Zond 5

Zond 5 is a special space mission that happened in 1968. It was the first time a spacecraft went around the moon and came back to Earth without any people on board. The mission was to send instruments to collect something called radiation measurements from the moon, and to help the Soviet Union find out more about the moon. The spacecraft had two parts, the orbiter and the lander. The lander was where the instruments were placed and its job was to study the moon with these instruments. The orbiter was used to take pictures and measure radiation. After it had finished its mission, the spacecraft headed back to Earth, and it became the first spacecraft to come back on its own.