Goals: Luna 12 was designed to take high-resolution photos of the Moon's surface from lunar orbit.

Accomplishments: Luna 12 succeeded in photographing part of the lunar surface at a resolution down to 15 to 20 meters, the best to date. Like NASA's Lunar Orbiter 1, it used a film process rather than a TV camera. Following its main imaging mission, it used its scientific instruments to measure radiation, magnetism, and frequency of meteoroid impacts in the lunar environment.