Ranger 2

Ranger Spacecraft NASA's Ranger 2 spacecraft was part of the first generation, or block 1, (pictured here) of the Ranger mission series. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech › Larger view

Mission Summary

The second of the series of spacecraft launched by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the early 1960s to further lunar and interplanetary exploration, Ranger 2, like its predecessor, was built to test flight systems for a future lunar mission. However, it was similarly unsuccessful due to a malfunction with its booster rocket. The malfunction caused Ranger 2 to be trapped in low-Earth orbit before burning up in Earth's atmosphere two days after launch.

Scientific Instrument(s)

- Lyman-alpha telescope
- Rubidium vapor magnetometer
- Electrostatic analyzer
- Medium energy particle detectors
- Triple coincident telescope
- Cosmic ray ion chamber
- Cosmic dust detectors
- Scintillation counter

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