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The chances of the robotic USSR mission Luna 15 returning to earth with a lunar sample were small, NASA associate administrator Dr. George E. Mueller told reporters at the Kennedy Space Center on 13 July 1969 Exploring the Moon "remotely is more difficult than doing it with men in space. I don’t think by any means impossible, but . . . the chances of being able to carry it out on the first mission are relatively low compared to the kind of probability that we would associate with our own landings.”
Mueller added that “The first sample returned … and the first man landing on the moon are significant events, each in their own right.” Still, Luna XV threatened to steal some of Apollo 11’s limelight—it was due to arrive on the Moon while the astronauts were there.
See also the ApolloPlus40 blog post reporting America’s first inklings about Luna 15 (In The Field, 2 July 2009).
Photo: NASA
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