Ranger lunar capsules were designed to cushion scientific instruments as they landed on the Moon. Two NASA probes carrying them missed their target in 1962 and entered orbit around the Sun; there has been no recent confirmation of the capsules’ condition.

Key Takeaways

  • Ranger 3 and Ranger 5 both failed to place a seismometer on the Moon.
  • The probes returned some radiation data before their missions ended.
  • The capsules may still be orbiting the Sun, but their present condition has not been confirmed.

How Ranger lunar capsules were designed

NASA’s early Ranger programme sent probes toward the Moon to capture images and collect scientific data before impact. Some carried a separate seismometer capsule protected by a balsa-wood sphere roughly 65 centimetres across.

The plan was for the capsule to separate near the Moon and slow down before impact. If the instrument survived, it could help scientists investigate the Moon’s interior.

Two probes missed the Moon

Ranger 3 launched on January 26, 1962, but a series of malfunctions sent it off course. It flew past the Moon and entered orbit around the Sun.

Ranger 5 launched on October 18, 1962. A power-system failure prevented a needed course correction, and the probe passed the Moon at about 450 miles, or 724 kilometres, before also entering solar orbit.

The capsules may still be travelling around the Sun, but there has been no recent sighting or confirmation of their condition.

Some science survived the failures

Ranger 3 provided the first measurements of interplanetary gamma-ray flux. Before its batteries were depleted, Ranger 5 sent back about four hours of data from its gamma-ray experiment.

NASA continued the Ranger series. Ranger 7, launched in 1964, transmitted thousands of photographs before impacting the lunar surface.

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