The primary objectives of the mission were to collect images of the lunar surface, examine ambient light levels to determine the feasibility of astronomical observations from the Moon, perform laser ranging experiments from Earth, observe solar X-rays, measure local magnetic fields, and study the soil mechanics of the lunar surface material.

Power was supplied by a solar panel on the inside of a round hinged lid which covered the instrument bay, which would charge the batteries when opened.

Scientific instruments included a soil mechanics tester, solar X-ray experiment, an astrophotometer to measure visible and ultraviolet light levels, a magnetometer deployed in front of the rover on the end of a 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) boom, a radiometer, a photodetector (Rubin-1) for laser detection experiments, and a French-supplied laser corner reflector.

More recently, Alexander Basilevsky related an account in which on May 9, the rover's open lid touched a crater wall and became covered with dust.

Lunokhod 2 operated for about four months, and the original estimate was that it covered 37 km (23 mi) of terrain, including hilly upland areas and rilles, and sent back 86 panoramic images and over 80,000 TV pictures.

[7][8] Subsequent discussions with their American counterparts ended with an agreed-upon final distance of 39 km (24 mi);[9][10] an international team has confirmed that the methods used to calculate the two rovers' odometry is consistent and comparable from the Moon to Mars.

[11] Lunokhod 2 held the record for off-Earth roving distance until July 27, 2014, when NASA's Mars Opportunity rover exceeded it after having traveled over 40 km (25 mi).

[14] On March 17, 2010, Phil Stooke at the University of Western Ontario announced that he had located Lunokhod 2 in NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) images,[15][16][17] but later images showed the initial identification was incorrect (the identified point was a mark in the rover tracks near the end of the route, made as Lunokhod 2 turned around), and the LRO LROC team identified the correct location of the rover in March 2012.