When former President John F. Kennedy made his legendary speech that directed the U.S. to land a man on the moon, he didn’t specify where.
NASA had to figure it out.
Fifty years ago this Sunday, NASA launched a spacecraft to take photos of the moon’s surface while in lunar orbit. The spacecraft was Lunar Orbiter 2, launched on November 6, 1966.
Copernicus crater from Lunar Orbiter 2. Image Credit: NASA
The spacecraft sent more than 800 images back to Earth from the moon. Lunar Orbiter 2 was used to select and verify landing sites on the moon that would be safe for the upcoming Surveyor and Apollo spacecraft. The Surveyor spacecraft were the nation’s first to land on the moon.
Throughout the program, Lunar Orbiters sent back images of 99% of the moon’s surface! The five orbiters also conducted radiation and micrometeoroid impact experiments. Other experiments showed that humans would be protected from solar particle events.
Lunar Orbiter 2. Credit: NASA
Learn more about the moon and NASA’s work at NASA.gov.