Zond 5

Zond 5

Computer model of a Zond circumlunar spacecraft
Names	Soyuz 7K-L1 s/n 9
Mission type	Lunar flyby Spacecraft test
Operator	OKB-1
COSPAR ID	1968-076A[1]
SATCAT no.	3394[1]
Mission duration	6 days, 18 hours, 24 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Bus	Soyuz 7K-L1
Manufacturer	OKB-1
Launch mass	5,375 kilograms (11,850 lb)[2]
Start of mission
Launch date	14 September 1968, 21:42:11 (1968-09-14UTC21:42:11Z) UTC[2]
Rocket	Proton-K/D
Launch site	Baikonur 81
End of mission
Recovered by	Soviet vessels Borovichy and Vasiliy Golovin
Landing date	21 September 1968 (1968-09-21) 16:08 UT[3]
Landing site	32°38′S 65°33′E / 32.633°S 65.550°E / -32.633; 65.550[4] In the Indian Ocean
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Semi-major axis	6,613 kilometres (4,109 mi)
Eccentricity	0.00604
Perigee altitude	202 kilometres (126 mi)
Apogee altitude	282 kilometres (175 mi)
Inclination	51.83°
Period	89.29 minutes
Epoch	13 September 1968
Flyby of Moon
Closest approach	18 September 1968
Distance	1,950 km (1,210 mi)
Zond ← Zond 1968B Zond 6 →

Zond 5 (Russian: Зонд 5, lit. 'Probe 5') was a spacecraft of the Soviet Zond program. In September 1968 it became the first spaceship to travel to and circle the Moon in a circumlunar trajectory, the first Moon mission to include animals, and the first to return safely to Earth. Zond 5 carried the first terrestrial organisms to the vicinity of the Moon, including two tortoises, fruit fly eggs, and plants.^[5] The Russian tortoises underwent biological changes during the flight, but it was concluded that the changes were primarily due to starvation and that they were little affected by space travel.

The Zond spacecraft was a version of the Soyuz 7K-L1 crewed lunar-flyby spacecraft. It was launched by a Proton-K carrier rocket with a Block D upper-stage to conduct scientific studies during its lunar flyby.