Lunochod 2
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Lunochod 2 ( Russian Луноход, moon walker) was the second Soviet moon mobile after Lunochod 1 in 1973 to explore the Earth's moon .
Lunochod was remote-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. In Lunochod 2, a third front camera was added to improve maneuverability.
Mission flow
The mission was originally scheduled to start in autumn 1972. Problems with the rover's communication system caused by improper handling meant that the start had to be postponed. Renewed tests shortened the service life of the communication system.
On January 8, 1973, Luna 21 was brought into orbit with a Proton launcher and launched from there with the D stage to the moon. On January 12, 1973 Luna 21 reached a lunar orbit at an altitude of 90-100 km. One day later the runway was lowered to 16 km, on January 15, 1973 the landing maneuver was initiated. The main engines fired at a height of 750 m and braked the probe down to a height of 22 m. The auxiliary engines then fired and braked until the lander had reached a height of 1.5 m, then they were switched off.
The landing took place on the southern edge of the 55 km wide Le Monnier crater in the transition zone from the Mare Serenitatis to the Taurus Mountains .
A particularly interesting geological formation in the south-eastern part of the crater was decisive for the choice of the landing site. Here is a long, straight, tectonic rift valley of the moon's bark. It is about 15 km from the Luna 21 landing point and extends from 15 to 16 km in a north-south direction. Its width is approx. 300 m, the depth varies between 40 and 80 m. Its exploration was the main objective of the Soviet Lunochod-2 mission.
The research program began on January 18th with investigations into the physical-mechanical properties of the top soil layer, the so-called regolith . Lunchod 2 was only operated during the lunar day. During the moonlit nights, the rover was put to sleep. During the second driving period, Lunochod did not respond to a stop command when a crater was sighted in the driveway. Only after repeating it several times did the rover stop. This was attributed to a problem in the communication system. On May 10, 1973, the temperature inside the rover rose to 47 ° C, so that the mission control switched off some systems. Communication could not be resumed afterwards.
Although this mission lasted only five months, this Lunochod, which is a little heavier at 840 kg (according to our own, probably incorrect, measurements) covered a distance of 37 km. However, in June 2013 it was announced that the LRO recorded that the distance covered by Lunochod 2 was 42 km. In May 2014 this information was corrected to 39 km. Until July 27, 2014, this was the longest distance traveled on another celestial body. The new record holder was Opportunity .
equipment
Like that of Lunochod 1, the scientific equipment contained 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 meter and speedometer as well as laser reflectors built in France on the cover that made it possible to measure the earth-moon distance ( lunar laser ranging ). The solar cells in the lid provided energy. A radionuclide heating element , a small amount of polonium -210, which disintegrates with a half-life of 138 days and gives off heat, protected from cooling down during the moonlit night .
Another TV camera, which was attached to a boom and offered a better overview, was new. The improved Rover Lunochod 2 carried, among other things, instruments for measuring X-ray and UV radiation , an astrophotometer , a magnetometer on a boom 2.5 m in length, a photodetector and a laser reflector.
Results
- Transmission of 86 panorama images from the surface of the moon and approx. 80,000 TV images
- Investigations on the lunar surface
The whereabouts of the moon mobile
For Lunochod 2, lasers can still measure the distance to Earth, so that its distance is known with an accuracy of less than one meter. In March 2010, the vehicle was identified by its trail on images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Thus, the coordinates of the landing or parking position could be accurately determined: 26.9232 ° N , 30.4449 ° O Luna 21 25.8401 ° N , 30.90191 ° O for Lunochod. 2
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| nation | USSR |
| Duration | approx. 5 months |
| Distance | approx. 39 km |
| aims | Exploring the moon, operating a rover |
| Start date | January 8, 1973 |
| Launch site | Baikonur |
| Launcher | Proton ( GRAY index 8K82K / 11S824) |
| Dimensions | 5,567 kg (of which Rover 840 kg) |
| Rover dimensions | approx. 135 cm high, 220 cm long and 160 cm wide |
| speed | approx. 2-3 km / h |
| Orbit data | Reached lunar orbit on January 12, 1973, landing on January 15, 1973 in Le Monnier crater |
| Mission end | May 10, 1973 (communication failure) June 4, 1973 (official announcement) |
See also
Web links
- Bernd Leitenberger: The Luna program
- Lunar Photo of the day, March 17, 2010 - Lunochod 2 location
- Map with daily stages from Lunochod 2
- LRO scenes with Luna 21 landing stage or Lunochod 2
- Anatoly Zak: The Day a Soviet Moon Rover Refused to Stop (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Anatoly Zak: The Day a Soviet Moon Rover Refused to Stop. Air & Space, January 18, 2018, accessed January 19, 2018 .
- ^ A b Günther Glatzel: LRO data: Lunochod 2 drove 42 km on the moon , in Raumfahrer.net, date: June 23, 2013, accessed June 24, 2013
- ↑ a b c NASA: NASA's Long-Lived Mars Opportunity Rover Sets Off-World Driving Record. In: NASA Press Release 14-202. July 28, 2014, accessed September 30, 2014 .
- ↑ a b Trundling Across the Moon. Mark Robinson (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team), May 23, 2014, accessed July 29, 2014 .
- ↑ a b Stefan Deiters: On the trail of a moon rover. astronews, March 19, 2010, accessed March 27, 2010 .
- ^ Leonard David: Lunar Lost & Found: The Search for Old Spacecraft. space.com, March 27, 2006, accessed May 17, 2013 .
- ↑ AM Abdrakhimov, AT Basilevsky: Lunokhod 2 / Luna 21: The positions of the second soviet rover and its lander. Laboratory for Comparative Planetology, March 21, 2010, accessed March 31, 2010 .