Idaho Skies Transcript for January 15th and 16th

RACHEL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for January 15th and 16th. We’re your hosts, Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Forty-five years ago, the last American Apollo moon landing, Apollo 17, had already returned to Earth.

PAUL
But the Soviet Union wasn’t quite finished with the moon.

RACHEL
On January 16th, their unmanned Luna 21 spacecraft successfully landed on the moon.

PAUL
Its payload was a lunar rover named Lunokhod 2.

RACHEL
This rover was driven by a crew of five back on Earth using three video cameras mounted to the rover.

PAUL
The eight-wheeled Lunokhod 2 weighed 1,800 pounds back on Earth or 300 pounds on the moon.

RACHEL
Lunokhod 2 had a strong resemblance to a crab, with its round body and eight wheels protruding below the body.

PAUL
It was solar powered and those solar cells were mounted to the inside of a lid that covered its body during the cold lunar night.

RACHEL
Over four months, the rover drove a distance of 23.8 miles across the lunar surface, or the nearly the length of a marathon.

PAUL
In that time, it sent over 80,000 television pictures to its operators on Earth.

RACHEL
And it performed tests on soil mechanics, or how strongly the lunar soil or regolith resisted applied forces.

PAUL
In addition, Lunokhod 2 also measured how dark the lunar sky was in attempt to assess the moon’s use as an astronomical site.

RACHEL
Today Lunokhod 2 and its Luna 21 lander have a most unique distinction.

PAUL
They are the only spacecraft, residing on a celestial body that are under private ownership.

RACHEL
Game designer Richard Garriott purchased the pair from a Russian aerospace company for $68,500.

PAUL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 15th and 16th of January.

RACHEL
Be sure to read our blog for additional information. It’s at idahoskies.blogspot.com

For Idaho Skies this is Rachel...

PAUL
...and Paul.

RACHEL
Dark skies and bright stars.