Jet Propulsion Laboratory Archives: Slice of History

P-289

Former JPLer Mari Graham is shown her posing in front of her typewriter for her showcase in the 1954 issue of Lab-Oratory. In addition to her job in Computing, Graham, under the pen name Mari Wolf, was a successful science fiction writer. At this point, she had six stories published in IF and conducted a monthly column reviewing amateur science fiction in Imagination. Graham was also active in the Pacific Rocket Society, an amateur group that conducted unclassified missile firings in the Mojave Desert. She received international publicity in connection with PRS activities, and she was profiled in issues of Look and Popular Mechanics.

Mari’s work at JPL informed her writings, as it does for so many JPLers today. Check out scientific works in the JPL Library in celebration of National Library Week! CL#25-0320

P-4446A

Ranger 9, the last craft of the series, launched 60 years ago on 21 March 1965! The craft was designed to image and impact Alphonsus, a large crater about 12 degrees south of the lunar equator. The probe was timed to arrive when lighting conditions would be at their best. The Atlas- Agena B booster injected the Agena and Ranger 9 into an Earth parking orbit at 185 km altitude. A 90 second Agena 2nd burn put the spacecraft into lunar transfer trajectory, which was followed by the separation of the Agena and Ranger 9. The initial trajectory was highly accurate; uncorrected, the craft would have landed only 650 km north of Alphonsus.

Ranger 9 reached the Moon on 24 March 1965. Unlike its predecessors, this Ranger pointed its cameras directly in its direction of travel, yielding stunning photographs of the lunar surface. Transmission of 5,814 good contrast photographs was made during the final 19 minutes of flight.

Millions of Americans followed the spacecraft's descent via real time television coverage of many of the F-channel images from both cameras A and B. These pictures showed the rim and floor of the crater in fine detail.

A panel of scientists presented some preliminary conclusions from Ranger 9’s mission at a press conference that same afternoon. Crater rims and ridges inside the walls, they believed, were harder and smoother than the moon’s dusty plains, and therefore were considered likely sites for future manned landings. Generally, the panel was dubious about landing on crater floors because they were solidified volcanic material potentially incapable of supporting a spacecraft. Data from the mission dramatically improved scientists’ understanding of the Moon’s mass and led to the discovery that the Moon’s center of mass is displaced from its geometric center. CL#25-0622

P-520A

An example of JPL’s historical and ongoing approach to public health, these photos document an on-Lab X-Ray clinic that was hosted in conjunction with the Pasadena Tuberculosis Association. This mobile X-Ray unit was stationed “immediately east of the JPL First Aid Room” all day on 27 July 1955, when these photos were taken. JPLers were invited to  “use this opportunity to obtain a chest x-ray on Laboratory time,” and encouraged to perform annual chest x-rays as a preventative health measure.

This became an annual health checkpoint for JPL during the 1950s, and staff would line up to take advantage. In this photo (left to right) Sylvia Granath, Ed Quick, Marie Mandroian, Dee Campbell, Ed Hane, and Russell Waldo climb the “stairway to health” and wait their turns. According to the August 1955 issue of Lab-Oratory, “[l]ast year, 437 JPL [staff] took advantage of this Laboratory service, showing an increased interest this year in preventative personal health.” CL#22-6272

P-520B

An example of JPL’s historical and ongoing approach to public health, these photos document an on-Lab X-Ray clinic that was hosted in conjunction with the Pasadena Tuberculosis Association. This mobile X-Ray unit was stationed “immediately east of the JPL First Aid Room” all day on 27 July 1955, when these photos were taken. JPLers were invited to  “use this opportunity to obtain a chest x-ray on Laboratory time,” and encouraged to perform annual chest x-rays as a preventative health measure.

This became an annual health checkpoint for JPL during the 1950s, and staff would line up to take advantage. In this photo (left to right) Sylvia Granath, Ed Quick, Marie Mandroian, Dee Campbell, Ed Hane, and Russell Waldo climb the “stairway to health” and wait their turns. According to the August 1955 issue of Lab-Oratory, “[l]ast year, 437 JPL [staff] took advantage of this Laboratory service, showing an increased interest this year in preventative personal health.” CL#22-6272