Free Astronomy Magazine May-June 2019

MAY-JUNE 2019 ASTRONAUTICS missed the Moon by about 37,000 km. The next launch was more ac- curate − Ranger 4 did go on to im- pact the lunar surface, but the craft had been paralyzed by a sys- tem fault. The same issue occurred with Ranger 5, which. in addition. missed the Moon by nearly 800 km. In December 1962, the Ranger Pro- gram was at the risk of being can- celed, with the best result being only an inactive spacecraft de- stroyed against the lunar surface. After a review of the spacecraft as- sembly procedures, NASA rede- fined the project’s objectives, stating that future vehicles would carry nothing more than a camera A POLLO 11 − Left, the lunar mod- ule and Earth. Right, the lunar module ladder and plaque. [NASA, Project Apollo Archive] A POLLO 11 − Erection of the solar wind experiment. [NASA, Project Apollo Archive]