| Luna E-6 No.8 | |
| Mission Type: | Lunar lander |
| Operator: | Soviet space program |
| Mission Duration: | Failed to orbit |
| Spacecraft Type: | Ye-6 |
| Manufacturer: | OKB-1 |
| Launch Rocket: | Molniya-L 8K78L |
| Launch Site: | Baikonur 1/5 |
| Programme: | Luna programme |
| Previous Mission: | Kosmos 60 |
| Next Mission: | Luna 5 |
Luna E-6 No.8 (Ye-6 series), sometimes identified by NASA as Luna 1965A,[1] was a Soviet spacecraft which was lost in a launch failure in 1965. It was a 1422kg (3,135lb) Luna Ye-6 spacecraft,[2] the seventh of twelve to be launched,[3] It was intended to be the first spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the Moon, a goal which would eventually be accomplished by the final Ye-6 spacecraft, Luna 9.
Luna E-6 No.8 was launched on 10 April 1965, atop a Molniya-L 8K78L carrier rocket, flying from Site 1/5 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.[4] During third stage flight, a nitrogen pipeline in the oxidiser tank depressurised, which caused a loss of oxidiser flow to the engine and resulted in the engine cutting off. The spacecraft failed to achieve orbit, and the spacecraft disintegrated on reentry.[5] Prior to the release of information about its mission, NASA correctly identified that it had been an attempt to land a spacecraft on the Moon.[1]