The Soviets Also Landed on the Moon - Lunokhod 1: The First Tire Tracks in Space
The Lunokhod 1 made history as the first remote-controlled robot rover to roam freely across the Moon's surface.
Also known as Moonwalker 1 Device 8EL No. 203, this robotic lunar rover was developed as part of the Lunokhod program, whose initial goal was to support the Soviet human moon missions. Lunokhod 1 arrived at the Moon aboard the Luna 17 spacecraft in November of 1970.
Its innovative technology recovered valuable scientific material and information related to the Moon's soil. The rover sent over 20,000 images and 200 high-fidelity panoramas back to Moscow.
Designed originally with a lifespan of three lunar days, the equivalent of 90 months on Earth, it withstood an astonishing career of 11 lunar days, almost an entire Earth year. Lunokhod 1 traveled 11 km across the Moon's rocky surface under a simultaneous 5-man control team.
On September 14, 1971, on the anniversary of Sputnik 1, contact was abruptly lost with the vehicle. Failed attempts to reach it forced the Russians to abandon it.
Forty years later, in late 2010, American and French scientists conducting remote research on the Moon were astonished by the discovery of an unknown buried object.
It was the Lunokhod 1, and its signal was more powerful than ever. The relic of the Cold War had made a strange comeback.