Surveyor 7 was launched on January 7th, 1968 and touched down 29 miles
north of Tycho Crater on January 10th. The probe returned a total of
21,038 pictures. The soil sampler dug a small trench and 34 hours of
alpha-scattering data was gathered from inside the trench. Results were
generally consistent with earlier missions except that the chemical analysis of
the highland crust showed it to be poorer in iron group elements than the
previous samples, all from the lunar maria. The magnet experiments showed the
presence of magnetic constituents in amounts comparable to those at the
Surveyor 5 and 6 sites. The lander also successfully detected laser beams
transmitted from Earth.
Luna 14
Luna 14 was launched on April 7th, 1968 and entered lunar orbit on April 10th, 1968. The
probe returned data on the interaction of the earth and lunar masses, the lunar
gravitational field, the propagation and stability of radio communications to
the spacecraft at different orbital positions, solar charged particles and
cosmic rays, and the motion of the Moon.
Zond 5
Zond 5 was launched on September 14th, 1968, executed a loop around
the Moon, and splash landed in the Indian Ocean on September 21st, 1958. The
vehicle contained a biological payload consisting of turtles, wine flies, meal
worms, plants, seeds, bacteria, and other living matter. There was also a
pilot’s seat with a mannequin with radiation sensors. Photographs of the Earth
were taken at a distance of 90,000 km. Zond 5 was considered the first flight
test of a precursor for a Soviet manned lunar spacecraft.
Zond 6
Zond 6 was launched on November 10th, 1968, flew around the Moon,
and landed back in the Soviet Union on November 17th, 1968. The
spacecraft carried scientific probes including cosmic-ray and micrometeoroid
detectors, photography equipment, and a biological payload and was a precursor
for a Soviet manned lunar spacecraft. Photographs of the lunar near and farside
were taken with panchromatic film.