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Credit & Copyright: Courtesy Lavochkin Association     
     
     
Explanation:
On November 17, 1970 the Soviet     
Luna 17     
spacecraft landed the first     
roving remote-controlled robot     
on the Moon.     
     
Known as Lunokhod 1, it weighed just under 2,000 pounds and was     
designed to operate for 90 days while     
guided in real-time by a five person team     
at the Deep Space Center near Moscow, USSR, Planet Earth.     
     
     
The futuristic looking eight wheeler rode on top of a descent     
module that     
extended     
ramps from both sides offering alternative routes to     
the surface in case one side was blocked by boulders.     
     
Lunokhod 1 toured     
the lunar     
Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) for 11 months in     
one of the greatest successes of the     
Soviet lunar exploration program.     
     
This Lunokhod's operations officially ceased on October 4, 1971,     
14 years after     
the launch of Sputnik.     
     
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Moon - spacecraft - soviet - rover
Publications with words: Moon - spacecraft - soviet - rover
See also:
- APOD: 2025 August 23 Á Fishing for the Moon
 - APOD: 2025 July 20 Á Lunar Nearside
 - APOD: 2025 June 28 Á Lunar Farside
 - APOD: 2025 June 20 Á Major Lunar Standstill 2024 2025
 - APOD: 2025 June 18 Á Space Station Silhouette on the Moon
 - APOD: 2025 April 22 Á Terminator Moon: A Moonscape of Shadows
 - Moon Near the Edge
 

