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LUNAR ORBITERS

The Lunar Orbiter spacecraft were designed primarily to photograph areas of the
lunar surface for selection and verification of safe landing sites for the
Surveyor and Apollo missions. It was also equipped to collect selenodetic,
radiation intensity, and micrometeoroid impact data.


MISSIONS

5

SATELLITES

99%

MOON PHOTOGRAPHED


LUNAR ORBITER (1966 – 1967)

Five Lunar Orbiter missions were launched in 1966 through 1967 with the purpose
of mapping the lunar surface before the Apollo landings. All five missions were
successful, and 99% of the Moon was photographed with a resolution of 60 m or
better. The first three missions were dedicated to imaging 20 potential lunar
landing sites, selected based on Earth-based observations. These were flown at
low inclination orbits. The fourth and fifth missions were devoted to broader
scientific objectives and were flown in high altitude polar orbits. Lunar
Orbiter 4 photographed the entire nearside and 95% of the farside, and Lunar
Orbiter 5 completed the farside coverage and acquired medium (20 m) and high (2
m) resolution images of 36 pre-selected areas. The images at the top of the page
show the Lunar Orbiter spacecraft with the high and medium resolution cameras at
the center, and an image of the crater Tycho taken with the Lunar Orbiter 5
medium resolution camera.

The Lunar Orbiters had an ingenious imaging system, which consisted of a
dual-lens camera, a film processing unit, a readout scanner, and a film handling
apparatus. Both lenses, a 610-mm narrow angle high-resolution (HR) lens and an
80-mm wide-angle medium resolution (MR) lens, placed their frame exposures on a
single roll of 70 mm film. The axes of the two cameras were coincident so the
area imaged in the HR frames were centered within the MR frame areas. The film
was moved during exposure to compensate for the spacecraft velocity, which was
estimated by an electric-optical sensor. The film was then processed, scanned,
and the images transmitted back to Earth.

All Crewed Missions


LUNAR ORBITER 1

Firsts Key Dates Aug. 10, 1966: Launch Aug. 14, 1966: Entered lunar orbit Oct.
29, 1966: Spacecraft crashed on Moon In Depth: Lunar Orbiter 1 The Lunar Orbiter
program originated in response to…

Learn More





-21078

days

-09

hrs

-06

mins

-14

secs
Oct 29, 1966 09:51 UTC

All Crewed Missions


LUNAR ORBITER 2

Key Dates Nov. 6, 1966: Launch Nov. 10, 1966: Spacecraft arrived in lunar orbit
Nov. 18, 1966: Photography mission began Oct. 11, 1967: Spacecraft deliberately
crashed on the Moon In Depth: Lunar Orbiter 2…

Learn More





-20731

days

-08

hrs

-20

mins

-14

secs
Oct 11, 1967 10:37 UTC

All Crewed Missions


LUNAR ORBITER 3

Key Dates Feb.5, 1967: Launch Feb. 8, 1967: Arrived in lunar orbit Feb. 15,
1967: Photographic mission began Oct. 9, 1967: Spacecraft intentionally crashed
onto lunar surface In Depth: Lunar Orbiter 3 Lunar Orbiter…

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-20733

days

-08

hrs

-13

mins

-14

secs
Oct 09, 1967 10:44 UTC

All Crewed Missions


LUNAR ORBITER 4

Key Dates May 4, 1967: Launch May 8, 1967: Entered lunar orbit May 11,
1967: Began photographic mission Oct. 6, 1967: Spacecraft crashed onto the Moon
Firsts In Depth: Lunar Orbiter 4 Lunar Orbiter…

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-20736

days

-08

hrs

-08

mins

-14

secs
Oct 06, 1967 10:49 UTC

All Crewed Missions


LUNAR ORBITER 5

Key Dates Aug. 1, 1967: Launch Aug. 3, 1967: Lunar Orbiter 5 entered lunar polar
orbit Aug. 7, 1967: Photography mission began Jan. 31, 1968: Spacecraft
commanded to impact on surface of the Moon…

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LUNAR ORBITER

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LEWIS LAUNCHED LUNAR ORBITER 3 TO THE MOON IN THE 1960S

Before Apollo missions landed on the Moon, NASA launched a series of orbiters to
photographically explore the lunar surface to…

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