Editing Luna 4 (section)

==Background==

On the heels of the successful [[Luna 3]] mission, which returned the first images of the Far Side of the Moon, the Soviet Union turned its attention to learning more about the lunar surface and whether it was solid enough to land and build structures upon. To this end, on 10 December 1959, Soviet Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]] signed a resolution of the Central Committee and Council of Ministers for the creation of a lunar soft lander equipped with scientific instrumentation and a television. This task was assigned to a group led by Nikolay Beresnev, working in the section of [[Mikhail Tikhonravov]]'s department at [[OKB-1]] run by Gleb Maksimov. OKB-1 chief [[Sergei Korolev]] took a personal hand in leading the project initially before handing the reins to Beresnev.<ref name=ranp3>{{cite book|author=Boris Chertok|title=Rockets and People, Volume III: Hot Days of the Cold War|publisher=NASA|location=Washington D.C.|date=June 2009|oclc=656365714}}</ref>{{rp|376-377}} By 1963, de facto management of the project had devolved onto [[Boris Chertok]].<ref name=ranp3/>{{rp|381}} The working designation was Ye-6 ("Ye" being the letter in the alphabet succeeding "D", the designation given to the satellite project that became [[Sputnik 3]]).<ref name=ranp3>{{cite book|author=Boris Chertok|title=Rockets and People, Volume III: Hot Days of the Cold War|publisher=NASA|location=Washington D.C.|date=June 2009|oclc=656365714}}</ref>{{rp|377ff}}

Because of the complexity of the Ye-6 spacecraft, its mass was too great for the three-stage [[Luna (rocket)]] that had launched the previous Luna probes. The Ye-6 instead would be launched on the 8K78 booster which allowed a larger payload and provided the ability to put the probe in a parking orbit rather than the inaccurate direct ascent of the first generation Luna probes, although of the first ten 8K78 launch attempts, only two ([[Mars 1]] and [[Venera 1]]) succeeded, the rest failing to reach orbit or being unable to leave LEO.<ref name=ranp3/>{{rp|379}} Combined with the advanced nature of the lander, the Ye-6 team estimated that the mission had a 10% chance of success.<ref name=ranp3/>{{rp|381}}