Exploring the Moon NASA's Ranger 5 Mission
0Ranger 5 was a spacecraft of the Ranger program launched by NASA in 1962. Its primary objective was to transmit close-up photographs of the Moon's surface prior to impacting the lunar surface.
The spacecraft was launched on November 18, 1962, but unfortunately, a failure in the onboard guidance system caused the spacecraft to miss its target on the Moon and instead fly by at a distance of about 725 miles (1,166 kilometers). Despite this setback, Ranger 5 was able to successfully transmit high-quality images and data of the Moon's surface during its flyby.
The spacecraft was equipped with a TV camera system, which was designed to take pictures of the lunar surface as it descended towards the Moon. However, due to the failure of the guidance system, the spacecraft did not land on the Moon as planned and instead sent back images of the Moon's surface from a distance.
Ranger 5 was an important step in the development of space exploration and the study of the Moon. It paved the way for future missions that would successfully land on the Moon and greatly expand our knowledge of Earth's only natural satellite.