Key Dates:
- 03.21.65: Launch (21:37:02 UT)
- 03.24.65: Lunar Impact (14:08:20 UT)
- Status: Crashed on the Moon
Scientific Instruments:
- Six Television Cameras
Ranger 9 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.
For the first time, the public was able to see closeups of the moon on their television. Flight controllers aligned Ranger 9's camera directly in front of the spacecraft. The spectacular images were converted for broadcast on live television. It sent back a total of 5,814 pictures in 19 minutes before impact. The final image taken 0.25 seconds before impact from at an altitude of about 600 meters (a third of a mile) had a resolution of 0.3 meters per pixel. Ranger 9 was even more accurate and landed only 6.5 km ( 4 miles) from its intended target. The impact coordinates are 12.83° south latitude and 357.63° east longitude.
