Lunar Orbiter 5
Encyclopedia
Lunar Orbiter 5, the last of the Lunar Orbiter series, was designed to take additional Apollo
and Surveyor
landing site photography
and to take broad survey images of unphotographed parts of the Moon's far side. It was also equipped to collect selenodetic, radiation
intensity, and micrometeoroid
impact data and was used to evaluate the Manned Space Flight Network
tracking stations and Apollo Orbit Determination Program. The spacecraft was placed in a cislunar trajectory
and on August 5, 1967 was injected into an elliptical near polar lunar orbit 194.5 by 6023 km (120.9 by 3,742.5 ) with an inclination of 85 degrees and a period of 8 hours 30 minutes. On August 7 the perilune was lowered to 100 kilometres (62 mi), and on August 9 the orbit was lowered to a 99 kilometre, 3 hour 11 minute period.
The spacecraft acquired photographic data from August 6 to 18, 1967, and readout occurred until August 27, 1967. A total of 633 high resolution and 211 medium resolution frames at resolution down to 2 metres (6.6 ft) were acquired, bringing the cumulative photographic coverage by the five Lunar Orbiter craft to 99% of the Moon's surface. Accurate data were acquired from all other experiments throughout the mission. The spacecraft was tracked until it struck the lunar surface on command at 2.79 degrees S latitude, 83 degrees W longitude (selenographic coordinates
) on January 31, 1968.
Project Apollo
The Apollo program was the spaceflight effort carried out by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration , that landed the first humans on Earth's Moon. Conceived during the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Apollo began in earnest after President John F...
and Surveyor
Surveyor program
The Surveyor Program was a NASA program that, from 1966 through 1968, sent seven robotic spacecraft to the surface of the Moon. Its primary goal was to demonstrate the feasibility of soft landings on the Moon...
landing site photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
and to take broad survey images of unphotographed parts of the Moon's far side. It was also equipped to collect selenodetic, radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
intensity, and micrometeoroid
Micrometeoroid
A micrometeoroid is a tiny meteoroid; a small particle of rock in space, usually weighing less than a gram. A micrometeor or micrometeorite is such a particle that enters the Earth's atmosphere or falls to Earth.-Scientific interest:...
impact data and was used to evaluate the Manned Space Flight Network
Manned Space Flight Network
The Manned Space Flight Network was a set of tracking stations built to support the American space efforts of Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab...
tracking stations and Apollo Orbit Determination Program. The spacecraft was placed in a cislunar trajectory
Trajectory
A trajectory is the path that a moving object follows through space as a function of time. The object might be a projectile or a satellite, for example. It thus includes the meaning of orbit—the path of a planet, an asteroid or a comet as it travels around a central mass...
and on August 5, 1967 was injected into an elliptical near polar lunar orbit 194.5 by 6023 km (120.9 by 3,742.5 ) with an inclination of 85 degrees and a period of 8 hours 30 minutes. On August 7 the perilune was lowered to 100 kilometres (62 mi), and on August 9 the orbit was lowered to a 99 kilometre, 3 hour 11 minute period.
The spacecraft acquired photographic data from August 6 to 18, 1967, and readout occurred until August 27, 1967. A total of 633 high resolution and 211 medium resolution frames at resolution down to 2 metres (6.6 ft) were acquired, bringing the cumulative photographic coverage by the five Lunar Orbiter craft to 99% of the Moon's surface. Accurate data were acquired from all other experiments throughout the mission. The spacecraft was tracked until it struck the lunar surface on command at 2.79 degrees S latitude, 83 degrees W longitude (selenographic coordinates
Selenographic coordinates
Selenographic coordinates are used to refer to locations on the surface of Earth's moon. Any position on the lunar surface can be referenced by specifying two numerical values, which are comparable to the latitude and longitude of Earth...
) on January 31, 1968.
| 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 |