Key Dates:
- 07.01.66: Launch (16:02:25 UT)
- 09.21.71: Contact Lost
- Status: Mission Complete
Explorer 33 Information:
The Explorer program is the longest running series of NASA missions. Spacecraft from this series have studied the Sun, Moon, Earth and the environment of our solar system, with many still in operation. The program continues today with mission oprations planned through 2009. Of the many Explorer mission, three have been sent to study our moon. All were successful to some extent.
Explorer 33 was supposed to be the first U.S. spacecraft to orbit the Moon, but became another successful failure. When a malfunction accelerated the probe too rapidly, it ended up in an eccentric Earth orbit. After Mission controllers managed to stabilize the orbit, the spacecraft sent back useful data on Earth's magnetic tail, radiation in space and the magenetic field between the planets. NASA collected data from Explorer 33 until September 1971.