Americans Groves, Leslie R.: General, head of the Manhattan Project, initiator of US attempts to identify and neutralize Nazi atomic weapons research. Dulles, Allen Welsh: Before World War II, corporate lawyer with extensive connections in

American surfers I left Tocopia on foot and walked along the road along the ocean shore, wondering why no one wanted to give me a lift. But the reason turned out to be banal - the road there went past a huge maximum security prison, fenced with several rows of barbed wires.

TRIP TO THE MOON Leopold and Melanie Wyler had long dreamed of having a daughter. In 1900, their first son was born, and now, as they believed, it was time for a daughter to appear. Everything was prepared for her, even the beautiful name Camilla was written in calligraphy in advance

45 years ago, on July 16, 1969, the manned spacecraft Apollo 11 set off on a flight during which the inhabitants of the Earth, for the first time in history, landed on the surface of another celestial body - the Moon. On July 20, 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to ever walk on the surface of the Moon. At that moment, he uttered his famous phrase: “A small step for a man, but a giant leap for all mankind.”

The Apollo 11 crew included astronaut Neil Armstrong (left), who was the commander of the mission, lunar module pilot Edwin Buzz Aldrin (right), and Michael Collins, who piloted the command module in orbit during Armstrong and Aldrin's lunar landing. May 1, 1969.

The Saturn V rocket carrying the Apollo 11 spacecraft rolls onto the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center before launching to the Moon on May 20, 1969.

Close-up view.

Many around the world watched the launch of Apollo. These are passers-by in Berlin watching TV through a store window, June 16, 1969.

Earth and clouds. The photo was taken from the Apollo 11 spacecraft.

Interior of the Apollo 11 lunar module and Edwin Aldrin.

Entering lunar orbit. Lunar craters are already visible.

The Earth is beyond the Moon's horizon.

Descent to the surface of the Moon.

Lunar module "Eagle".

After landing, Armstrong transmitted to Earth: “Houston, this is Tranquility Base. "Eagle" sat down."

The first man on the moon, astronaut Neil Armstrong, steps on the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969.

The first photo of Neil Armstrong after landing on the moon.

Lunar landscapes.

Meanwhile, some researchers call the American landing on the moon the biggest hoax of the 20th century. In their opinion, there is a number of irrefutable evidence that American astronauts did not land on the surface of the Earth’s natural satellite at all. You can find a lot of materials on this topic on the Internet.

It is possible that, for certain reasons, the Americans actually did studio filming. Some photos really look more like fakes than real ones. real pictures, made on the Moon, but there could be a number of reasons for this. For example, some photos could simply be unsuccessful, because cameras at that time did not have viewfinders. Or some kind of filming equipment on the Moon has broken down. It is quite possible that some of the photographs had to be completed, and some had to be completed in the pavilions. But the very fact that they were there is beyond doubt.

To mark the 40th anniversary of man's landing on the Earth's satellite, the American space agency launched a space probe into lunar orbit. For the first time in history, he transmitted to Earth detailed images of all space modules, equipment left behind by astronauts, and even traces from the treads of all-terrain vehicles on which American astronauts moved on the Moon.

Exactly a year later, Indian astrophysicists also launched an automatic probe to the Moon, and like the American one, it was able to take detailed photographs of landing modules and other traces, proving that a human flight to the Moon did take place.

Cosmonaut A. A. Leonov: “Only absolutely ignorant people can seriously believe that the Americans were not on the Moon.”

Buzz Aldrin on the Moon.

Buzz Aldrin and the Lunar Module.

Buzz Aldrin on the Moon.

Armstrong's shadow and the lunar module.

Lunar module "Eagle". Our Earth is visible above.

Homecoming. The lunar module lifted off from the lunar surface.

Last look at the Moon.

And here is the Earth.

The Apollo 11 crew successfully returned to Earth and splashed down.

The role of the USSR leadership in NASA's lunar scam

Between 1969 and 1972, the United States reported landing its astronauts on the Moon six times. The political leadership of the USSR recognized the US victory in the lunar race and did not make any open attempts at revenge. After this, hundreds of researchers studied NASA’s “lunar” evidence and came to the conclusion that the Americans had hoaxed flights to the Moon. The hoax took place with the assistance of the USSR (for a large reward) and the statement: “Our people, if something had been wrong, would have immediately exposed it” is absolutely unfounded. After all, such exposure was also unprofitable for those who contributed. In the first half of the 60s, space exploration in the USSR took place under the obvious motto “to be first,” but then the policy of the Soviet leadership increasingly began to be of a dual character. Especially with regard to the manned flyby of the Moon and the landing of a man on it. Succeeded by S.P. Korolev Academician V.P. Mishin wrote

The question is very often asked: what would have happened to our space technology if Korolev had been alive? I think that even he, with his authority, would not be able to resist the processes that covered all spheres of activity of our society. It would have been difficult for him to work without feeling the support of the leaders of rocket and space technology in our country, who pursued (even during Sergei Pavlovich’s lifetime) an incomprehensible policy on this issue.

USA: Victory by any means and without regard to conscience, the loser will die!

On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin's flight took place. After Sputnik, this was the second giant slap in the face in terms of US prestige. In response to this, on May 25, 1961, President Kennedy announced that by the end of the 60s the United States would land a man on the Moon. For this purpose, under the leadership of NASA, a special program"Apollo".

This was not a simple challenge to an opponent, but a formal call for war of destruction. True, the destruction is not military, but political. But the result did not change. The losing state had to die (which is what ultimately happened to the USSR).

If we want to win the battle that is unfolding throughout the world between the two systems, if we want to win the battle for the minds of people, then ... we cannot allow the Soviet Union to occupy a leading position in space." “We swore that we would have to see on the Moon not the enemy’s flag of conquest, but the banner of freedom and peace...

President D.F. Kennedy.

...The competition for the Moon was a war. The loser will face death and curses. It was a struggle between two systems of power, which Americans must win. By any means."...

- "New York Times".

And in her tone, US Secretary of Defense R. McNamara said:

“We will instill in every participant in the program that stopping short of funds during its implementation is a crime against the nation. Act without regard for such a trifle as conscience.” To the president’s question: “What will be the reaction of the Russians to such actions?” His brother, Robert, unexpectedly answered, saying that he was taking on the Russians. Like, there are ideas and developments.”

What lay behind these calls “By any means necessary!”, “Without regard to conscience!”, if not a willingness to commit outright deception? What was behind the words of R. Kennedy that “he takes on the Russians.” Without knowing these subtleties, tens of thousands Soviet people who created space technology, did everything possible to overtake the Americans. But it turns out that at the same time, ideas were brewing among the ruling elite of the USSR on how to make friends with the Americans. For this reason, you can “trade” the Moon. Of course, the Americans will not bargain with a weak opponent. And it was necessary to show the Americans that flying around the Moon by a manned spacecraft, and then landing a man on it, were completely solvable tasks for the USSR. But - only to show readiness to decide, without bringing the decision to its logical conclusion. For a manned flyby of the Moon, and then the landing of a Soviet cosmonaut on it, would mean a third giant slap in the face to America and could ruin all trade. Having won on the Moon, what will you sell? While technical difficulties were being overcome, work within the framework of the lunar race was both supported and financed. But as soon as the main difficulties were left behind and success was indicated, the work stopped.

Technical positions of the parties before the start of the lunar race

Automata began exploring the Moon. And on everyone the most important stages During this period, the USSR was consistently ahead of the United States. The USSR was the first to hit the Moon with a rocket (“Luna-2”, September 12, 1959). A month later, Luna 3 orbited the Moon for the first time. She photographed its reverse side, which no earthling had ever seen before, and broadcast her photographs on the TV channel (October 4, 1959). On July 18, 1965, the Zond-3 probe transmitted to Earth for the second time 25 photographs of the far side of the Moon, this time of very high quality. Americans back side The moon was still out of reach. On February 3, 1966, Luna 9 made the world's first soft landing on the Moon and transmitted images of the lunar surface for three days. On March 31, 1966, Luna 10 became the first artificial satellite of the Moon. In 1970 there was the first automatic delivery of lunar soil to Earth (Luna-16) and the first self-propelled automatic vehicle on the Moon (Lunokhod-1).

Let's start being friends right from the start of the race (1967)

During the race, its participants do not agree on cooperation among themselves and do not share technical secrets. During the race they chase. But this was an unusual race. Let's look at the very first line of Appendix 1, which lists the agreements concluded between the USSR and the USA during the reign of Secretary General L.I. Brezhnev within the framework of the so-called détente policy: “January 1967: the Soviet-American space experiment “Soyuz - Apollo” began.” It appeared after many years of contacts between our leading academicians (first A.A. Blagonravov, and then M.V. Keldysh) with the relevant American circles. The pro-Western sentiments of many of our academicians are an open secret. And why be surprised if the then director of the Institute of Space Research of the USSR Academy of Sciences R.Z. Sagdeev has been a US citizen for 20 years. But it is clear that not a single academician would have opened his mouth if there had not been permission from the top party leadership. In general, for Soviet specialists the intensity of the lunar race was increasing, and the Americans were already told by the Politburo: don’t worry, in the future the main thing for us is not competition, but cooperation with you. And these were not empty words.

The ruling party was the CPSU ( Communist Party Soviet Union). Its governing body was the Central Committee (Central Committee). All main directions of the country's life were supervised by the secretaries of the Central Committee. This position was more important than the position of minister, because there were 5-6 secretaries, and several dozen ministers. The top of the government - the Politburo - was chosen from the secretaries of the Central Committee and the most important ministers.

Information on the structure of power in the USSR

Reported by journalist G.V. Smirnov:

In 1967, I was working in the editorial office of Tekhnika Molodezhi, when one of the employees brought a special issue of the American magazine Mechanix Illustrated. It proved that the USSR’s successes in space were a bluff. Seeing the magazine Chief Editor Vasily Dmitrievich Zakharchenko lit up. Guys! - he said. – Let’s devote an entire issue to exposing their revelations! He took the magazine and went to the CPSU Central Committee. He returned about three hours later, extinguished, indifferent: “They said it was inappropriate...”. I was shocked: The CPSU Central Committee itself refused the opportunity to sharply and effectively take advantage of the Americans!

Cancel the Moon flyby! (1968-1970)

The Politburo first postpones and then completely cancels the planned flyby of the Moon by Soviet cosmonauts. The Soyuz spacecraft, now known throughout the world, were created specifically for the task of a manned flyby of the Moon. In the unmanned version they bore the designation 7LK1 (“Zond”). In order to test them, over four years (1967-1970), Soviet specialists carried out 14 Zond launches. with the ultimate goal of their successful return to Earth(Table 1). And as in any new business, they fully experienced the bitterness of failure, until success first appeared (“Zondy-5,6”), and then became indisputable (“Zondy-7,8”). While Soviet specialists were moving forward step by step with their Zonds, the Americans decided to show the world that they did not need to bother with such trifles as testing lunar spacecraft in automatic mode. And this despite the fact that the success of their program of automatic exploration of the Moon with many times simpler devices is half or more filled with reports of accidents. As they say, a good face when bad game. Because the United States did not have anything similar to the Soviet “Probes” - “Soyuz” and still does not.

On April 4, 1968, the Americans failed to test a lunar rocket. And 19 days later they announced that on December 21 of the same year the manned Apollo 8 spacecraft would fly around the Moon. Many of our experts believed that the United States was not yet ready for such a flight. In November 1968, the head of the Cosmonaut Training Center, General N.P. Kamanin wrote:

“continue to carry out your flight program without adapting it to American tricks. We will prepare a manned flight for January 1969, and if the Americans fly on Apollo 8, we will postpone the flight until April.”

At the end of 1968, feeling the intensity of the lunar race, members of the three Soviet “lunar” crews A. Leonov, O. Makarov, V. Bykovsky, N. Rukavishnikov, P. Popovich and V. Sevastyanov sent a letter to the Politburo asking for permission to fly to the Moon . In early December, the cosmonauts flew to the cosmodrome, hoping that a decision would be made about the launch. However, the Soviet leadership did not give the go-ahead.

And then the message thundered throughout the whole world that Apollo 8 flew to the Moon and made 10 revolutions around it.

Well, well, we need to catch up. Not only N.P. thought so. Kamanin. Here are the words of A.A. Leonov:

It was necessary to go on a manned flyby of the Moon even after Frank Borman flew around the Moon. The lunar landing program has not been cancelled; we will still have to start the landing with a flyby. There is a ship. Allow me to fly! CC: “No!.

They say that it is necessary to carry out several more unmanned flights to the Moon. Well, well: our specialists in 1969 and 1970 carried out two more already completely successful flights of the Moon with “Probes” No. 7 and 8. You can send astronauts to fly around the Moon. And then the Politburo finally canceled the flight around the Moon. On October 4, 1957, the USSR launched the first satellite. But the Americans did not say: “We are upset and will not launch our satellite.” Their satellite flew on January 31, 1958. On April 12, 1961, Gagarin flew. And only on February 20, 1962, the Americans carried out their first orbital flight. In general, the Americans were not shy about catching up. Let's try to understand why the Politburo acted differently? Take another look at Table 1. Here is line No. 9 - “Zond-6” circles the Moon, successfully enters the Earth’s atmosphere, approaches the landing area, but at the last moment the parachutes did not work. And the next yellow line reports that Apollo 8 successfully flew around the Moon. This is where the Soviet leaders should have closed all these “Probes.” But nothing like that. In the next six months, three “Probes” launch one after another and all are unsuccessful. And the Americans have already got a new yellow sensational message: Apollo 11 landed astronauts on the Moon. It would seem that now the Politburo will definitely cover up the Probes. And again they didn’t guess. The Zond specialists work for another year and three months and during this time they carry out two completely successful launches. Almost two years have passed since the Apollo 8 flight. But now everything is ready for Soviet cosmonauts to fly around the Moon. And you don’t need a lot of money for this, because the main expenses have already been spent on failures and on correcting them.

And what does the Politburo do? Does he give the go-ahead with a slight grumble? Nothing of the kind: it closes the lunar flyby program. And two ships, fully equipped for a manned flyby of the Moon, remained on Earth. The money spent on the entire Zond program and on these two finished ships was simply thrown away. Absurd? And this is how you look at it. Let's return to the first yellow line - Apollo 8 orbited the Moon. If Soviet leaders and there was some other data regarding this flight, then there was still nothing to “pin” the Americans with? Not anonymous data from anonymous intelligence officers? They will laugh. We need our own ship that can fly around the moon. In any case, he will not leave the landings uncontrolled. And they start one after another, but without success, “Probes -7A, 7B, 7B”. The second yellow line has matured - Apollo 11 landed on the moon. And again there is nothing to check. And how useful would be a ship capable of flying around the Moon with its crew and looking with a human eye at the sites of the said landings. And the Zond flights continue. And now, finally, the complete success of Probes 7 and 8. For specialists this is the beginning of a long journey, but for the Politburo it is the end. There is a trump card in the form of a finished ship, you can bargain. They say, gentlemen Americans, we have demonstrated our capabilities to fly around and control the Moon. But we won’t fly for now, so you can continue your flights. But you understand, debt is worth paying.

Don’t rush to deliver Soviet lunar soil; let the Americans know the parameters of Luna-15

Three days before Apollo 11, the Soviet automatic station (AMS) Luna-15 arrived in lunar orbit. The goal is to deliver lunar soil to Earth. We read from N.P. Kamanina:

I read a TASS report that the Americans are most afraid that the Russians will get ahead of them with the help of a machine gun that will bring samples of lunar soil to Earth. They have nothing to fear. The flight of Apollo 11 will eclipse the success of any machine gun.

What then were the Americans afraid of? After all, landing astronauts on the Moon, and even with the subsequent delivery of several tens of kg of lunar rocks, would really eclipse the successes of any machine gun. But if there was no landing, then what could NASA present regarding the lunar soil after the “return” of the astronauts? Only his fake. In this case, it was very important that the USSR did not have real lunar soil. Without real soil, it is difficult to expose a fake. And if the USSR manages to deliver its lunar soil, but much later, then by that time NASA will convince humanity of “landings” on the Moon. In general, the Soviet Union cannot be allowed to obtain its lunar soil before the return of the A-11 astronauts. And what, if not a threat to get ahead of the delivery of soil, does the TASS message contain? After all, TASS messages in those days were published only on the initiative of the Politburo. Will the USSR fulfill its threat or is this just blackmail within the framework of that very “strange policy”. And what can Americans do to prevent the success of Luna 15?

“It was direct sabotage”

Here it is appropriate to remember that even before Luna-15, as if guessing the fears of the Americans, five misfortunes in a row befell the Soviet “moon scoops”. N.P. Kamanin writes about them this way:

We were very unlucky: of the five previous E-8-5 launches, four ended in accidents of the Proton rocket in the area of ​​the cosmodrome, and Luna-15 crashed during its descent onto the lunar surface... May 30, 1969. Yesterday I attended a meeting of the State Commission. Chelomey reported that out of all 13 launches of UR-500K missiles, seven were accidents. For the first seven launches there was one accident, and all the last six the launches turned out to be emergency. This is the result of poor performance of factories, violations technological process, weak production discipline and low qualifications of workers.

A.A. Leonov: “It was direct sabotage”

The disappointment is understandable. But is it really possible that in such a short period of time, violations of the technological process have become 6 times more frequent, and the discipline and qualifications of workers have fallen? Maybe someone’s malicious intent interfered with the second series of tests? This is what A.A. says. Leonov:

...The carrier was the proven Proton rocket. However, several launches ended in failure. The most offensive thing was the failure when a plug from a completely different engine from a completely different workshop got into the rocket’s fuel path. It was direct sabotage. We found out who collected it. The assembler showed how he installed the plug. And then, unnoticed, they slipped him that other plug. He inserted it: it was only smaller in diameter. Who slipped him this plug the first time and played into the hands of the Americans? The rocket itself had nothing to do with it. It was just necessary to establish proper control.

So maybe, and when, after a whole series of successful launches, four Protons in a row exploded at the start, as soon as they were loaded with “moon scoopers”, “the rockets themselves had nothing to do with it”?

There were similar cases with H1

Academician B.E. Chertok;

It is appropriate to recall two very similar cases with another lunar rocket, which B.E. describes. Chertok. Here's what happened to the H1 during its launch on June 3, 1969:

0.25 seconds before lifting off from the launch pad, peripheral engine No. 8 exploded. The remaining engines worked for some time, the rocket managed to fly 200 meters... They collected the remains of the scattered engines. The turbopump unit of engine No. 8, in comparison with the other twenty-nine that retained their external forms, was torn apart by an internal explosion. Kuznetsov and his entire team, even military representatives, argued that the explosion was possible only due to the intervention of a “foreign object”... Experiments to forcibly tear the said steel diaphragm from its place did not bring any clarity.

And this strengthens the argument about throwing an object. However… “Glushko said that he does not believe in evil spirits that throw foreign objects into the pumps”. And after one launch, on November 23, 1972, again “there was almost instantaneous destruction of the engine pump(now already) No. 4. This led to the destruction of the rocket". In simple language, “the pump exploded again.”

V.P. Glushko was a long-time ill-wisher of the late S.P. Korolev, whose brainchild was N1. His scientific and technical authority is undoubted. But the conclusion about “unclean forces throwing up foreign objects” should be given by counterintelligence officers. And if devilry could have thrown the wrong plug into the Proton rocket, then why couldn’t she do it with the N1 rocket pumps she loved so much? And after all, various evil spirits were spinning around H1. This is what Leskov S.L., a well-known “space” journalist at that time, wrote. in the preface to the book:

Spy is an artist

Several years ago, K. Gatland’s encyclopedia “Space Technology” was presented at the Moscow Book Fair. Many scientists came specifically just to look through the encyclopedia. The book reproduced the Soviet N1 rocket, which was never mentioned in our literature. Regarding the origin of the exact drawing of N1, Baikonur old-timers told the story that in one of the buildings next to the assembly and testing building, from where the rocket was taken to the launch, a deeply embedded spy worked. His only task was to sketch the N1 rocket. The most ordinary engineer. Then, when the exact characteristics of the N1 were discovered in the West, counterintelligence officers figured out from which window they were looking at the N1 and who exactly. But there was no trace left of the spy.

Space exploration in the middle of the last century was an extremely important matter for world powers, because it directly testified to their strength and power. The priority of developments in the space industry was not only not hidden from citizens, but, on the contrary, was emphasized in every possible way, instilling a sense of respect and pride for their country.

Despite the desire of many countries to take part in this difficult and interesting matter, the main serious struggle unfolded between two superpowers - the Soviet Union and the United States of America.

The first victories in the space race were for the USSR

The series of successes of the Soviet cosmonautics became an open challenge to the United States, forcing America to speed up work in the field of space exploration and find a way to beat its main competitor, the USSR.

• the first artificial earth satellite - Soviet Sputnik-1 (October 4, 1957) USSR;
• the first animal flights into space - the astronaut dog Laika, the first animal launched into Earth orbit! (1954 - November 3, 1957) USSR;
• the first human flight into space - Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (April 12, 1961).

And yet, the competition for space continued!

First people on the moon

Today, almost everyone knows that America managed to seize the initiative in the space race by launching its astronauts on. The first manned spacecraft to successfully land on the moon back in 1969 was the American spacecraft Apollo 11, with a crew of astronauts on board: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin.

Many of you remember the photo of Armstrong proudly planting the US flag on the surface of the Moon on July 20, 1969. The American government was triumphant that it had managed to overtake the Soviet space pioneers in conquering the Moon. But history is full of conjectures and assumptions, and some facts haunt critics and scientists to this day. And to this day, the question is being discussed that the American ship, in all likelihood, reached the Moon, took it, but did the astronauts actually land on its surface? There is a whole caste of skeptics and critics who do not believe in the American landing on the Moon, however, let’s leave this skepticism to their conscience.

However, the Soviet spacecraft Luna-2 reached the Moon for the first time on September 13, 1959, that is, Soviet spacecraft ended up on the Moon 10 years earlier than the landing of American cosmonauts on the Earth’s satellite. And therefore it is especially offensive that few people know about the role of Soviet designers, physicists, and cosmonauts in the exploration of the Moon.

But a huge amount of work was done, and the results were achieved much earlier than Armstrong’s victorious march. The USSR pennant was delivered to the surface of the Moon a decade before man set foot on its surface. On September 13, 1959, the Luna 2 space station reached the planet for which it was named. The world's first spacecraft to reach the Moon (the Luna-2 space station) landed on the surface of the Moon in the Mare Mons region near the craters Aristyllus, Archimedes and Autolycus.

A completely logical question arises: if the Luna-2 station reached the Earth’s satellite, then there should have been Luna-1 as well? There was, but its launch, carried out a little earlier, turned out to be not so successful and, flying past the Moon... But even with this outcome, very significant scientific results were obtained during the flight of the Luna-1 station:

• Using ion traps and particle counters, the first direct measurements of solar wind parameters were made.
• Using an onboard magnetometer, the Earth's outer radiation belt was recorded for the first time.
• It was established that the Moon does not have a significant magnetic field.
• The Luna-1 spacecraft became the first spacecraft in the world to reach the second escape velocity.

The launch participants were awarded the Lenin Prize; the people did not know their heroes by name, but the common cause - the honor of the country - was a priority.

USA lands first people on the moon

What about the USA? Yuri Gagarin's flight into space became a serious blow for America, and in order not to remain forever in the shadow of the Russians, a goal was set - and although the Americans lost the race to land the first spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, they had a chance to be the first to land astronauts on the Earth's satellite! Work on improving the spacecraft, spacesuits and the necessary equipment proceeded by leaps and bounds, the American government attracted all the intellectual and technical potential of the country, and, without skimping, spent billions of dollars on development. All NASA resources were mobilized and thrown into the furnace of science for a great purpose.

The step of an American citizen to the Moon is the only opportunity to emerge from the shadows, to catch up with the Soviet Union in this race. It is possible that America would not have been able to realize its ambitious plans, but at that time there was a change in the party leader in the USSR, and the leading designers - Korolev and Chelomey - could not come to a common opinion. Korolev, being an innovator by nature, was inclined to use the latest engine developments, while his colleague advocated for the old, but proven Proton. Thus, the initiative was lost and the first to officially set foot on the surface of the Moon were American astronauts.

Did the USSR give up in the lunar race?

Even though Soviet cosmonauts failed to land on the Moon in the 20th century, the USSR did not give up in the race to explore the Moon. So already in 1970, the automatic interplanetary station “Luna-17” carried on board the world’s first, unprecedented, planetary rover, capable of fully operating in conditions of a different gravity of the moon. It was called “Lunokhod-1” and was intended to study the surface, properties and composition of the soil, radioactive and x-ray radiation of the Moon. Work on it was carried out at the Khimki Machine-Building Plant named after. S.A. Lavochkin, led by Babakin Nikolai Grigorievich. The sketch was ready in 1966, and all design documentation was completed by the end of the next year.

Lunokhod 1 was delivered to the surface of the Earth's satellite in November 1970. The control center was located in Simferopol, in the Space Communications Center and included the control panel of the crew commander, the lunar rover driver, the antenna operator, the navigator, and the operational information processing room. The main problem was the signal time delay, which interfered with full control. The Lunokhod worked there for almost a year, until September 14, it was on this day that the last, successful communication session took place.

The Lunokhod did a great job of studying the planet entrusted to it, working much longer than planned. A huge number of photographs, lunar panoramas, etc. were transmitted to Earth. Years later, in 2012, the International Astronomical Union gave names to all twelve craters encountered on the path of Lunokhod 1 - they received male names.

By the way, in 1993, “Lunokhod 1” was put up for auction at Sotheby’s, the stated price was five thousand dollars. The auction ended at a much higher amount - sixty-eight and a half thousand US dollars; the buyer was the son of one of the American astronauts. It is characteristic that the precious lot rests on the territory of the Moon; in 2013 it was discovered in photographs taken by an orbital American probe.

To summarize, it can be noted that the first people to land on the Moon (1969) were the Americans, here is a list of US astronauts who landed: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin , John Young, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt. Neil Armstrong lived a long life and died on August 25, 2012 at the age of 82, still retaining the title of the first man to set foot on the moon...

But the first spaceships, who conquered the Moon (1959) were Soviet, here the primacy undoubtedly belongs Soviet Union and Russian designers and engineers.