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NASA technicians were once again starting their creation from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on the shores of Atlantic waters. On May 4, 1967 marked the beginning of 180 tense days for them, constantly monitoring their new probe, the Lunar Orbiter 4.

This last one was the fourth of a program of more than 164 million dollars that consisted of five unmanned ships, being the first three essential to look for possible places of landing and the two later those in charge of mapping the satellite.


Secrecy was one of the most essential parts of the mission, as space technology competition against the Soviet Union called the Star Wars was at its peak. Perhaps the Russians had sent the first man, Yuri Gagarin, into space in 1961, but the Lyndon B. Johnson administration was determined to follow the legacy of the tragically assassinated JFK by planting the star-flag on lunar soil. Therefore, the mission of the Lunar Orbiter 4 was paramount for this political and social victory to be possible.

Built by the aerospace agency's main contractor, Boeing, the aluminum alloy tube weighed 385 kilos and had a high-and-medium resolution photographic equipment commissioned to Eastman-Kodak, 66 kilos. However, unlike its predecessors, the Orbiter 4 had a flaw that was evident after the first photograph on May 11: the lens doors did not respond correctly. Consequently, the lens tended to tarnish, threatening the quality of vital images.

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Thus, the expertise of the technicians was capital to find the right angles to minimize the loss in quality, while the ship was spinning to the Moon. Until the 26 of that same month all the photographs that were possible were taken. Fortunately, the transmission was successful and 419 high resolution photographs arrived at the NASA operations center, showing 99% of the visible lunar surface and 75% of the hidden surface.

Once the images were received, an Orbiter 4, which would complete 360 ​​orbits before crashing by eventual gravity action on October 4, 1967, was abandoned. Its data were extremely useful for its fifth version, which was responsible for further exploring the Remaining 25% of the dark side of the Moon, to which Pink Floyd would dedicate an album in 1972.


After that, the certainty that an astronaut would set foot on the celestial body was ever closer, and would be fulfilled when Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins departed from Cape Canaveral himself on July 16, 1969 on Saturn V for Start the historic mission, Apollo 11. Four days later, a message with the voice of Armstrong would be received at that famous Houston control center amidst hugs, cheers and cheers: "Houston, here the Tranquility Base. The Eagle has landed. "

https://youtu.be/GBs3rd_u90Q