Ranger 9
Ranger 9 — the final Ranger (launched 21 March 1965). Its roughly 5,800 images were broadcast live on national television — 'Live from the Moon' — as it plunged into the crater Alphonsus, closing the programme on a triumphant note.
Key facts
Mission & specifications
Mission
- Operator
- NASA / JPL
- Launched
- March 21, 1965
- Status
- Completed
Trajectory
- Distance from the Sun
- 1.01 AU
- Computed from the cached position
- Distance from Earth
- 0.867 AU
- Computed from cached positions
- Distance from Mercury
- 0.629 AU
- Computed from cached positions
Mission
Ranger 9 ended the programme on a high note, and it did so in front of a live television audience. Launched on 21 March 1965, it was aimed not at a smooth mare but at the crater Alphonsus, a site of scientific interest where some astronomers suspected volcanic activity. As it fell toward the surface on 24 March, its pictures were converted for broadcast and shown live on national television under the banner 'Live from the Moon' — Americans watched the lunar surface rushing up in near real time until the screen went blank at impact. Ranger 9 returned some 5,800 images and closed the programme with three straight successes after six straight failures, handing the baton to the Lunar Orbiters and Surveyors that would finish scouting the way for Apollo.
Its final images were broadcast live on national television — 'Live from the Moon' — as it plunged into the crater Alphonsus.
Images
Images from open archives · credit shown per image