RANGER 4 (launched April 23, 1962) - Lot 48

RANGER 4 (launched April 23, 1962) Lot of 7 photographic prints: - Ranger 4 preparations by technicians prior to launch, April 23, 1962 (2 captioned photos, no. 314-5490B and 314-5490A). - 3 drawings showing the flight plan of the Ranger 4 probe and its various maneuvers (captioned photos, n° P 1747, P1756, P-1757) - 1 drawing of the anatomy of the Ranger 4 probe and its Atlas-Agena rocket (captioned photo no. P-1887). - 1 detailed anatomical drawing of the probe (uncaptioned photo) The Ranger program was designed to take precise pictures of the moon and gather information on the composition of the lunar surface. 9 Ranger probes were launched from an Atlas-Agena B rocket between August 23, 1961 and March 24, 1965. They were produced by JPL, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (California). After several failures from Ranger 1 to Ranger 6, the program was a success from Ranger 7 onwards.