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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Moon_probe
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1992-09-01
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A crewless spacecraft used to investigate the
Moon. Early probes flew past the Moon or
crash-landed on it, but later ones achieved
soft landings or went into orbit. Soviet
probes included the long Lunik/Luna series.
US probes (Ranger, Surveyor, Lunar Orbiter)
prepared the way for the Apollo project
crewed flights. The first space probe to hit
the Moon was the Soviet Lunik 2, on 13 Sept
1959 (Lunik 1 had missed the Moon eight
months earlier). In Oct 1959, Lunik 3 sent
back the first photographs of the Moon's far
side. Lunik 9 was the first probe to
soft-land on the Moon, on 3 Feb 1966,
transmitting photographs of the surface to
Earth. Lunik 16 was the first probe to return
automatically to Earth carrying Moon samples,
in Sept 1970, although by then Moon rocks had
already been brought back by US Apollo
astronauts. Lunik 17 landed in Nov 1970
carrying a lunar rover, Lunokhod, which was
driven over the Moon's surface by remote
control from Earth. The first successful US
Moon probe was Ranger 7, which took close-up
photographs before it hit the Moon on 31 July
1964. Surveyor 1, on 2 June 1966, was the
first US probe to soft-land on the lunar
surface. It took photographs, and later
Surveyors analysed the surface rocks. Between
1966 and 1967 a series of five Lunar Orbiters
photographed the entire Moon in detail, in
preparation for the Apollo landings 1969-72.
The first successful US Moon probe was Ranger
7, which took close-up photographs before it
hit the Moon on 31 July 1964. Surveyor 1, on
2 June 1966, was the first US probe to
soft-land on the lunar surface. It took
photographs, and later Surveyors analysed the
surface rocks. Between 1966 and 1967 a series
of five Lunar Orbiters photographed the
entire Moon in detail, in preparation for the
Apollo landings, when Neil Armstrong and
Edwin Aldrin became the first men to walk on
the Moon.