Status
Failure
Rocket
Mission Details
Pioneer P-30
Pioneer P-30 (also known as Atlas-Able 5A, or Pioneer Y) was intended to be a lunar orbiter probe, but the mission failed shortly after launch on September 25, 1960. The objectives were to place a highly instrumented probe in lunar orbit, to investigate the environment between the Earth and Moon, and to develop technology for controlling and maneuvering spacecraft from Earth. It was equipped to estimate the Moon's mass and topography of the poles, record the distribution and velocity of micrometeorites, and study radiation, magnetic fields, and low-frequency electromagnetic waves in space.
Payloads: 1
Total Mass: 176.0 kg
Trans Lunar Injection
Location
LC-12, Cape Canaveral SFS, Florida, USA
Stats
1960
23rd orbital launch attempt
Atlas-Able
2nd mission
1st mission of 1960
2nd failed mission