Luna 16, Luna 20 and Luna 24 had something in common- their ability to collect lunar soil and bring it back to the Earth for further analysis.
Luna 16 was Soviet Union’s first robotic probe to collect samples of lunar soil from Mare Fecunditatis and return to the Earth. It was a huge success for the Soviet Union; Luna 16 marked the first fully automatic recovery of soil sample from the surface of a celestial body. Luna 20 was sent to the Moon in 1972, two years after the success of Luna 16. It returned soil samples from a mountainous area known as Terra Apollonius. It obtained lunar soil with the help of a drilling apparatus.
Luna 24 was the last spacecraft that belonged to the Soviet Union’s Luna Programme. This probe was sent in 1976 and landed in Mare Crisium. The scientists of the Soviet Union claimed the presence of water in the lunar soil samples returned by Luna 24.
Picture Credit : Google
