Early Lunar Success
While the Soviet Union did not manage to land a man on the Moon, the did achieve many lunar firsts. Shortly after the launch of Sputnik, the unmanned probe Luna 2, became the first man-made object on the lunar surface. Luna 3 followed, returning the first images of the far-side of the Moon. One mission featured living occupants, including tortoises, which achieved a circumlunar flight and were returned safely to the Earth. These were all steps in the right direction of sending people to the lunar surface. While this was not ultimately achieved, the Soviet Union did have well-developed plans for a lunar landing.
A Much Different Approach
One plan investigated for reaching the Moon between 1963 and 1964 called for a quadruple launch scheme, involving the launch of four separate rockets. Three of these rockets, specifically the N1 Boosters, would carry portions of a spacecraft into Earth orbit, where they would be assembled. A Soyuz rocket would then carry the cosmonauts to the spacecraft, which they would then use to get to the Moon. This would have looked much different that the American effort to reach the Moon, which involved the launch of a single Saturn 5. However, the quadruple launch scheme did not stick. In 1964, after Soviet leadership began supporting a lunar program, the OKB-1 Design Bureau began to investigate a single launch system, like that of Apollo.
What a Soviet Landing May Have Looked Like
Eventually, the OKB-1 Design Bureau decided upon a lunar orbit rendezvous. First, a crew of three cosmonauts would enter Earth orbit, as shown in the diagram above. The spacecraft would then leave Earth orbit and enter orbit around the Moon. Two cosmonauts would then proceed to the lunar surface inside a landing vehicle. The third would be left behind inside the rest of the craft, which would continue to orbit the Moon. After exploring the lunar surface, the two cosmonauts would then reenter lunar orbit and dock with the orbiter. Once reunited, the crew would engage in a series of maneuvers, returning them to Earth, where their craft’s parachute would safely land them back on Soviet soil. This is extremely similar to the American Apollo missions. However, due to weight limitations, the three-person crew was eventually cut to two, meaning only one Soviet cosmonaut would have landed on the lunar surface.
Early Soviet Space Program 