Jet Propulsion Laboratory Archives: Slice of History

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

Eliot Middle School Was Head Over Heels for JPL

Photo by Carol Lachata, Photolab; P-32822A

In April 1988, sixth through eighth graders from Eliot Middle School in Pasadena performed a talent show on the steps of Building 180 in appreciation of JPL’s involvement in LADWP’s “Adopt-a-School” program. Among the dancers, musicians, speakers, and double-Dutch jump rope performances, was the talented tumbler pictured above — impressing JPLers with their high-flying acrobatics.

The program, administered by the JPL Director's Advisory Council for Women and the Lab's Public Affairs Division, was meant to encourage an exchange of ideas, expertise, materials, and human resources between JPL and Eliot's students and educators.

JPLers gave guest lectures throughout the school year, served as advisers on students’ science projects, and held assemblies at the school to explain NASA/JPL missions. JPL loaned education resources to the schools, including audio/visual materials, exhibits, and spacecraft models, and teachers and students were also invited to JPL for special Laboratory programs, including career fairs, science seminars, workshops, and lectures. In 1999, the Lab honored straight-A students and science fair award winners from EMS at a banquet in von Karman Auditorium.

JPL’s long-standing tradition of engaging local schools continues to this day with programs and events like the Invention Challenge, the Open Source Rover, Solar System Ambassadors, and countless other individual and group engagements on the part of JPL’s engineers and scientists. CL#24-6246

"Slice of History" is a monthly-ish series in which JPL Archives and Lab Engagement share photos from the Laboratory's past.

The JPL Archives' mission is to document the rich organizational, mission, and cultural histories of the institution in a factual manner that uses primary resources and historical context. The content presented in this series should be viewed in the context of the time period. We recognize that some information or images do not reflect the current values, policies, and mission of JPL.

Want to learn more about the history of JPL? Visit JPL Archives Website or reach out to the JPL Archivists at archives@jpl.nasa.gov.

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