Goals: This was the second Soviet attempt to bring lunar soil
back to Earth. Since the Soviet Union launched Luna 15 three
days before the announced launch date of Apollo 11, it appears
likely that the Soviets hoped to return lunar samples to Earth
just before the American astronauts could do so. The spacecraft
was also said to be capable of collecting information about the
lunar environment, analyzing the chemical composition of lunar
rocks, and taking pictures of the lunar surface.
Accomplishments: Luna 15 reached lunar orbit and conducted
numerous communications sessions with Earth, during which it may
have transmitted data about the lunar space environment. But its
primary goal ended in failure when contact was lost on the same
day that U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became
the first people to set foot on the Moon. It is thought that
Luna 15 probably crashed into a mountain while descending to the
lunar surface.