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Soviet Lunar Images
Phil Stooke
post Jun 28 2005, 04:49 PM
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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;

Attached Image


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

Phil


--------------------
... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.

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Phil Stooke
post Dec 29 2005, 08:31 PM
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Solar System Cartographer
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Good question, JTN. It is one I have looked at closely during my work on my forthcoming atlas.

The spacecraft we call Luna 1 was not called that when it was launched. It was just called 'The Cosmic Rocket', and nicknamed Mechta - 'dream' - reflecting in a common Russian style the romantic notion that space flight, or flights to the Moon, were an ancient dream of humanity, only now being fulfilled. When the first maps of the far side were drawn up in the Soviet Union, a dark smudge on the limb near the central far side was called 'More Mechta' - the Sea of Mechta, a commemoration of the flight of Luna 1. In the west it was often translated 'Sea of Dreams' - which omits the reference to Luna 1 - but the name is singular, not plural. Sea of Dreams is a mistake, and latin translations of 'Sea of Dreams' only make it worse. The designations Luna 1, 2, 3 and so on were only applied retrospectively after Luna 3.

I'll post an image later.

Phil


--------------------
... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.

Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke
NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain)
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Posts in this topic
- Phil Stooke   Soviet Lunar Images   Jun 28 2005, 04:49 PM
- - tedstryk   What I have is very limited - http://pages.preferr...   Jun 29 2005, 02:42 AM
- - Phil Stooke   Thanks, Ted - a nice pair of images (they are join...   Jun 29 2005, 12:38 PM
|- - tedstryk   Well, the Luna landers had fully electronic imagin...   Jun 30 2005, 04:06 PM
- - Phil Stooke   Nice images, Ted! Thanks. Below I have attac...   Jun 30 2005, 07:34 PM
|- - tedstryk   Great map. I am investigating possible leads for ...   Jun 30 2005, 09:44 PM
- - JTN   (This seems like a reasonable topic to revive for ...   Dec 27 2005, 11:20 PM
- - Phil Stooke   Good question, JTN. It is one I have looked at cl...   Dec 29 2005, 08:31 PM
- - Phil Stooke   Perhaps " More Mecht' " would be ...   Dec 29 2005, 08:39 PM
- - Phil Stooke   The Soviet Mountains turned out to be a ray system...   Dec 29 2005, 08:44 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   Two more footnotes: (1) The Soviet naming system...   Dec 30 2005, 02:25 AM
|- - DonPMitchell   QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Dec 29 2005, 07:25 P...   May 24 2006, 07:15 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   Additional note: that Mechta ("Daydream...   Dec 30 2005, 02:32 AM
|- - nprev   QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Dec 29 2005, 07:32 PM)I ...   Dec 30 2005, 09:07 AM
|- - Bob Shaw   QUOTE (nprev @ Dec 30 2005, 10:07 AM)The mind...   Dec 31 2005, 12:47 AM
- - BruceMoomaw   Actually, the US hasn't been that bad in that ...   Dec 31 2005, 02:54 AM
- - David   Although the name Columbia certainly refers to Ame...   Dec 31 2005, 04:09 AM
|- - mcaplinger   QUOTE (David @ Dec 30 2005, 08:09 PM)I do not...   Dec 31 2005, 04:59 AM
- - dvandorn   I dunno, Bruce, there are several other Apollo-era...   Dec 31 2005, 04:24 AM
- - edstrick   We should also remember the one and only Gemini sp...   Dec 31 2005, 12:22 PM
|- - Bob Shaw   'Columbiad' = 'Columbia'? Bob Sha...   Dec 31 2005, 12:32 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   Frank Borman wanted to name Apollo 8 "Columbi...   Dec 31 2005, 11:33 PM
- - dvandorn   Mike Collins comments on the process by which the ...   Dec 31 2005, 11:43 PM
- - JTN   Thanks, Phil, and Bruce -- this has been bugging m...   Jan 2 2006, 01:34 AM
|- - ljk4-1   Anyone wanting to know the origin of most NASA spa...   Jan 3 2006, 03:13 AM
- - BruceMoomaw   Well, the first name for a proposed US artificial ...   Jan 3 2006, 07:37 PM
|- - Bob Shaw   QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Jan 3 2006, 08:37 PM)Wel...   Jan 3 2006, 08:48 PM
- - dvandorn   Yes -- and the U.S. Air Force's man-in-space p...   Jan 3 2006, 11:34 PM
|- - ljk4-1   Dust cloud produced by Luna 5 impacting the lunar ...   Jan 23 2006, 03:42 PM
- - Phil Stooke   I can provide more information on the Luna 5 event...   Jan 23 2006, 04:45 PM
|- - ljk4-1   Bleeps from Luna 3? http://www.svengrahn.pp.se/ra...   Jan 26 2006, 05:20 AM
|- - Andy S   QUOTE (Phil Stooke @ Jan 23 2006, 05:45 PM)I ...   Feb 1 2006, 11:52 PM
- - Phil Stooke   This story mentions Jodrell Bank radio telescope i...   Jan 26 2006, 05:35 PM
|- - ljk4-1   Forty years ago today - launch of the first succes...   Jan 31 2006, 09:50 PM
|- - tedstryk   I was working on an improved Luna 9 pan. I was de...   Jan 31 2006, 10:04 PM
- - Phil Stooke   Andy - the pictures of the Luna 5 'cloud' ...   Feb 2 2006, 01:54 PM
- - Toma B   Recently somebody on this forum posted a link to a...   Feb 5 2006, 12:18 PM
- - Phil Stooke   Replying to Andy, post 34 above: The Luna 5 dust ...   May 24 2006, 08:04 PM
- - BruceMoomaw   The Soviets seem to have finally clarified their i...   May 25 2006, 12:01 AM


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