Soviet Lunar Images Options

[Phil Stooke]

Here's another very interesting and little known topic, so this is a chance to ask or to post about it.

I am looking for information on the Soviet Union's lunar missions. Actually I have lots already, but you can always use a bit more.

Specifically, consider this question: what areas were photographed by the Soviet lunar orbiters, Lunas 12, 19 and 22? First I must say that these were NOT systematic mapping missions, they were tests of experimental imaging systems, and the SU never undertook any systematic mapping of the Moon. So coverage is limited.

I have searched high and low for images from these missions, helped especially by the extremely talented and knowledgeable Don Mitchell. For this post I'm going to stick to Luna 19, coming back to the others later. Between us, Don and I have located five Luna 19 images, often of very poor quality (photocopies of prints from magazines, microfilm of russian newspapers, etc.) I reprojected them into approximate mapping geometry and then searched for their locations on the Moon. Result, the first ever (AFAIK) index map of Luna 19 coverage. When I was in Moscow I asked for this but got nowhere, and I'm not sure they ever did it, or certainly didn't publish it. The area often reported as the focus of Luna 19 images refers in fact only to one orbit.

So, here's the index map;



and if anybody can track down any OTHER Luna 19 images I would be VERY grateful for the information.

Phil

[Phil Stooke]

I can provide more information on the Luna 5 event.

A series of low quality images from the East German observations was published in New Scientist shortly after the event - I don't have the actual reference for that, maybe someone can track it down.

This dust cloud was located near Pitatus crater south of Mare Nubium. Luna 5 itself crashed near Lansberg crater, close to the equator. The Pitatus event was caused by the upper stage which propelled Luna 5 to the moon.

Controversy has always surrounded observations like this. Luna 2 and Luna 7 impacts may also have been observed (see Sky & Telescope just after Luna 2 for a description of that, but again I don't have a reference in front of me). No US impacts were ever observed despite repeated efforts, so US sources tended to discount these reports (though the Luna 7 report is from a US source, not the Soviets). Only Hiten, the Japanese mission, is unequivocally known to have been observed from Earth.

Phil

[ljk4-1]

Bleeps from Luna 3?

http://www.svengrahn.pp.se/radioind/Luna3b...Luna3beeps.html


Luna 3 - the first view of the Moon's far side

http://www.svengrahn.pp.se/trackind/luna3/Luna3story.html