PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF LUNA-9 PHOTOGRAPHY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78B04560A005700010015-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 22, 1999
• Sequence Number: 15
• Publication Date: June 1, 1966
• Content Type: REPORT

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TECHNICAL PUBLICATION
PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS
OF LUNA-9 PHOTOGRAPHY
NPIC/R-5017/66
JUNE 1966
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WARNING
This document contains information affecting
the. national defense of the United States,
within the meaning of Title 18, soctions
793 and 794, of the U.S. Code as amended.
Tts transmission or 7evelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is
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PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF LUNA-9 PHOTOGRAPHY
Introduction
In response to CIA/FMSAC requirement C-DS6-83,440, this report
contains the results of a preliminary analysis of Luna-9 photography.
As performed by the Technical Intelligence Division of the National
Photographic Interpretation Center, the objective of the analysis was
to provide information about the photographic system, the spacecraft,
and the lunar surface independent of previously published Soviet and
U.S. data. Considering the quality of the photography, the available
collateral material, and the effort to provide timely data, the derived
results must be accepted as preliminary and subject to refinement by
further analysis.
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25X1D
25X1D
25X1D
25X1D
A. Results of Preliminary Analysis
1. Azimuthal angular field of view
2. Vertical angular field of view
3. Tilt of scanner rotation axis (+ 1.50)
360 degrees
30 degrees
February
4
16
degrees
February
4
17.5
degrees
February
5
22.5
degrees
February
6
22.5
degrees
4. Axis of spacecraft movement (approximate
location relative to foot containing
prominent protuberance)
35 degrees
5. Mirror data see item B-5
6. Spacecraft dimensions (see line drawing)
height to scanner axis
scanner turret
photometric device
2.02 feet
.25 x .24 feet
.14 feet
7. Dimensions of lunar surface features (see foldout)
Distance from capsule
(feet)
Size
(inches)
Crater 1 2.75 6-9 diam.
Rock 1 7-8 6
Rock 2 23 7-8
Rock 3 23 7-8
B. Photogrammetric Basis for Preliminary Results
1. Ref. A-1 ---
However,
e aval a e orizon images traced the sine curves y = c sing
which is characteristic of the rotational motion of a rigid body
on a flat surface. The apparent maximum and minimums of the
curves indicate a 360 degree rotation. With an origin at the
point of zero tilt (see item B-3), the constant c is computed
from measurements of y values along the small axis of the format
and angular values along the longer format dimension. The
following sine curves can be traced:
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25X1D February 4 y = 0.290 sing
February 4 y = 0.335 sing
or February 5 y = 0.413 sing
February 6 y = 0.400 sing
mu flat, the values are only approximate numbers.
Because of image quality and the 'assumption that the horizon is
2. Ref. A-2 --- The vertical angular field of view
(30 degrees) was obtained by two different solutions.
a. The angle between the points of zero tilt and
apparent maximum tilt (see item B-3) together with the
measured image distance between the points enabled the
determination of an effective focal length. Utilizing
the derived focal length and format size, the vertical
field of view was computed to be approximately 30 degrees.
b. Employing ground photography, the dimension of
the "photometric" device and its distance from the camera
station were computed (see item B-7). Applying these
derived values together with the measured image dimensions
of the device(panoramic photography) to the following
equation yields an effective "blow-up" focal length.
focal length image distance
distance from camera
ground distance
The derived focal length together with the format size
again yields a vertical angular field of view of
approximately 30 degrees.
3. Ref. A-3 --- The derived tilt values represent the
angle between the scanner rotation axis and the normal to a
horizon tangent line with zero slope. Tangent lines were
graphically constructed at various points on the horizon, and
the tilt angle was measured directly. The tile values are
mean values with an accuracy of plus or minus 1.5 degrees.
The point of zero tilt was taken at the tangent point with
maximum slope.
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25X1D
25X1D
NPIC/R-5017/66
Range (degrees)
Tilt (degrees)
February 4
15-17
16
February 4
16-19
17.5
February 5
21-24
22.5
February 6
21-24
22.5
4. Ref. A-4
To isolate the axis of spacecraft movement, traces
of conjugate imagery from successive transmissions were plotted on
an established base using spacecraft components (mirrors, antennas,
feet) as references, assuming that the relative position of the
components remained fixed. The displacement of the imagery and
the near intersection of the different horizon images indicate
that the movement was a rotation about an axis located in an
area approximately 35 degrees to the right of the spacecraft
foot displaying the prominent protuberance. The axis of rotation
is approximately the same for both movements, and the second
movement produced the greater amount of rotation. No evidence of
25X1D movement between could be found. The difficulties
in exactly locating the axis of rotation were that a scale change
25X1D hindered overlay traces. Image displacement
could not be definitely attributed to the scale change or actual
25X1D spacecraft rotation. Variations in the image quality of the
25X1D considerably reduced the number of traceable images. The
missing portions of the panoramas precluded comparative traces in
25X1D those areas. Producing all at the same scale and
eliminating noise patterns together with densitometric image
traces could perhaps enable a more precise determination of the
location of the rotational axis.
5. Ref. A-5 --- The three dihedral mirrors mounted on the
capsule image six strips of the lunar surface. Mirrors one and
two (see foldout and line drawing) are of similar size, are
mounted on the outer edge of the capsule, and are offset by
180 degrees. Mirror three which is smaller than the other two
is located closer to the scanner turret. By printing the panorama
negatives in reverse, the mirror images were correlated to the
conjugate lunar surface images. Plots of the images from the
right face of mirror one and the left face of mirror two intersect
at a point on the lunar surface approximately six feet from the
capsule. Mirrors one and two each occupy approximately 3.7 degrees
of the panorama, and mirror three occupies approximately 5.6 degrees.
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The faces of mirrors one and two do not image equally in the
panorama which is indicative of (a) rotation about the vertical
axis of the mirror, (b) unequal mirror surface, (c) an angle
other than 90 degrees between mirror faces. In the panorama,
the faces of mirror three are of equal dimension indicating
that the faces are at an equal angle with the optical axis
of the scanner. Stereoscopic viewing is possible with the
corrected mirror images but the quality of the stereo image
is at best poor. Further work is being done on the mirror
angles to determine mirror orientation and to better under-
stand the purpose of the mirrors.
6. Ref. A-6 --- Approximate dimensions of the Luna-9 capsule
with the petals closed and protective covering in place were
obtained from motion picture film T-6376. The height of an
average man was used as a basic scale factor. That the man
and capsule are equidistant from the camera station and that
both are in a vertical plane were assumed. The interior
orientation of the taking camera, the camera attitude relative
to a vertical datum, and an estimate of the difference in distance
from the capsule to the man in a direction parallel to the optical
axis were obtained. Using a mensuration base established by the
above method, the maximum diameter of the capsule was computed
to be 3 feet.
Employing ground photography of a Luna-9 display (Fair of
Permanent Achievement, Moscow), the height of an average man
was again used as a scale factor. Additional assumptions are
that the Luna-9 capsule is positioned in the middle of the display
and that the distance from the man imaged in the background to
the camera is twice that of the capsule to the camera. Photo
B-18 shows clearly that Luna-9 is in the center of the display.
The primary photographs A-10 and A-12 were taken on opposite
sides of the capsule. Image space distances (capsule diameters,
heights of support poles, and distances between antenna end
points) in both photographs agree to within an average error of
plus or minus 5 percent. Since the scale and focal length remain
constant between the two photos, the distance from the exposure
station to the capsule is equal for both pictures. Therefore,
a vertical plane through the spacecraft normal to the "air base"
between the exposures stations bisects that "air base". The
diameter of the Luna-9 capsule may then be ratioed directly at
1/2 the scale of the average man. The capsule diameter with
petals unfolded and no protective covering was computed to be
2.18 feet
(664.1 multimeters).
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An article in the Soviet publication "Aviation and Space"
(Issue 3, 1966, page 9) states that the camera is 60 centimeters
(1.97') above the surface. That this height refers to the scanner
turret and accounts for the tilt of the capsule is unknown, but
the Soviet figures and those computed from ground photography
very closely agree. Based on this close agreement and the
satisfactory scale agreements between the various sources, the
dimension 2.18 feet was selected as a base for computing all
other dimensions. (see line drawing) All Luna-9 capsule
dimensions were then graphically computed. If subsequent
uncropped photography with a known focal length becomes available,
refinement of the dimensions may be possible. Other dimensions,
specifically requested, will be computed.
7. Ref. A-7 --- The derived spacecraft dimensions enabled
some estimates to be made of the lunar surface from monoscopic
methods. The approach involved some of the same photogrammetric
techniques used in high oblique aerial photography. Given
focal length, height, and orientation, then the ground coordinates
or size of any object may be computed.
Mensuration of the Luna 9 capsule provides a basic height
of 2.02' to 0 of scanner axis. Since Luna 9 is in a tilted
position this dimension represents a slant range rather than
a height. The true height may then be computed for each scan
depending on the amount of tilt.
The effective focal lenght of Luna 9 may be computed from
the scale formula s=f/h. The photo distance of the photo-
metric device is measured on the panorama, its ground distance
was computed from ground photography, and the distance from
the device to the exposure station is known. To solve mono-
scopically it is also necessary to make use of the angular
field of view which was previously determined.
Several prominent lunar topographic features are dimen-
sioned on the accompanying graphic. The dimensions were
randomly selected and additional measurements for any particular
feature specifically requested will be computed. Future analysis
of stereoscopic coverage may give some checks on monoscopically
computed dimensions.
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The preliminary dimensions for selected bits of lunar
topography were computed monoscopically and are approximations
only.
Object Distance from Capsule Size
(Feet) (Inches)
Crater 1 2.75 6-9 diem
Rock 1 7.8 6
Rock 2 23 7-8
Rock 3 23 7-8
7
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REFERENCES
25X1D
NPIC/R-5017/66
1. Ground Photography
Luna 9 exhibit at the Permanent Fair of Achievement,
Moscow
(Confidential)
Received approx. 3 May 1966
2.
(Secret)
Assorted prints and positives were received during
week of 27 March. However, panoramas from 6 February
were not received until week of 8 May.
3. Soviet Movie "Starry Road" T-6376 (Secret)
Received Approx. week of 20 March
4. JPL Technical Report 32-877
Digital Video-Data handling (Unclassified)
Received during week of March 27
5. Stereopanoramic Surveys by M.M. Rusinc4
Leningrad Institute of Precision Mechanics and Optics
Geodesy and Aerophotography No. 2 1965 (Unclassified)
6. Soviet newspaper accounts including Pravda, Tass, and
others (Unclassified)
All received approx. during week of 27 March
7. Soviet Bloc Research in Geophysics, Astronomy, and Space
No. 128 U.S. Dept. of Commerce
Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical
Information (Unclassified)
Received during week of 27 March
8. An Appreciation of Luna 9 Pictures (Unclassified)
25X1A (USGS)
Astronautics and Aeronautics May
Received approx. 6 May 1966
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NPIC/R-5017/66
07Z
FET APPROX I MATE
L la n a 9
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LOCATION OF
AX (5 OF ROTATION
ANTENNA WITH P055IBLE I-10R I ZON TRACE
PHOTOME-TRI C DE-VICE
LUNAR* IMAGERY
ON LEFT FACE
OF MIRROR I
SECRET
MIRROR 1
LUNAR IMAGERY
ON LE FT PACE
OF MIRROR 3
FOOT"
POSSIBLE METAL STIZAP -
411110
T
G2APN IC POR'TIAYA L
OF LUKI,W PAikCCDANA
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SECRET
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NN
P,NITEKIKIA
'AIOR 3
LUN42 IMAGERY
OKI RIGHT FACE
OF MIRP:OR 1
POCK
FOOT
LuwAre IMA.GE-RY
OJ LEFT FACE
OF MICZROR
NPIC/R-5011/6(
LOCATION OF
1-"---AX IS OF ROTATION
ANTENWA
MCIRPO2 2
LUKIAR 1tvi4GE-PY
ON faGHT FAC
OF MIRR'01Z 3
NPIC K-0905 (6/66)
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