# Luna 6

> space probe

**Wikidata**: [Q617898](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q617898)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_6)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/luna-6

## Summary  
Luna 6 was a Soviet‑built space probe launched on 8 June 1965 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome’s “Gagarin’s Start” using a Molniya launch vehicle. It was the sixth spacecraft in the Luna programme, following Luna 5 and preceding Luna 7, and was intended to continue the USSR’s early attempts at lunar exploration.

## Key Facts  
- **Launch date:** 8 June 1965 (UTC)【launch_date】  
- **Launch site:** Gagarin’s Start, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan【start_point】  
- **Launch vehicle:** Molniya rocket (Soviet‑built)【launch_vehicle】  
- **Mission series:** Luna programme (Soviet lunar exploration)【part_of_series】  
- **COSPAR ID:** 1965‑044A【cospar_id】  
- **SCN (Spacecraft Number):** 01393【scn】  
- **Preceded by:** Luna 5 (space probe)【follows】  
- **Followed by:** Luna 7 (space probe)【followed_by】  
- **Alternative designation:** E‑6 No.7 (alias)【aliases】  
- **Classification:** Space probe; also listed as an artificial satellite of the Sun【instance_of】  

## FAQs  
### Q: When was Luna 6 launched?  
A: Luna 6 was launched on 8 June 1965 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome’s “Gagarin’s Start” launch pad.  

### Q: Which rocket carried Luna 6 into space?  
A: The probe was launched aboard a Soviet Molniya launch vehicle.  

### Q: What programme does Luna 6 belong to?  
A: Luna 6 is part of the Soviet Luna programme, a series of robotic missions aimed at exploring the Moon.  

### Q: What spacecraft came before and after Luna 6?  
A: Luna 5 preceded Luna 6, and Luna 7 succeeded it in the same series.  

### Q: Does Luna 6 have any other designations?  
A: Yes, it is also known by the alias “E‑6 No.7.”  

## Why It Matters  
Luna 6 represents a pivotal step in the early Cold‑War era race to the Moon. As the sixth probe in the Soviet Luna programme, it built upon the technical lessons learned from Luna 5 and set the stage for subsequent missions such as Luna 7. Although the mission did not achieve a successful lunar landing, its launch demonstrated the USSR’s continued commitment to deep‑space exploration and provided valuable data on launch vehicle performance, spacecraft navigation, and the challenges of lunar approach. The probe’s deployment from “Gagarin’s Start,” the historic launch pad that also sent the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into orbit, underscores its symbolic link to Soviet space milestones. Understanding Luna 6’s role helps illustrate the iterative nature of early planetary missions, where each attempt—successful or not—contributed to the engineering knowledge that eventually enabled successful lunar landings and paved the way for modern planetary exploration.

## Notable For  
- **Sixth Luna mission:** Marked the continuation of the Soviet Union’s systematic lunar probe series.  
- **Molniya launch vehicle usage:** One of the early applications of the Molniya rocket for interplanetary missions.  
- **Launch from Gagarin’s Start:** Shared the historic launch pad with Yuri Gagarin’s historic 1961 flight.  
- **COSPAR identification:** Assigned the identifier 1965‑044A, linking it to the global catalog of space objects.  

## Body  

### Classification and Identifiers  
- **Instance of:** Space probe (unmanned robotic spacecraft that does not orbit Earth).  
- **Additional class:** Artificial satellite of the Sun, indicating a heliocentric orbit classification.  
- **Identifiers:**  
  - COSPAR ID 1965‑044A  
  - SCN 01393 (Spacecraft Number)  
  - NSSDCA ID 1965‑044A (NASA’s Space Science Data Coordinated Archive)  

### Mission Context  
- **Program:** Luna programme – a Soviet series of lunar exploration missions launched between 1959 and 1976.  
- **Predecessor:** Luna 5, which attempted a soft lunar landing but failed.  
- **Successor:** Luna 7, which later achieved a successful soft‑landing on the Moon’s surface.  

### Launch Details  
- **Date & Time:** 8 June 1965.  
- **Site:** “Gagarin’s Start” at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan – the same pad used for the first human spaceflight.  
- **Vehicle:** Molniya rocket, a two‑stage launch vehicle derived from the R‑7 family, specifically adapted for higher‑energy lunar trajectories.  

### Technical Characteristics  
- **Design:** Referred to internally as “E‑6 No.7,” indicating its place within the E‑6 series of lunar probes.  
- **Mission Objective:** Intended to perform a soft lunar landing and conduct scientific measurements (specific payload details are not provided in the source).  

### Legacy  
- Although Luna 6 did not achieve a successful lunar landing, its launch contributed to the iterative engineering improvements that culminated in later successful Luna missions.  
- The mission’s data on launch dynamics and deep‑space navigation informed subsequent Soviet lunar and planetary probes.  

## Schema Markup  

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{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Thing",
  "name": "Luna 6",
  "description": "Luna 6 is a Soviet space probe launched on 8 June 1965 as part of the Luna programme.",
  "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_6",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_6"
  ],
  "additionalType": "SpaceProbe"
}

## References

1. Jonathan's Space Report
2. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013