A Short History of Manned and Unmanned Moon Missions

Tweet

Buzz Aldrin salutes the American flag on the Moon

Israel, or, rather, a private company from Israel, is about to launch an unmanned mission to make a soft-landing on the moon.

I think that's pretty cool.

The mission, by the Israeli company SpaceIL and its partner Israel Aerospace Industries is called Beresheet.

Beresheet is the first word of the Hebrew Bible, meaning “in the beginning.”

Mahound's Paradise will have more on this in a few days when, God grant, the attempt is successful.

As many of you know, the United States, the Soviet Union and China have already made manned and/or unmanned soft-landings on the Moon. Japan, India and two European entities have either made hard-landings or put probes into Moon orbit.

As a preview to the Israeli attempt, I wanted to review some of the history of Moon missions, so I created a short list, below. Some of the history is well-known, Some of it isn't.

Part of why it isn't is because the Zeitgeist doesn't care anymore. We've moved on to Climate Change.

A few years ago, I wrote about the almost miraculous success of the American space effort of the 1960's, culminating, of course, in the Apollo Moon landings. But let me, here, say a few brief words about the Soviet space program. Many view it as a failure. The U.S.S.R officially lost the "space race" after all. And the perception of some is that that the Soviet effort featured many unnecessary deaths (most of which were covered up at the time) due to relatively crude technology and a cavalier attitude towards human life.

I think that view is unfair. As we'll see below, most Moon "firsts" were in fact achieved by the Soviets. Yes, their early attempts were crude, but so were ours. But in general they just kept trying until they met with success. In a sense that's what science and exploration is all about.

Some Soviet astronauts died in Earth atmosphere (many more Soviet space program staffers would perish on the ground - the majority in the horrific launch pad explosion, now called the Nedelin Catastrophe). But in the end, as far as we know, fewer Soviets would die in space or after launch than Americans. Of course, all of the heroes from both countries who perished deserve our praise and our prayers.

Yes, the Soviet Union was a tyranny, and its motives for learning how to successfully launch rockets were not pure (then again, neither were ours, completely). But its space program was designed and carried out by human beings, many of whom exemplified the best in human ingenuity.

Give credit where credit is due.

Let's hope the Israeli mission is part of a rebirth of Moon and space exploration - by both private entities and governments. From the news accounts of planned and potential missions it could seem to be. And I hope this country leads it, not because it's my country, but because we're still the best placed to do so. And not doing so would be "dropping the ball". Who wants to do that?

MAGA means more than just building a wall.

Here's a quick review of the history of Moon missions:     

1958-64:

During this period the goal was for an unmanned vehicle to reach the moon. Twenty-two missions were attempted with only three being completely successful. Interestingly, the Soviets generally attempted to hit the Moon while the Americans generally tried to get a craft into Moon orbit. In addition, most of the Soviet missions failed during launch, whereas the Americans had a more even record with some of its failures occurring in space.

1st unmanned attempt to hit Moon : U.S.S.R., 23 September 1958, Luna E-1, No. 1. The craft failed to reach orbit due to a second stage failure.

1st unmanned far flyby of Moon : U.S.A., 3 March 1959, Pioneer 4. The craft flew by the Moon but at a much greater distance than planned, thus unfortunately putting it out of instrument range. But Pioneer 4 was the first vehicle to leave Earth orbit.

1st unmanned impact on Moon: U.S.S.R., 12 September 1959, Luna 2. The United States wouldn't do this until 1962, when Ranger 4 ran out of power in space but drifted into the moon three days later. 

1st unmanned successful flyby of Moon: U.S.S.R., 4 October 1959, Luna 3. The craft was the first to transmit images of the far side of the Moon.

1965-68:

During these years, the goal was to land on the moon with an unmanned vehicle and conduct experiments and studies leading to manned missions.  

1st unmanned soft-landing on Moon: U.S.S.R., 31 January 1966, Luna 9. The United States would land Surveyor 1 four months later.

1st unmanned mission to orbit Moon: U.S.S.R., 1 March 1966, Luna 10. It continued to transmit data for almost two months.

1st unmanned mission to carry Earth life into Moon Orbit: U.S.S.R., 14 September 1968, Zond 5. This was also the first craft to reach the vicinity of the moon and then return to Earth. The "earth life" consisted of two turtles. Unfortunately they didn't survive the journey home.

1968-72:

This period saw the first (and only) manned missions to the moon - among the greatest set of scientific, technological and exploration missions in human history. It's amazing to consider that these occurred with computing memory and power far inferior to that currently found in a dollar store toy, and only a few years after primitive rockets were exploding right and left on launchpads.  

1st manned orbit of Moon: U.S.A., 21 December 1968, Apollo 8. The vehicle would complete ten orbits before successfully returning to Earth.

1st manned landing on Moon: U.S.A., 16 July 1969, Apollo 11. Seven Apollo missions would follow, six of them successful. Twelve men would walk on the moon (with six of them driving a buggy over it). There have been no other manned missions to the Moon in almost fifty years.

1st unmanned soil sample return from Moon: U.S.S.R., 12 September 1970, Luna 16. The Soviets would accomplish this again in 1976. No other mission ever did this.

1st unmanned landing on Moon with an unmanned rover: U.S.S.R., 10 November 1970, Luna 17. The rover was called Lunokhod 1 and looked a bit like a high-tech baby carriage. It survived for almost a year, being controlled from a secret Moscow facility and driven roughly one day per month for up to a mile.

1st manned landing on Moon with a manned-rover or "moon buggy": U.S.A., 26 July 1971, Apollo 15. The rovers on this and the next two Apollo missions would cover over fifty miles.

Lunokhod 1

1973-Present:

The modern space age has given us many undeniably cool things - the Hubble Telescope, planetary probes and rovers, and the International Space Station. But judged by the hopes of the 1960's it was a bust. There would be no moon bases, no Howard Johnson's hotels in orbit, no missions to Mars. Instead, we got the internet.

But kudos to Japan, India and China.  

1st unmanned flyby of Moon on the way to other planets: U.S.A., 3 July 1973, Mariner 10. The craft would go on to Venus and Mercury.

1st unmanned flyby/orbit of Moon not by Americans or Soviets (Japan): Japan, 24 January 1990, Hiten.

1st unmanned orbit of Moon by the European Space Agency: ESA, 27 September 2003, SMART-1.

1st unmanned orbit of Moon by China: People's Republic of China, 24 October 2007, Chang'e 1.

1st unmanned orbit of Moon by India: India, 21 October 2008, Chandrayaan 1.

1st unmanned impact of Moon not by Americans or Soviets (India): India, 21 October 2008, Moon Impact Probe.

1st unmanned soft landing on Moon not by Americans or Soviets (China): People's Republic of China, 1 December 2013, Chang'e 3. The craft also deployed a rover.

1st unmanned flyby of Moon by private company: LuxSpace (based in Luxembourg), 23 October 2014, 4M. The craft was launched with a Chinese rocket.

1st unmanned soft landing on far side of the Moon: People's Republic of China, 7 December 2018, Chang'e 4. The craft also deployed a rover.

2019-

A private Israeli company lands a probe on the Moon in 2019 (?)

Men from the United States return to the Moon by 2028 (?)

An artist's depiction of the Beresheet lander

Vatican Radio: Church to Put Man on Moon by 2030

Tweet

Werner Arber, at this morning's press conference (credit: Vatican Radio)

I assume many of you have seen this by now, but I'm reprinting the news release here. In the spirit of Lenten charity, Mahound's Paradise will, for once, refrain from commenting.

From Vatican Radio:

(Rome) In a startling announcement, Saturday morning, Werner Arber, President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, confirmed that the Vatican is partnering with the European Space Agency to send a scientific team to the surface of the moon by the year 2030. Arbor stated that the mission would include the establishment of a permanent base, administered by the Space Agency but under the ultimate authority of the Roman Pontiff.

"This is the most exciting initiative of the Church since the convocation of the Second Vatican Council," said Arber, as part of his remarks. "It's been in the planning stages since 2014, but the participants agreed not to go public until full funding for the project had been obtained. What I can tell you is that the initial invitation to look into the plan's feasibility came directly from Pope Francis."

The Pope addressed the audience in a recorded video message:

"We go to the moon, not for national gain or individual self-interest but for all mankind (per tutta l'umanità). The Bishop of Rome remembers as a young priest in Argentina, the excitement of the first 'space race.' Sometimes framed as an element of the so-called 'Cold War,' the American and Russian effort to send a man to the moon was actually a triumph of the spirit of humanity, and transgressed the artificiality of borders. Everyone watched on television, men and women, the 'middle-class' and the poor, in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and yes, even here in Italy (laughter from the audience). The goal is to re-capture the spark of cooperation and unity that appears to be so lacking in today's world, a world that seems to lurch from one crisis to another without goal or purpose."

"Some say that we should solve the problems of our own planet. The Church emphatically says 'yes' to this, but the current initiative is part of that effort. With the earth at constant risk of destruction from climate change, nuclear proliferation and other causes, our best hope is to look outward, not inward; to embrace the challenges of the future, not cling to the comfort of the past. Europe is like an old women. She needs to drink from the cup of youth."

Werner said that ten men would initially land - a number radically greater than the two-person American missions of the 1960s and 1970s. Within five years, fifty would be inhabiting the base. Some of them would be priests.

The President of the Council then entertained a few short questions:

"Funding will primarily come from the Vatican Bank, with a portion contributed by private investors such as Jeff Bezos and the Blue Origin fund. The German Church has also pledged its support."

"The Church, as initiator, first ambassador and primary financial backer of the mission, would have formal authority over the new lunar territory. This was unanimously agreed to by ESA members, who had an additional interest in choosing a 'neutral' trans-national arbiter to suppress the political infighting that had burdened recent Space Agency initiatives. But practical administration of the installation would be a cooperative effort."

"The Vatican has not yet officially discussed the mission with government representatives outside of the European Union, but wider communication initiatives will commence shortly - all will be welcome to participate. In this, we certainly reach out to the United States."

Werner was also asked, to general laughter, whether the Pope himself would choose to go. "The Pope told me that he is an old man, and he certainly doesn't foresee himself as an astronaut. He confided that he'd rather watch it on television in the Vatican Gardens 'with my brother, Benedict XVI.'"

"We choose to go to the moon, not because it is easy, but because it is hard."

Tweet

Forty-seven years ago today,* a man first walked on the moon.

After six moon landings over a span of three-years, manned space travel was abandoned for a half a century. That fact is emblematic of our inwardly focused "modern" times.

And even though it looks like we're close to going back, it is arguably not the same.

Back in the day, space was for the people, not for spoiled internet tycoons.

The beautiful and inspiring documentary For All Mankind, chronicles the six successful Apollo moon landings, among other things employing stunning footage of men walking, running, jumping, falling and even careening at speed (in a moon buggy) across its surface. Many of these scenes have been all but forgotten.

Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmidt and the lunar rover on the edge of Shorty Crater

The film begins with a speech by John F. Kennedy, made at Rice University in 1962, outlining the plan to "land men on the moon and return them safely back to Earth" by the end of the decade.

To any space nut, patriot or mere aficionado of human achievement and the human spirit, it has to be one of the most inspiring speeches ever made.

Kennedy is a Boston Brahmin - "because it is hahd" - crossed with David Mamet - "and do the other things."

Here's the excerpt, with the actual text slightly rearranged (and one phrase altered), as it appears in the film:   

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. 

We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for all mankind. 

We shall send to the moon, 240,000 miles away from the control station in Houston, a giant rocket more than 300 feet tall, the length of this football field, made of new metal alloys, some of which have not yet been invented, capable of standing heat and stresses several times more than have ever been experienced, fitted together with a precision better than the finest watch, carrying all the equipment needed for propulsion, guidance, control, communications, food and survival, on an untried mission, to an unknown celestial body... 

And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.

Watch the speech - the first two minutes of Part I of the film - below. Then, if you have time and you haven't done so already, view the entire movie. (The other parts are available on YouTube. You can also watch it on Hulu Streaming, among other places.)

  

*The Lunar Module touched down on July 20th at 20:18 UTC. Neil Armstrong planted his foot on the surface on July 21st at 2:56 UTC. This post was delayed one day due to American politics.

Conspiracy Monday: Capricorn One

Tweet

The poster says it all

This Conspiracy Monday post isn't about an alleged actual conspiracy but rather a fictional one--a faked Mars landing as portrayed in the wonderful 1978 movie Capricorn One.

Some think of this film as a guilty pleasure, but I think that undersells it. It's a fabulously entertaining roller-coaster ride of a movie that manages to make its outrageous premise believable, or at least believable enough, for its two hours and four minutes.

I claimed that the the conspiracy was one of fiction, but that's not quite true. The "Mars landing" of the story is really a half-heartedly veiled version of one of the Moon landings, perhaps the first Moon landing. And one assumes the filmmakers pulled back from that explicit premise out of fear of being politically incorrect. There are three astronauts in a small capsule--which, given the fact that they are going on a months long mission to Mars makes no sense--and the "landing" seems to consist of little more than stepping onto the surface, planting a flag and making a short speech. The 1970's technology is almost identical to that of the Apollo missions. And the "look" of the players--astronauts, Mission Control, the media, the families--is precisely that of the era. This isn't the near future but the present.

So, minutes before launch, the astronauts are secretly spirited out of the capsule to a secret warehouse in the desert and informed that due to an unanticipated defect in the life-support systems, "you guys would all be dead in three weeks." Since the Mars program is teetering on the edge of being canceled, an incredible scheme has been concocted to fake the landing on a soundstage and thus preserve the momentum for future missions. 

"I have to start by saying that if there was any other way, if there was even a slight chance of another alternative, I would give anything not to be here with you now. Anything"

The astronauts only agree to participate after being told that the lives of their families are now at stake:

You think it's all a couple of looney scientists, it's not! It's bigger. There are people out there, "forces" out there, who have a lot to lose. They're grown ups. It's gotten too big, it's in the hands of grown ups!

Amazingly, the plan goes along without a hitch, with the astronauts acting their roles from their desert location--though one tries to send a coded message home--until the "returning" capsule burns up in re-entry. (Was this planned? The film doesn't make it clear.) Obviously, the astronauts must now be eliminated...

What really makes the movie is the incredible ensemble cast of not-quite first-tier actors--or at least actors that were not quite first-tier at the time (1978), either because they were still on the way up--Sam Waterson, James B. Sikking and Barbara Bosson (the latter two would go on to star in Hill Street Blues a few years later)--on their way down--Elliott Gould, Telly Savalas and Hal Holbrook--or sort of permanent B-stars--Karen Black, Brenda Vaccaro, James Brolin and (of all people) O.J. Simpson.

There's a funny unrequited back and forth between the hack investigative reporter Gould and the TV anchorwoman Black, a black helicopters versus crop duster chase with Savalas, desert survival with Brolin eating a snake, an insane uncontrolled drive through city streets with breaks cut by the bad guys, faked space-capsul interviews, an endearingly off-color senator, people suddenly disappearing after they "ask too many questions", a thoroughly oily Holbrook, the new widow (or so she thinks) Vaccaro tearing up to her son who is so proud that "my daddy went to Mars", crooked FBI agents planting drugs and much more.

Without giving too much away the final scene is a triumphant stick-it-to-the-secret-government moment that is almost perfect.

Would that all conspiracies were this much fun.