Space Exploration 1957 Through 1977

Explorer ► 74 successful missions ► 4 unsuccessful ► Explorer satellites have made important discoveries:  Earth's magnetosphere and the shape of its gravity field;  the solar wind;  Some Explorer spacecraft have even traveled to other planets, and some have monitored the Sun.

Explorer 1

Pioneer ► Designed for planetary exploration ► Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 explored the outermost planets and left the solar system ► Pioneer 10 lasted for almost 30 years

Ranger ► Designed to obtain close-up images of the moon. ► Designed to impact the moon after taking pictures ► First image of the moon by Ranger 7 in 1964 ► Nine missions

Mariner ► a series of robotic interplanetary probes designed to investigate Mars, Venus and Mercury ► first planetary flyby, the first pictures from another planet, the first planetary orbiter, and the first gravity assist maneuver ► 10 vehicles—7 successful

Voyager ► Primary mission was to gain information about Jupiter and Saturn ► Went on to explore Uranus and Neptune ► 1 and 2 were deployed in 1977 ► Last pictures were sent in 1990

Surveyor ► Sent seven robotic spacecraft to the surface of the Moon. Its primary goal was to demonstrate the feasibility of soft landings on the Moon. ► 5 of the 7 were successful ► All 5 are still on the surface of the moon

Mercury ► First man-in-space program ► 6 manned flights from ► Previous unmanned mission carried a chimpanzee ► Goals:  To orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth  To investigate man’s ability to function in space  To recover both man and spacecraft safely

Virgil Grissom and Alan Shepard

Gemini ► 2 man space flights ► 12 flights, including two unmanned flight tests of the equipment ► Goals:  To subject man and equipment to space flight up to two weeks in duration.  To rendezvous and dock with orbiting vehicles and to maneuver the docked combination by using the target vehicle's propulsion system;  To perfect methods of entering the atmosphere and landing at a preselected point on land. Its goals were also met, with the exception of a land landing, which was cancelled in 1964.

Edwin Aldrin in EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity)

Apollo ► The Apollo program was designed to land humans on the Moon and bring them safely back to Earth. ► Six of the missions (Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17) achieved this goal.

► Apollo 1 caught fire before liftoff, killing all three men aboard.

► Apollo 10 (USA) May 1969  Lunar Manned Orbiter  tested the Lunar Module, separating it from the Command and Service Module and descended to within 50,000 feet of the lunar surface ► Apollo 11 (USA) July 1969  Lunar Manned Lander  the first manned lunar landing, which took place on July 20, 1969

► Apollo 12 (USA) November 1969  Lunar Manned Lander  retrieved portions of Surveyor 3, including the camera  Astronauts also deployed the Apollo lunar surface experiment package (ALSEP), an automated research station which was also deployed by all subsequent lunar crews.

► Apollo 13 (USA) April 1970  Lunar Flyby  The Apollo 13 mission became one of survival for the astronauts on board. During the translunar coast an explosion destroyed both power and propulsion systems of the Command Service Module. The Lunar Module was used as a lifeboat for the astronauts.

Apollo 11 Command Module “Columbia”

Apollo 11 Lunar Module “Eagle”

Sizes of Capsules