Lunochod 1
Lunokhod 1 ( Russian Луноход , Moon goers') was a Soviet Moon - Rover , Rover and the first ever to a foreign celestial body explored.
Lunochod was controlled from Earth by a team of five (commander, driver, operations engineer, navigator, radio operator). To make driving maneuvers easier, the Lunochods were equipped with a gyro system, a floor sensor and an inclinometer. A third front camera was added to the successor Lunochod 2 to improve maneuverability.
Mission history
Luna 17 was launched to the moon from a parking orbit around the earth , reached lunar orbit on November 15, 1970 and landed in Mare Imbrium on November 17, 1970 . Then the unmanned eight-wheeled moon rover Lunochod 1 left the landing unit via a ramp and began to explore the area. The rover worked for eleven months (three months were planned) until the mission officially ended on October 4, 1971. This was the 14th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1 . During this time, the rover covered 10.54 km, transmitted more than 20,000 images, over 200 panoramas and examined over 500 soil samples. The batteries charged the vehicle using solar cells that were integrated into the hinged lid. The probe failed because the heat given off by the polonium sources (which were used to heat the instruments on the cold moonlit night) had dropped to a seventh after almost three half-lives and the lunochod froze.
equipment
Lunochod was remotely controlled from Earth. Television cameras transmitted images of the surroundings for navigation. High-resolution panoramas of the area were obtained at regular intervals. The lunar soil was examined by penetrometer and X-ray fluorescence spectrometer . The scientific equipment included a camera system consisting of two low-resolution and four high-resolution television cameras, an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, a penetrometer, a radiation detector for protons , alpha and X-rays , a distance and speed meter, as well as reflectors built in France on the lid, which Measurement of the earth-moon distance made possible ( Lunar Laser Ranging ). The central part was a nitrogen- filled container in which the technical equipment was located. The solar cells in the lid provided energy. A radionuclide heating element , a small amount of polonium-210, which decays with a half-life of 138 days and emits heat in the process, protected from cooling down during the moonlit night .
The whereabouts of the moon mobile
The last position of the rover within a range of a few kilometers was unknown for years, as no laser distance measurement has provided a result since the 1970s . Even so, Lunochod 1 and its Luna 17 landing platform sold for $ 68,500 at Sotheby’s auction in New York City in 1993 . The auction catalog describes the vehicle as "on the surface of the moon".
In March 2010, Luna 17 and Lunochod 1 were finally discovered on images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter probe , which made it possible to calculate the position: 38.2378 ° N , 35.0017 ° W for Luna 17 and 38.3152 ° N , 35.008 ° W for Lunochod 1.
Because the previous estimates had been several kilometers from the actual position, attempts to target the laser reflector of Lunochod 1 had been unsuccessful since the 1970s. After the recalculation of the parking position, the reflector could be used again: On April 22, 2010, laser measurements were successfully carried out by the Apache Point Observatory .
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| nation | USSR |
| Duration of use | 11 months |
| Distance | 10,540 m |
| aims | Exploring the moon, operating a rover |
| Start date | November 10, 1970 |
| Moon landing | Nov 17, 1970, 38.28 ° N, 325 ° E |
| Launch site | Baikonur |
| Launcher | Proton ( GRAY index 8K82K / 11S824) |
| Dimensions | 5,600 kg (including Rover 756 kg) |
| Rover dimensions | about 135 cm high (without antennas), 220 cm long and 160 cm wide |
| speed | about 2-3 km / h |
| Mission end | 4th October 1971 |
See also
Web links
- detailed Luna mission overview
- Lost Rover Found on Moon With Retroreflector Still Intact technologyreview.com
- Spiegel Online : 40 years of "Lunochod 1"
Individual evidence
- ↑ space.com: lost & found
- ^ Space Document Sells for $ 222,500: Maine Antique Digest, June 2003. In: Sotheby's: Auction catalog. September 22, 2013, archived from the original on August 23, 2003 ; accessed on August 31, 2017 .
- ↑ Lunokhod-1 traverse map (Landing site “Luna-17”) . Moscow State University of Geodesy and cartography (MIIGAiK), German Aerospace Center (DLR). 2012. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved on August 24, 2014.
- ↑ Murphy TW, Adelberger EG, Battat JBR, Hoyle CD, Johnson NH, McMillan RJ, Michelsen EL, Stubbs CW, Swanson HE: [ Laser ranging to the lost Lunokhod 1 reflector ( Memento from August 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Laser ranging to the lost Lunokhod 1 reflector .] In: Icarus . 211, No. 2, 2011, pp. 1103-1108. arxiv : 1009.5720 . bibcode : 2011Icar..211.1103M . doi : 10.1016 / j.icarus.2010.11.010 .
- ↑ AM Abdrakhimov, AT Basilevsky: Lunokhod 1: The position of the first soviet rover. Laboratory for Comparative Planetology, March 17, 2010, accessed March 31, 2010 .
- ^ Decades-Old Soviet Reflector Spotted on the Moon
- ↑ FAZ: Russian old-timer is "revived"
- ↑ UCSD Physicists Locate Long Lost Soviet Reflector on Moon lunarscience.arc.nasa.gov, (access = April 29, 2010)