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Ranger
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Ranger
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Ranger
Ranger Illustration of the Ranger spacecraft, 1961.

Ranger

space probe
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Ranger, any of a series of nine unmanned probes launched from 1961 to 1965 by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Project Ranger represented NASA’s earliest attempt at lunar exploration. Ranger 1 and 2 (launched Aug. 23 and Nov. 18, 1961, respectively) failed to leave Earth orbit. Ranger 3 (launched Jan. 26, 1962) missed the Moon and went into orbit around the Sun. Ranger 4 (launched April 23, 1962) became the first U.S. spacecraft to hit the Moon, crash-landing on its surface as designed. Ranger 5 (launched Oct. 18, 1962) suffered the same fate as Ranger 3. The last three probes in the series, Rangers 7, 8, and 9 (1964–65), transmitted more than 17,000 high-resolution photographs of the Moon, including many from as close as 300 metres (1,000 feet) above the lunar surface, before crashing.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Richard Pallardy.