ROSCOSMOS - Lunokhod-1 medal.
Nov. 17, 2020
November 10, 2020 marked the 50th anniversary of the launch of the automatic interplanetary station Luna-17, which delivered Lunokhod-1 to the lunar surface - the world's first automatic self-propelled laboratory, fully controlled from Earth. A new stage has begun in the exploration of the natural satellite of the Earth by automatic devices! On Lunokhod-1 and the landing stage of Luna-17, flags and pennants with the State Emblem of the USSR and a bas-relief of V.I. Lenin.
Lunokhod-1 conducted research on the lunar surface and near-lunar space until September 1971. The total duration of active operation of the self-propelled vehicle "Lunokhod-1" was 301 days 06 hours 37 minutes. The device passed 10 540 meters on the lunar surface, which became a world record, transmitted to the Earth more than 200 lunar panoramas, about 20 thousand photographs and other research results.
"Lunokhod-1" was created in the design bureau of the Khimki Machine-Building Plant named after S.А. Lavochkin (today - Scientific and Production Association named after S.A. Lavochkin, part of the State Corporation "Roscosmos") under the leadership of Grigory Nikolaevich Babakin. The self-propelled chassis for the Lunokhod was created at VNIITransMash under the leadership of Alexander Leonovich Kemurdzhian.
Lunokhod-1 consisted of two main parts: a wheeled chassis and a sealed instrument container, which houses all the service equipment. The container has the shape of a frusto-cone, and the upper base of the cone, which serves as a radiator-cooler for heat dissipation, has a larger diameter than the lower one. During the moonlit night, the radiator was covered with a lid. The inner surface of the cover is covered with solar cells, which provides recharging of the battery during a lunar day. In the working position, the solar panel can be positioned at different angles in the range of 0-180 ° in order to optimally use the energy of the Sun at its various heights above the lunar horizon.
To obtain panoramic images and photograph sections of the starry sky, the Sun and the Earth, which are necessary for the astro-orientation of the Lunokhod and do not require high image transmission rates, a telephotometric or photo-television optical-mechanical system with panoramic scanning, consisting of four cameras, was also installed on board the Lunokhod. They are located in such a way that two of them provide an overview of the terrain to the right and left of the Lunokhod within slightly more than 180 ° in the horizontal plane and 30 ° in the vertical plane, and the other two cameras provide an image of the terrain and space within 360 ° in the vertical plane and 30 ° in horizontal planes.
The lunar rover was controlled remotely. The remote control system included a heading system that provided information about the angular position of the vehicle to the Earth. In addition, the heading gyroscope provided movement in a given direction, taking into account obstacle avoidance. To obtain information about road conditions necessary to control the movement of the Lunokhod, about the distance traveled and to conduct scientific experiments to study the properties of the soil, a passability assessment device, which is part of the self-propelled chassis, was installed at the stern of the Lunokhod. It consisted of a measuring (ninth) wheel and mechanisms for introducing and turning a stamp in the soil, which allows one to obtain information about the physical and mechanical properties of the lunar soil. The distance traveled was determined using a measuring wheel.
As a result of the survey by the Lunokhod of the landing area of the Luna-17 station, the following were constructed: a topographic scheme of the route at a scale of 1: 1000, refined schemes of individual sections at a scale of 1: 200, topographic plans of individual sections at a scale of 1: 100, obtained by a stereophotographic method, altitude profiles trails and characteristic craters. During the entire period of the active existence of the lunar rover, measurements of the physical and mechanical properties of the lunar soil were regularly carried out. Using the RIFMA automatic spectrometric equipment, information was obtained on the chemical composition of the lunar soil - it contained the following elements: silicon (20%), iron (12%), calcium (8%), aluminum (7%), magnesium (7 %), titanium (<4%) and potassium (<1%).
The self-propelled vehicle was controlled from the Lunokhod Control Center by the crew, which included the commander, driver, navigator, operator and flight engineer. The crew of the lunar rover, receiving lunar television images and telemetry information on Earth, with the help of a specialized control panel, provided commands to the lunar rover.
The station "Luna-17" set records, registered and confirmed by diplomas of the International Aviation Federation:
- An absolute world record for the duration of active existence on the lunar surface and a world record for the duration of active existence on the lunar surface in class "C";
- World record for the maximum mass of an automatic self-propelled vehicle on the lunar surface in class "C";
- World record for the total distance covered by a self-propelled vehicle on the lunar surface in class "C";
- World record of the speed of movement of an automatic self-propelled vehicle on the lunar surface in class "C";
- World record for the duration of active operations of a self-propelled vehicle on the lunar surface in class "C" (3390 hours 36 minutes).
A day earlier, the State Corporation Roscosmos presented in the corresponding section of the official website a new set of declassified materials telling about the development and launch of the heavy automatic station Luna-17 and Lunokhod-1. These are ministerial and departmental documents, minutes of production meetings, reporting documentation, as well as fragments of correspondence between participants in the work with the leadership of the rocket and space industry.
Lunokhod-1
As part of the Soviet lunar program, the project of the world's first rover for moving on the surface of another planet was developed by OKB-1 specialists under the leadership of Sergei Korolev and transferred for implementation to the Lavochkin Machine-Building Plant, whose chief designer shortly before that was appointed Georgy Babakin. The self-propelled chassis for the device was created by VNIItransmash engineers under the leadership of Alexander Kemurdzhian.
ROSCOSMOS Press Release: https://www.roscosmos.ru/29573/
Related articles:
комплект рассекреченных материалов / Set of declassified materials
https://www.roscosmos.ru/29563/
Lunokhod-1 - 50 years old
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/11/lunokhod-1-50-years-old.html
Images, Animation, Text, Credits: ROSCOSMOS/Lavochkin Machine/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
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