Lunokhod 1

Russia

Spacecraft n°:

Russia spacecraft n°:

Launch data:

Designation 70095
Launch date 10 Nov 1970
Launch site B, LC-81/23
Launch vehicle Proton-K/Blok-D
Mission 
Landed on Moon 17 Nov 1970

Spacecraft data:

Prime contractor  Lavochkin
Manufacturer designation 8EK
Platform Luna 17
Operator 
Mass at launch  840 kg
Dry Mass  kg
Basic shape  
Dimension (m) 0.135m high, 0.170m long, 0.160m wide
Equipment 4 TV cameras
Solar array 
Stabilization  
Propulsion 
DC power  
Design lifetime  

Description:

The Lunokhod consisted of a tub-like compartment with a large convex lid on eight wheels. It stood 135 cm high, 170 cm long and 160 cm wide, with a mass of 840 kg. The 8 wheels each had an independent suspension, motor and brake. The rover had two speeds, ~1 km/hr and ~2 km/hr. Lunokhod was equipped with four TV cameras, three of them panoramic cameras. The fourth was mounted high on the rover for navigation, and could return high resolution images at different rates (3.2, 5.7, 10.9 or 21.1 seconds per frame). These images were used by a five-man team of controllers on Earth who sent driving commands to the rover in real time. Communications were through a cone-shaped omni-antenna and a highly directional helical antenna. Power was supplied by a solar panel on the inside of a round hinged lid which covered the instrument bay. A Polonium-210 isotopic heat source was used to keep the rover warm during the lunar nights. Scientific instruments included a soil mechanics tester, solar X-ray experiment, an astrophotometer to measure visible and UV light levels, a magnetometer deployed in front of the rover on the end of a 2.5 m boom, a radiometer, a photodetector (Rubin-1) for laser detection experiments, and a French-supplied laser corner-reflector. Lunokhod was designed to operate through three lunar days (three earth months) but greatly exceeded this in operation.

Mission details:

Luna 17 was launched from an earth parking orbit towards the Moon and entered lunar orbit on November 15, 1970. Luna 17 landed on Moon 17 November 1970 at 03:47:00 GMT, Latitude 38.28 N, Longitude 325.00 E - Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains). The payload, the Lunokhod 1 unmanned rover, rolled down a ramp from the landing stage and began exploring the surface. Lunokhod was intended to operate through three lunar days but actually operated for eleven lunar days (earth months). The operations of Lunokhod officially ceased on October 4, 1971, the anniversary of Sputnik 1. By then it had traveled 10,540 m and had transmitted more than 20,000 TV pictures and more than 200 TV panoramas. It had also conducted more than 500 lunar soil tests.

Externe Links:

Eart-based demonstrators of planetary rovers, Running mock-ups 1963-2002
Mission of Luna 17 / Lunokhod 1
Ref.: #7r, #8, #81, #Zarya - update: 12.12.13 Home