After nearly 40 years, scientists have once again received a signal from the Soviet Lunokhod-1
For the first time in nearly 40 years, researchers have received a signal from the laser retroreflector on the Soviet lunar rover “Lunokhod-1,” which ceased operations on the Moon’s surface back in 1971.
It is noted that after pinpointing the rover’s exact location, scientists were able to direct laser pulses at it and receive a response. Analysis showed that the retroreflector is in excellent condition, and the signal from it turned out to be about four times stronger than that from a similar device on “Lunokhod-2.”
For decades, researchers were unable to receive a response from the spacecraft because they did not know its exact coordinates. That changed in 2010, when NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter took detailed images of the Moon’s surface, which made it possible to pinpoint the location of “Lunokhod-1.”
Following this, the APOLLO project team conducted a laser probe of the retroreflector. According to research leader Tom Murphy, the first attempt succeeded in detecting about 2,000 returned photons. By comparison, the best result previously obtained from “Lunokhod-2” was about 750 photons.
Scientists explain that the laser retroreflector does not require a power source but simply reflects pulses sent from Earth. This makes it possible to measure the distance between Earth and the Moon with high precision and to study the motion of Earth’s natural satellite.
“Lunokhod-1” was delivered to the Moon by the “Luna-17” mission on November 17, 1970. It became the world’s first remotely controlled lunar rover to operate on the surface of another celestial body. Although the mission was planned to be short-term, the rover operated for nearly a year, traveling about 10.5 kilometers across the Moon’s surface.
Space Daily reports this, citing the results of a study.
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