Key Dates:
- 11.18.61: Launch (08:12 UT)
- 11.19.61: End of Mission
- Status: Burned up in Earth's Atmosphere
Scientific Instruments:
- electrostatic analyzer for solar plasma
- photoconductive particle detectors
- Rubidium vapor magnetometer
- triple-coincidence cosmic-ray telescope
- cosmic-ray integrating ionization chamber
- x-ray scintillation detectors
- micrometeoroid dust particle detectors
- Lyman alpha scanning telescope
Ranger 2 Information:
Each Ranger spacecraft was designed to make a "kazikaze" dive straight into the Moon and send close-range images back to Earth right up until they crashed into the surface. The cameras onboard each spacecraft were designed to provide different exposure times, fields of view, lenses, and scan rates, and they were arranged in two separate self-contained chains, each with its own power supply, timer, and transmitter.
Just like Ranger 1, Ranger 2 was designed to operate in a highly elliptical Earth orbit that would take it into deep space beyond the Moon. Mission planners expected that during five months of operation, they could verify both the technical design of the vehicle and conduct key scientific experiments to study the space environment over a prolonged period. The early Ranger spacecraft carried no rocket engine and could not alter their trajectories.
After Ranger 2 launched, its Agena B stage failed to fire. Like Ranger 1, the craft was left in low Earth orbit where it lost its solar orientation and then eventually lost power. On November 19, 1961, it reentered Earth's atmosphere and burned up.
