Lunar Orbiter 2
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox spaceflight
The 1966 Lunar Orbiter 2 robotic spacecraft mission, part of the Lunar Orbiter Program,<ref name=Byers_1976/> was designed primarily to photograph smooth areas of the lunar surface for selection and verification of safe landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo missions. It was also equipped to collect selenodetic, radiation intensity, and micrometeoroid impact data.
Mission summaryEdit
The spacecraft was placed in a cislunar trajectory and injected into an elliptical near-equatorial lunar orbit for data acquisition after 92.6 hours' flight time. The initial orbit was Template:Convert at an inclination of 11.8 degrees. The perilune was lowered to Template:Convert five days later after 33 orbits. A failure of the amplifier on the final day of readout, December 7, resulted in the loss of six photographs. On December 8, 1966 the inclination was altered to 17.5 degrees to provide new data on lunar gravity.
The spacecraft acquired photographic data from November 18 to 25, 1966, and readout occurred through December 7, 1966. A total of 609 high-resolution and 208 medium-resolution frames were returned, most of excellent quality with resolutions down to Template:Convert.Template:R These included a spectacular oblique picture of Copernicus crater, which was dubbed by the news media as one of the great pictures of the century. The photo was taken on the 23rd November at an altitude of 45km.<ref name=Ulivi_2004/> Accurate data were acquired from all other experiments throughout the mission. Three micrometeorite impacts were recorded. The spacecraft was used for tracking purposes until it impacted upon the lunar surface on command at 3.0 degrees N latitude, 119.1 degrees E longitude (selenographic coordinates) on October 11, 1967.
In 2011, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) was able to locate and image the precise impact point of the spacecraft. The debris from an impact angle of 45 degrees or more spreads out like butterfly wings.<ref name=popmech1/>
| Lunar Photographic Studies | Evaluation of Apollo and Surveyor landing sites |
|---|---|
| Meteoroid Detectors | Detection of micrometeoroids in the lunar environment |
| Caesium Iodide Dosimeters | Radiation environment en route to and near the Moon |
| Selenodesy | Gravitational field and physical properties of the Moon |
- Lunar Orbiter 2 - FRAME 2061-H2 - DPLA - 931596a9929c4975efc42a4ebddd6e90.jpg
Near Ariadaeus B crater on November 19, 1966 (Template:Coord)
- Lunar Orbiter 2 - FRAME 2145-H2 - DPLA - 33b1de52dc6aae6be89811d9d028e037.jpg
Area east of Gambart crater on November 23, 1966 (Template:Coord)
- Lunar Orbiter 2 - FRAME 2192-H1 - DPLA - 5d6bbd8cc1afb76ea2c4dfdda0b6a941.jpg
Part of Mare Insularum, southwest of Kunowsky crater, on November 24, 1966 (Template:Coord)
See alsoEdit
Template:PortalTemplate:Sister project
- Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project
- Exploration of the Moon
- List of artificial objects on the Moon
- List of missions to the Moon
ReferencesEdit
{{#invoke:Navbox|navbox}} Template:Moon spacecraft Template:Orbital launches in 1966 Template:NASA space program