecraft also had special equipment, such as an imager to take pictures of Earth and tools to measure tiny particles called protons. Some information was sent back to Earth during the mission, and more was collected after the spacecraft returned.

Mission

Zond 5 launched on September 14, 1968, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. It traveled around the Moon and was the first mission to carry living things beyond Earth’s orbit. On board were tortoises, fruit fly eggs, and plants.

The spacecraft splashed down in the Indian Ocean on September 21, 1968. It landed farther from its planned zone in Kazakhstan, but the crew recovered the spacecraft and its living cargo safely. The whole trip took just over six days.

Results and future plans

Zond 5 took great photos of Earth from 90,000 kilometres away. British astronomer Bernard Lovell said this showed the Soviet Union was ahead in the Space Race. Some people in the U.S. thought the mission was not as good as they said, but the Soviet news agency TASS said the flight carried living animals, like tortoises.

The tortoises on board lost a little weight but were healthy after the trip. The Soviet Union said Zond 5 was meant to help get ready for future trips to the Moon by people, even before the Apollo 8 mission.

Cosmonaut crew communications test and hoax

In September 1968, voices that sounded like they came from astronauts on the Zond 5 spacecraft were heard by the Jodrell Bank Observatory and the CIA. This happened during the Cold War, and some people in the United States worried that the Soviet Union might reach the Moon before NASA.

Later, astronaut Pavel Popovich said that he and his team had played a joke. They connected a receiver to a transmitter and he spoke as if the spacecraft were near the Moon. This made people confused until they learned it was just a trick.

Location

The Zond 5 capsule is on display at the RKK Energiya museum in Moscow Oblast, Russia. The museum features many important spacecraft from space history.