Lunar Exploration

Kaya Umeda

Tomohiro Hoshino

Lunar Exploration?

• Moon is our close cosmic neighbor

• Humans were exploring its surface

since they first developed telescopes

• Lunar exploration is a human

exploration of the moon

First Landing

• In 1959, Luna 2 became the first

spacecraft to land on the moon’s

surface

– Impacted near the Aristides,

Archimedes, and Autolycus craters

• In 1962, NASA placed its first

spacecraft, Ranger 4, on the moon

– Its mission was to take as many images

as possible before crashing onto the

surface

– Unable to return any scientific data

• 2 years later, Ranger 7 streaked

towards the moon with cameras

– Took more than 4000 photos in 17

minutes before crashing

• Ranger 9 showed that the moon’s

surface was rough

• In 1966, Luna 9 became the first

vehicle to soft-land safely on the

surface

– Stocked with scientific and

communications equipments and took a

picture of a ground level lunar panorama

• Luna 10 became the first spacecraft to

successfully orbit the moon

• Surveyor space probes (1966-68)

became the first NASA cract to

perform controlled landing on the

moon’s surface

– Carried cameras, soil samplers that

analyze the nature of lunar rock and dirt

• In 1966 and 1967, NASA launched

lunar orbiters

– Designed to circle the moon

– Designed to chart its surface in

preparation for future manned landings

Man on the Moon

• On 6/20/1969, Neil Armstrong and

Edwin Buzz Aldrin became the first

people to reach the moon

– Apollo 11 lunar lander touched down in

the Sea of Tranquility

– Spend as long as 3 days on the moon

• In 1994, Clementine mission

succeeded in mapping the moon’s

surface

– in wavelengths

– In visible lights, from ultraviolent to

infrared