Editing Lunokhod 2 (section)

== End of mission ==
[[File:LRO Lunokhod 2.jpg|thumb|Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image of Lunokhod 2 and its tracks. The large white arrow indicates the rover, the smaller white arrows indicate the rover's tracks, and the black arrow indicates the crater where it picked up its fatal load of lunar dust.]]

On June 4, 1973, it was announced that the program was completed, leading to speculation that the vehicle probably failed in mid-May or could not be revived after the lunar night of May–June.

More recently, Alexander Basilevsky related an account in which on May 9, the rover's open lid touched a crater wall and became covered with dust. When the lid was closed, this dust (a very good insulator) was dumped on to the [[radiator]]s. The following day, May 10, controllers saw the internal temperature of ''Lunokhod 2'' climb as it was unable to cool itself, eventually rendering the rover inoperable.<ref name=2004Lunokhod2Airandspace>{{cite news |title=The Other Moon Landings |url=http://www.airspacemag.com/space/the-other-moon-landings-6457729/ <!-- old, dead link: http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/other-moon.html --> |author=Andrew Chaikin |publisher=[[Air & Space/Smithsonian]] |date=March 1, 2004 |access-date=May 25, 2013}}</ref> On May 11, signal from the rover was lost.