Added pressure on the Apollo program to make its 1969 landing goal was provided by the Soviet Union's Zond5 mission, which flew some living creatures, including Russian tortoises, in a cislunar loop around the Moon and returned them to Earth on September 21.
ˈædᵻd pɹˈɛʃɚɹ ɔnðɪ ɐpˈɑːloʊ pɹˈoʊɡɹæm tə mˌeɪk ɪts nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti nˈaɪn lˈændɪŋ ɡˈoʊl wʌz pɹəvˈaɪdᵻd baɪ ðə sˈoʊviət jˈuːniənz zˈɑːnd fˈaɪv mˈɪʃən, wˌɪtʃ flˈuː sˌʌm lˈɪvɪŋ kɹˈiːtʃɚz, ɪŋklˈuːdɪŋ ɹˈʌʃən tˈɔːɹɾəsᵻz, ɪn ɐ sɪslˈuːnɚ lˈuːp ɚɹˈaʊnd ðə mˈuːn ænd ɹᵻtˈɜːnd ðˌɛm tʊ ˈɜːθ ˌɔn sɛptˈɛmbɚ twˈɛnti wˈʌn.