RANGER 7: Set of 11 photos. - Lot 52

RANGER 7: Set of 11 photos. 11 stunning images of the lunar surface taken by Ranger 7 at various altitudes before it crashed into the Moon: 770 km, 750 km, 375 km, 136 km, 54 km, 40 km, 17.6 km, 5 km, 365 m, 72 m. The probe crashed as planned into the Sea of Clouds on July 31, 1964, after transmitting 4,316 photos. Photos from the American Cultural Center, captioned and some numbered. The Ranger program was designed to take detailed photographs of the Moon and gather information on the composition of the lunar surface. Nine Ranger probes were launched aboard 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 with Ranger 1 through Ranger 6, the program became a success starting with Ranger 7. All photos are vintage black-and-white silver gelatin prints, measuring 20.5 x 25.5 cm, sourced either from JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) or from NASA.