Luna 16 was the first robotic probe to successfully return a sample of lunar soil to Earth. It collected 101 grams (3.56 ounces) of material from Mare Fecunditatis. This mission marked the Soviet Union's first successful lunar sample return and was the third overall lunar sample return mission, following Apollo 11 and Apollo 12.
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| Luna 16 launch cover with Tartu postmark. |
Less than an hour after landing, at 06:03 UT, an automatic drill began to penetrate the lunar surface to gather a soil sample. After drilling for seven minutes, it ceased at a depth of 35 centimeters, retracted with the sample, and lifted it in an arc to the top of the spacecraft, where it deposited the lunar material into a small spherical capsule attached to the main spacecraft bus. The column of regolith inside the drill tube was then transferred to the soil sample container.
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| Luna 16's lift-off from the Moon, featuring a postmark from Tartu. |
After spending 26 hours and 25 minutes on the lunar surface, the spacecraft's upper stage lifted off from the Moon at 07:43 UT on September 21. The lower stage of Luna 16 remained on the lunar surface, continuing to transmit data on lunar temperature and radiation. Three days later, on September 24, the capsule, which contained 101 grams of lunar soil, reentered Earth's atmosphere at a speed of 11 kilometers per second without any mid-course corrections. It parachuted down 80 kilometers southeast of Jezkazgan in Kazakhstan at 05:25 UT on September 24, 1970. Analysis of the dark basalt material showed a close resemblance to the soil collected during the American Apollo 12 mission.
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| A cover of Luna 16 with a special Moscow postmark. |
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| Photo: Recovery of the Luna 16 space capsule that returned samples of moon soil from the Sea of Fertility. |
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| A postcard featuring a stamp of Luna 16. |
