Before man walked on the Moon, the US space agency had sent successful missions to Earth’s natural satellite to map the surface and assess the likelihood of a safe landing. On May 4, 1967, it was Lunar Orbiter 4’s turn to go into space to fulfill scientific objectives and fly over the Moon’s poles.
Past missions have focused on finding locations for future landings of the Apollo project vehicle. According to these studies, 20 sites were selected. The first unmanned mission to the Moon was dedicated to scientific research.
Among the objectives, Lunar Orbiter 4 was to “make a comprehensive systematic photographic survey of the features of the lunar surface, in order to increase scientific knowledge of its nature, origins and processes, and as a basis for the selection of sites for further scientific research”. work. Study.” comprehensive”.
The probe left the Cape Canaveral Launch Complex in Florida, United States, and traveled for nearly four days to enter lunar orbit on May 8.
Lunar Orbiter 4 began photographing the lunar surface on May 11. The probe was equipped with a dual-lens camera, a film processing unit, a scanning scanner and a film handling device. The mission reached 163 clicks, only 30 were lost due to technical problems. The instrument was a pioneer in taking pictures of the Moon’s South Pole.
On July 17, just two months after leaving Earth, NASA lost contact with the vehicle that crashed on the Moon on October 6, 1967.
The final probe of the Lunar Orbiter project was sent on August 1, 1967. The five missions were considered successful and came to collect images of 99% of the Moon’s surface. After several studies, after about two years the man finally managed to get there.
history today
Editor: Beatriz Evaristo
Sound Design: Messias Melo
