Resources
Ranger 8 Image Taken 2 Seconds Before Impact

Image Credit:
NASA
Published:
July 9, 2018
Historical Date:
February 20, 1965
Last image taken by Ranger 8 camera-A from a distance of 4.2 km, 2 seconds before impact on 20 February 1965. The area shown is at 2.7 N, 24.55 E and the image is about 1.4 km across. The right side of the image is missing because Ranger 8 crashed before completing transmission. This area is about 60 km from the Apollo 11 landing site in the Sea of Tranquillity. These Ranger close-ups showed for the first time that even areas on the Moon which looked smooth from Earth were peppered with small impact craters. North is up. (Ranger 8, A060)