Editing Luna programme (section)

{{Short description|Robotic spacecraft missions to the Moon by the Soviet Union (1958–1976)}}
{{For|the second programme|Luna-Glob}}
{{pp-sock|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox space programme
| name            = Luna space programme
| image           = Moon landing map.jpg
| image_size      = 
| alt             = 
| caption         = Locations of Luna landings on the Moon are marked in red; Apollo missions in green, and Surveyor in yellow.
| country         = [[Soviet Union]]
| organization    = 
| purpose         = Uncrewed exploration of the Moon
| programme       = y
| status          = Operational
| cost            = 
| duration        = 1958–1976
| firstflight     = {{Unbulleted list
  | [[Luna E-1 No.1]]
  | 23 September 1958
  }}
| lastflight      = {{Unbulleted list
  | [[Luna 24]]
  | 9 August 1976
  }}
| successes       = 15
| failures        = 28
| partialfailures = 1
| launchsite      = [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]]
| launcher        = {{Unbulleted list
  | [[Luna (rocket)|Luna 8K72]]
  | [[Molniya-L]]
  | [[Molniya-M]]
  | [[Proton-K]]/[[Blok D-1|D-1]]
  | [[Soyuz-2|Soyuz 2.1b]]
  }}
| native_name     = Космическая Программа "Луна"
| native_name_a   = Kosmicheskaya Programma "Luna"
}}
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The '''Luna programme''' (from the Russian word {{Langx|ru|Луна|label=none}} "[[Moon|Luna]]" meaning "Moon"), occasionally called ''Lunik'' by western media,<ref>{{cite news|title=How Russia Beat the U.S. to the Moon|author=Amy Shira Teitel|date=April 13, 2017|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-russia-beat-the-us-to-the-moon|website=Daily Beast|access-date=March 14, 2023}}</ref> was a series of [[robotic spacecraft]] missions sent to the [[Moon]] by the [[Soviet Union]] between 1959 and 1976. The programme accomplished many [[Timeline of space exploration|firsts in space exploration]], including [[Luna 1|first flyby of the Moon]], [[Luna 2|first impact of the Moon]] and [[Luna 3|first photos of the far side of the Moon]]. Each mission was  designed as either an [[orbiter]] or [[Lander (spacecraft)|lander]]. They also performed many experiments, studying the Moon's [[chemical]] composition, [[gravity]], [[temperature]], and [[radiation]].

Twenty-four spacecraft were formally given the Luna designation, although more were launched. Those that failed to reach orbit were not publicly acknowledged at the time, and not assigned a Luna number. Those that failed in low Earth orbit were usually given [[Kosmos (satellite)|Cosmos]] designations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/spacecraft_planetary_lunar.html|title=Planetary Spacecraft – Moon Missions|website=RussianSpaceWeb.com|last1=Zak|first1=Anatoly}}</ref> The estimated cost of the Luna programme in 1964 was US$6–10 billion<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000316255.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123021722/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000316255.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 January 2017|title=Comparison of US and Estimated Soviet Expenditures for Space Programs|date=August 1964|website=CIA}}</ref> (equivalent to US${{Inflation|US-GDP|6|1964}}–{{Inflation|US-GDP|10|1964}} billion in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}). The [[Luna 25]] mission also continues the Luna designation, although it is considered to be a part of the [[Luna-Glob]] exploration programme.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Luna-Glob mission lifts off |url=https://www.russianspaceweb.com/luna-glob-flight.html |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=www.russianspaceweb.com}}</ref> The same applies to other planned missions such as [[Luna 26]], [[Luna 27]] and [[Luna 28]].