In January 1969, the Lunokhod program, designed by the Lavochkin Laboratory under the leadership of Oleg Ivanovsky, was approved. Its original purpose was to pave the way for a manned landing. The same Lavochkin bureau also designed the Lunar Sample Return program. A first attempt to launch a Lunokhod took place on February 23, 1969, but the Proton exploded 50 seconds after launch. For days, a search was conducted for the radioactive polonium that would have kept the Lunokhod warm. It was found by local soldiers, who, unaware of the danger, used it to keep warm during the winter. Incredibly, the entire rover was found almost intact. On July 13, 1969 (a few days before Apollo 11), the Proton successfully launched Luna 15 (the lunar sample return). It arrives in the wrong lunar orbit, then it is corrected, on July 21 (when Armstrong sets foot on the Moon) it tries to land not far from the Sea of Tranquility, and contact is lost, reported live from the English listening post at Jodrell Bank.
