Zond 7

Zond 7, a formal member of the Soviet Zond program and unmanned version of Soyuz 7K-L1 manned Moon-flyby spacecraft, the first truly successful test of L1, was launched towards the Moon on a Proton-K D rocket on August 7, 1969 on a mission of further studies of the Moon and circumlunar space, to obtain color photography of Earth and the Moon from varying distances, and to flight test the spacecraft systems. Earth photos were obtained on August 9, 1969. On August 11, 1969, the spacecraft flew past the Moon at a distance of 1984.6 km and conducted two picture taking sessions. Zond 7 reentered Earth's atmosphere on August 14, 1969, and achieved a soft landing in a preset region south of Kustanai, Kazakhstan.

Zond 7

Zond 7
Names	Soyuz 7K-L1 s/n 11
Mission type	Lunar flyby Spacecraft test
Operator	OKB-1
COSPAR ID	1969-067A
SATCAT no.	04062
Mission duration	6 days, 18 hours, & 25 minutes[1]
Spacecraft properties
Bus	Soyuz 7K-L1
Manufacturer	OKB-1
Launch mass	5,979 kilograms (13,181 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	August 7, 1969, 23:48:06 UTC
Rocket	Proton-K D
Launch site	Baikonur 81/23
End of mission
Disposal	Soft landing and recovery
Recovered by	Soviet Union
Landing date	August 14, 1969 (1969-08-14) at 20:13 UTC
Landing site	50 km south of Kustanai, Kazakhstan, USSR[2]
Flyby of Moon
Closest approach	August 11, 1969
Distance	1,984.6 km (1,233.2 mi)
Zond

Like other Zond circumlunar craft, Zond 7 used a relatively uncommon technique called skip reentry to shed velocity upon returning to Earth. Of all circumlunar Zond craft launches, Zond 7 would have been the first to make a safe flight for a crew had it been manned.

The return capsule is on display at the Orevo Facility of Bauman University in Dmitrov, Russia.