The spacecraft carried imaging cameras and also had the objectives of studying the Moon's magnetic field, surface gamma ray emissions and composition of lunar surface rocks, and the gravitational field, as well as micrometeorites and cosmic rays.

Luna 22 was launched into Earth parking orbit and then to the Moon.

The spacecraft made many orbit adjustments over its 18-month lifetime in order to optimize the operation of various experiments, lowering the perilune to as little as 25 km.

Well in route to the Moon, Luna 20 had to perform a single mid-course correction on 30 May, and entered lunar orbit on 2 June 1974.

Throughout the orbiters various orbital changes, Luna 22 had performed without any problems, and it continued to return photos fifteen months into its mission, past the conclusion of its primary mission, which had ended by 2 April 1975.