Luna spacecraft to the moon (c)

And this time the landing of Luna 17 and the SUV Lunchod 1

On November 11, 1970, the Luna 17 spacecraft was launched into an Earth parking orbit and from there to the Moon.
The goals of the flight were:
A. to conduct maneuvers in lunar orbit.
B. To land a vehicle on the moon - Lunchod 1.
third. To conduct a scientific study of the moon and its environment - physical and chemical tests of the lunar soil.
On November 15, after a five-day flight, the spacecraft entered a circular orbit around the moon that is 85 km from the ground, the angle of inclination is 141 degrees and the duration of the orbit is 119 minutes. The next day the route was changed and the Parselnion was 19 km from the ground. From the moment of launch until entering lunar orbit, two path corrections were made.
On November 17, Luna 17 landed in the Sea of ​​Rain. The landing was on the western "shore" of the Sea of ​​Rains in the transition area from "sea area" to "land area". The Russian space scientists noticed that their spacecrafts (the previous Luna spacecrafts) like the American spacecrafts accelerate their speed as they pass over the sea of ​​rain. The goal of the researchers was to study this area where the density of matter in it is greater than that of the surroundings of "this sea". About two and a half hours after landing, the lunar rover came off the spacecraft. He drove 20 meters and stopped. The name of the SUV is Lonkhod 1.
Lonchod 1 - Vehicle structure and propulsion
Lonkhud 1 is the first lunar vehicle with propulsion. Its length is 2.22 meters, the width of the lid is 2.15 meters, the diameter of each wheel is 0.51 meters and it weighs 756 kg. The car has eight wheels - four pairs. Each wheel has a separate drive motor and a separate spring. The activity of each mode is under the supervision of the drivers. The automotive engineers preferred to use wheels instead of caterpillars because the risk of malfunctions with this method is smaller. The vehicle can move with only two wheels, one on each side. In the event of a wheel malfunction, a charged powder is dispersed that breaks the axis of the wheel and the latter becomes passive. The car has two front gears and one rear. It has a disc stop and clutch and can be rotated in place. The operation of six of the engines is enough to propel the vehicle and its speed varies between one and two meters per minute.
The vehicle's engines receive power from solar collectors that are charged through a reflector located in the convex upper part of the vehicle. An energy of 1.5 kilowatts is required to operate the vehicle. The vehicle is able to carry out its operations by automatic guidance determined in advance by direct control from Earth. The vehicle is designed so that it is stopped by disc brakes when it reaches too steep a slope or rocks and cannot go over them or over the teacher.
The movement of Lonkhod 1 is not continuous. Its steering device stops it at set times and breaks the movement into "portions". This action makes it possible to drive and navigate the vehicle on the lunar surface, prevent it from accidents and save energy.
At the beginning of the lunar day, the hood of the vehicle is opened and allows the solar collector to charge the batteries. As soon as the vehicle starts moving, a telemetry message is transmitted from each wheel separately, so that appropriate actions can be taken in the event that any wheel shows signs of overheating or cooling. The revolutions of each wheel are counted separately to verify whether it is dividing or not. The slide raised many concerns. There was concern that the vacuum conditions would cause static electricity to be generated by the wheels. Without air it is impossible to charge the batteries, what's more the soil particles will stick to the wheels, stop them and the vehicle will not be operational. When the vehicle started working it became clear that the fears were not justified. The lunar sand is similar to volcanic sand, a fact that will make it possible to simplify the structure of the lonkhods in the future.

Towards the lunar night, the vehicle is carefully turned to the east to allow maximum absorption of the sun's energy by the sun cover. Immediately at sunrise, the solar cells are locked and the instrument chamber is insulated at a temperature of 18 degrees using a nuclear heating device. The heat produced from this facility heats gas that begins to move in a circular system inside the vehicle. Even at night, the wireless connection with the vehicle is maintained. The research instruments work at a load of 1.05 atmospheres.

the vehicle devices
1. Pentrometer - a cone-like digger for testing the lunar soil through analyses. The excavator penetrates the ground and measures the strength of the rock's resistance and its hardness.
2. X-ray refractometer for analysis. The chemical composition of the lunar surface RIFMA Roentgen Isotopic (Fluorescent method of Analysis). It is a small device located between the two front wheels. In this facility there are radioactive cells and it transmits radiation directly into the ground. The chemical elements in the lunar soil react by releasing x-rays. According to the strength and nature of the reflected radiation, the chemical composition of the soil can be found. Even if this method gives less information than a national laboratory, it allows the testing of the presence of aluminum, zinc, magnesium, potassium, calcium, titanium and iron.
3. X-ray telescope for measuring cosmic radiation from the Sun and the Milky Way.
4. A French-made laser beam device for measurements on the surface of the moon. The device consists of prisms made of Zorn glass with special properties that are coated with reflective silver on the back. The base of the prisms is made of a mixture of nickel, cadmium and iron. 14 prisms are needed for perfect reflection of light coming from any direction. The base has great strength to prevent shape distortions from the prisms that may be caused by the heat wave. After its construction, the device is sterilized to prevent possible contamination of the moon with bacteria. The facility is able to work for 10 years. It is used on the moonlit night. The observations were conducted at a commanding observatory in the Pyrenees Mountains in France, and in some cases in the Soviet Union (now Russia). The researchers hoped to determine with the help of the reflector the rate of movement of the continents on the Earth's surface and to accurately determine the distance between the Earth and the Moon. The reflectivity of the reflector is three times greater than that installed on the Apollo 11 pilots.
5. Two sets of cameras. TV cameras and telephoto cameras. One system is installed in the front of the vehicle for short-term photographs for the navigation of the Longhud. To save energy, this system was activated once every 3 to 20 seconds depending on the speed of travel and the surface. The second system is panoramic for photographing the environment in which the vehicle is during its journey and for photographing the horizon, the sun and the earth. This system has four identical telephoto cameras, which are located on the sides and back of the vehicle, and one camera in the front near the camera for short-term images and it is directed forward. The front and rear cameras have a shooting range of 30 degrees horizontally and 360 degrees vertically. The cameras on the sides have a shooting range of 180 degrees horizontally and 30 degrees vertically.
6. A system of radio transmitters and receivers.
7. Remote control.
8. Nuclear facility.
9. Electric power unit.
10. Heat control system.
11. Electronic transformer.
The vehicle's ability to place scientific instruments at different points on the surface of the moon, for continuous measurement of the seismic activity, radiation and magnetic field. The device compartment is made of aluminum alloy and was designed so that it heats up easily and slowly releases the heat at night so that it can exist in the conditions of the lunar night.

the car drivers
For the purpose of navigating the vehicle, engineers and experts were trained in radio technology. Drivers with a vehicle driver's license were disqualified since earthly driving habits could only interfere with driving a lunar vehicle. There are five people in the driver's team: a commander, a driver, a navigator, a systems engineer and a radio operator. The team is at the Deep Space Communications Center. The need to coordinate their work is of great psychological importance in the first days. The difficulties arose due to the transition time between the transmission of the instructions and the receipt of the answers. The crew must remember that the vehicle is always a few meters in front of the short-range camera whose transmissions they are always watching. If there are rocks or boulders on the road, the vehicle continues to move until a national warning broadcast is received. The automatic guidance system proved itself, the vehicle never overturned.
construction materials
To build the vehicle, the Longhud engineers used new materials whose friction rate is almost zero. These materials are used to produce axle bearings that do not need to be greased with lubricating oils. These materials combine properties of excellent structural materials with lubricating oils, large doses of radioactive radiation or various chemical substances such as petroleum, oils and more, do not cause any damage to these materials. These materials perform well at high speeds and in other harsh conditions. They are made of polyimides, polycarbonates and other polymers usually in various mixtures with lubricants such as graphite or molybdenum sulfide.
test laboratories
Some of the vehicle's mechanical and electronic equipment was tested in spacecraft and other systems, in particular the engines tested in the simulator. This simulator is an empty room where conditions identical to those of the moon exist. In this way, the engineers were able to give the vehicle six times less weight - a mass that was six times smaller - and to accurately calculate the dynamic forces acting on the vehicle under lunar conditions. The first meters that the vehicle traveled allowed the engineers to check to what extent their calculations were correct. The operation of the wheels was tested in a laboratory installed in an airplane that had gravitational conditions identical to those of the moon (this means a probe flight that imitates the lunar gravity for short periods of time). A concrete track built in laboratories for the construction of the vehicle wore out under the hard wheels of the vehicle. The lack of atmosphere and high temperatures presented the engineers with difficult problems with regards to the movement of the mechanical parts, the adhesion of the vehicle to the ground and the pinning of the moving parts.

The first lunar day, from November 17 to 24
November 17 - Luna 17 landed near a shallow crater and placed Soviet flags, a picture of Lenin and the hammer and sickle symbol on the moon. The first meters the vehicle traveled allowed the researchers to know to what extent their calculations were correct when they built it.
November 18 - Lonkhod 1 transmits first images. In the photos, the traces of the vehicle's wheels and the surface of the moon are clearly visible.
November 20 - the speed of the vehicle was doubled. Lonkhod 1 passed several hills, one crater and surrounded a deep crater.
November 21 - On this day, about three earthly days before the beginning of the lunar night, the movement of the vehicle was stopped and it was parked. Lonkhod 1 traveled a total of 197 meters. 10 calls were enough to go this distance. Until the moment of stopping, the vehicle carried out complicated tests of the lunar surface and transmitted photographs whose quality improved from image to image.
December 8 - At the end of the lunar night, the vehicle transmitted radio signals for the first time since its activity was silenced on November 21. The signals showed that the vehicle held up well in a temperature of 130 degrees below zero.
The second lunar day, from December 9 to 22

December 9 - the hood of the vehicle was opened, the solar collectors were charged and the vehicle transmitted panoramic images and other images of the surface of the moon. The tests revealed that the radioactive heating system operated as a series during the lunar night.
December 10 - Lonkhod 1 made several rounds to test its propulsion systems for fear that they were damaged by the intense cold that prevails on the moon at night. The duration of the communication was nine hours in a row and the vehicle traveled 244 meters, passing through an area full of bumps. Initially the vehicle was moving in a southeast direction and then in a west direction. On his way he passed by blocks of rocks and volcanoes. Lonkhod 1 crossed a crater with a diameter of 16 meters and a depth of two meters. The angle of the rebel is 27 degrees. A chemical analysis was done in the soil of the crater.
December 12 - the vehicle traveled 253 meters, while changing its direction and transmitting photographs of the surface of the moon.
December 17 - the vehicle stopped in several places and performed scientific measurements.
December 19 - until this day, the vehicle has traveled 1,285 meters. Lonkhod 1 moves in a southeasterly direction in a fragmented area, as it crosses craters whose slopes do not exceed 20 degrees and surrounds extremely deep craters.
On its way, Lunchod 1 measured the mechanical and physical properties of the soil and transmitted many panoramic photographs. In one of the pictures you can see the Earth. From the news he broadcast it can be learned that the surface of the moon in the Sea of ​​Rains consists of lava covered with a layer of dust two centimeters thick. In its composition this lava is similar to the earth's lava and whose age is estimated at three billion years.
15 different celestial regions were also explored. It turned out that the intensity of x-rays coming from these areas are equal. This knowledge gave the basis for the belief that the source of this radiation is the interstellar gas whose temperature reaches hundreds of thousands of degrees.
On December 18 and 19, the vehicle traveled 197 meters in a southeast direction as it passed by small craters and boulders and entered a crater with a diameter of 50 meters.
December 20 - RIFMA reported a solar flare emitting radiation dangerous to humans. The vehicle left the crater it entered on the 18th and 19th and moved in a southerly direction along a plain full of small craters and entered craters with a diameter of 100 meters and an angle of 10 degrees. At this time of communication he has traveled 337 meters. Periodic measurements of the physical and mechanical properties of the soil were performed.
December 21 - the vehicle was moving in a northeasterly direction on the inner slope of a crater that it entered on December 20 on its way up the crater, (elevation angle 25 degrees) it made turns and moved backwards. During this time he traveled 78 meters.
December 22 - towards the end of the lunar day, the vehicle was parked and its activity stopped. Towards the end of the day he climbed slopes with an inclination angle of 23 degrees, doubled his way, turned and moved slowly to avoid steep craters and large boulders. The vehicle easily crossed shallow craters with a diameter of 150 meters.
In total, the vehicle measured 40 craters on this day and carried out 4,000 instructions. In 73 places he measured the ground resistance and it turned out that it varies from crater to crater. The general soil is more powdery in its structure on the sides of the craters. The vehicle traveled 1,370 meters from the landing site. In the two days, he broadcast 33 panoramic images

January 4, 1972 - the vehicle's activity was resumed. The reception was excellent.

The third lunar day, from January 8 to 21, 1981

On this day, Longhud 1 entered the third stage of the series of experiments that were intended for it. This phase was marked by extremely difficult and complicated experiments.
January 8 - when the sun was 4 degrees above the horizon, the car drivers started work. Every 20 or 30 meters the vehicle stopped for a minute and measured the ground resistance and in interesting places the chemical composition of the soil. Temperature, cosmic radiation and X-ray measurements were performed simultaneously.
January 9 - half of the morning (earth's morning) was dedicated to investigating a crater with a diameter of 100 meters and a depth of 6 meters. The selenologists (experts whose specialty is the moon) quickly learned to distinguish between young craters and ancient craters. Today the vehicle traveled 140 meters.
January 11 - the vehicle traveled 517 meters. He entered the crater and performed a panoramic survey.
January 12 - during a communication that lasted six hours, the vehicle traveled 553 meters. In total, up to this day, the vehicle has traveled 2,930 meters.
January 13-15 - the high angle at which the sun was found did not allow for good quality television footage and vehicle traffic was stopped for two days. The rest of the footage was of excellent quality.
January 17 - the vehicle broadcasted for 150 minutes and during that time moved 254 meters. Some of the photos were of his wheel tracks on the lunar surface more than a month ago. The vehicle passed by a large number of small craters.
January 18 - the vehicle finished the third stage of the experiments that were imposed on it. On this day he began his journey back to the landing site. He had to make a road of 1,400 meters. To perform this task the vehicle changed direction. Instead of moving in a southeasterly direction, he turned in a northeasterly direction. On this day the landing craft was seen. In one of the telescopic photographs, the landing vehicle and the earth are seen together.
January 19 - Lonkhod 1 stopped 15 meters from the lander. The experiment was carried out with great precision. The purpose of the experiment was to test the navigation and control. To carry out this experiment they used the vehicle's internal platform (three gyroscopes with three axes perpendicular to each other), telephotography and especially certain parts of the vehicle that are visible in these telephoto photographs. Since the position of the sun is known (two of the four telephoto cameras capture the sun and the moon) it is possible to know exactly the direction of travel of the vehicle.
Towards the end of the day, the vehicle moved towards the northwest to explore an area south of the landing site. Towards the end of the night, the vehicle entered a rocky crater difficult to pass and was parked there. This situation put the vehicle systems and the Earth's control systems to the test. On this day the vehicle traveled 1,936 meters.
From the data he provided to Nokhud 1, it turned out that the soil has a basaltic structure. Lonkhod 1 discovered deposits of aluminum, iron, titanium, magnesium, potassium and calcium. In one case, the lunar explorers were excited to see a large rock 150 meters away from the vehicle. The vehicle approached him and did not detect anything. It turned out that this is a small stone that on the screens looked like a big rock. The attempts to bring the vehicle closer to the rock resulted in leaving the rock far away and behind it. It appears that the television photographs of the wheel grooves served as a useful distance scale for navigators and drivers, just as it served as a source of information for lunar explorers about the mechanical properties of the lunar soil. In total, the vehicle traveled 3,655 meters.

The fourth lunar day, from February 7 to 20

February 7 - the vehicle resumed its activity and headed north. It moves in difficult terrain, where craters are 50-100 meters in diameter. A solar eclipse that occurred at this time provided a rare opportunity to test the vehicle's durability under harsher conditions than those of the transition from day to night on the surface of the moon. The vehicle passed through the three hours of the eclipse without damage.
February 8 - the vehicle passed through an area full of craters and completed its fourth kilometer. Today it passed 323.1 meters south of the landing site and entered a shallow crater with a diameter of 30-40 meters and an inclination angle of 15 degrees.
February 9 - the vehicle continued to move towards Heraclitus Cape. As on February 8, so today too, the area is full of craters with a diameter of 50-100 meters. There are young craters with a diameter of 20 meters.
February 10 - the vehicle "witness" to another solar eclipse. It transmits information about the eclipse when the solar collector is exposed. The eclipse lasted three hours and the temperature dropped to 100 degrees below zero. Seven hours later, the vehicle was driven to a distance of 578 meters from the landing site.
February 12 to 15 - the high angle at which the sun was found did not allow for good quality television footage and the vehicle's movement was stopped for three days, by which time the vehicle had traveled a total distance of 4,813 meters. The exact distance is determined with the help of a ninth wheel. The rim of the wheel was equipped with spokes, so that slippage was reduced to a minimum. Furthermore, the slip differences between the eight wheels and the ninth wheel provided information about the mechanical properties of the lunar soil. Lonchod 1 received and measured the data of Apollo 14's instruments.
16.2 - Lonkhod1 recorded a topographic crease in cameras. The physical and mechanical properties of a 10 meter long segment from the crease face were examined. The vehicle was driven from the peak of the crease along its upper face and created a crater with a diameter of 10 cm. A chemical test was performed on the exposed section. After that, the vehicle was driven in a north-south direction. The vehicle traveled 272 meters.
February 17 to 19 - Lonkhod 1 completed three months of work. By the end of the fourth day, the vehicle had traveled 5,228 meters. Towards the end of the day, Lunchod 1 was stationed in a flat area near the rim of a crater, XNUMX km from the landing site.
February 20 - it was reported that the planned three months of work on the vehicle were successfully completed. During this time, 63 engagements were made with him and he measured the ground resistance in 200 places. Towards the end of the day, Lankhod arrived at two craters that were in the work plan. The size of the craters and their shape were measured. Second-order craters located on the slopes of the large craters and in the areas where the moon rock was thrown were measured. Chemical, physical and mechanical measurements were also made. The diameter of the large crater is over half a kilometer and the diameter of the second one is less. Stereoscopic measurements were made at the bottom of the great crater.
The fifth lunar day, from March 7 to 20
On March 7 - the sunrise was photographed.
On March 8 - the solar collectors were recharged and the vehicle continued its research. Lonkhod 1 traveled in a northwesterly direction and traveled 272 meters. From the stopping points he transmitted more information from the radiometer and the X-ray telescope than in the previous days.
March 9 - the vehicle arrived at a 500 meter diameter crater and took a panoramic photo of it. At the end of the five-hour tour, he entered the first crater that was next to it for parking.
March 18 - the vehicle completed a study of a huge crater that began to be explored on March 17. During the communication that lasted 4 and a half hours, the vehicle traveled 417 meters. Although on the fifth lunar day the vehicle traveled less than the previous days, it traveled a record distance of 2,004 meters.
The sixth lunar day, from April 17 to 21
April 7 - the vehicle investigates craters with a diameter of 200 - 500 meters. It moves southwards while crossing the slope of a crater and crossing it towards the north. The length of the slopes is 301 meters.
April 8 - the vehicle is activated for 24 hours. In the second communication, he was driven into a crater with a diameter of 200 meters, entered the southern slope and ascended the northern slope. Lonkhud 1 today explored craters in a northwesterly direction and came across a rock three meters in diameter. In total, the vehicle has traveled 7.7 km to date.
April 21 - towards night, the vehicle was parked so that the laser communication continued. To date, the vehicle has traveled 8,261 meters. While the vehicle was exploring a crater that was probably created recently, it came across a material called "quicksand". Vehicle movement was delayed due to large amounts of rocks and small craters. The slopes of the crater were quite steep. The density of the rocks in the place was 80-100 times greater than the average the vehicle encountered so far. The height of several rocks is three meters.
The rocks and elevation lines of the terrain are difficult to cross. In addition, the inside of the craters was extremely dusty. The vehicle began to dig into the loose ground and the wheels lost 80% of their grip. The car drivers rescued him after many efforts of resourcefulness and navigation skills.
The seventh lunar day, from May 6 to 20
May 6 - the vehicle was restarted and its systems were checked.
From May 7 to 9 - Lonkhod 1 examined the microstructures of the lunar soil, traveling a little to take stereoscopic photographs. The photographs include fresh notches of the vehicle and those notched on the fifth lunar day. Simultaneously, chemical tests of the soil were carried out, the intensity of X-rays, cosmic radiation and background radiation continued to be measured.
May 14 - To date, the vehicle has traveled eight kilometers despite a malfunction in one of its engines.
May 17 - It was reported that the vehicle's power sources are decreasing.
The eighth lunar day, from June 4 to 17
June 4 and 5 - the vehicle was restarted and its systems were checked.
June 8 and 9 - the vehicle traveled 488 meters in a northerly direction along a rough moonscape.
June 10 and 11 - the vehicle traveled 700 meters and transmitted panoramic images of the Capes.
June 14 and 15 - the vehicle traveled 200 meters.
The ninth lunar day, from July 3 to 16
July 3 - Lonkhod 1 passed 33 meters inside a crater.
July 4 and 5 - Lonkhod 1 moves north and enters a crater with a diameter of 200 meters. At press time it has passed 53 meters.
July 14 - the vehicle left the crater it entered the previous day and started moving towards another crater. He took photographs of the crater and stars and examined the chemical composition of the soil. The tour of the crater was part of a new series of maneuvers.
July 27 - the vehicle performed measurements with Mar 2 and Mar 3 (spacecraft that were on their way to Mars) on the sun and cosmic radiation.
The tenth lunar day, from August 2 to 16
August 2 - the month of connection with the lunar vehicle.
August 3 - the vehicle's activity was resumed.
August 12 and 14 - the vehicle transmitted more panoramic photographs and physical information about the space.
The eleventh lunar day, from September 1 to 16
September 1 - the vehicle begins its operation.
September 2 to 6 - the vehicle broadcasts panoramic images from places where it stops.
September 15 - the vehicle completes its 11th day. It was reported that he is showing signs of weakness.
The twelfth lunar day
On September 28, the twelfth day of his lunar activity began, which ended before sunset. On October 4, the vehicle's nuclear engine shut down, thus shutting down its activity permanently. On this day the vehicle traveled 100 meters. He was manipulated so that the laser reflector continued to work.
In recent days, as mentioned, the vehicle showed signs of weakness and limited its activity to interesting areas only within a short driving distance. The internal temperature gradually decreased.

epilogue
The lunar vehicle transmitted a lot of information about the moon for almost a year and in particular the rainwater. In total, 20,000 photographs, 200 panoramic photographs and hundreds of inspections of an area of ​​80,000 square meters were broadcast to Israel. The tests include 25 chemical analyzes of the soil and 500 analyzes of the physical properties of the upper layer of the sea of ​​rain. In the 12 lunar days he traveled 10,540 meters.

Haim Mazar
On November 11, 1970, the Luna 17 spacecraft was launched into an Earth parking orbit and from there to the Moon.
The goals of the flight were:
A. to conduct maneuvers in lunar orbit.
B. To land a vehicle on the moon - Lunchod 1.
third. To conduct a scientific study of the moon and its environment - physical and chemical tests of the lunar soil.
On November 15, after a five-day flight, the spacecraft entered a circular orbit around the moon that is 85 km from the ground, the angle of inclination is 141 degrees and the duration of the orbit is 119 minutes. The next day the route was changed and the Parselnion was 19 km from the ground. From the moment of launch until entering lunar orbit, two path corrections were made.
On November 17, Luna 17 landed in the Sea of ​​Rain. The landing was on the western "shore" of the Sea of ​​Rains in the transition area from "sea area" to "land area". The Russian space scientists noticed that their spacecrafts (the previous Luna spacecrafts) like the American spacecrafts accelerate their speed as they pass over the sea of ​​rain. The goal of the researchers was to study this area where the density of matter in it is greater than that of the surroundings of "this sea". About two and a half hours after landing, the lunar rover came off the spacecraft. He drove 20 meters and stopped. The name of the SUV is Lonkhod 1.
Lonchod 1 - Vehicle structure and propulsion
Lonkhud 1 is the first lunar vehicle with propulsion. Its length is 2.22 meters, the width of the lid is 2.15 meters, the diameter of each wheel is 0.51 meters and it weighs 756 kg. The car has eight wheels - four pairs. Each wheel has a separate drive motor and a separate spring. The activity of each mode is under the supervision of the drivers. The automotive engineers preferred to use wheels instead of caterpillars because the risk of malfunctions with this method is smaller. The vehicle can move with only two wheels, one on each side. In the event of a wheel malfunction, a charged powder is dispersed that breaks the axis of the wheel and the latter becomes passive. The car has two front gears and one rear. It has a disc stop and clutch and can be rotated in place. The operation of six of the engines is enough to propel the vehicle and its speed varies between one and two meters per minute.
The vehicle's engines receive power from solar collectors that are charged through a reflector located in the convex upper part of the vehicle. An energy of 1.5 kilowatts is required to operate the vehicle. The vehicle is able to carry out its operations by automatic guidance determined in advance by direct control from Earth. The vehicle is designed so that it is stopped by disc brakes when it reaches too steep a slope or rocks and cannot go over them or over the teacher.
The movement of Lonkhod 1 is not continuous. Its steering device stops it at set times and breaks the movement into "portions". This action makes it possible to drive and navigate the vehicle on the lunar surface, prevent it from accidents and save energy.
At the beginning of the lunar day, the hood of the vehicle is opened and allows the solar collector to charge the batteries. As soon as the vehicle starts moving, a telemetry message is transmitted from each wheel separately, so that appropriate actions can be taken in the event that any wheel shows signs of overheating or cooling. The revolutions of each wheel are counted separately to verify whether it is dividing or not. The slide raised many concerns. There was concern that the vacuum conditions would cause static electricity to be generated by the wheels. Without air it is impossible to charge the batteries, what's more the soil particles will stick to the wheels, stop them and the vehicle will not be operational. When the vehicle started working it became clear that the fears were not justified. The lunar sand is similar to volcanic sand, a fact that will make it possible to simplify the structure of the lonkhods in the future.
Towards the lunar night, the vehicle is carefully turned to the east to allow maximum absorption of the sun's energy by the sun cover. Immediately at sunrise, the solar cells are locked and the instrument chamber is insulated at a temperature of 18 degrees using a nuclear heating device. The heat produced from this facility heats gas that begins to move in a circular system inside the vehicle. Even at night, the wireless connection with the vehicle is maintained. The research instruments work at a load of 1.05 atmospheres.
the vehicle devices
1. Pentrometer - a cone-like digger for testing the lunar soil through analyses. The excavator penetrates the ground and measures the strength of the rock's resistance and its hardness.
2. X-ray refractometer for analysis. The chemical composition of the lunar surface RIFMA Roentgen Isotopic (Fluorescent method of Analysis). It is a small device located between the two front wheels. In this facility there are radioactive cells and it transmits radiation directly into the ground. The chemical elements in the lunar soil react by releasing x-rays. According to the strength and nature of the reflected radiation, the chemical composition of the soil can be found. Even if this method gives less information than a national laboratory, it allows the testing of the presence of aluminum, zinc, magnesium, potassium, calcium, titanium and iron.
3. X-ray telescope for measuring cosmic radiation from the Sun and the Milky Way.
4. A French-made laser beam device for measurements on the surface of the moon. The device consists of prisms made of Zorn glass with special properties that are coated with reflective silver on the back. The base of the prisms is made of a mixture of nickel, cadmium and iron. 14 prisms are needed for perfect reflection of light coming from any direction. The base has great strength to prevent shape distortions from the prisms that may be caused by the heat wave. After its construction, the device is sterilized to prevent possible contamination of the moon with bacteria. The facility is able to work for 10 years. It is used on the moonlit night. The observations were conducted at a commanding observatory in the Pyrenees Mountains in France, and in some cases in the Soviet Union (now Russia). The researchers hoped to determine with the help of the reflector the rate of movement of the continents on the Earth's surface and to accurately determine the distance between the Earth and the Moon. The reflectivity of the reflector is three times greater than that installed on the Apollo 11 pilots.
5. Two sets of cameras. TV cameras and telephoto cameras. One system is installed in the front of the vehicle for short-term photographs for the navigation of the Longhud. To save energy, this system was activated once every 3 to 20 seconds depending on the speed of travel and the surface. The second system is panoramic for photographing the environment in which the vehicle is during its journey and for photographing the horizon, the sun and the earth. This system has four identical telephoto cameras, which are located on the sides and back of the vehicle, and one camera in the front near the camera for short-term images and it is directed forward. The front and rear cameras have a shooting range of 30 degrees horizontally and 360 degrees vertically. The cameras on the sides have a shooting range of 180 degrees horizontally and 30 degrees vertically.
6. A system of radio transmitters and receivers.
7. Remote control.
8. Nuclear facility.
9. Electric power unit.
10. Heat control system.
11. Electronic transformer.
The vehicle's ability to place scientific instruments at different points on the surface of the moon, for continuous measurement of the seismic activity, radiation and magnetic field. The device compartment is made of aluminum alloy and was designed so that it heats up easily and slowly releases the heat at night so that it can exist in the conditions of the lunar night.
the car drivers
For the purpose of navigating the vehicle, engineers and experts were trained in radio technology. Drivers with a vehicle driver's license were disqualified since earthly driving habits could only interfere with driving a lunar vehicle. There are five people in the driver's team: a commander, a driver, a navigator, a systems engineer and a radio operator. The team is at the Deep Space Communications Center. The need to coordinate their work is of great psychological importance in the first days. The difficulties arose due to the transition time between the transmission of the instructions and the receipt of the answers. The crew must remember that the vehicle is always a few meters in front of the short-range camera whose transmissions they are always watching. If there are rocks or boulders on the road, the vehicle continues to move until a national warning broadcast is received. The automatic guidance system proved itself, the vehicle never overturned.
construction materials
To build the vehicle, the Longhud engineers used new materials whose friction rate is almost zero. These materials are used to produce axle bearings that do not need to be greased with lubricating oils. These materials combine properties of excellent structural materials with lubricating oils, large doses of radioactive radiation or various chemical substances such as petroleum, oils and more, do not cause any damage to these materials. These materials perform well at high speeds and in other harsh conditions. They are made of polyimides, polycarbonates and other polymers usually in various mixtures with lubricants such as graphite or molybdenum sulfide.
test laboratories
Some of the vehicle's mechanical and electronic equipment was tested in spacecraft and other systems, in particular the engines tested in the simulator. This simulator is an empty room where conditions identical to those of the moon exist. In this way, the engineers were able to give the vehicle six times less weight - a mass that was six times smaller - and to accurately calculate the dynamic forces acting on the vehicle under lunar conditions. The first meters that the vehicle traveled allowed the engineers to check to what extent their calculations were correct. The operation of the wheels was tested in a laboratory installed in an airplane that had gravitational conditions identical to those of the moon (this means a probe flight that imitates the lunar gravity for short periods of time). A concrete track built in laboratories for the construction of the vehicle wore out under the hard wheels of the vehicle. The lack of atmosphere and high temperatures presented the engineers with difficult problems with regards to the movement of the mechanical parts, the adhesion of the vehicle to the ground and the pinning of the moving parts.
The first lunar day, from November 17 to 24
November 17 - Luna 17 landed near a shallow crater and placed Soviet flags, a picture of Lenin and the hammer and sickle symbol on the moon. The first meters the vehicle traveled allowed the researchers to know to what extent their calculations were correct when they built it.
November 18 - Lonkhod 1 transmits first images. In the photos, the traces of the vehicle's wheels and the surface of the moon are clearly visible.
November 20 - the speed of the vehicle was doubled. Lonkhod 1 passed several hills, one crater and surrounded a deep crater.
November 21 - On this day, about three earthly days before the beginning of the lunar night, the movement of the vehicle was stopped and it was parked. Lonkhod 1 traveled a total of 197 meters. 10 calls were enough to go this distance. Until the moment of stopping, the vehicle carried out complicated tests of the lunar surface and transmitted photographs whose quality improved from image to image.
December 8 - At the end of the lunar night, the vehicle transmitted radio signals for the first time since its activity was silenced on November 21. The signals showed that the vehicle held up well in a temperature of 130 degrees below zero.
The second lunar day, from December 9 to 22
December 9 - the hood of the vehicle was opened, the solar collectors were charged and the vehicle transmitted panoramic images and other images of the surface of the moon. The tests revealed that the radioactive heating system operated as a series during the lunar night.
December 10 - Lonkhod 1 made several rounds to test its propulsion systems for fear that they were damaged by the intense cold that prevails on the moon at night. The duration of the communication was nine hours in a row and the vehicle traveled 244 meters, passing through an area full of bumps. Initially the vehicle was moving in a southeast direction and then in a west direction. On his way he passed by blocks of rocks and volcanoes. Lonkhod 1 crossed a crater with a diameter of 16 meters and a depth of two meters. The angle of the rebel is 27 degrees. A chemical analysis was done in the soil of the crater.
December 12 - the vehicle traveled 253 meters, while changing its direction and transmitting photographs of the surface of the moon.
December 17 - the vehicle stopped in several places and performed scientific measurements.
December 19 - until this day, the vehicle has traveled 1,285 meters. Lonkhod 1 moves in a southeasterly direction in a fragmented area, as it crosses craters whose slopes do not exceed 20 degrees and surrounds extremely deep craters.
On its way, Lunchod 1 measured the mechanical and physical properties of the soil and transmitted many panoramic photographs. In one of the pictures you can see the Earth. From the news he broadcast it can be learned that the surface of the moon in the Sea of ​​Rains consists of lava covered with a layer of dust two centimeters thick. In its composition this lava is similar to the earth's lava and whose age is estimated at three billion years.
15 different celestial regions were also explored. It turned out that the intensity of x-rays coming from these areas are equal. This knowledge gave the basis for the belief that the source of this radiation is the interstellar gas whose temperature reaches hundreds of thousands of degrees.
On December 18 and 19, the vehicle traveled 197 meters in a southeast direction as it passed by small craters and boulders and entered a crater with a diameter of 50 meters.
December 20 - RIFMA reported a solar flare emitting radiation dangerous to humans. The vehicle left the crater it entered on the 18th and 19th and moved in a southerly direction along a plain full of small craters and entered craters with a diameter of 100 meters and an angle of 10 degrees. At this time of communication he has traveled 337 meters. Periodic measurements of the physical and mechanical properties of the soil were performed.
December 21 - the vehicle was moving in a northeasterly direction on the inner slope of a crater that it entered on December 20 on its way up the crater, (elevation angle 25 degrees) it made turns and moved backwards. During this time he traveled 78 meters.
December 22 - towards the end of the lunar day, the vehicle was parked and its activity stopped. Towards the end of the day he climbed slopes with an inclination angle of 23 degrees, doubled his way, turned and moved slowly to avoid steep craters and large boulders. The vehicle easily crossed shallow craters with a diameter of 150 meters.
In total, the vehicle measured 40 craters on this day and carried out 4,000 instructions. In 73 places he measured the ground resistance and it turned out that it varies from crater to crater. The general soil is more powdery in its structure on the sides of the craters. The vehicle traveled 1,370 meters from the landing site. In the two days, he broadcast 33 panoramic images
January 4, 1972 - the vehicle's activity was resumed. The reception was excellent.
The third lunar day, from January 8 to 21, 1981
On this day, Longhud 1 entered the third stage of the series of experiments that were intended for it. This phase was marked by extremely difficult and complicated experiments.
January 8 - when the sun was 4 degrees above the horizon, the car drivers started work. Every 20 or 30 meters the vehicle stopped for a minute and measured the ground resistance and in interesting places the chemical composition of the soil. Temperature, cosmic radiation and X-ray measurements were performed simultaneously.
January 9 - half of the morning (earth's morning) was dedicated to investigating a crater with a diameter of 100 meters and a depth of 6 meters. The selenologists (experts whose specialty is the moon) quickly learned to distinguish between young craters and ancient craters. Today the vehicle traveled 140 meters.
January 11 - the vehicle traveled 517 meters. He entered the crater and performed a panoramic survey.
January 12 - during a communication that lasted six hours, the vehicle traveled 553 meters. In total, up to this day, the vehicle has traveled 2,930 meters.
January 13-15 - the high angle at which the sun was found did not allow for good quality television footage and vehicle traffic was stopped for two days. The rest of the footage was of excellent quality.
January 17 - the vehicle broadcasted for 150 minutes and during that time moved 254 meters. Some of the photos were of his wheel tracks on the lunar surface more than a month ago. The vehicle passed by a large number of small craters.
January 18 - the vehicle finished the third stage of the experiments that were imposed on it. On this day he began his journey back to the landing site. He had to make a road of 1,400 meters. To perform this task the vehicle changed direction. Instead of moving in a southeasterly direction, he turned in a northeasterly direction. On this day the landing craft was seen. In one of the telescopic photographs, the landing vehicle and the earth are seen together.
January 19 - Lonkhod 1 stopped 15 meters from the lander. The experiment was carried out with great precision. The purpose of the experiment was to test the navigation and control. To carry out this experiment they used the vehicle's internal platform (three gyroscopes with three axes perpendicular to each other), telephotography and especially certain parts of the vehicle that are visible in these telephoto photographs. Since the position of the sun is known (two of the four telephoto cameras capture the sun and the moon) it is possible to know exactly the direction of travel of the vehicle.
Towards the end of the day, the vehicle moved towards the northwest to explore an area south of the landing site. Towards the end of the night, the vehicle entered a rocky crater difficult to pass and was parked there. This situation put the vehicle systems and the Earth's control systems to the test. On this day the vehicle traveled 1,936 meters.
From the data he provided to Nokhud 1, it turned out that the soil has a basaltic structure. Lonkhod 1 discovered deposits of aluminum, iron, titanium, magnesium, potassium and calcium. In one case, the lunar explorers were excited to see a large rock 150 meters away from the vehicle. The vehicle approached him and did not detect anything. It turned out that this is a small stone that on the screens looked like a big rock. The attempts to bring the vehicle closer to the rock resulted in leaving the rock far away and behind it. It appears that the television photographs of the wheel grooves served as a useful distance scale for navigators and drivers, just as it served as a source of information for lunar explorers about the mechanical properties of the lunar soil. In total, the vehicle traveled 3,655 meters.
The fourth lunar day, from February 7 to 20
February 7 - the vehicle resumed its activity and headed north. It moves in difficult terrain, where craters are 50-100 meters in diameter. A solar eclipse that occurred at this time provided a rare opportunity to test the vehicle's durability under harsher conditions than those of the transition from day to night on the surface of the moon. The vehicle passed through the three hours of the eclipse without damage.
February 8 - the vehicle passed through an area full of craters and completed its fourth kilometer. Today it passed 323.1 meters south of the landing site and entered a shallow crater with a diameter of 30-40 meters and an inclination angle of 15 degrees.
February 9 - the vehicle continued to move towards Heraclitus Cape. As on February 8, so today too, the area is full of craters with a diameter of 50-100 meters. There are young craters with a diameter of 20 meters.
February 10 - the vehicle "witness" to another solar eclipse. It transmits information about the eclipse when the solar collector is exposed. The eclipse lasted three hours and the temperature dropped to 100 degrees below zero. Seven hours later, the vehicle was driven to a distance of 578 meters from the landing site.
February 12 to 15 - the high angle at which the sun was found did not allow for good quality television footage and the vehicle's movement was stopped for three days, by which time the vehicle had traveled a total distance of 4,813 meters. The exact distance is determined with the help of a ninth wheel. The rim of the wheel was equipped with spokes, so that slippage was reduced to a minimum. Furthermore, the slip differences between the eight wheels and the ninth wheel provided information about the mechanical properties of the lunar soil. Lonchod 1 received and measured the data of Apollo 14's instruments.
16.2 - Lonkhod1 recorded a topographic crease in cameras. The physical and mechanical properties of a 10 meter long segment from the crease face were examined. The vehicle was driven from the peak of the crease along its upper face and created a crater with a diameter of 10 cm. A chemical test was performed on the exposed section. After that, the vehicle was driven in a north-south direction. The vehicle traveled 272 meters.
February 17 to 19 - Lonkhod 1 completed three months of work. By the end of the fourth day, the vehicle had traveled 5,228 meters. Towards the end of the day, Lunchod 1 was stationed in a flat area near the rim of a crater, XNUMX km from the landing site.
February 20 - it was reported that the planned three months of work on the vehicle were successfully completed. During this time, 63 engagements were made with him and he measured the ground resistance in 200 places. Towards the end of the day, Lankhod arrived at two craters that were in the work plan. The size of the craters and their shape were measured. Second-order craters located on the slopes of the large craters and in the areas where the moon rock was thrown were measured. Chemical, physical and mechanical measurements were also made. The diameter of the large crater is over half a kilometer and the diameter of the second one is less. Stereoscopic measurements were made at the bottom of the great crater.
The fifth lunar day, from March 7 to 20
On March 7 - the sunrise was photographed.
On March 8 - the solar collectors were recharged and the vehicle continued its research. Lonkhod 1 traveled in a northwesterly direction and traveled 272 meters. From the stopping points he transmitted more information from the radiometer and the X-ray telescope than in the previous days.
March 9 - the vehicle arrived at a 500 meter diameter crater and took a panoramic photo of it. At the end of the five-hour tour, he entered the first crater that was next to it for parking.
March 18 - the vehicle completed a study of a huge crater that began to be explored on March 17. During the communication that lasted 4 and a half hours, the vehicle traveled 417 meters. Although on the fifth lunar day the vehicle traveled less than the previous days, it traveled a record distance of 2,004 meters.
The sixth lunar day, from April 17 to 21
April 7 - the vehicle investigates craters with a diameter of 200 - 500 meters. It moves southwards while crossing the slope of a crater and crossing it towards the north. The length of the slopes is 301 meters.
April 8 - the vehicle is activated for 24 hours. In the second communication, he was driven into a crater with a diameter of 200 meters, entered the southern slope and ascended the northern slope. Lonkhud 1 today explored craters in a northwesterly direction and came across a rock three meters in diameter. In total, the vehicle has traveled 7.7 km to date.
April 21 - towards night, the vehicle was parked so that the laser communication continued. To date, the vehicle has traveled 8,261 meters. While the vehicle was exploring a crater that was probably created recently, it came across a material called "quicksand". Vehicle movement was delayed due to large amounts of rocks and small craters. The slopes of the crater were quite steep. The density of the rocks in the place was 80-100 times greater than the average the vehicle encountered so far. The height of several rocks is three meters.
The rocks and elevation lines of the terrain are difficult to cross. In addition, the inside of the craters was extremely dusty. The vehicle began to dig into the loose ground and the wheels lost 80% of their grip. The car drivers rescued him after many efforts of resourcefulness and navigation skills.
The seventh lunar day, from May 6 to 20
May 6 - the vehicle was restarted and its systems were checked.
From May 7 to 9 - Lonkhod 1 examined the microstructures of the lunar soil, traveling a little to take stereoscopic photographs. The photographs include fresh notches of the vehicle and those notched on the fifth lunar day. Simultaneously, chemical tests of the soil were carried out, the intensity of X-rays, cosmic radiation and background radiation continued to be measured.
May 14 - To date, the vehicle has traveled eight kilometers despite a malfunction in one of its engines.
May 17 - It was reported that the vehicle's power sources are decreasing.
The eighth lunar day, from June 4 to 17
June 4 and 5 - the vehicle was restarted and its systems were checked.
June 8 and 9 - the vehicle traveled 488 meters in a northerly direction along a rough moonscape.
June 10 and 11 - the vehicle traveled 700 meters and transmitted panoramic images of the Capes.
June 14 and 15 - the vehicle traveled 200 meters.
The ninth lunar day, from July 3 to 16
July 3 - Lonkhod 1 passed 33 meters inside a crater.
July 4 and 5 - Lonkhod 1 moves north and enters a crater with a diameter of 200 meters. At press time it has passed 53 meters.
July 14 - the vehicle left the crater it entered the previous day and started moving towards another crater. He took photographs of the crater and stars and examined the chemical composition of the soil. The tour of the crater was part of a new series of maneuvers.
July 27 - the vehicle performed measurements with Mar 2 and Mar 3 (spacecraft that were on their way to Mars) on the sun and cosmic radiation.
The tenth lunar day, from August 2 to 16
August 2 - the month of connection with the lunar vehicle.
August 3 - the vehicle's activity was resumed.
August 12 and 14 - the vehicle transmitted more panoramic photographs and physical information about the space.
The eleventh lunar day, from September 1 to 16
September 1 - the vehicle begins its operation.
September 2 to 6 - the vehicle broadcasts panoramic images from places where it stops.
September 15 - the vehicle completes its 11th day. It was reported that he is showing signs of weakness.
The twelfth lunar day
On September 28, the twelfth day of his lunar activity began, which ended before sunset. On October 4, the vehicle's nuclear engine shut down, thus shutting down its activity permanently. On this day the vehicle traveled 100 meters. He was manipulated so that the laser reflector continued to work.
In recent days, as mentioned, the vehicle showed signs of weakness and limited its activity to interesting areas only within a short driving distance. The internal temperature gradually decreased.
epilogue
The lunar vehicle transmitted a lot of information about the moon for almost a year and in particular the rainwater. In total, 20,000 photographs, 200 panoramic photographs and hundreds of inspections of an area of ​​80,000 square meters were broadcast to Israel. The tests include 25 chemical analyzes of the soil and 500 analyzes of the physical properties of the upper layer of the sea of ​​rain. In the 12 lunar days he traveled 10,540 meters.