The Soviet Union’s Luna 2 became the first spacecraft from Earth to impact the moon Sept. 14, 1959.
It was not equipped with cameras.
The US launched Ranger 4 in 1962 with cameras to capture images of the moon; however, the spacecraft malfunctioned and failed to return any pictures before impacting the lunar surface April 26, 1962.
Ranger 5 passed within approximately 450 miles of the moon Oct. 21, 1962; an electrical malfunction led to power loss, preventing data transmission and camera imaging.
Ranger 6 reached the moon but crashed Feb. 2, 1964, without returning images due to a camera malfunction.
The US achieved its first successful lunar imaging mission with Ranger 7, which transmitted 4,308 images of the Mare Cognitum region before intentionally impacting the moon July 31, 1964.
Ranger 8 was launched Feb. 17, 1965, and returned 7,137 images of Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility) before impacting the moon Feb. 20, 1965.
Built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Ranger 9 was designed to reach the moon, take high-quality images, and transmit them back to Earth before impacting the lunar surface.
Sixty years ago today, March 21, 1965, at 3:37:02 p.m. (Minnesota time), NASA launched the Ranger 9 spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, FL.
The Ranger 9 spacecraft, weighing approximately 806 pounds, and it was launched aboard an Atlas LV-3A Agena B rocket.
The launch vehicle consisted of an Atlas LV-3A first stage combined with an Agena B upper stage.
The Atlas LV-3A, and the Atlas series of rockets in general, were directly derived from the SM-65 Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program.
The Atlas LV-3A was a specific variant adapted for space launch purposes. It was powered by two LR89-NA-5 booster engines and a single LR105-NA-7 sustainer engine, generating a total thrust of 367,000 pounds of thrust.
The Atlas-Agena B was a two-and-a-half-stage rocket consisting of an Atlas LV-3A first stage and an Agena B upper stage.
The Agena B upper stage produced 16,000 pounds of thrust using a single XLR81 (Model 8096) American liquid-propellant rocket engine.
The Atlas 204D first stage and Agena B 6009 upper stage successfully placed the Agena and Ranger 9 into a 100-nautical-mile (115 statute mile) parking orbit around Earth.
A 90-second burn of the Agena propelled Ranger 9 toward the moon, after which the Agena stage separated from the spacecraft.
At about 70 minutes after launch, Ranger 9 initiated the “delayed command sequence,” resulting in solar-panel extension and the release of the gyroscopes from a locked or constrained (caged) position, allowing them to spin freely and function.
The sequence also activated the high-gain-antenna drive circuitry.
Ranger 9 communicated using two antennas — a quasi-omnidirectional low-gain and a parabolic high-gain.
It carried three transmitters: two 60-watt television transmitters in the 960 MHz band (for its narrow-angle and wide-angle cameras) and a 3-watt transponder for telemetry and tracking.
The spacecraft’s telecommunications equipment converted the video signal elements into a radio frequency signal, transmitting it back to Earth through the spacecraft’s high-gain antenna.
Ranger 9 arrived at the moon March 24, 1965, and used six television cameras, two wide-angle and four narrow-angle, all directed to its descent path to capture detailed images of the lunar surface and its impact.
Millions of Americans (including me) followed the spacecraft’s descent via real-time television coverage.
Approximately 19 minutes before impact, Ranger 9 began capturing the first of 5,814 high-quality photographs. The initial images were taken from a distance of 1,438 miles to the lunar surface.
These images captured detailed views of the rim and floor of Alphonsus, a large crater about 12 degrees south of the lunar equator.
The best photographic resolution reached was about 10 to 12 inches before impact.
After 64.5 hours of flight, Ranger 9 struck the moon March 24, 1965, at 14:08:19.994 UT (8:08:20 a.m. Minnesota time) inside the Alphonsus crater.
The impact site, as determined from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images, was located at minus-12.828 degrees latitude and minus-2.665 degrees longitude.
Impact velocity was 5,972.62 mph, according to the NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive.
Fragment pieces of Ranger 9 are approximately 915 miles southwest from where the Apollo 11 lunar module, Eagle, would land four years later.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) camera system aboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft has been operational, orbiting the moon since 2009.
Use NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera QuickMap tool (quickmap.lroc.asu.edu/) to explore high-resolution images of the moon, the Ranger 9 impact site, and the Apollo 11 landing site.
You can enter the following coordinates to see the Ranger 9 impact site: latitude: minus-12.828 degrees south, longitude: minus -2.665 degrees west.
The Apollo 11 landing site (Tranquility Base) coordinates are latitude: 0.67408 degrees north; and longitude: 23.47297 degrees east.
The Minneapolis Star newspaper printed March 24, 1965, the front page headline “Moon Ranger a Hit.”
“Ranger obeyed 25 radio commands from Earth to maneuver itself within four miles of a prearranged target. The camera-laden probe impacted at 8:08 a.m. (Minneapolis time) in the floor of the crater Alphonsus, previously designated as a possible landing site for U.S. astronauts,” the article stated.
You can watch the Ranger 9 lunar impact as recorded by its onboard camera at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s YouTube channel: bit.ly/4kx0bAy.
 |
| The moon with blue dots showing the locations of Ranger 9 (debris field) and the Apollo 11 landing site. The Apollo 11 landing site (Tranquility Base) coordinates are: latitude, 0.67408 degrees north; and longitude, 23.47297 degrees east. The Ranger 9 impact site is at: latitude, minus-12.828 degrees south; and longitude, minus-2.665 degrees West. (Submitted by Mark Ollig) |
