“I mixed up the cardiac resuscitation equipment with the lie detector, but I will de-fib you later.”
Moon picturesIn 1964, the American space probe Ranger 7 transmitted the first close-up images of the moon's surface ever taken by a U.S. spacecraft, beginning the mapping of the surface in preparation for a future lunar landing. Ranger spacecraft were designed to fly straight down towards the Moon and send images back until the moment of impact. Ranger 7 carried six slow-scan vidicon TV cameras capable of transmitting high-resolution, close-up television pictures of the lunar surface. Seventeen minutes before impact it captured the first image, showing 360-km from top to bottom, including the large crater Alphonsus (108-km diam). The partial scan image taken immediately before impact had a resolution of 0.5 meters. A total of 4308 photographs of excellent quality were returned before Ranger 7 crashed in Mare Cognitum (Sea of Clouds), a mare terrain modified by crater rays. |
