Exactly 55 years ago, on March 31, 1966, the Luna-10 automatic station, created on the Machine-building plant SA, went to the moon. Lavochkina (now – the Scientific and Production Association named after S.A. Lavochkin, is part of the state corporation “Roskosmos”). A few days later, she went to a stable orbit of the Moon and became her first in the history of an artificial satellite!
Since 1958, a program aimed at studying outer space with interplanetary devices has been actively developing in the USSR. In 1966, the Soviet apparatus “Luna-9” (also produced by NPO Lavochkina) for the first time in history, made a soft landing on the moon. Thanks to this, scientists learned a lot about her surface, but acutely stood the question of the comprehensive study of the arrogant space with the help of orbital satellites. To do this, in NPO Lavochkina developed the device “Luna-10”.
The main goal of the Moon-10 interplanetary journey is to gain a foothold in the orbit of the moon, to explore the arrogant space, as well as the chemical composition of its surface on the visible and reverse side. Entry into orbit is a difficult task, since most of the inolute orbits are not stable. If the device passes too high, then it can simply fly by, and if it is too low, then it risks fall to the surface of the moon. Despite this, a few days after the launch, the device went to a steady orbit of the moon, and became its first in the history of an artificial satellite!
While “Luna-10” rotated in orbit, scientists directly obtained data on the surface of the moon and the incense space. By the nature of the reflected gamma radiation, we learned the total chemical composition and type of rocks that occur on the lunar surface. The device conveyed data on the intensity of the lunar magnetic field and the absence of radiation belts on its orbit. Analyzing the trajectory of the apparatus, scientists first found the anomalies of the gravitational field of the Moon: in some of its regions, attraction was stronger than in others. Flying over them, the device accelerated, which was displayed on the trajectory of his movement.
So scientists have made the first map of the distribution of the gravitational field of the moon. These discoveries anticipated the following: years later, the zone with abnormally strong gravity was called mascons and described in detail according to the LUNAR ORBITER device. It is assumed that the maskons were formed due to the excessive density of the substance in the field of shock crater, which, after their formation, was filled with molten mantle from the bowels of the moon.
In total, the station “Luna-10” actively functioned 56 days, 219 communication sessions were conducted, which was an absolute global record. During this time, the device fully fulfilled the scientific program entrusted to him, having completed its active existence of 450 turns in the orbit of the moon. The Soviet apparatus “Luna-10” became the first step in the study of other planets of the solar system from their orbit. Thanks to the project, extensive scientific information was obtained, which determined the success of future interplanetary missions.