Lost and found again: Soviet Lunokhod-1
In November 1970, the Soviet station sank to the surface of the moon. The all-terrain vehicle, called "Lunokhod-1", came down to the surface to conduct experiments and take photographs. On board the all-terrain vehicle was a French-made reflector, which scientists on Earth could use to calculate distances and better understand lunar geology.
Ten months later, Lunokhod-1 fell silent, and its location on the Moon became unknown. Over the years, scientists sometimes sent a signal with a laser around its last known coordinates, hoping for the beam to return from the reflector. But there was no answer, and they decided that the all-terrain vehicle got into the crater or drove under the rock, which prevents receiving a signal from the Earth.
But the situation changed over the weekend, when scientists armed with high-resolution photographs obtained from the NASA lunar reconnaissance orbital module, Lunokhod-1 coordinates mark.
“It turned out that the difference in distance from the previous estimated all-terrain vehicle location to the real one was kilometers,” says Tom Murphy, University of California, San Diego. Using a 3.5 meter telescope at the Apache Point Observatory, New Mexico, Murphy and his team sent laser pulses to the coordinates of the newly found Lunokhod-1 and found the retroreflector in excellent condition.
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“We didn’t expect to see it so bright - at least five times brighter than another Soviet reflector on Lunokhod-2, to which we regularly send laser pulses,” Murphy said in a press release on the discovery.
The distance between the reflector of Lunokhod-1 and the Earth was calculated with an accuracy of 1 cm (0.4 inches). The second measurement, 30 minutes later, allowed scientists to triangulate the position of the reflector on the moon with an accuracy of 10 meters (32.8 feet). Further refinement of the location is expected in the coming months.
Scientists want to add Lunokhod-1 location data to other information on an already existing network. In addition to the Soviet reflectors, NASA astronauts placed a laser reflector on the lunar surface during the Apollo 1969-1972 mission on the moon. This information is used to collect an idea of the core of the moon and its gravitational field. Scientists also expect to use the data to learn more about moon dust, which seems to be going to further obscure the return of the laser beam.
"During a full moon, the amount of light returned decreases tenfold," said Murphy. “We need to understand what is the reason for this if we plan to send additional scientific equipment to the moon.
Ten months later, Lunokhod-1 fell silent, and its location on the Moon became unknown. Over the years, scientists sometimes sent a signal with a laser around its last known coordinates, hoping for the beam to return from the reflector. But there was no answer, and they decided that the all-terrain vehicle got into the crater or drove under the rock, which prevents receiving a signal from the Earth.
But the situation changed over the weekend, when scientists armed with high-resolution photographs obtained from the NASA lunar reconnaissance orbital module, Lunokhod-1 coordinates mark.
“It turned out that the difference in distance from the previous estimated all-terrain vehicle location to the real one was kilometers,” says Tom Murphy, University of California, San Diego. Using a 3.5 meter telescope at the Apache Point Observatory, New Mexico, Murphy and his team sent laser pulses to the coordinates of the newly found Lunokhod-1 and found the retroreflector in excellent condition.
')
“We didn’t expect to see it so bright - at least five times brighter than another Soviet reflector on Lunokhod-2, to which we regularly send laser pulses,” Murphy said in a press release on the discovery.
The distance between the reflector of Lunokhod-1 and the Earth was calculated with an accuracy of 1 cm (0.4 inches). The second measurement, 30 minutes later, allowed scientists to triangulate the position of the reflector on the moon with an accuracy of 10 meters (32.8 feet). Further refinement of the location is expected in the coming months.
Scientists want to add Lunokhod-1 location data to other information on an already existing network. In addition to the Soviet reflectors, NASA astronauts placed a laser reflector on the lunar surface during the Apollo 1969-1972 mission on the moon. This information is used to collect an idea of the core of the moon and its gravitational field. Scientists also expect to use the data to learn more about moon dust, which seems to be going to further obscure the return of the laser beam.
"During a full moon, the amount of light returned decreases tenfold," said Murphy. “We need to understand what is the reason for this if we plan to send additional scientific equipment to the moon.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/92263/
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