The Explorers' Club, № MCLXXVIII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 50th Anniversary of Project Viking, Part VI
3 September 1976: The Viking 2 lander landed at the Utopia Planitia & began to transmit photographs immediately; a robotic arm scooped up regolith samples, which were subjected to the same quartet of biological experiments for signs of microbial life as on the Viking 1 lander; Viking 2 operated for 1,316 days (1,281 sols), until its radioisotope thermoelectric generators were exhausted on 12 April 1980.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: Viking 2
Seu Jorge, "Life on Mars?" from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: Soundtrack from the Motion Picture (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Wayback Machine Tour of Project Viking
"The Explorers' Club," № MCVI: Viking 1 Launch (Part I)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCX: Viking 2 Launch (Part II)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCLXII: Viking 1 Orbiter (Part III)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCLXIX: Viking 1 Lander (Part IV)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCLXXII: Viking 2 Orbiter (Part V)

Semper exploro.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXXVI

Operation AXIOM: Destination Moon—The 60th Anniversary of AS-202
25 August 1966: AS-202 (Saturn IB S.A.-202), A.K.A. Apollo 2, lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, Apollo C.S.M.-011 atop a Saturn IB rocket; the suborbital flight tested the S-IB first stage, the S-IVB second stage, & the C.S.M.'s Service Propulsion System; the Saturn IB was crew-rated for Apollo 1; the C.M. re-entered the atmosphere & was recovered by the U.S.S. Hornet CV-12.

Commentary: Luna 11 launched on 24 August 1966; Apollo 2 launched on 25 August 1966. "The Explorers' Club" protocols mandate three days between episodes, so as not to take over completely The Secret Base. Our compromise was to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of Luna 11 a day early & the sixtieth anniverary of Apollo 2 a day late.

It's so easy searching for images from the Apollo program—really any N.A.S.A. mission of the era, even robotic probes—compared to the often futile slog of searching for images from Soviet missions like, for example, Luna 11.

Ex Luna, scientia.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXXV

Operation AXIOM: Destination Moon—The 60th Anniversary of Luna 11
24 August-1 October 1966: The Luna 11 probe (A.K.A. Lunik 11) lifted off from the Kazakh S.S.R.'s Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a Molniya-M rocket; Luna 11 entered lunar orbit (27 August), but an attitude-control problem prevented achieving the orientation necessary to photograph the Moon & no photos were returned; radio communications were terminated after 277 orbits (1 October).

Commentary: Luna 11's non-visual sensors worked & transmitted data until the batteries were exhausted on 1 October.

Between the secrecy of the Soviet space program, the failure of Luna 11 to return any images, & internet search engines' tendency to cough up Apollo 11 images in response to any query that involves the Moon & the number eleven, I had to rob Peter to pay Paul: the images above are search results for Luna 12, which was of the same design as Luna 11 (type E-6LF). I'll have to pay the piper when the sixtieth aniversary of Luna 12 comes around in the fall.

Ex Luna, scientia.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXXIV

Operation AXIOM: Destination Moon—The 50th Anniversary of Luna 24
9-22 August 1976: The Luna 24 probe lifted off from the Kazakh S.S.R.'s Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a Proton-K rocket; the probe landed on the Mare Crisium, collected regolith samples, & sealed those samples inside an ascent stage, which lifted off from the Moon & landed back in the Kazakh S.S.R.; Luna 24 was the third & final Soviet lunar sample-return mission, & the final Luna program mission*.

Commentary: Luna 24 returned one hundred seventy point one grams (170.1 g) of lunar regolith to Earth, more than Luna 16 & Luna 20 combined. The three landers returned approximately three hundred grams (300 g) of samples. By way of contrast, the six manned Apollo landings returned approximately three hundred eighty-two kilograms (382 kg; or, 382,000 g) of lunar samples.

*The final Luna program mission of the Soviet Union; the Russian Federation has a latter-day Moon exploration program, Luna-Glob ("Lunar sphere," compare lunar globe), that claims continuity with the old Soviet propgram. In August 2023, the Luna 25 lander failed, crashing into the Lunar surface.

The Waykback Machine Tour of Soviet Lunar Sample-return Missions
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXLII: The 51st Anniversary of Luna 16 (1970)
"The Explorers' Club," № CMXXXII: The 51st Anniversary of Luna 20 (1972)

Ex Luna, scientia.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXXII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 50th Anniversary of Project Viking, Part V
7 August 1976: The Viking 2 probe entered orbit of Mars & began taking photographs of candidate landing sites for the Viking 2 lander; the Viking 2 orbiter approached the moon Deimos in 1977, before its propulsion system sprang a leak of its attitude control fuel, cutting short the mission; the Viking 2 orbiter transmitted almost 16,000 photographs of Mars for approximately 703 orbits until 25 July 1978.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: Viking 2
The Misfits, "Mars Attacks" from American Psycho (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXXI

Operation AXIOM: Between the Wars—The Cristero War, Part I
3 August 1926: The Cristero War began as a reaction against the Calles Law, which went into effect on 31 July, a statue to enforce strictly the anti-Catholic provisions of the Mexican Constitution of 1917; armed Cristeros barricaded themselves into the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Guadalajara, Jalisco; the next day federal troops stormed a church in Sahuayo, Michoacán, killing two priests.

Lest we forget.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXIX

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 50th Anniversary of Project Viking, Part IV
20 July 1976: The Viking 1 lander landed at the Chryse Planitia & began to transmit photographs within 25 seconds; a robotic arm scooped up soil samples, which were subjected to four biological experiments for signs of microbial life; atmospheric & seismographic data was collected; the lander operated for 2,307 days (2,245 sols), until a faulty command ended contact on 11 November 1982.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: Viking 1
David Bowie, "Life on Mars?" from Hunky Dory (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

Bonus! Moonshot Songs o' the Day: Apollo 11

Operation AXIOM: The 57th Anniversary of Apollo 11
Public Service Broadcasting, "Go!" from The Race for Space (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

&

National Aeronautics & Space Administration, "Apollo 11 Excerpt 19" from The Apollo Missions (Space Cadet Mike Papa DSKY)

Commentary:

"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for Mankind."

The Wayback Machine Tour of Apollo 11
№ DCXCVIII: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11, Part I
№ DCXCIX: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11, Part II
№ DCC: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11, Part III
№ DCCII: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11, Part IV
№ CMLXXIV: Neil Armstrong
№ MXXV: Michael Collins
№ MXXXII: "Buzz" Aldrin

The Explorers' Club Special: Gemini X

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 60th Anniversary of Gemini X
18-21 July 1966: Gemini X lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, with Command Pilot John Young & Pilot Michael Collins aboard a Gemini spacecraft atop a Titan II G.L.V. rocket; they docked with their Agena & used its engine to set a new altitude record, & rendezvoused with Gemini VIII's derelict Agena; they splashed down in the Atlantic & were recovered by the U.S.S. Guadalcanal.

Commentary: Although Mike Collins's E.V.A. weren't trouble-free (E.V.A. difficuties would continue with Dick Gordon on Gemini XI & the code wouldn't be cracked until Buzz Aldrin on Gemini XII), Gemini X was a successful mission & a boost in the arm for N.A.S.A. after the emergency that ended Gemini VIII & the myriad struggles of Gemini IX-A.

On a personal note, Gemini X is my greatest regret of "The Explorers' Club's" exploration of Project Gemini. Yes, July 2021 was a busy time (including the fiftieth anniversary of Apollo 15, 26 July-7 August), but I still ought to have dedicated a second episode to Gemini X.

The Wayback Machine Tour of Gemini X
"The Explorers' Club," № DCCCXXX: The 55th Anniversary of Gemini X
Space Race Song o' the Day

Semper exploro.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXVI

Operation AXIOM: The 50th Anniversary of the United States Bicentennial
Observances included an International Naval Review featuring warships from thirty foreign nations & a parade of sixteen tall ships, both in New York (4 July 1976); a state visit by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (6-11 July); commemorative stamps, coins, & license plates were issued; the Final Four (N.C.A.A.) & the M.L.B., N.H.L., & N.B.A. All-Star Games were all held in Philadelphia, Penn.

Commentary: The N.F.L.'s all-star game, the Pro Bowl, was held in New Orleans, not Philadelphia, presumably because the N.F.L. didn't think the United States's Bicentennial was worth celebrating.

E pluribus unum.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: America 250

The United States Semiquincentennial (1776-2026)
The University of Michigan Marching Band, "Fanfare/Independence Day" from Hurrah for the Yellow and Blue (Mike Patriot Whiskey)

Commentary: The feature film Independence Day was released theatrically thirty years ago today, 3 July 1996.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXV

Operation AXIOM: Destination Moon—The 60th Anniversary of AS-203
5 July 1966: AS-203 (Saturn IB S.A.-203), A.K.A. Apollo 3, lifted off from Florida's Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, without an Apollo C.S.M., the first orbital flight of a Saturn IB rocket; the mission tested the S-IVB second stage's* ability to refire once on orbit, necessary for Trans-Lunar Injection on Moon missions; the S-IVB was destroyed on the fourth orbit during a fuel tank pressurization experiment.

Commentary: *The S-IVB was the second stage of a Saturn IB but the third stage of a Saturn V.

Ex Luna, scientia.

The Star My Destination: The Soyuz 11 Disaster

Operation AXIOM: The Space Race—The 55th Anniversary of Soyuz 11
Fifty-five years ago to the day, 29 June 1971, the Soyuz 11 capsule vented its internal atmosphere into the vacuum of space, asphyxiating to death its crew of three: Commander Georgy Dobrovolsky, Flight Engineer Vladislav Volkov, & Research Engineer Viktor Patsayev. Soyuz 11 had departed the Salyut 1 space station after a three-week residency & was preparing for atmospheric re-entry.

The Soyuz 11 trio were not wearing pressure suits, leaving them defenseless against the sudden capsule depressurization. Cosmonauts had stopped wearing pressure suits, even during launch & re-entry, in order to squeeze more crew into the Voskhod & Soyuz capsules. After the disaster, the Soyuz capsule was redesigned to accommodate a crew of two, wearing pressure suits. The Soyuz 11 trio remain the only humans to have perished in outer space, above the Kármán line (one hundred kilometers/sixty-two miles above mean sea level).

The Soyuz 11 capsule depressurized just prior to atmospheric re-entry, killing its crew of three, 29 June 1971, fifty-five years ago today.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: The Soyuz 11 Disaster
The Phenomenauts, "Heroes" from For All Mankind (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Wayback Machine Tour of the Soyuz 11 Disaster
№ DCCCXXIII: The 50th Anniversary of Soyuz 11, Part I
№ DCCCXXVII: The 50th Anniversary of Soyuz 11, Part II

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXIV

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 50th Anniversary of Salyut 5
22 June 1976: Salyut 5 lifted off from the Kazakh S.S.R.'s Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a Proton-K rocket; "Salyut 5" was a cover name for a military Almaz ("Diamond") spy station, O.P.S.-3, the third & last Almaz station; Salyut 5 was equipped with a KSI descent capsule, to return research materials to Earth; two crews spent sixty-five days aboard; Salyut 5 burned up upon re-entry, 8 August 1977.

Commentary: Photographs of the Soviet space program are hard enough to come by under the best of circumstances, but are even more rare when dealing with an uncrewed flight & a secret military mission. The launch of Salyut 5 checks both of those boxes.

Bonus! Space Race Song o' the Day: Saylut 5
The Aquabats!, "Hi-Five City!" from Charge!! Special One Year Anniversary Edition (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLXII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 50th Anniversary of Project Viking, Part III
19 June 1976: The Viking 1 probe entered orbit of Mars; the Viking 1 lander was scheduled to land on 4 July 1976, the Bicentennial, but imagery showed the initial landing site was too rough & the search for a new site delayed the landing; the Viking 1 orbiter approached Phobos in 1977, & relayed data from the lander & transmitted over 57,000 photographs of Mars for 1,485 orbits until 17 August 1980.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: Viking 1
The Aquabats!, "Martian Girl!" from The Fury of The Aquabats! (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

The Explorers' Club, № MCLX

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-L, Aftermath
9 June 1986: The Rogers Commission Report—The presidential commission called the Challenger disaster "an accident rooted in history," strongly criticizing N.A.S.A.'s failure to correct the Solid Rocket Booster O-ring design flaw that had been known about since 1977, & the upside-down safety culture that led to the fatal decision to launch despite the extraordinarily low overnight temperatures.

Commentary: The Commission included chairman William P. Rogers, former U.S. Attorney General & Secretary of State; vice chairman Neil Armstrong, the first Moonwalker; Sally Ride, a Space Shuttle astronaut; Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier; & Richard Feynman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics; et al.

The Space Shuttle would not return to flight until September 1988.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: The Rogers Commission
Nigel Godrich, "Aftermath" from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Original Score Composed by Nigel Godrich (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Wayback Machine Tour of S.T.S.-51-L
"The Explorers' Club," № MXCVII: The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-L, Prelude (Boisjoly Memo)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCV: The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-L, Prelude (Teacher in Space)
"The Explorers' Club," № MCXXXVIII: The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-L
"The Explorers' Club," № MCXLV: The 40th Anniversary of S.T.S.-51-L, Aftermath (Recovery)

Requiescant in pace.