A brief look at previous robotic missions to the moon

Presented by

Shawn Fenn 9-25-08

Soviet Union Robotic Missions• Luna Program

– Luna 1 1959 success (flyby)– Luna 2 1959 success (impactor)– Luna 3 1959 success (flyby)– Luna 4 1963 partial failure

(lander -> probe)– Luna 5 -8 1965 failure (lander)– Luna 9 1966 success (lander)– Luna 10 1966 success (orbiter)– Luna 11 1966 success (orbiter)– Luna 12 1966-67 success (orbiter)– Luna 13 1966 success (lander)– Luna 14 1968 success (orbiter)– Luna 15 1969 partial success

(orbiter)– Luna 16 1970 success (sample

return)– Luna 17 1970 success (lander)

• Lunokhod 1 1970-71 success (rover)– Luna 19 1971-72 success (orbiter)– Luna 20 1972 success (lander)– Luna 21 1973 success (lander)

• Lunokhod 2 1973 success (rover)– Luna 22 1974-75 success (orbiter)– Luna 24 1976 success (lander)

• Zond Program

– Zond 3 1965 success (flyby)– Zond 5 1966 success (flyby)– Zond 6 1968 success (flyby)– Zond 7 1969 success (flyby)– Zond 8 1970 success (flyby)

Soviet Union Robotic Missions• Luna Program

– Luna 1 1959 success (flyby)– Luna 2 1959 success (impactor)– Luna 3 1959 success (flyby)– Luna 4 1963 partial failure (lander

-> probe)– Luna 5 -8 1965 failure (lander)– Luna 9 1966 success (lander)– Luna 10 1966 success (orbiter)– Luna 11 1966 success (orbiter)– Luna 12 1966-67 success (orbiter)– Luna 13 1966 success (lander)– Luna 14 1968 success (orbiter)– Luna 15 1969 partial success

(orbiter)– Luna 16 1970 success (sample

return)– Luna 17 1970 success

(lander)• Lunokhod 1 1970-71success (rover)

– Luna 19 1971-72 success (orbiter)– Luna 20 1972 success (lander)– Luna 21 1973 success (lander)

• Lunokhod 2 1973 success (rover)– Luna 22 1974-75 success (orbiter)– Luna 24 1976 success (lander)• Zond Program

– Zond 3 1965 success (flyby)

– Zond 5 1966 success (flyby)– Zond 6 1968 success (flyby)– Zond 7 1969 success (flyby)– Zond 8 1970 success (flyby)

Luna 1• First spacecraft to reach the Moon• Hermetically sealed sphere with external sensors

– Cosmic ray counter– Equipment to register the intensity of cosmic rays and a

recorder for photons in cosmic radiation.– Geiger counter– Scintillation counter (measures ionizing radiation)– All electrical equipment was powered off silver-zink and

mercury oxide batteries.– Total mass 361.3 kilograms

• Mission to hit the moon by way of direct ascent trajectory– Launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Vostok rocket

on Jan 2 1959– On Jan 4th 1959 Luna 1 passed 5,995 Km from the Moon at

a speed of near 8,900 kilometers per hour

• Discoveries – Provided new data on Earth’s radiation belt– Found the Moon had no magnetic field

Luna 9• First spacecraft to achieve a lunar soft landing

– Achieved landing where Luna 5 – 8 did not, landed about 4 months before Surveyor 1

– Two stage system– Launch platform used an airbag system for Lander impact – Lander

• 4 petals opened to right the lander and used as reflectors

• Center cylinder housed and angled mirror used for a periscope to reflect a view of the Moon’s surface.

• Mission to softland a camera module onto the lunar surface– Launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by Molniya rocket

on Jan 31 1966– On Feb 1 1966 Luna 9 soft landed on the Moon surface at

7.13 degrees north, 60.36 degrees west in the Oceanus Procellarum

• Discoveries – Established that a heavy object would not sink into the lunar

dust– Returned five panoramas of the Moon’s surface

Luna 17 / Lunokhod 1• First to land a robotic rover

– Luna 17 based off Luna 16 transported Lunokhod 1 instead of Luna 16’s sample return spacecraft

– Lunokhod 1 first robotic vehicle to operate on the Moon’s surface• Eight independent motorized wire-mesh wheels• Lid contained solar cell array to recharge batteries• Two man driving team via a pair of tv cameras• Special device to impact lunar soil for density and mechanical

property tests• Included x-ray spectrometer, an x-ray telescope, cosmic-ray

detectors, and a laser device

• Mission to softland Lunokhod – Launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome by 4 stage Proton rocket on

Nov 10 1970– On Nov 17 1970 Luna 17 soft landed on the Moon surface at 38.28

degrees north, 35 degrees west in the Mare Imbrium– Expected to operate 3 lunar days but actually operated for 11 lunar

days– 15 minutes after landing radio link was established with Lunokhod 1– Oct 4 1971 Lunokhod officially declared “dead”

• Discoveries – Lunokhod traveled 10,540 m, transmitted over 20,000 tv pictures, more

than 200 tv panoramas, and over 500 lunar soil tests– French built laser reflector on Lunokhod 1 used to measure the precise

distance from the Earth to the Moon

Zond 5• First spacecraft to loop around the moon and return to earth

– Carried higher resolution cameras for far side moon shots and far earth shots

– Carried a biological payload.• Turtles, Wine flies, and meal worms• Plants, seeds , and bacteria

– Was believed to be a test for future manned Moon missions

• Mission to go around the far side of the moon and return– Launched from a Tyazheliy Sputnik in Earth parked orbit on

Sept 15 1968– On Sept 18 1968 Zond 5 flew around the moon, closest

distance was 1950 km.– Sept 21 1968 the reentry capsule entered the earth’s

atmosphere, capsule splashed down in the Indian ocean

• Discoveries – Proved method for spacecraft flight around the moon and

back– Found the biological payload okay after being behind the

moon

U.S. Missions• Pioneer Program

– Pioneer 0 1958 failure (orbiter)– Pioneer 1 1958 failure (orbiter)– Pioneer 3 1958 failure (flyby)– Pioneer 4 1959 partial success (flyby)

• Ranger Program– Ranger 1 - 3 1962 failure (impactor)– Ranger 4 1962 success (impactor)– Ranger 5 1962 partial failure (impactor ->flyby)– Ranger 6 1964 failure (impactor)– Ranger 7 1964 success (impactor)– Ranger 8 1964 success (impactor)– Ranger 9 1964 success (impactor)

• Surveyor Program– Surveyor 1 1966 success (lander)– Surveyor 2 1966 partial failure (lander)– Surveyor 3 1967 success (lander)– Surveyor 4 1967 partial failure (lander)– Surveyor 5 1967 success (lander)– Surveyor 6 1967 success (lander)– Surveyor 7 1968 success (lander)

U.S. Missions Cont.• Lunar Orbiter Program

– Lunar Orbiter 1 1966 success (orbiter)– Lunar Orbiter 2 1966-67 success (orbiter)– Lunar Orbiter 3 1967 success (orbiter)– Lunar Orbiter 4 1967 success (orbiter)– Lunar Orbiter 5 1968 success (orbiter)

• Other Programs– Explorer 35 1967-73 success (orbiter)– Clementine 1994 success (orbiter)– Lunar Prospector 1998-99 success (orbiter)

U.S. Missions• Pioneer Program

– Pioneer 0 1958 failure (orbiter)– Pioneer 1 1958 failure (orbiter)– Pioneer 3 1958 failure (flyby)– Pioneer 4 1959 partial success (flyby)

• Ranger Program– Ranger 1 - 3 1962 failure (impactor)– Ranger 4 1962 success (impactor)– Ranger 5 1962 partial failure (impactor ->flyby)– Ranger 6 1964 failure (impactor)

– Ranger 7 1964 success (impactor)– Ranger 8 1964 success (impactor)– Ranger 9 1964 success (impactor)

• Surveyor Program

– Surveyor 1 1966 success (lander)– Surveyor 2 1966 partial failure (lander)– Surveyor 3 1967 success (lander)– Surveyor 4 1967 partial failure (lander)– Surveyor 5 1967 success (lander)

– Surveyor 6 1967 success (lander)– Surveyor 7 1968 success (lander)

U.S. Missions Cont.• Lunar Orbiter Program

– Lunar Orbiter 1 1966 success (orbiter)– Lunar Orbiter 2 1966-67 success (orbiter)– Lunar Orbiter 3 1967 success (orbiter)– Lunar Orbiter 4 1967 success (orbiter)– Lunar Orbiter 5 1968 success (orbiter)

• Other Programs– Explorer 35 1967-73 success (orbiter)– Clementine 1994 success (orbiter)– Lunar Prospector 1998-99 success (orbiter)

Ranger 7• First true successful U.S. spacecraft to return data prior to

impact– Shares the same structure design as Ranger 6, 8, and 9– Carried a wide array of cameras to capture images prior to

impact– 6 total cameras

• 2 wide angle • 4 narrow angle

– Overall height of Ranger 7 was 3.6 m.– Overall cost of Ranger program ~$170 million

• Mission to hit the moon and take as many picture prior to poof– Launched July 28 1964– On July 31 1964 impacted the Moon at 10.70 south, 339.33

east latitude

• Results– Transmitted 4,308 excellent quality images

Surveyor 1• First U.S. Soft landing on the Moon

– First of several landers to obtain data for possible man mission

– Carried very little scientific instrumentation

– Over 100 engineering sensors on board

• Mission to land on the Moon and collect surface data– Launched May 30 1966– On June 2 1966 landed latitude -2.45 and longitude 316.79

• Results– Returned surface data that would be used in the later Apollo

program.

Surveyor 6• Continued softlanding U.S. spacecraft

– 4th Surveyor to land safely on the moon– Carried very simular equipment as its

predacesors but added an improved tv camera

– Overall cost of the Surveyor program 469 million

• Mission to land on the Moon and collect surface data– Launched July 28 1964– On Nov 7 1967 impacted the Moon at 0.49 latitude and

358.6 Longitude

• Results– Continued soil sampling and surface conditions– Established that lunar maria are remarkable uniform

chemically as well in physical properties

Lunar Orbiter 1• Information gathering program on landing sites and general

research– Designed to photograph smooth areas of the lunar surface– First of 5 Orbiters that photographed 99% of the moons

surface– Total cost of the Lunar Orbiters program $163 Million

• Mission to orbit and collect possible landing sites along with general exploration

– Launched August 10 1966– On October 29 1966 impacted at 6.35 N, 160.72 E lunar farside

• Results– Transmitted 42 high resolution and 187 medium resolution

images

Taruntius crater

Questions ?

References

• www.Wikipedia.org

• http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

• www.zarya.info

• www.Dkimages.com

• www.google.com