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 | Luna - Exploring the Moon | Lincoln, UK 2010 Sep 3, UTC Friday | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Maintained by:
Selected Luna Missions:
Elsewhere:
A different view from Ian Ridpath
Summarised by Don P Mitchell
| The Mission of Luna 12
Unlike Luna 10, the payload of Luna 12 was fully integrated with its flight bus and did not separate when in lunar orbit. The whole vehicle was stabilised. Luna 12 reportedly undertook surveying of the lunar surface, including imaging, as well as radiation and fields measurements in cislunar space.
 Luna 12 is no longer in orbit, its path round the Moon having been shifted to such a degree by Lunar Mascons that the vehicle eventually collided with the lunar surface.A contemporary Soviet drawing illustrates the appearance of Luna 12 and indicates the locations of its major systems.
Features shown are: 1 - Gas containers for orientation system 2 - TV equipment 3 - Temperature control radiator 4 - Radiometer 5 - Instrument compartment 6 - Chemical batteries 7 - Sensors for orientation system 8 - Antennae 9 - Control unit for orientation system 10 - Control thrusters 11 - Retro-rocket Luna 12 Statistics:
Launch Vehicle: Molniya
Launching Technique: Low orbit around the Earth and then a direct landing trajectory Mass: 1,640 kilogrammes fully fuelled Length: 2.5 metres Maximum Diameter: 1.0 metres
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