Luna 1

Luna 1 (also known as the First Cosmic Ship,[3] Cosmic Rocket[4] and Mechta[4] (Russian: Мечта, Literal translation: Dream)) was a space probe of the Soviet Union.[5] It was the first mission in the Luna programme[5] and it was the first spacecraft to reach the Moon.[4][5] Luna 1 made some key scientific discoveries[5] and it is one of the best achievements of the Soviet Union space programme.[5]

Mechta
RIAN archive 510848 Interplanetary station Luna 1 - blacked.jpg
A museum replica
Mission typeLunar impactor
OperatorSoviet Union
Harvard designation1959 Mu 1
COSPAR ID1959-012A
SATCAT no.112
Mission duration"Approximately 62 hours"[1]
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerOKB-1
Launch mass361 kilograms (796 lb)
Start of mission
Launch dateJanuary 2, 1959 16:41:21 (1959-01-02UTC16:41:21Z) UTC
RocketLuna 8K72
Launch siteBaikonur 1/5
End of mission
Last contact"Approximately 62 hours after launch"[1]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemHeliocentric
Semi-major axis1.146 AU
Eccentricity0.14767
Perihelion0.9766 AU
Aphelion1.315 AU
Inclination0.01 degrees[2]
Period450 days
Epoch1 January 1959, 19:00:00 UTC[2]
Lunar flyby (failed impact)
Closest approach4 January 1959
Distance5,995 kilometres (3,725 mi)
 

Design

The spacecraft was sphere-shaped.[4] Five antennae came out of one end.[4] Instrument ports came out of the surface of the sphere.[4] It also had various metallic emblems with the Soviet coat of arms.[4]

Instruments

Luna 1 had radio equipment,[4][5] a tracking transmitter[4][5] and a telemetering system[4] for communication with Earth.[4][5] The spacecraft carried several scientific devices too.[4] These included a magnetometer,[4][5] a device for measuring magnetic fields,[5] a scintillation counter[4][5] (a device for detecting high energy particles[5]) and a geiger counter[4][5] (a device for measuring radiation[5]). Luna 1 also carried a micrometeorite detector and other equipment.[4]

Mission

The space probe was launched on January 2, 1959[3][4][5] at Baikonur Cosmodrome[3][4][5] by a SS-6 Sapwood rocket.[4][5] The launch was successful and Luna 1 became the first man-made object ever to reach the escape velocity of the Earth.[3][5]

On January 3, 1959, the spacecraft released a cloud of sodium gas so that astronomers could track the probe and also to serve as an experiment on the behaviour of gas in space.[4][5]

Luna 1 was intended to impact the Moon's surface.[4][5] However, on January 4, 1959, it passed within 5995 km[4] of the Moon and began to orbit the Sun[3][4][5] between the orbits of Earth and Mars,[3][4] where it is still orbiting now,[3] on a 450 day orbit.[3] Thus, Luna 1 became the first spacecraft to orbit the Sun.[5]

Luna 1 Media

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration".
  2. 2.0 2.1 "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Trajectory Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Cox, Brian; Cohen, Andrew (2010). Wonders of the Universe. HarperCollins. p. 8. ISBN 9780007386901.
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 "Luna 1". NASA. Archived from the original on 2013-02-23. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
  5. 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 "Luna 1", How it Works, Imagine Publishing, no. 22, p. 59, 2011-06-16

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