Derweze (or Darvaza), Turkmenistan (USSR). Soviet geologists drilling an oil well cause a collapse in the ground about 70 meters in diameter, releasing gaseous methane. In an attempt to consume the poisonous gas, they set it alight. It is still burning after half a century.

The new DisneyWorld amusement park opens in Florida, not far from the Kennedy Space Center.

Babakin, one of the founders of the Lunokhod, dies. The initial research was conducted by OKB-1, but later moved to the Transmash tank plant, and then to Lavochkin, where it was led by the geniuses of Alexander Kemurdzhian and Georgi Babakin (who died in August 1971 at the height of its success). The rover was initially intended for cosmonauts on the Moon to navigate from one LK to another in case of problems. It was tested among the volcanoes of Kamchatka. It was heated by 11 kg of polonium-210. It had eight electric motors and, in the event of a wheel failure, could be blown up with a small explosive charge. The top feature was a solar panel and a radiator. A lunardrome was even built in Crimea to test it.

The Soviet T2K lunar module successfully orbits Earth. All it needs is a reliable N-1 rocket to carry it to the Moon. It will never get there.

NASA finally abandons other options and focuses on the delta wing with external tank for the Space Shuttle project

Neil Armstrong resigns from NASA and becomes professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.

4:22 PM Italian time: Apollo 15: The Lunar Rover 1 is assembled; it was designed by Boeing in less than 2 years; very soon Scott realizes that the front steering doesn’t work, forcing him to use only the rear one.

J-Missions. The so-called J-Missions of the Apollo program, which spent an extended period of three days on the lunar surface, with extensive scientific explorations, aided by the Lunar Rover. They were an incredible success, with tons of lunar material collected from sites spread over tens of kilometers on Hadley Apennine, Descartes, and Taurus Liitrow, thanks to the crews of Apollo 15, Apollo 16, and Apollo 17, respectively.

China. The American delegation, led by Henry Kissinger, arrives in Beijing for a secret visit. To shrug off the journalists, they plan a visit to Asia, with a dull and boring agenda. Then, in Rawalpindi, they disappear for 48 hours of rest in a Pakistani resort on the slopes of the Himalayas, and from there they depart for China.

USSR. Leonov was supposed to be on the mission to Salyut I. He had been the first to perform a spacewalk in 1965. In 1965, on the return journey, the retrorockets malfunctioned, and they landed in the Urals. Soviet radio broadcast Mozart’s Requiem to prepare the population for the worst. They were missing for two long days. They survived in the snow, lost in the forest, defending themselves from wolves with their service pistols. Leonov was outgoing, talkative, and spoke English. In 1971, Leonov was left on Earth at the last minute for the second mission to Salyut. The crew died during reentry due to a faulty valve. In 1975, Leonov hosted the Americans in the Soyuz during the Soyuz-Apollo mission. He also wrote a book in 2016 with David Scott of Apollo 15.

First orbital station: Salyut I; the three cosmonauts died upon reentry into the atmosphere due to a pressure-compensating valve that exploded when the shuttle was separated for reentry; resuscitation attempts were futile, following the shock and surprise after the hatch was opened (Russian Space Agency). The second crew of Salyut, composed of Vladislav Volkov, Georgi Dobrovolsky, and Viktor Patsayev, carried into orbit and back to Earth by Soyuz 11, became a national celebrity after spending 22 days in orbit. Leonov was supposed to be on the mission to Salyut I. He had been the first to perform a spacewalk in 1965. In 1965, on the return journey, the retrorockets malfunctioned, and they landed in the Urals. Soviet radio broadcast Mozart’s Requiem to prepare the population for the worst. They were missing for two long days. They survive in the snow, lost in the forest, defending themselves from wolves with their service pistols. Leonov is outgoing, chatty, and speaks English. In 1971, Leonov is left on Earth at the last minute for the second mission to Salyut. The crew dies during reentry due to a faulty valve. In 1975, Leonov hosts the Americans in the Soyuz during the Soyuz-Apollo mission. He also co-authors a book in 2016 with David Scott of Apollo 15.

China. Mao invites the American ping-pong team to visit China. The astonished young Americans gather in the Great Hall of the People, attended by Zhou Enlai, something the vast majority of foreign ambassadors in Beijing have never achieved.

Hiroshi Teramachi founded Toho Seiko Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, which later became THK Co., Ltd. in March 1973.

Stanford University builds the STANFORD ARM, an electrically actuated mechanical arm

Venera 7 lands on Venus and transmits data and images for 23 minutes (it is the first probe to do so).

Warsaw. German Chancellor Willy Brandt spontaneously and unexpectedly kneels in the Warsaw Ghetto and apologizes for Nazi crimes.

Grumman conducts initial tests of F-14 Tomcat prototypes

The Soviet LK would have made a steep descent (20 degrees), from 16 km to 110 m above the Moon, then the cosmonaut would have taken control. He would have had only 3 seconds to find a site or abort. The 11D411 hydrazine engine was designed by Mickhail Yangel of OKB-586 (who died suddenly at the age of 60 during his birthday party). It was used for both descent and ascent (the LM had two separate engines). It carried only one cosmonaut and very little scientific instrumentation. It would have been on the Moon for a maximum of 48 hours. The first LK was launched on November 24, 1970 (Cosmos 379), completed all the maneuvers, and was left in high Earth orbit. It burned up in the atmosphere in September 1983. Two more orbital tests were carried out, bringing it to full maturity, like the American LM.

The lunar Lunokhod lands on the Sea of Rains. At the control center in Crimea, excitement is sky-high! The French and Crimean forces send it a laser signal, which is correctly reflected back, and it measures its position. It gets stuck in a crater on December 10th but is freed after nine hours of trying. The image transmission (20 seconds) is too slow, and guidance is difficult.