Romania 1971
Luna 16; Luna 17/Lunokhod 1
The flights of Luna 16 (first automatic retrieval of Moon samples) and Luna 17
(first robotic Moon rover) were a popular subject for stamps. This pair from
Romania was issued joined together (se-tenant, as the philatelists say). The left-hand stamp shows the Luna 16 upper stage
taking off from the Moon carrying lunar samples back to Earth, while the other
shows the Lunokhod 1 Moon rover leaving tracks in the soil as it drives away
from the Luna 17 landing stage.
Stanley Gibbons catalogue numbers:
3794–3795
The stamps were also issued in a commemorative sheet of four, below.
This sheet has no SG number.
