Ranger 7 photographs moon
Ranger 7 an unmanned U.S.lunar probe takes the first close-up images of the moon4308 in totalbefore it impacts with the lunar surface northwest of the Sea of Clouds.The images were 1000 times as clear as anything ever seen through earth-bound telescopes.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had attempted a similar mission earlier in the yearRanger 6but the probes cameras had failed as it descended to the lunar surface.
Ranger 7 launched from Earth on July 28 successfully activated its cameras 17 minutes or 1300 miles before impact and began beaming the images back to NASAs receiving station in California.The pictures showed that the lunar surface was not excessively dusty or otherwise treacherous to a potential spacecraft landing thus lending encouragement to the NASA plan to send astronauts to the moon. In July 1969 two Americans walked on the moon in the first Apollo Program lunar landing mission.READ MORE Apollo 11 Moon Landing Timeline From Liftoff to Splashdown
