31 JUL--This Day in US Military History

2015-07-31T09:17:22-04:00

1964 – Ranger 7, an unmanned U.S. lunar probe, takes the first close-up images of the moon–4,308 in total–before it impacts with the lunar surface northwest of the Sea of the Clouds.

The images were 1,000 times as clear as anything ever seen through earth-bound telescopes. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had attempted a similar mission earlier in the year–Ranger 6–but the probe’s cameras had failed as it descended to the lunar surface.
Ranger 7, launched from Earth on July 28, successfully activated its cameras 17 minutes, or 1,300 miles, before impact and began beaming the images back to NASA’s receiving station in California. The pictures showed that the lunar surface was not excessively dusty or otherwise treacherous to a potential spacecraft landing, thus lending encouragement to the NASA plan to send astronauts to the moon. In July 1969, two Americans walked on the moon in the first Apollo Program lunar landing mission.

https://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/2005/08/01/july-31/

July 31

31 July 1498 - During his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus arrived at the island of Trinidad. 1760 - In 1756 approximately 60 members of the South Carolina militia organ...

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Jul 31 at 2015 9:21 AM

2015-07-31T09:21:21-04:00

It's amazing how far we've come with satellite technology in just 50 years.