Mission Atlas
← Mission directory

Mission record

Zond 5

U.S.S.R · Launched

Explore trajectory

Completed · Success

Soviet circumlunar precursor to crewed lunar spacecraft that flew around the Moon at a closest distance of 1,950 km carrying a biological payload of turtles, wine flies, meal worms, plants, seeds and bacteria, then made a ballistic reentry and was recovered from the Indian Ocean.

Destinations
Moon
Launch vehicle
Proton Booster Plus Upper Stage and Escape Stages
Launch site
Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R
Countries
Soviet Union
Mission types
Flyby

Chronology

Mission timeline

  1. Launch

    Zond 5 launched from a Tyazheliy Sputnik in Earth parking orbit

    Earth

  2. Flyby

    Zond 5 flew around the Moon at a closest distance of 1,950 km

    Moon

  3. Landing

    Zond 5 reentry capsule splashed down in the Indian Ocean and was recovered

    Earth

Mission architecture

Vehicles

  • Zond 5 · Spacecraft

    Destinations: Moon

Trajectory record

Trajectory dataset not yet available

No verified trajectory dataset is committed for this mission, so Mission Atlas renders no path.

Provenance

Sources

Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.

Data verified through August 24, 2026