# Soviet tortoises circled Moon before Apollo 8 in 1968 2026-08-15T17:16:53+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet In September 1968, three months before Apollo 8, two Central Asian steppe tortoises launched aboard the Soviet Zond 5 spacecraft became the first living organisms to circle the Moon and return alive. They travelled with wine flies, worms and plants as a biological payload to test survival on a circumlunar flight, passing 1,950 km above the lunar far side. A guidance fault caused Zond 5 to splash down in the Indian Ocean instead of Soviet territory. Recovered by a Soviet ship and flown to Moscow, the tortoises were found healthy except for some weight loss. According to NASA, their success is thought to have pushed the US to accelerate Apollo 8's crewed mission. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Tags: Apollo 8, Moon, NASA, Zond 5 Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/soviet-tortoises-circled-moon-before-apollo-8-in-1968/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/soviet-tortoises-circled-moon-before-apollo-8-in-1968/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.