The Explorers' Club, № MLXXIX

Operation AXIOM: Destination Moon—The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 9
21-24 March 1965: Ranger 9 lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy Air Force Station atop an Atlas-Agena rocket, tasked to photograph & then impact the Lunar surface; the midcourse correction burn was successful; all six television cameras functioned perfectly, broadcasting live, & returned 5,814 photographs of the Moon for nineteen minutes until Ranger 9 crashed into the Alphonsus Crater.

Commentary: After six consecutive Ranger failures, due to problems with both launch vehicles & spacecraft, the last three Ranger missions were unqualified successes, providing close-up views with unprecedented resolution of the lunar surface. Ranger (1961-1965) set the stage for the Surveyor lander (1966-1968) & Lunar Orbiter (1966-1967) programs, all in preparation for the Apollo Moon landings (1969-1972).

During Ranger 9's kamikaze mission to the Moon (21-24 March 1965), Gemini 3 conducted the manned test flight of the Gemini capsule (23 March). Busy days at Cape Kennedy, with less than five years left to meet the namesake president's goal of landing men on the Moon & returning them safely to the Earth.

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Ranger Program
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXXXVI: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 1
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCLII: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 2
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCLXIV: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 3
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCLXXXI: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 4
"The Explorers' Club," № CMIX: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 5
"The Explorers' Club," № MIV: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 6
"The Explorers' Club," № MXXXIX: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 7
"The Explorers' Club," № MLXXIII: The 60th Anniversary of Ranger 8

Ex Luna, scientia.