Apr 16 1966
From The Space Library
Preliminary results of flight of U.S.S.R.'s LUNA X, placed in circumlunar orbit April 3 to become moon's first artificial satellite, were announced at Moscow press conference. President of the Soviet Academy of Sciences Mstislav Keldysh said that considerably less braking power had been required to put a spacecraft in orbit around the moon than had been required in a soft landing. This had made it possible to increase the payload in LUNA X and to equip it with instruments for important studies of the moon and the space surrounding it. Academician Aleksandr Vinogradov, geochemist, said that study of radioactivity of rocks on the lunar surface had indicated the overall intensity of gamma radiation on the lurain was comparable to the intensity of gamma radiation emitted by terrestrial granites [see April 13]. However, part of it was not due to natural radioactivity but to interaction of cosmic rays and lunar matter. Such radiation was absent in terrestrial rocks because of the shielding effect of the earth`s atmosphere. Lunar rocks were comparable in natural radioactivity to basalt rocks on earth, indicating that "the processes of the formation of the core of the planets of the earth group apparently have the same mechanism." Prof. Naum Grigorov said readings of LUNA X's magnetometer indicated presence near the moon of a weak, homogenous, and regular magnetic field. Streams of ions of small energies were registered. Analysis of materials transmitted by LUNA X showed the intensity of particles in the moon's radiation belt was 100,000 times less than in the earth's radiation belts. Prof. Alexandr Mikhailov, director of the Pulkovo Observatory, said existence of an artificial moon satellite was important not only for physical research, but also for determining more exactly the mass and shape of the moon-information vital for building an exact theory of the motion of the moon and for study of the unevenness of the earth`s rotation. Replying to questions, Academician Keldysh said LUNA X did not carry photocameras but was intended for physical study of near-lunar space and the moon itself-its nature, ionosphere, radiations, and fields. Satellite would orbit the moon for "a few years." Duration could not be predicted since parameters of the moon's gravitational field were not known. Keldysh said that since assembly of large spacecraft in orbit was an important step toward the conquest of outer space, cosmonauts were preparing for the solution of this task. Referring to the problem of manned flights to the moon, he stressed that the most difficult task to be solved was return of the spacecraft into earth's atmosphere. Keldysh said dogs Veterok's and Ugolyek's passages through radiation belts in COSMOS CX had had no apparently serious effect on them but that prolonged observations were necessary. (Tass, 4/18/66)
NASA Assistant Administrator for International Affairs Arnold W. Frutkin addressed the American Academy of Political and Social Science in Philadelphia on international significance of space program: ". . . the United States has welcomed direct foreign participation in space research and exploration. The US. has contributed its boosters to launch six satellites which were conceived, engineered, instrumented and funded by cooperating foreign countries. Eight more such satellites are to be launched by us under existing agreements and, at this date, other agreements are in early prospect. We have opened our own satellites to foreign experimenters. Some twenty experiments proposed by scientists abroad have been selected on their merits for flight on our satellites. These foreign experiments are contributed to the program; we contribute space in the satellite and its support systems and retrieve the data for the experimenter. Even wider cooperation-with twenty different countries -is achieved through programs which utilize small, non-orbiting rockets to obtain data for which satellites do not commend themselves. In all of these projects, we have shared the tasks and costs in literal cooperation without exporting a dollar." (Text)
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