Lunokhod: Moon Robot
Credit: Courtesy Lavochkin Association
Explanation:
On November 17, 1970 the Soviet Luna 17 spacecraft landed the first roving remote-controlled robot on the Moon. Known as Lunokhod 1, it weighed just under 2,000 pounds and was designed to operate for 90 days while guided in real-time by a five person team at the Deep Space Center near Moscow, USSR, Planet Earth. The futuristic looking eight wheeler rode on top of a descent module that extended ramps from both sides offering alternative routes to the surface in case one side was blocked by boulders. Lunokhod 1 toured the lunar Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) for 11 months in one of the greatest successes of the Soviet lunar exploration program. This Lunokhod's operations officially ceased on October 4, 1971, 14 years after the launch of Sputnik.
說明:
1970年 11月 17日，蘇聯的月球探測 17號 (Luna 17) 太空船首次把遠距遙控的月面車放在月球上。月面車 1號 (Lunokhod 1)的重量略低於 950公斤重，原先設計的運轉壽命為 90天，它的運轉是由一個遠在地球上蘇聯莫斯科深空控制中心的 5人小組所控制的。 這輛充滿未來感的 8輪月面車，是由降落艙頂的位置下降到月面的，這個降落艙有二個下降引道，以便在其中一個受到巨岩阻擋時，月面車可以從另一個引道下到月面。 月面車 1號實際上在月球雨海 (Mare Imbrium)活動了 11個月，在蘇聯月球探測計畫中最重大的成功案例之一。 月面車在 1971年的 10月 4日正式的停止運作，這正好是史波尼克人造衛星 (Sputnik)發射升空的 14週年紀念日。
資料來源: Scientific American
Department of Physics, NCKU
