Lunokhod: Reflections on a Moon Robot
Credit: Lavochkin Association
Posted on 06/06/2010 5:44:50 AM PDT by sig226
Explanation: It may look like some sort of cute alien robot, but it was created here on Earth, launched to the Moon in 1970, and now reflects laser light in a scientifically useful way. On November 17, 1970 the Soviet Luna 17 spacecraft landed the first roving remote-controlled robot on the Moon. Known as Lunokhod 1, it weighed just under 2,000 pounds and was designed to operate for 90 days while guided in real-time by a five person team near Moscow, USSR. Lunokhod 1 toured the lunar Sea of Rains (Mare Imbrium) for 11 months in one of the greatest successes of the Soviet lunar exploration program. This Lunokhod's operations officially ceased in 1971. Earlier this year, however, the position of the rover was recovered by NASA's moon-orbiting Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Given that position, laser pulses from Earth were successfully bounced off the old robot's reflector. Bouncing laser pulses off of this and other lunar reflectors could yield range data to the moon accurate enough to track millimeter-sized deviations in the Moon's orbit, effectively probing lunar composition and testing gravitational theories.
who knew?
They did pretty good with it but we have long past smashed that record with the mars rovers.
Did you know that the lasers hitting this machine detected the quivering of the moon caused by the impact of a giant comet or asteroid that was recorded and visually seen On 25 June, 1178 AD by Canterbury priests?
Ok, I guess I’m just really mean, but it looks like a wash tub on broken baby buggy wheels.
No, I didn’t know that.
And I don’t believe it, either.
You don’t believe which? That there was a lunar impact at the time, or that lasers show the moon to be shaking?
That the moon is still quivering 832 years later, and that residual quiver can be distinguished from the ringing of all the other impacts, great and small, since.
Oh. Okay. THAT particular impact causing the current quivering was speculation on the part of the researchers. On that, we agree. My point was that the rover in the pic above is what we used to see the quiver.
(All this talking about quivering is making me want to go see old GFs...)
Me too...
...the position of the rover was recovered by NASA's moon-orbiting Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Given that position, laser pulses from Earth were successfully bounced off the old robot's reflector. Bouncing laser pulses off of this and other lunar reflectors could yield range data to the moon accurate enough to track millimeter-sized deviations in the Moon's orbit, effectively probing lunar composition and testing gravitational theories.
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