Everything about Luna 1 totally explained
Luna 1 (E-1 series), also known as
Mechta (
lit.:
Dream} was the first
spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the
Moon and the first of the
Luna programme of Soviet automatic interplanetary stations successfully launched in the direction of the Moon.
While traveling through the outer
Van Allen radiation belt, the spacecraft's
scintillator made observations indicating that there exist a small number of high
energy particles in the outer belt. The measurements obtained during this mission provided new data on the Earth's
radiation belt and
outer space. It was discovered that the Moon had no detectable
magnetic field. The first ever direct observations and measurements of the
solar wind, a strong flow of
ionized plasma emanating from the Sun and streaming through interplanetary space, were performed. That ionized plasma concentration was measured to be some 700 particles per cm
3 at altitudes 20-25 thousand km and 300 to 400 particles per cm
3 at altitudes 100-150 thousand km. The spacecraft also marked the first instance of radio communication at the half million kilometres distance.
A malfunction in the ground-based control system caused an error in the rocket's burntime, and the spacecraft missed the target and flew by the
Moon. Approaching it at 5,900 km at the closest point, Luna 1 has become the first object launched by mankind to reach
heliocentric orbit. It was then dubbed a "new planet" and renamed
Mechta. Its orbit lies between those of
Earth and
Mars. The name "Luna-1" was applied retroactively years later. Luna-1 was originally referred to as the "First Cosmic Rocket", in reference to its achievement of escape velocity.
The spacecraft
The scientific equipment and the satellite's power center was located in the spherical container, combining for a weight of 361.3 kg. Five antennae extended from one hemisphere. Instrument ports also protruded from the surface of the sphere. The spacecraft contained
radio equipment, a
tracking transmitter, a
telemetry system, five different sets of scientific devices for studying interplanetary space (including a
magnetometer,
Geiger counter,
scintillation counter, and
micrometeorite detector), and other equipment. The total final (with fuel spent) mass of the third (upper) stage rocket with the spacecraft was 1472 kg.
It was intended that after a completion of its scientific mission of in-flight measurements, Luna-1 would crash into the Moon delivering two metallic pennants with the Soviet coat of arms that were included into its package.
The flight
Luna-1 was launched on January 2, 1959, at 16:41
GMT (19:41
Moscow time) by the
Vostok rocket from the
Baikonur Cosmodrome.
On January 2, 1959, Luna 1 became the first ever man-made object to reach the
escape velocity of the Earth (what is also known as the
second cosmic velocity), when it separated from its 1472 kg third stage. The third stage, 5.2 m long and 2.4 m in diameter, traveled along with Luna 1. On 3 January, 3:56:20
Moscow Time, at a distance of 119,500 km from Earth,
a large (1 kg) cloud of
sodium gas was released by the spacecraft, thus making this probe also the first artificial
comet. This glowing orange trail of gas, visible over the
Indian Ocean with the brightness of a sixth-magnitude star for a few minutes, was photographed
(External Link
) by
Mstislav Gnevyshev at the Mountain Station of the Main Astronomical Observatory of the
Academy of Sciences of the USSR near
Kislovodsk.
It served as an experiment on the behavior of gas in outer space. Luna 1 passed within 5995 km of the Moon's surface on 4 January after 34 hours of flight. It went into orbit around the Sun, between the orbits of Earth and Mars.
Further Information
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