Space exploration in the middle of the last century was an extremely important matter for world powers, because it directly testified to their strength and power. The priority of developments in the space industry was not only not hidden from citizens, but, on the contrary, was emphasized in every possible way, instilling a sense of respect and pride for their country.
Despite the desire of many countries to take part in this difficult and interesting task, the main serious struggle took place between two superpowers - the Soviet Union and the United States of America.
The first victories in the space race were for the USSR
The series of successes of the Soviet cosmonautics became an open challenge to the United States, forcing America to speed up work in the field of space exploration and find a way to beat its main competitor, the USSR.
- the first artificial earth satellite - Soviet Sputnik-1 (October 4, 1957) USSR;
- the first animal flights into space - the astronaut dog Laika, the first animal launched into Earth orbit! (1954 - November 3, 1957) USSR;
- the first human flight into space - Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (April 12, 1961).
And yet, the competition for space continued!
First people on the moon
Today, almost everyone knows that America managed to seize the initiative in the space race by launching its astronauts on. The first manned spacecraft to successfully land on the moon back in 1969 was the American spacecraft Apollo 11, with a crew of astronauts on board: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin.
Many of you remember the photo of Armstrong proudly planting the US flag on the surface of the Moon on July 20, 1969. The American government was triumphant that it had managed to overtake the Soviet space pioneers in conquering the Moon. But history is full of conjectures and assumptions, and some facts haunt critics and scientists to this day. And to this day, the question is being discussed that the American ship, in all likelihood, reached the Moon, took it, but did the astronauts actually land on its surface? There is a whole caste of skeptics and critics who do not believe in the American landing on the Moon, however, let’s leave this skepticism to their conscience.
However, the Soviet spacecraft Luna-2 reached the Moon for the first time on September 13, 1959, that is, Soviet spacecraft ended up on the Moon 10 years earlier than the landing of American cosmonauts on the Earth’s satellite. And therefore it is especially offensive that few people know about the role of Soviet designers, physicists, and cosmonauts in the exploration of the Moon.
But a huge amount of work was done, and the results were achieved much earlier than Armstrong’s victorious march. The USSR pennant was delivered to the surface of the Moon a decade before man set foot on its surface. On September 13, 1959, the Luna 2 space station reached the planet for which it was named. The world's first spacecraft to reach the Moon (space station Luna-2) landed on the surface of the Moon in the Mare Mons region near the craters Aristyllus, Archimedes and Autolycus.
A completely logical question arises: if the Luna-2 station reached the Earth’s satellite, then there should have been Luna-1 as well? There was, but its launch, carried out a little earlier, turned out to be not so successful and, flying past the Moon... But even with this outcome, very significant scientific results were obtained during the flight of the Luna-1 station:
- Using ion traps and particle counters, the first direct measurements of solar wind parameters were made.
- Using an onboard magnetometer, the Earth's outer radiation belt was recorded for the first time.
- It was established that the Moon does not have a significant magnetic field.
- The Luna-1 spacecraft became the first spacecraft in the world to reach the second escape velocity.
The launch participants were awarded the Lenin Prize; the people did not know their heroes by name, but the common cause - the honor of the country - was a priority.
USA lands first people on the moon
What about the USA? Yuri Gagarin's flight into space was a serious blow for America, and in order not to remain forever in the shadow of the Russians, a goal was set - and although the Americans lost the race to land the first spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, they had a chance to be the first to land astronauts on the Earth's satellite ! Work on improving the spacecraft, spacesuits and the necessary equipment proceeded by leaps and bounds, the American government attracted all the intellectual and technical potential of the country, and without skimping, spent billions of dollars on development. All NASA resources were mobilized and thrown into the furnace of science for a great purpose.
The step of an American citizen to the Moon is the only opportunity to emerge from the shadows, to catch up with the Soviet Union in this race. It is possible that America would not have been able to realize its ambitious plans, but at that time there was a change in the party leader in the USSR, and the leading designers - Korolev and Chelomey - could not come to a common opinion. Korolev, being an innovator by nature, was inclined to use the latest engine developments, while his colleague advocated for the old, but proven Proton. Thus, the initiative was lost and the first to officially set foot on the surface of the Moon were American astronauts.
Did the USSR give up in the lunar race?
Even though Soviet cosmonauts failed to land on the Moon in the 20th century, the USSR did not give up in the race to explore the Moon. So already in 1970, the automatic interplanetary station “Luna-17” carried on board the world’s first, unprecedented, planetary rover, capable of fully operating in conditions of a different gravity of the moon. It was called “Lunokhod-1” and was intended to study the surface, properties and composition of the soil, radioactive and x-ray radiation of the Moon. Work on it was carried out at the Khimki Machine-Building Plant named after. S.A. Lavochkin, led by Babakin Nikolai Grigorievich. The sketch was ready in 1966, and all design documentation was completed by the end of the next year.
Lunokhod 1 was delivered to the surface of the Earth's satellite in November 1970. The control center was located in Simferopol, in the Space Communications Center and included the control panel of the crew commander, the lunar rover driver, the antenna operator, the navigator, and the operational information processing room. The main problem was the signal time delay, which interfered with full control. The Lunokhod worked there for almost a year, until September 14, it was on this day that the last, successful communication session took place.
The Lunokhod did a great job of studying the planet entrusted to it, working much longer than planned. A huge number of photographs, lunar panoramas, etc. were transmitted to Earth. Years later, in 2012, the International Astronomical Union gave names to all twelve craters encountered on the path of Lunokhod 1 - they received male names.
By the way, in 1993, “Lunokhod 1” was put up for auction at Sotheby’s, the stated price was five thousand dollars. The auction ended at a much higher amount - sixty-eight and a half thousand US dollars; the buyer was the son of one of the American astronauts. It is characteristic that the precious lot rests on the territory of the Moon; in 2013 it was discovered in photographs taken by an orbital American probe.
To summarize, it can be noted that the first people to land on the Moon (1969) were the Americans, here is a list of US astronauts who landed: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin , John Young, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt. Neil Armstrong lived a long life and died on August 25, 2012 at the age of 82, still retaining the title of the first man to set foot on the moon...
But the first spaceships that conquered the Moon (1959) were Soviet; here the primacy undoubtedly belongs to the Soviet Union and Russian designers and engineers.
For a long time I wanted to write about this very “immortal feat”, about the flight to the Moon, that is. This flight has long become a symbol of America and has become firmly entrenched in human history. However, questions remain, moreover, the more time passes after the end of the last flight, the more questions arise. Humanity has achieved a lot in that very 20th century, the 20th century is generally a century of achievements. And what’s more, the icing on the cake is a flight to the moon.
It’s with this “cherry” that not everything is clear and not everything is unambiguous. So, let's go back half a century: the USSR launched the first Earth satellite (1957) and the first man into space (1961). For the USA it was a terrible slap in the face. The Americans clearly laid claim to world leadership, and then this... And something had to be done about it, and somehow it was necessary to save their reputation. This is exactly how the task was set by President John Kennedy. Get ahead of the Russians.
The funny thing is that those who chose the targets for this show clearly had very little understanding of space technology. Otherwise they wouldn't have started talking about the Moon. At the time the Apollo program was adopted, the highest achievement of manned astronautics was flight in the thermosphere around the Earth. That is, the little man was thrown into orbit, he spun around it in a “spacecraft” and... landed back on Earth. That's it, end of show.
By the way, looking ahead, we can say that to this day all cosmonauts, astronauts and chaikonauts are doing approximately the same thing: “Riding on an orbital carousel.” What did you think? The presence of certain “orbital stations” changes little here. Well, a little man stays in orbit longer: six months, a year... This is interesting from a medical point of view, but not from the point of view of manned astronautics.
Many films have been made about interstellar travel, many books have been written about alien worlds in other galaxies... And this has become part of our culture and our consciousness. We believed in “human” flights to Mars and Alpha Centauri for so long that we forgot that manned astronautics had not advanced very far since the time of Gagarin. Rather, it is marking time in the same low-Earth orbit. Still the same “fun attraction”. Of course not: docking/undocking in orbit, various evolutions there, assembling orbital stations... But that’s all strictly in orbit of planet Earth.
And then suddenly there were seven flights to the Moon, six of them successful... Fantastic. What's funny is that the USSR, with all its industrial and scientific power, was unable to launch a single person even around the Moon... Shame on the jungle! Just a shame and trash! But the Americans “took” 27 astronauts around the Moon (12 of them landed on the Moon)! If you count from Apollo 10 to Apollo 17, plus Apollo 8. Nine ships with a crew of three people. This is the superiority of American technology...
This is why the American nation is exceptional. Not a single “low-born” foreigner could rise above low orbit. And twenty-seven Americans flew around the Moon... You inevitably begin to envy. Here we mostly talk about Apollo-11, but, excuse me, there were just a lot of these Apollos! This is what fascinates me, as a person with a technical education. Reliability and repeatability of the developed technology.
The Apollos went to the Moon like a regular bus. It even gets boring. And this, of course, reflects the advantage of American technology and the American way of life. No one else could do it or even come close, and even half a century later everyone else can only dream and make plans. This is what technology/democracy was like in the USA in the blessed 60s. Over time, the Americans themselves began to understand that “ends do not meet,” and it was the first flight to the Moon that was mentioned more often. It's Armstrong. Well, they remembered a lot and made a movie about the unsuccessful 13th. Thirteenth, what a coincidence! That is, in hindsight they tend to somewhat downplay the “extraordinary success of American technology.” Allegedly, not everything was so great... There were problems.
Any technically literate person understands that such a bold flight to the Moon on a new, untested technology is very risky. And the word “risky” doesn’t quite fit here, it’s more like an adventure. In itself, a manned flight around the Moon is already a gigantic achievement, which no one has yet repeated or dares to repeat. It's almost gone fifty years. Almost half a century. And yet: those same 27 Americans remained unique heroes who flew around the Earth’s satellite.
Only them, more nobody. But a flight around the Moon, without landing on it, is, in theory, an order of magnitude easier than traveling to the Moon. Undocking in lunar orbit, landing of the lunar module, after which the launch of this module, docking... and safe return. Somehow too much Beautiful. It doesn't happen that way. At the level of technology of the 60s (essentially post-war). And even today this is a rather risky undertaking.
That's why everyone immediately talks about flying on Moon. Just like that on The moon (for some reason I remembered “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and the key phrase of one of the patients). They gossip about the construction of habitable lunar modules, they draw pictures... Why doesn’t anyone propose to launch one Russian/Chinese/Japanese around Moon? This is much simpler, and this will already be an achievement.
But no. Only the Moon. And as already mentioned, to this day all the heroic astronauts hang out in low orbit of the thermosphere. Heroic thermonauts... And only the Americans were able to break this vicious circle. And then in the late 60s - early 70s. And few of those “heroes” have survived to this day. I don’t want to say anything bad about those who fly into space, but, in fact, they were and are still hanging out above our heads in the upper layers of the atmosphere of planet Earth and sometimes talk about distant galactic journeys.
Why today sharp Is interest in “manned astronautics” declining? And that was all. Everything has already happened... Repeatedly. And what is an astronaut today? Half a century ago - yes! Just when the Americans were actively leaving the Earth’s gravitational field and rushing to the craters of the Moon... it was a glorious, heroic time.
For some reason, no one followed in their footsteps, which is strange. Excuse me, did they privatize this Moon? By right of pioneers? Apollo 8, December 68, first flight around the Moon. Almost half a century has passed, but no one else: neither Russia, nor Europe, nor China dreams of sending an astronaut on an orbital flight around the Moon. Why am I constantly talking about such an insignificant event? Yes because human flight around Moons are already a real feat and the greatest engineering achievement.
For this you can already give medals, orders and forever add them to the lists. The flight of various unmanned objects there is not the same at all. They (these impudent “drones”) have already gotten out behind limits of the solar system. But the Americans only reached the Moon. But what composition! “Spin” living seagulls/cosmos/astronauts around the Moon and return them to Earth alive This is a major engineering challenge. By itself, without any landings.
It was especially interesting in the 60s, when there were serious concerns that our Soviet cosmonauts, having made an orbital flight, might land not on the territory of the USSR or even on the territory of social networks. Commonwealth (by mistake, not out of malice!). And people scratched their heads, wondering what to do in this case. And even then the Americans could deliver a man to the surface of the Moon and pick him up from there... Compare the level of technology.
Moreover, even after half a century, this level of technology has not been surpassed by anyone. By the way, this is the ambush: after Columbus’s first breakthrough to the New World (if, of course, he was the first), dozens of ships very quickly repeated his route. And there was no less risk: the Europeans had no experience of ocean voyages, navigation was in its infancy, the ships were poor (Columbus’s flagship had a displacement of 200 tons). And yet, very soon it became hot on the Atlantic routes.
The same applies to even more complex and long-distance voyages to India (Vasco da Gama’s flagship is even smaller than Columbus’s). At what level of technology and how everything started to boil! It literally began to boil. The ships, one after another, reached the shores of the East Indies and West Indies. Literally in flocks. Where did it come from... We were sitting on the shore of the flat Earth, sitting... and suddenly. Moreover, it is impossible to say that technological development in Europe of the 16th century proceeded by leaps and bounds.
Was Magellan's feat not repeated by anyone for a very long time? So it’s not necessary... It was possible to sail around the world to any point on the planet.
But the feat of the American astronauts remained unrepeatable. But modern technologies and technologies of the 60s are two big differences. Computer technology and electronics have advanced incredibly. Now, even if we compare the power of the computer on which this article is typed and the computing power of the Houston Space Center, Then in '68...
Jet technology also does not stand still. Just like materials science. Well, a real revolution took place in the field of machine tool building. Then CNC machines took their first, uncertain steps. And today... huge machines that provide accuracy of several microns on multi-meter parts. Humanity has gone far ahead. The capabilities for manufacturing spaceships are now incomparable to what they were then. And the possibilities for designing these same ships today are completely different (thanks to the same computers and automated design systems).
That is, today it is much easier and cheaper to “build” a system similar to the legendary APOLLO. And the possibilities for calculating flight trajectories today are completely different. Well, no matter how angry you are that “but it’s not the same as before,” in fact, the possibilities for flights to the Moon today are an order of magnitude greater. However, their nobody in no hurry to use it, more and more people are breaking into the APOLLO Museum. Look, take photos, admire the “unparalleled feat” of the astronauts of the 60s...
When TVs were like this, and even the Rockefeller family didn’t have iPhones or smartphones, people flew to the moon. Today it’s hard to believe this, but this is exactly so!
Here they immediately begin to explain that the Americans, six Once we flew to the Moon, we skimmed off all the cream in this matter. And then immediately a counter question: “Why? six once?" What is this for? What does this prove? After all, the question was precisely who first will step onto the dusty surface of the Moon. It seems that Armstrong was the first. The issue was closed by Apollo 11. All the cream had already been skimmed off then. Every flight costs money, a lot of money. But these devils continued to scurry to the moon like they were going to a shop on Friday evening.
But every flight is not only a lot of money, but also a big risk. Anything can happen in space, and you can’t send a “technician” to the Moon... Well, once, well, maximum twice. And that’s all - drink, wash away the victory... But no, they flew and flew... as if at government expense in Sochi in the summer... What is there, on the Moon, smeared with honey? It seems to me that it is precisely because of the Americans’ persistence that it is worth looking at the Moon. They dug up something there... Kolchak's gold?
You see what the trick is: this whole story of the “unparalleled feat of the American people” is full of inconsistencies and blunders - before the APOLLO program, the Americans were clearly inferior to us in manned space exploration. Then a bright breakthrough! Then... nothing. Only the shuttle that “broke down.” But that doesn’t happen. And where did that same Saturn-5 launch vehicle “evaporate”? Engine from Saturn? Author Not is a specialist in space rocket technology, but the “miracle on the Moon” cannot but raise questions.
Turn the “corps de ballet” six times with entry into Earth orbit, flight to the Moon, reassembly, undocking, accident-free landing on an unexplored planet, launch from the lunar surface, docking in lunar orbit, launch from lunar orbit to Earth, splashdown in the ocean near with an aircraft carrier (from the second cosmic speed!)... Yes, we must pray for American engineers! You know: landing on Earth from a second space mission in itself is already a very difficult task for manned astronautics. Not a child's task, even today.
No, as a computer simulation it is not so interesting, but to translate all this into metal... Once again: the one who set the task (to fly to the Moon!) was a clear amateur. Because even today it is not clear whether this is achievable at all (that is, flying there and returning back, come back alive). Why did this evoke such intense “enthusiasm” among space designers? But the fact is that their “hobby” is very expensive. And the “Lunar Program” could generate billions. And develop astronautics with all our might.
At the same time, there was no deception as such: Luna in theory achievable by humans using rocket technology. You just need to body the carrier more powerfully... which is what the Russians/Americans did. And by the way, the Russians and Americans have serious problems with the carrier.
“At the beginning of May 1966, the first tests were carried out to launch Saturn into outer space, which were not successful - at the time of launch, the second stage of the rocket failed and was completely destroyed. After this, it was decided to send this rocket for the necessary modifications and approximately at the beginning of 1967 to conduct repeated tests for its launch. But in the end, the rocket spent much longer in repair work than was originally planned, and only on November 9, 1967 was it able to make a second attempt at an unmanned flight, which this time turned out to be very successful.
The next flight, which took place on April 4, 1968, was supposed to confirm the well-functioning performance of the rocket and be the final one in a series of planned tests, but failed due to the failure of the second stage engines, and the third stage was completely torn apart at the time of launch. In general, there were many problems, and long repair work was planned to solve them. Just 8 months after the epic failure on April 4, 1968, Saturn 5 took off with people on board, heading straight for the Moon. As a result, on July 20, 1969, American astronauts landed on the surface of the Moon for the first time in the history of mankind.”
Why is there such a long quote? Everyone has heard about our “suffering” during the creation of a medium (there is a sea of discussions on the Internet, sometimes in raised voices!), but as for the Americans... for some reason everyone thinks that everything was a “bundle” for them. You read, it means how bad everything is with us and it breaks down at the start (the rocket scientists discuss it - for dozens of pages of the forum), and grief, and shame, and ruin... and then suddenly (when we, with our heads in our hands, are sitting near the wreckage of a burnt-out launch vehicle! ) news - Americans are already walking on the Moon... And we realized that we have ALL lost. Get drunk and shoot yourself...
The main reasons for the “zrada” are the following: discord between Korolev, Chelomey and Yangel (Beria on them already did not have!); as well as “insufficient funding”: supposedly the USA allocated 25 billion “green” dollars for the “lunar project”, and the USSR only 2.5 billion “wooden” - hence the result, or rather the lack thereof. Allegedly, the USA had NASA, but we did not have NASA - hence the confusion and vacillation and squabbling between competing firms.
Say what you want, but the USSR was a much more centralized system than the USA. And even in space. As for money, it doesn’t always decide everything. Money is only one of the resources. No less important People. And it’s quite critical time. To master money (don’t cut it!), you need time and qualified specialists. By flooding the project with money, we will not solve the problem. As strange as it may sound. Then (as things progress) it turns out that “the guys here need to be trained,” that is, the guys are smart, but they need to be prepare, then it turns out that R&D itself requires not only money, but also time.
Suddenly. That is, first the “brilliant/general designer” will knock out money, people and equipment, and then... then we will find out that not everything is so simple. The process has begun, but the result is still far away. And America is not much different from Russia here. So, in 66-68 Saturns in America began to burst, and in 1969 N-1s began to burst in the USSR. Lepota...
You know, colleagues, I look at all this disgrace (retrospectively) and make one unfunny conclusion: earthlings were not capable of flying to the Moon in the late 60s... Not capable. No, you can certainly try and experiment; no one forbids this. But before the real flight to the Moon and back... it’s like walking to the same Moon. It is simply pointless to compare it with the flights of astronauts in low Earth orbit. Different things, never comparable.
The space program has hit a technical/economic/time ceiling. But what about the Americans with their 25 “lards” (at prices of the late 60s!)? Was their ceiling higher? Well, you have a non-working launch vehicle and a lot of dough next to it. Has it become easier? There is such a “ring” logic. Why were the Americans able to solve technical problems with the launch vehicle? Because they were more advanced in technology. Why are they more advanced in technology? Well, of course, they landed on the moon! Even children know this!
For some reason everyone assumes that the United States could to deliver a man to the Moon (two things at once!), but the USSR did not (not even one)! They assume that Neil Armstrong was born on July 20, 1969... and this is recognized by everyone... Well, cool! The lunar path shines with silver... People like to believe in miracles, they like fairy tales about princesses and dragons. You know, as one old Odessa Jew said: “It can be difficult for a doctor to believe in the virgin birth.”
Back in the early 60s, the United States lagged behind the USSR in space technology. The inhabited capsules of the USSR had thick, durable walls, and there were no problems with creating an internal atmosphere. Gemini had problems with its strong walls and atmosphere. By the way, yes, Americans burned in an oxygen atmosphere in the early 60s, but we also had such a precedent. There was so much in common in our space programs... And then, suddenly, the Americans committed giant leap forward. Literally eight years after Gagarin's flight.
Why would this happen all of a sudden? What were the prerequisites for this? By the way, we finished finishing the N-1 already in the early 70s and never finished it... But the Americans had a lot of money... And what will this give you when the carrier explodes and the deadlines are running out? No, if we are talking about systematic long-term work for the future (by the mid-70s, maybe by the end), then yes - money becomes the decisive factor. But when you have to fly tomorrow, but neither the Russians nor their American “competitors” have a working heavy launch vehicle to enter orbit...
What will “quadrillion money” give you in such a situation? Buy some high-intensity dope for the whole team? The USSR’s abandonment of the “Moon Race” is one of the most reasonable decisions of the “party and government.” No, they got involved, figured out how complicated and expensive everything was... and refused. We needed Quadrillard for other purposes. One of the reasons for the failure is the high risks for the crew. It would be more correct to say - exorbitant. The loss of an automatic station is just the loss of an automatic station. Taking risks with people is something else entirely.
But the Americans were not afraid and took risks... and won. You know, this is exactly what gives rise to serious thoughts - this winning at Russian roulette. How successfully everything worked out for them, no matter how much they turned the revolver drum... Were there any cartridges in the drum? The Americans are jumping around the surface with a lot of fun. stranger hostile planet. They also brought buggies there and drove them around in buggies. How close and homely this Moon is... like a beach in California.
This is not a matter of cowardice/bravery, it’s just that the environment imposes serious restrictions. In real life, astronauts on the Moon are suicide bombers. There is a very high chance of not returning - the equipment is completely new and untested. Any failure, error and... that's it, hello. Gymnasts under the circus big top without safety harness. But how confident they are! And how confident the management of the flight program is... Time after time sending people into the “minefield”.
As it turned out much later, everything with Gagarin’s flight was not as smooth as with Leonov’s spacewalk...
“During Gagarin’s flight, 11 emergency situations were recorded”
“Soviet cosmonauts carried out their first spacewalk two and a half months earlier than the Americans. Everyone knows this. But very few people know that during the flight of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft, on board which were Pavel Belyaev (commander) and Alexey Leonov (co-pilot), there were several serious emergency situations. And three or four of them are fatal.”
“On November 28, 1966, the launch of the “first” automatic Soyuz-1 (which was later renamed Kosmos-133 in a TASS report) ended in an emergency deorbit. On December 14, 1966, the launch of Soyuz-2 also ended in an accident, and even with the destruction of the launch pad (there was no open information about this Soyuz-2).”
And this all happened during flights on orbit of planet Earth. The technology is new, the risk is mortal. So, I don’t agree about the fact that: “Gagarin flew into space, but didn’t see God...”. In a stormy sea Not there are atheists. And here people are walking very close to death. So Gagarin probably remembered God more than once in orbit, and Leonov when he was stuck in the airlock chamber.
But for the Americans, already in the late 60s, everything was fine with technology (much more complex). Problems? No problem!
But both ours and their space technology were in many ways similar and approximately at the same level. Why such a gap in results? The results of more powerful funding would be felt... in ten to fifteen years. If a technical solution has not been developed, then buy it is impossible, no matter how much money you allocate for it.
The funny thing is that then, instead of developing the Saturns, the Americans created the Shuttles. Which began to actively explode, and which had to be abandoned. It's very similar to the truth. And now they fly on Russian carriers (heirs to Armstrong’s glory...).
A lot has been written about the “moon scam”: the first publications appeared in the early 70s and specifically in the USA. It's simple: technically literate people began to doubt. To doubt the very possibility of flying to the Moon at the level those technologies. The author shares these doubts: flying to the Moon based on technologies that do not guarantee the safety of flights to Earth orbit is absolutely impossible. From the word absolutely.
Analysis of photos from the Moon... this is something with something, but let's leave it to specialists in photographic technology. But recently it turned out that the film on which the first landing on the Moon was recorded had disappeared somewhere... Yes, a lot of things disappeared from the archives due to oversight. But not only.
“So, during the one and a half day flight between the Earth and the Moon, when the crew had basically nothing to do, there were practically no films or photographs of the Earth and the Moon. There are, of course, funny episodes of the American original genre of “fiction documentary” inside the cramped space of the Apollo, lasting no more than 40 seconds, which could easily be filmed on board a plane falling in a parabola, but nothing more. And where are the unique shots of the receding and rotating Earth or the approaching and rotating Moon, which would have never been possible to take hand-held anywhere else, except on such flights? There are no such records."
From a comical point: it recently turned out that the Americans No reliable model of the “space toilet”. What was on the ISS was broken...
And the first real American “space toilets” were built on the Shuttles, but they were unsuccessful. The devil, as they say, is in the details. But how did they fly to the Moon without a toilet? Good question…
It's funny: almost half a century has passed since the first flight, and the debate continues. Were they there or weren't they? The author, not being a specialist in nuclear physics, leaves aside the problem of the Van Allen belts.
No, of course, there is a lot of excellent research on this “heroic topic” topic, it is very difficult to compete here. But if you just calmly analyze well-known facts at your leisure, without delving into research... then even then it will be extremely difficult to believe in the “expedition”. That is, it’s still somehow possible to believe in Armstrong “dancing” on the moon (we all read fairy tales as children), but to believe in flying “there and back” six times using technology from the 60s is incredibly problematic. If only he were a hobbit...
Although Ostap Ibrahimovic would certainly appreciate the project.
Along with the pseudoscientific theories, mystical and mystical-religious teachings that have spread in the post-perestroika years, flourishing on TV screens and on the pages of the media by “magicians”, “sorcerers”, “sorcerers”, “foretellers”, “healers”... the attack on science is also coming from on the other hand: publications are being distributed in which attempts are made to disavow real scientific and scientific-technical achievements of the past. Today, a countless number of “subverters” of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics have appeared, not to mention creationists, the most zealous of whom “subvert” all scientific achievements “en masse.” Such “subverters” did not escape achievements in the field of space exploration. Particularly “lucky” was the expedition to the Moon under the Apollo program, carried out by the United States in July 1969. Publications appear in the tabloid press, the authors of which present the flight of the Apollo 11 spacecraft with astronauts, landing on the Moon, and the astronauts’ exit to the surface The moons and the return of the ship to Earth in the form of a grandiose hoax, a theatrical show produced in Hollywood and thrown onto television screens and newspaper pages. Today there are many supporters of this point of view. Some of them, especially people of the younger generation, can be understood: for them this is “a legend from ancient times.” And legends, as is well known, do not always tell about real events, sometimes about fictitious ones.
Feather and hammer. Experiment on the Moon
Below are two notes from the magazine “Science and Life” for 1969. The first tells about the flight of the Apollo 8 spacecraft with three astronauts, who, half a year before the launch of Apollo 11, flew around the Moon without landing on its surface. The second describes the actual flight of Apollo 11, landing on the surface of the Moon and returning to Earth. The parsimoniousness with which both flights are described is noteworthy. One feels that the country's leading popular science magazine was forced in every possible way to gloss over this truly epoch-making achievement of American science and technology. This is especially clearly seen in the first note, which ends with a review of the flights of Soviet automatic lunar probes, as if trying to equalize the achievements of both sides. There is no doubt that the flights of automatic vehicles with landing on the Moon, collecting lunar soil and returning to Earth are a huge achievement in the exploration of the Moon, but still it pales significantly even in comparison with the preparatory flight of Apollo 8. And if Soviet ideologists had the opportunity not to mention the Apollo program at all, then this is exactly what would have been done. And if there was even the slightest reason to accuse the “ideological enemy” of falsification, then such falsification would be inflated to incredible proportions! But, apparently, there was no reason, despite the fact that in those days “ideological opponents” monitored every, even the smallest, step of the opposite side by all available means: diplomatic, intelligence, technical... All video materials obtained both through official means, and in various other ways, radio interception materials, observations of space tracking stations and astronomical observatories. And - no clues!
There is only one conclusion: the assumption that using the entire arsenal of these means, the relevant services of the “great power” were unable to distinguish a real flight to the Moon from a Hollywood movie fake, seems completely absurd. Without a doubt, such a forgery would have been immediately exposed and very effectively used by the then government of the USSR for ideological purposes.
CHRONICLE OF THE SPACE AGE
One of the brightest space events of the past year was the flight of the American manned spacecraft Apollo 8. Its launch took place in the early morning of December 21 from Cape Kennedy and was an important milestone in the Apollo program. This program provides for the landing of astronauts on the Moon and their subsequent return to Earth. The first exploration work under the Apollo program began about 10 years ago, and since 1961 the program has been implemented at an accelerated pace. Approximately half of all funds allocated to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are spent on work under this program. The total appropriations for the Apollo program exceeded $20 billion.
In some periods, out of 411 thousand people employed in implementing NASA programs, about 300 thousand people participated in the Apollo program, including approximately 40 thousand scientists and engineers. In the United States, the question of the advisability of spending so much effort and money on the Apollo program was repeatedly raised (the problem was considered not only in scientific, but also in military, economic and political aspects).
For some characterization of the various stages of the planned flight to the Moon, approximate calculated data on the total fuel consumption of rocket engines of various stages and blocks (as a percentage of the total consumption) are given: launch of the last stage of the launch vehicle with the spacecraft into the intermediate orbit of the Earth satellite - about 96%; transition to the flight path to the Moon - 3%; transition to lunar orbit - 0.5%; landing on the Moon - 0.25%; take-off from the Moon - 0.06%, departure from lunar orbit towards the Earth - 0.15%.
In this experiment, the main unit was launched into a selenocentric orbit and maneuvered in this orbit (transition from an elliptical orbit to an almost circular one), as well as leaving a lunar orbit towards the Earth. All these maneuvers were carried out using the main, so-called propulsion engine of the Apollo 8 spacecraft, which is designed for 50 starts and a total operating time of 750 seconds. According to calculations, by the way, confirmed by the Apollo 8 flight, the need for the main engine to operate is as follows: to correct the trajectory during a flight to the Moon - up to 60 seconds (three corrections of 15 - 20 seconds each); transfer of the ship to selenocentric orbit - 400 seconds; descent of the main unit from selenocentric orbit - 150 seconds; correction of the main unit on the middle section of the flight path to the Earth - up to 60 (three corrections of 15 - 20 seconds each).
All three cosmonauts (in the USA they are called astronauts) who were part of the Apollo 8 crew - Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders - are professional military pilots. The first two of them were 40 years old at the time of the flight, the third was 35. All three have higher education, and Anders also has a Master of Science in nuclear physics. But unlike his two colleagues, he had not previously flown on spacecraft, while Borman and Lovell had already flown on the Geminai-VII satellite, and Lovell had also flown on the Geminai-XII satellite.
The flight to the Moon and successful return to Earth required great courage and skill from the astronauts. In particular, the two most critical maneuvers - entering and leaving the selenocentric orbit - were carried out with manual control and without “hints” from the Earth - the spacecraft during these maneuvers was above the invisible side of the Moon, and communication with the flight directors was interrupted (Moon was a screen blocking the path of Apollo radio signals to Earth). During the flight from Apollo 8, 5 television sessions were conducted, broadcast over a ground-based network. The image transmitted from the ship had the following parameters: 320 lines at 10 frames per second.
The Apollo 8 spacecraft was launched onto a flight path to the Moon by a three-stage Saturn V rocket. The entire flight lasted a little more than six days, and the ship was in lunar orbit for about 20 hours.
The launch of Apollo 8 took place on the very eve of a unique anniversary - a decade of lunar exploration using spacecraft. These studies began with the Soviet space station Luna 1 (January 1959). This was followed by numerous experiments, each more interesting than the other: the first “hit” on the Moon, delivery of a Soviet pennant to its surface (“Luna-2”, September 1959); flyby of the Moon followed by approaching the Earth to 10,000 km, photographing the far side of the Moon (“Luna-3”, October 1959); a similar program with more detailed photography of the Moon (Zond-3, 1965); television broadcasts when the automatic station approaches the Moon up to a distance of 1 km (“Ranger”, 1964, 1966); the first soft landing of an automatic station on the Moon and television transmission from the landing area (“Luna-9”, 1966); the first launch of an automatic station into orbit of an artificial satellite of the Moon (“Luna-10”, 1966). The most important events in lunar exploration occurred in 1968. These are the first flights of the Moon with the return to Earth by the Soviet automatic stations Zond-5 and Zond-6 and, finally, by the American manned spacecraft Apollo 8. This latest flight, which was watched with interest and excitement by millions of people around the world, is undoubtedly an important contribution to human exploration of outer space.
Apollo 11 crew (from left to right): N. Armstrong, M. Collins, E. Aldrin
EXPEDITION TO THE MOON
Engine of the lunar compartment take-off stage
On July 16, the Apollo 11 spacecraft launched from one of the launch complexes at the Cape Kennedy spaceport using a Saturn 5 launch vehicle. His crew: ship's commander Neil Armstrong, aeronautical engineer and test pilot; Air Force Col. Edwin Aldrin, PhD in Astronautics; Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Collins. This crew had to solve the main and, in fact, the final task of the entire ten-year Apollo program (see “Science and Life” No. 3 and No. 8, 1969) - to land a man on the surface of the Moon.
Some important elements of astronauts' flight to and return from the Moon are illustrated by simplified diagrams in the figure below. Initially, the spacecraft, together with the third stage of the launch vehicle (TCP), was launched (total weight about 140 tons) into a relatively low Earth orbit. On the second orbit, the propulsion system of the third stage was turned on again, which worked for 5.5 minutes and, having consumed more than 70 tons of fuel, brought this stage along with the ship (total weight about 45 tons) onto the flight path to the Moon. Soon, the so-called rearrangement of the ship's compartments was carried out - from the position most convenient for the launch of the rocket (1), they were rearranged to the position necessary for subsequent operations. To do this, the main block of the spacecraft moved away from the third stage of the launch vehicle (2), turned (3) 180 degrees, returned back (4) to the third stage and docked to the lunar compartment so that its take-off stage was directly connected to the crew compartment main block. (An Apollo-type spacecraft consists of a main block and a lunar compartment, which is sometimes called a module, capsule, etc., the main block, in turn, consists of two separated compartments - the crew compartment OE and the propulsion compartment OD; lunar compartment also consists of two separable stages - landing PS and take-off aircraft). After the rebuild, the connecting adapter was discarded and Apollo 11 separated from the third stage of the launch vehicle (4).
The first step to the Moon and the astronauts near the lunar compartment (pictures taken from a TV screen)
The transition to lunar orbit (5) was carried out using a propulsion engine, which was installed in the OD. Having made several orbits around the lunar orbit, the astronauts carefully checked all the ship's systems. After this, N. Armstrong and E. Aldrin crossed into the aircraft through the internal hatch, and the lunar compartment separated from the main block (6), where only Collins remained. The lunar compartment entered an elliptical orbit with a perihelion of about 15 kilometers, and then, using the landing stage engine, made a soft landing on the surface of the Moon (7), using up almost all the fuel intended for this (about 8 tons). The final selection of the landing site was one of the most difficult and dangerous operations, since many very large stones and a crater the size of a stadium were noticed in the previously planned area. However, Armstrong, using the manual controls of the lunar compartment, was able to find a level surface, despite the extremely limited time, and the landing went flawlessly.
Landing and take-off stages of the lunar compartment
After landing on the moon, the astronauts, according to the program, were supposed to sleep for several hours. However, this point of the program was not “fulfilled”: the astronauts could not rest peacefully, being a few steps from the surface of the Moon, and with the consent of the Mission Control Center, after a thorough check of individual life support systems, they began to exit the ship. N. Armstrong was the first to set foot on the lunar surface. This happened on July 21, 1969 at 5 hours 56 minutes 20 seconds Moscow time. After 20 minutes, E. Aldrin arrived on the surface of the Moon.
The astronauts traveled on the Moon for 2 hours and 40 minutes, and in total the lunar compartment was on the Moon for about a day. Leaving the landing stage of the PS on the Moon, N. Armstrong and E. Aldrin launched on the take-off stage of the aircraft (8). Its engine, having consumed several tons of fuel, launched the aircraft into lunar orbit and allowed it to dock with the main block of the ship located there (9). After the docking and return of the two lunar travelers to the crew compartment, the take-off stage (10) was reset. Then followed the final stages of the flight - transition with the help of the main engine to the flight path to the Earth (11), flight to the Earth, separation of the OE from the OD (12) and the final stage - entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, braking of the OE, parachute descent (13) and splashdown. The flight of Apollo 11 is an outstanding technical achievement, and the fact that man walked on the Moon symbolizes the gigantic achievements of modern science and technology. The ship's commander, Neil Armstrong, figuratively said this when he had just stepped on the surface of the Moon: “One small step by man is a giant step by mankind.”
In reality, the Americans did not land on the Moon and the entire Apollo program was a hoax, conceived with the aim of creating the image of a great state in the United States. The lecturer showed an American film that debunks the legend of astronauts landing on the Moon. The following contradictions seemed especially convincing.
The American flag on the Moon, where there is no atmosphere, flutters as if it were being blown by air currents.
Look at the photo purportedly taken by the Apollo 11 astronauts. Armstrong and Aldrin are the same height, and the shadow of one of the astronauts is one and a half times longer than the other. They were probably illuminated from above by a spotlight, which is why the shadows turned out to be of different lengths, like those from a street lamp. And by the way, who took this photo? After all, both astronauts are in the frame at once.
There are many other technical inconsistencies: the image in the frame does not twitch, the size of the shadow does not coincide with the position of the Sun, etc. The lecturer argued that historical footage of astronauts walking on the Moon was taken in Hollywood, and the corner light reflectors, which were used to determine the parameters of the false landing party, were simply dropped from automatic probes. In 1969-1972, Americans flew to the Moon 7 times. With the exception of the crash flight of Apollo 13, 6 expeditions were successful. Each time, one astronaut remained in orbit, and two landed on the Moon. Each stage of these flights was recorded literally minute by minute, and detailed documentation and logbooks were preserved. More than 380 kg of lunar rock was brought to Earth, 13 thousand photographs were taken, a seismograph and other instruments were installed on the Moon, equipment, a lunar vehicle and a battery-powered self-propelled gun were tested. Moreover, the astronauts found and delivered to Earth a camera from a probe that visited the Moon two years before man. In the laboratory, this camera was used to discover terrestrial streptococcus bacteria that had survived in outer space. This discovery turned out to be important for understanding the fundamental laws of survival and distribution of living matter in the Universe. In America there is a debate about whether Americans have been to the moon. In principle, nothing surprising, because in Spain, after the return of Columbus, there were also disputes about what new continents he discovered. Such disputes are inevitable until the new land becomes easily accessible to everyone. But only a dozen people have walked on the moon so far. Despite the fact that the USSR did not broadcast live broadcast of Neil Armstrong's first walk on the Moon, our and American scientists collaborated closely in processing the scientific results of the Apollo expeditions. The USSR had a rich photo archive, which was compiled from the results of several flights of the Luna spacecraft, as well as samples of lunar soil. Thus, the Americans had to come to an agreement not only with Hollywood, but also with the USSR, competition with which could become the only argument in favor of the hoax. It should be added that Hollywood at that time had not even heard of computer graphics and simply did not have the technology to fool the whole world. As for the footprint of astronaut Conrad, as they explained to us at the Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where samples of lunar soil are being studied, since the lunar regolith is a very loose rock, the imprint must have remained. There is no air on the Moon, the regolith there does not gather dust and does not fly apart, as on Earth, where it immediately turns into swirling dust underfoot. And the flag behaved as it should. Although there is no and cannot be wind on the Moon, any material (wires, cables, cords) that the astronauts deployed, in low gravity conditions under the influence of an imbalance of forces, wriggled for several seconds and then froze. Finally, the strange static nature of the image is explained by the fact that the astronauts did not hold the camera in their hands, like earthly operators, but mounted it on tripods screwed to their chests. The US lunar program could not be a spectacle also because a very high price was paid for it. One of the Apollo crews died during training on Earth, and the Apollo 13 crew returned to Earth without reaching the Moon. And NASA's financial costs of the Apollo program in the amount of $25 billion were subject to repeated verification by numerous audit commissions. The version that the Americans did not fly to the moon is not a sensation of the first freshness. Now in America an even more exotic legend is growing by leaps and bounds. It turns out (and there is documentary evidence of this) that man did go to the moon. But this was not an American man. And the Soviet one! The USSR sent cosmonauts to the Moon to service its numerous lunar rovers and instruments. But the USSR did not tell the world anything about these expeditions, because they were suicide cosmonauts. They were not destined to return to their Soviet homeland. American astronauts allegedly saw the skeletons of these nameless heroes on the Moon. According to the explanation of specialists from the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where cosmonauts are trained for flight, approximately the same changes will occur with a corpse in a spacesuit on the Moon as with an old can of canned food. There are no decay bacteria on the Moon, and therefore an astronaut cannot turn into a skeleton even if he wants to.
Oblivion or pause?
The last flight under the Apollo program took place at the end of 1972, and 4 years later the flights of the Soviet “lunars” also ceased. Only two decades later, in 1990, Japan sent its artificial satellite Hiten to the Moon, becoming the third “lunar power”. Then there were two more American satellites - Clementine (1994) and Lunar Prospector (1998). At this point, flights to the Moon stopped again. The European Space Agency and Japan have specific plans for launching automatic stations. Promising ones are in China and India. But the question of further active exploration of the Moon remains open.
Chained by one chain
None of the planets in the solar system (except Pluto) has a satellite as large compared to the planet itself as the Earth’s Moon. The diameter of the Moon is about 3,480 km, which is slightly more than 1/4 of the Earth's (0.27), and its mass is 81 times less than the Earth's. The average density of our satellite is 3.34 g/cm3, which is equal to 0.6 of Earth’s. The area of the entire surface of the Moon is 38 million km2, which is 1/4 of the Earth's land area. The close interaction of these two celestial bodies is manifested in many ways, and the most visible of them is the ebb and flow of the Earth's oceans, associated with the gravitational influence of the Moon, as well as the Sun. Tides create a specific area of the earth's biosphere - a tidal strip along the shores of the oceans, through which, in fact, living organisms came to land. Against the background of the absolute blackness of the night sky, the Moon shines, second only to the Sun in brightness in the Earth’s sky. True, the light emanating from it is not lunar, but solar, since the Moon itself does not emit light, but only reflects the sun's rays falling on it, and reflects only 7%, which means that the lunar surface is very dark, almost the same as a piece coal The sky above the Moon is black both day and night. The moon does not have an atmosphere that scatters sunlight and creates a blue sky. The absence of atmosphere excludes the presence of sounds. Even with a quick glance at the Moon, extensive dark spots are clearly visible on its surface. Astronomers of past centuries called them seas, apparently by analogy with the Earth. This name has been preserved to this day, although earthlings have long known that these are simply plains composed of basaltic lavas. The bright areas of the Earth's satellite are called the lunar continent. It occupies 2/3 of the visible side of the Moon, and the seas are interspersed with it in separate, very often round, areas. The lunar continent is covered with many craters with a diameter of up to several hundred kilometers. It is more ancient than the seas, and was formed 4.5 billion years ago, and 3 billion years ago its lowest parts were flooded by basalts that poured out from the bowels of the Moon. At this point, the geological activity of the Moon froze, having exhausted almost all the thermal energy of its depths. There are also small dark areas called lakes on the Moon.
Lunar expeditions
02.01.1959
"Luna-1" (USSR)
First flight to the Moon. The station passed 5,000 km from the Moon, discovered the absence of its magnetic field, entered a heliocentric orbit (around the Sun), becoming the first artificial planet, which was called “Dream”.
03.03.1959
"Pioneer-4" (USA)
Flying 60,000 km from the Moon and entering a heliocentric orbit.
12.09.1959
"Luna-2" (USSR)
The first flight from Earth to the Moon. The station reached the lunar surface on September 14, 1959. The area where it fell into the Sea of Rains (30° N, 1° W) was called Lunnika Bay.
04.10.1959
"Luna-3" (USSR)
The far side of the Moon has been photographed for the first time. On October 7, 1959, 2/3 of the hemisphere invisible from Earth was photographed. The images were transmitted to Earth via radio.
26.01.1962
"Ranger-3" (USA)
An unsuccessful attempt to photograph the lunar surface. The station did not reach the Moon, passing 36,700 km from it.
23.04.1962
"Ranger-4" (USA)
The second unsuccessful attempt to photograph the Moon at close range. The station fell on the far side of the Moon at 15° S, 130° W, becoming the first American station to reach the Moon.
18.10.1962
"Ranger-5" (USA)
The third unsuccessful attempt to photograph the Moon at close range. The station went into a heliocentric orbit, flying 725 km past the Moon.
02.04.1963
"Luna-4" (USSR)
The first 2nd generation speakers, which were designed for a soft landing on the Moon. They were relatively small (weight about 100 kg). The station did not reach the Moon: after passing 8,500 km from it, it entered a heliocentric orbit.
30.01.1964
"Ranger-6" (USA)
The fourth unsuccessful attempt to photograph the Moon at close range. The station fell in the Sea of Tranquility area 30 km from the calculated point.
28.07.1964
"Ranger-7" (USA)
For the first time, detailed television photography of the Moon was carried out at close range during the fall of the station to the Moon. 4,300 photographs taken from a height of
2,000 km to 440 m in the northwestern region of the Sea of Clouds, which was named the Known Sea in honor of this event. The most recent images show craters less than 1 m in diameter.
17.02.1965
"Ranger-8" (USA)
Second detailed television filming. 7,100 images were received from altitudes from 2,500 km to 160 m in the Sea of Tranquility area.
21.03.1965
"Ranger-9" (USA)
Third detailed television footage. 5,800 images were obtained from altitudes ranging from 2,300 km to 600 m above the mountainous region of the lunar continent in the central part of the visible hemisphere, where volcanic activity was suspected based on observations from Earth. Small craters surrounded by a dark halo were discovered (possible sources of gas release from the interior).
09.05.1965
"Luna-5" (USSR)
The soft landing system was tested for the first time, but the landing turned out to be hard and the station crashed in the Sea of Clouds area.
08.06.1965
"Luna-6" (USSR)
The station passed 160,000 km from the Moon and entered a heliocentric orbit.
18.07.1965
"Zond-3" (USSR)
The remaining unknown 1/3 of the far side of the Moon was photographed, which made it possible to create the first complete map and globe of the Moon (with significant “white spots” near the poles).
04.10.1965
"Luna-7" (USSR)
An unsuccessful attempt at a soft landing: the station crashed in the Ocean of Storms region, west of Kepler Crater.
03.12.1965
"Luna-8" (USSR)
An unsuccessful attempt at a soft landing, testing of the systems was completed, but the landing in the Ocean of Storms, south of the Galileo crater, turned out to be hard.
31.01.1966
"Luna-9" (USSR)
For the first time in the world, on February 3, 1966, a soft landing on the Moon was performed. The station (mass 100 kg) established that the lunar surface is solid and does not have a multi-meter layer of dust on it. The first television panoramas of the lunar landscape were transmitted, showing surface details (size up to 1 mm). The station's landing area on a flat area in the Ocean of Storms (7° N, 64° W) was called the Lunar Landing Plain.
31.03.1966
"Luna-10" (USSR)
The world's first artificial lunar satellite. For the first time, data have been obtained on the general chemical composition of the Moon based on the nature of gamma radiation from its surface. Made 460 orbits around the Moon. Communication ceased on May 30, 1966.
30.05.1966
"Surveyor-1" (USA)
First American soft landing on the Moon. Telephoto photography of the area near the landing point on the plain in the Ocean of Storms region, north of the Flamsteed crater. Study of the mechanical properties of soil. The work lasted until January 7, 1967.
01.07.1966
"Explorer-33" (USA)
An attempt to create an artificial satellite of the Moon. Instead of a lunar orbit, the station entered a geocentric orbit (around the Earth), covering both the Earth and the Moon.
10.08.1966
"Lunar Orbiter-1" (USA)
The first American artificial satellite of the Moon. Detailed photography of areas for disembarking people on the visible side. Overview photography of the reverse side.
24.08.1966
"Luna-11" (USSR)
The second Soviet artificial satellite of the Moon. Research of gravitational field and gamma radiation. The meteorite and radiation conditions near the Moon have been studied. 277 orbits made. Communication ceased on October 1, 1966.
20.09.1966
"Surveyor-2" (USA)
Failed soft landing attempt.
22.10.1966
"Luna-12" (USSR)
The third Soviet artificial satellite of the Moon. Continuing research into the cislunar space. 602 orbits made. Communication ceased on January 19, 1967.
06.11.1966
"Lunar Orbiter-2" (USA)
The second American artificial satellite of the Moon. Detailed photography of areas for disembarking people on the visible side. Overview photography of the reverse side.
21.12.1966
"Luna-13" (USSR)
Second Soviet soft landing on the Moon. In the region of the Ocean of Storms, on the plain near the Seleucus crater, the physical and mechanical properties of lunar soil were studied. At certain intervals, 5 panoramic images of the area around the station were taken, in which it is clearly visible how the appearance of the surface changes at different heights of the Sun above the lunar horizon.
05.02.1967
"Lunar Orbiter-3" (USA)
The third American artificial satellite of the Moon. Detailed photography of areas for disembarking people on the visible side. Survey photography of the far side of the Moon.
17.04.1967
"Surveyor-3" (USA)
Second American soft landing on the Moon. Studies of surface properties on a plain in the Ocean of Storms southeast of the Lansberg crater.
04.05.1967
"Lunar Orbiter-4" (USA)
The fourth American artificial satellite of the Moon. A global survey of the Moon was completed (98% of the visible and 96% of the inverse hemisphere) with detail that far exceeds the capabilities of observations from Earth.
14.07.1967
"Surveyor-4" (USA)
Failed soft landing attempt.
19.07.1967
"Explorer-35" (USA)
The fifth American artificial satellite of the Moon. Study of the interplanetary magnetic field, solar plasma and meteor showers in the vicinity of the Moon.
01.08.1967
"Lunar Orbiter-5" (USA)
The sixth American artificial satellite of the Moon. Detailed photography of surface objects important for geological study. Survey survey of the inverse hemisphere to create a global map.
08.09.1967
"Surveyor-5" (USA)
Third American soft landing on the Moon. Exploration of the flat area of the Sea of Tranquility east of the Sabine Crater. 2 years later, the first lunar expedition landed in this area with Apollo 11.
07.11.1967
"Surveyor-6" (USA)
Fourth American soft landing on the Moon. Study of flat terrain in the center of the visible hemisphere (Central Bay).
07.01.1968
"Surveyor-7" (USA)
Fifth American soft landing. First performed in a mountainous continental region (southern hemisphere).
07.04.1968
"Luna-14" (USSR)
The fourth Soviet artificial satellite of the Moon. Study of the gravitational field of the Moon.
15.09.1968
"Zond-5" (USSR)
Testing a ship (analogous to the Soyuz) for a manned flight around the Moon. The first living creatures (steppe tortoises) circled the Moon at a distance of 1,950 km and returned to Earth on September 21, 1968.
10.11.1968
"Zond-6" (USSR)
Testing a ship for a manned flight around the Moon. Fly around the Moon at a distance of 2,400 km and return to Earth on November 17, 1968. For the first time after flying around the Moon, a landing was made not in the ocean, but on land (Kazakhstan, southwest of Dzhezkazgan). However, due to the premature separation of the parachute, the station fell to Earth from a height of 5 km and crashed, which caused the cancellation of the flight around the Moon of two astronauts planned for the next launch of a similar station.
21.12.1968
Apollo 8 (USA)
The first flight of people around the Moon. Astronauts F. Borman, J. Lovell and W. Anders made 10 orbits around the Moon, carried out detailed surveys of the proposed landing areas of the expeditions and conducted observations of the lunar surface. On December 27, 1968, the compartment with the crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.
18.05.1969
Apollo 10 (USA)
The second flight of people around the Moon. Astronauts T. Stafford and Y. Cernan separated in the lunar module from the main ship, where J. Young remained, and for 8 hours made a separate flight, descending to an altitude of 15 km above the lunar surface. 31 orbits around the Moon were made, all stages of the flight to the Moon were rehearsed, except for the landing on the surface itself. The ship returned to Earth on May 26, 1969.
13.07.1969
"Luna-15" (USSR)
The first attempt at automatic delivery of lunar soil. The station crashed while landing in the southern part of the Mare Crisis on July 21, the same day that the Apollo 11 crew entered the lunar surface. The first station of the 3rd (and so far the last) generation. These are large stations (weight 1,500-2,000 kg), consisting of two parts: the station itself (different in each case) and a universal platform with 4 support legs that ensure landing on the surface.
16.07.1969
Apollo 11 (USA)
The first human expedition to the Moon. Astronauts N. Armstrong and E. Aldrin landed on the Moon in the lunar module “Eagle” on July 20, 1969, and on July 21 they walked on the lunar surface for the first time. They spent 21.5 hours on the Moon, 2.5 hours of which were outside the lunar cabin during a single exit. 22 kg of stone and soil samples were collected. A seismometer for monitoring moonquakes and a laser reflector for location from the Earth were left on the surface. The landing area on the flat section of the Sea of Tranquility (0° 40’N, 23° 29’E) was named Tranquility Base. Having launched from the Moon, the lunar cabin docked with the Columbia command module, in which astronaut M. Collins was waiting for his colleagues in lunar orbit. On July 24, 1969, the crew compartment splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.
08.08.1969
"Zond-7" (USSR)
Testing a spacecraft for manned flight. Having flown around the Moon, the station landed on August 14, 1969 (Kazakhstan, south of Kustanai).
14.11.1969
Apollo 12 (USA)
The second expedition of people to the Moon. On November 19, 1969, C. Conrad and A. Bean in the lunar module “Intrepid” landed in the flat region of the Ocean of Storms. R. Gordon remained in orbit in the Yankee Clipper command module. The astronauts spent 31.5 hours on the Moon, about 8 hours of which were outside the cabin, moving up to 500 m from it during two walks to the surface. 34 kg of geological samples were collected. Having walked 160 m, the astronauts approached the Surveyor-3 station, which had been on the Moon for 2.5 years, and dismantled some parts to study them on Earth. Scientific equipment was left on the Moon. On November 24, 1969, they splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.
11.04.1970
Apollo 13 (USA)
Failed expedition. On the way to the Moon, an accident occurred: due to a failure in the thermal control system, an oxygen cylinder exploded in the engine compartment. This disabled the life support system in the Odyssey command module. The astronauts moved to the Aquarius lunar module, which became a space “lifeboat” for them. The moon landing was cancelled. Having flown around the Moon and photographed it, astronauts J. Lovell, J. Swigert and F. Hayes splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 17, 1970.
12.09.1970
"Luna-16" (USSR)
The first automatic delivery of lunar soil (100 g) to Earth. Soft landing on a plain in the Sea of Plenty region, 100 km west of the Webb crater, drilling the surface of the Moon to a depth of 35 cm, takeoff from the Moon, landing on Earth on September 24, 1970 (Kazakhstan, Dzhezkazgan).
20.10.1970
"Zond-8" (USSR)
Testing a ship for a manned flight around the Moon. Photographing the southern part of the far side of the Moon in great detail. The film was delivered to Earth on October 27, 1970 after the station splashed down in the Indian Ocean.
10.11.1970
"Luna-17" (USSR)
The first automatic self-propelled vehicle "Lunokhod-1" (weight 756 kg) was delivered to the Moon. In 10 months (11 lunar days) I traveled 10.5 km along it, studying the flat terrain south of Rainbow Bay in the Sea of Rains. The estimated period of operation on the Moon has been exceeded by more than three times. More than 200 detailed panoramic images of lunar landscapes were obtained, the mechanical characteristics of the soil were studied at 500 points, as well as the chemical composition of the soil at dozens of points. The device was controlled from Earth by a crew of 5 people; for this, more than 20,000 telephoto images of small areas located along the route were transmitted from the Moon. Laser ranging from the Earth of the French reflector installed on the lunar rover made it possible to measure the distance from the Earth to the Moon with an accuracy of 3 m.
31.01.1971
Apollo 14 (USA)
The third expedition of people to the Moon. A. Shepard and E. Mitchell landed on the surface in the Antares lunar module on February 5, 1971, S. Rusa was waiting for them in orbit in the Kitty Hawk command module. In the hilly terrain north of Fra Mauro Crater (the edge of the Ocean of Storms), the astronauts spent 33.5 hours, including 9.5 hours outside the cabin during two surface exits. 42 kg of rock and soil samples were collected. Scientific equipment is installed on the Moon. Returned to Earth on February 9, 1971.
26.07.1971
Apollo 15 (USA)
The fourth expedition of people to the Moon. D. Scott and J. Irwin were on the surface from July 30 to August 2, 1971. A. Worden flew around the Moon in the Endeavor command module. The astronauts spent 67 hours on the Moon, 19 of which were outside the Falcon module. An area on the border between lowland and mountainous areas on the eastern edge of the Sea of Rains was explored. During three surface walks, astronauts rode a rover for the first time, traveling up to 5 km from the landing site and traveling a total of 30 km at speeds of up to 16 km/h. 77 kg of geological samples were collected. Scientific instruments for observations and data transmission to Earth were left behind. Splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on August 7, 1971.
02.09.1971
"Luna-18" (USSR)
Unsuccessful landing in a mountainous area. The soil delivery did not take place.
28.09.1971
"Luna-19" (USSR)
The fifth Soviet artificial lunar satellite explored the cislunar space and conducted television filming of the Moon.
14.02.1972
"Luna-20" (USSR)
The second automatic delivery of lunar soil (50 g) to Earth. The sample was taken by drilling to a depth of 35 cm in the mountainous region of the lunar continent between the Sea of Plenty and the Sea of Crisis. Return to Earth February 25, 1972 (Kazakhstan, Dzhezkazgan).
16.04.1972
Apollo 16 (USA)
The fifth expedition of people to the Moon. On April 21, 1972, J. Young and C. Duke in the Orion lunar module landed on the Moon, T. Mattingly was in orbit in the Casper command module. The first expedition to the continental region of the Moon. A section of the plateau near the Descartes crater in the central part of the visible hemisphere was studied. The astronauts were on the Moon for 71 hours, including 20 hours outside the cabin during three walks to the surface. They traveled 27 km on an all-terrain vehicle, moving up to 4 km from the landing point, and collected 97 kg of lunar rock samples. On April 24, 1971, they launched from the Moon, leaving a set of scientific instruments on it. Returned to Earth on April 27, 1972.
07.12.1972
Apollo 17 (USA)
The sixth (and so far last) human expedition to the Moon. On December 11, 1972, commander Yu. Cernan and the first geologist on the Moon, H. Schmitt, landed on the surface in the Challenger lunar module, while R. Evans remained in orbit in the America command module. The astronauts spent 75 hours on the eastern edge of the Sea of Serenity, in the intermountain Taurus-Littrov valley. The longest stay of people on the Moon. They left the lunar cabin three times, spending 22 hours outside it. The all-terrain vehicle traveled up to 8 km in different directions from the landing point, covering a total of 30.5 km. 110 kg of geological samples were collected. They launched from the Moon on December 14, 1972, leaving scientific equipment on the surface. The expedition that ended the Apollo program returned to Earth on December 19, 1972.
08.01.1973
"Luna-21" (USSR)
Lunokhod-2 (weight 840 kg) was delivered to the Moon. In 4 months, he traveled 37 km on the Moon, studying the area in the Lemonnier crater on the eastern shore of the Sea of Clarity. 86 detailed telepanoramas of the area were received, as well as more than 80,000 telephotos, transmitted every 3 seconds, depicting small areas along the route along which the crew of 5 people from Earth chose the route of movement. Laser ranging from the Earth of the reflector installed on the lunar rover gave highly accurate determinations of the parameters of the Moon's orbit. The change in the mechanical properties and chemical composition of the soil in the zone of transition from the “sea” plain to the continental upland was studied.
29.05.1974
"Luna-22" (USSR)
The sixth Soviet artificial satellite of the Moon. Study of the gravitational field of the Moon, television filming of the surface.
28.10.1974
"Luna-23" (USSR)
Unsuccessful landing on the Moon in the southern part of the Sea of Crisis, the drilling device was damaged, soil delivery did not take place.
09.08.1976
"Luna-24" (USSR)
The third automatic delivery of lunar soil (150 g) to Earth. Drilling was carried out to a depth of 2.5 m in a flat area near the Fahrenheit crater in the Sea of Crisis. Landing on Earth on August 22, 1976 in Western Siberia.
24.01.1990
Hiten (Japan)
The first Japanese artificial lunar satellite. He worked in orbit for 3 years, exploring the gravitational field of the Moon together with the small (12 kg) auxiliary satellite “Hagoromo” launched from its board. Fell to the Moon on April 11, 1993.
25.01.1994
"Clementine" (USA)
The first global survey of the Moon in different parts of the spectrum was carried out from the orbit of an artificial satellite of the Moon to study the mineralogical composition. The first detailed measurement of heights on the entire surface of the Moon with a laser altimeter and obtaining a global relief map.
07.01.1998
"Lunar Prospector" (USA)
Remote measurements of the chemical composition of the lunar surface were carried out from the orbit of its artificial satellite. The possible presence of H2O ice has been discovered in some craters near the poles. During the controlled fall of the station into the Shoemaker crater (July 31, 1999), the capsule on board with the ashes of the American planetary scientist Yu. Shoemaker, a pioneer of geological research of the Moon, was delivered to the surface of the Moon.
Planned launches
2003
"SMART-1" (Europe)
Small Mission for Advanced Research in Technology is the first European space station headed to the Moon. Preparations are being carried out by the European Space Agency (ESA). The launch is scheduled from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana (South America). Flight objectives: testing technical components for future stations, in particular xenon ion jet engines; photography and study of the chemical composition of the lunar surface. A flight to the Moon using ion engines should take 17 months, and work in lunar orbit for 6 months. The mass in lunar orbit is about 300 kg, of which 15 kg is scientific equipment.
2003
"Lunar-A" (Japan)
The planned first landing of a Japanese robotic probe on the Moon is being prepared by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Studies (ISAS) of the Ministry of Education. The launch from the Japanese Kagoshima Cosmodrome has been constantly delayed since 1997. The station's mass is 520 kg. The goal of the project: to observe moonquakes and changes in heat flow from the bowels of the Moon for 1 year using two penetrators - spear-shaped instruments weighing 13 kg with equipment inside, embedded deep into the ground, as well as photographing the surface from the orbit of an artificial satellite of the Moon.
2003
"SELENE" (Japan)
"Selenological and Engineering Explorer" is a joint project of the National Space Agency NASDA and the ISAS Institute. After launching from the Japanese Tanegashima launch site, one year of operation in an orbit 100 km above the Moon, then landing on the Moon and transmitting data from its surface. 13 scientific instruments for studying the chemical composition and heights of the surface, deep structure, magnetic and gravitational fields, and cosmic dust. Practicing soft landings and other technical tasks. For radio communication with the station during periods when it is hidden behind the Moon, a small relay satellite is provided.
2003
"TrailBlazer" (USA)
First commercial flight to the Moon (TransOrbital, California). For the first time, a private company received a license from NASA to launch a vehicle to the Moon. Detailed photography from orbit is planned for 30 days and transmission of images to Earth to create a lunar atlas. To put an end to speculation that the Apollo expeditions did not land on the Moon, it is planned to photograph traces of the astronauts' presence on the lunar surface. At the end of the shooting, the station will fall to the Moon, delivering there a capsule with commercial cargo, orders for which are accepted on the company’s website: $17 for a 3-line message, $30 for 1 page, $2,500 for a business card or for 1 g of small souvenir cargo. The messages will be micro-etched on a nickel disk. The launch of the Dnepr rocket (RS-20) from the launch shaft of the Baikonur Cosmodrome (Kazakhstan) in October 2003 should be carried out by the Russian-Ukrainian enterprise Kosmotras.
2003
"SuperSat" (USA)
Commercial flight to the Moon (LunaCorp, Virginia). Video filming of the Moon from the orbit of its artificial satellite.
2004-2005
"Electra-I" (USA)
The first soft landing for a commercial purpose - delivery of cargo with a total mass of 10 kg to the Moon (TransOrbital company). It is planned to communicate with the device after landing, but only during daylight hours (since the power supply is from solar panels). Launch by Kosmotras from Baikonur using a Dnepr rocket.
2005-2006
"Electra-II" (USA)
Commercial flight of an Electra-I type lander with several small lunar rovers on board (TransOrbital company). The project is under development. Launch by Kosmotras from Baikonur using a Dnepr rocket.
Long-term plans
2005 China*
China's first automatic lunar station - flyby near the Moon or artificial satellite.
until 2007 India
The first Indian automatic station for lunar exploration.
until 2010 China*
The first Chinese automatic station for a soft landing on the Moon.
until 2020 China
Exploration of the Moon by automatic rovers.
2020-2025 Japan
The first Japanese manned flight to the Moon.
2020-2030 India
The first Indian manned expedition to the Moon with the longest stay on the lunar surface (300 hours = 12.5 days).
until 2030 China
Automatic delivery of lunar soil samples to Earth.
2030 China
The first Chinese manned expedition to the Moon.
2035 China
An inhabited lunar base for staying on it for several weeks.
2035-2040 China
Construction of a small, permanently inhabited lunar base.
* China's 2001-2010 space plan does not include funds for lunar exploration.
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