On July 31, 1964, Ranger 7 [
http://nssdc.gsfc.n…] crashed into the Moon. Seventeen minutes before [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] impact it snapped this picture - the first image of the Moon [
http://nssdc.gsfc.n…] ever taken by a U.S. spacecraft. Of course Ranger 7 was intended to crash, transmitting close-up pictures of the lunar surface during its final moments. The Ranger program's [
http://nssdc.gsfc.n…] goal was to begin high resolution mapping of the lunar surface in preparation for a future lunar landing [
http://www.nasm.edu…]. This first image covered 360 kilometers from top to bottom and is centered in the Mare [
http://lunar.arc.na…] Nubium (Sea of Clouds). The large crater at middle right, Alphonsus [
http://lunarprospec…geography_items/cart ers/craters_a.html ], is 108 kilometers in diameter.
On July 31, 1999, Lunar Prospector crashed [
http://www.lunarimp…] into the Moon. During its successful 1 year mission to map the Moon's global properties from orbit, Lunar Prospector confirmed indications that water-ice [
http://nssdc.gsfc.n…] could be trapped in permanently shadowed craters near the lunar poles. Its mission complete, controllers intentionally targeted [
http://science.nasa…] the spacecraft to impact a crater wall, hoping that water could be more directly detected in the resulting debris cloud - although the chances of a successful detection were considered low. Astronomers [
http://www.ae.utexa…] analyzing the data recently announced [
http://www.ae.utexa…] that no visible signature of water was found, so the tantalizing case for water on the Moon remains open [
http://science.nasa…].
Explanation
On July 31, 1964, Ranger 7 [
http://nssdc.gsfc.n…] crashed into the Moon. Seventeen minutes before [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] impact it snapped this picture - the first image of the Moon [
http://nssdc.gsfc.n…] ever taken by a U.S. spacecraft. Of course Ranger 7 was intended to crash, transmitting close-up pictures of the lunar surface during its final moments. The Ranger program's [
http://nssdc.gsfc.n…] goal was to begin high resolution mapping of the lunar surface in preparation for a future lunar landing [
http://www.nasm.edu…]. This first image covered 360 kilometers from top to bottom and is centered in the Mare [
http://lunar.arc.na…] Nubium (Sea of Clouds). The large crater at middle right, Alphonsus [
http://lunarprospec…geography_items/cart ers/craters_a.html ], is 108 kilometers in diameter.
On July 31, 1999, Lunar Prospector crashed [
http://www.lunarimp…] into the Moon. During its successful 1 year mission to map the Moon's global properties from orbit, Lunar Prospector confirmed indications that water-ice [
http://nssdc.gsfc.n…] could be trapped in permanently shadowed craters near the lunar poles. Its mission complete, controllers intentionally targeted [
http://science.nasa…] the spacecraft to impact a crater wall, hoping that water could be more directly detected in the resulting debris cloud - although the chances of a successful detection were considered low. Astronomers [
http://www.ae.utexa…] analyzing the data recently announced [
http://www.ae.utexa…] that no visible signature of water was found, so the tantalizing case for water on the Moon remains open [
http://science.nasa…].
Explanation
