In 1970, the Soviet robotic space probe, Luna 16, made the first automated return of lunar samples.
This was the first unmanned round-trip mission to the Moon. It represented the first lunar sample return mission by the Soviet Union and the third overall, following NASA’s Apollo 11 and 12 missions.
Learn more at http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1970-072A.
