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Science Luna 10: forty-two years ago, first lunar orbiter
Science Luna 10: forty-two years ago, first lunar orbiter | Luna 10: forty-two years ago, first lunar orbiter |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Saturday, 29 March 2008 | |
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The unmanned Luna 10 (Russia: Lunik 10) was launched with a four-stage Molniya 8K78M launch vehicle. It weighed empty, on Earth, 540 pounds (245 kilograms), and weighed about 3,527 pounds (1,600 kilograms) with a full tank of fuel. Its developmental identification was E-6S No. 206. [Picture of the space craft.] Its length, including the orbiter and lunar rocket, was 6.9 feet (2.7 meters) and its maximum diameter was 3.3 feet (1 meter). At 11:53 UTC, on March 31, the final stage of the launch vehicle fired to send Luna 10 into a trajectory towards the Moon. After separating from its launch vehicle, the Luna 10 rockets are fired on April 1, to correct its trajectory to the Moon. On April 3, at 18:44 UTC, Luna 10 again fires its rockets to place it in a 218 by 632 mile (350 by 1,017 kilometer) orbit about the Moon at an inclination of 71.9 degrees. An orbit about the Moon is called a selenocentric orbit, where “selene” is the Greek word for moon. About fifteen minutes later, Luna 10 separated from its flight vehicle and the payload section began to scientifically study the Moon. While in orbit about the Moon, it orbited once every 178.05 minutes. Luna 10 completed 360 known orbits over sixty days. During these two months, the probe used a magnetometer to study the Moon’s magnetic field; a gamma-ray spectrometer to measure gamma rays, five gas-discharge counters, a (piezoelectric) meteorite detector, infrared emission detector, x-ray photon counters, and solar-plasma instrument. The battery-powered spacecraft transmitted back 219 radio data transmissions back to Soviet scientists on Earth. Its last contact with Earth occurred on May 30, 1966. At this point, it had degraded its orbit to 235 by 612 miles (378 by 985 kilometers) with an inclination of 72 degrees. Although unknown for sure, it is likely that the spacecraft eventually crashed onto the lunar surface sometime thereafter. Additional information about Luna 10 and the U.S.S.R. Luna series is found at: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center: “The Luna probe series ” and “Luna 10 and Luna 12.” Forty-two years later, in 2008, humans are once again reenergizing their efforts to return to Earth’s Moon.
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