Several different full-size and scale models were made of the Ranger spacecraft (Block I, II, and III configurations). Scale models were used by the projects at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at a time when there was no computer animation. Engineers and scientists used them to visualize the spacecraft and its orientation as it reached the moon or a planet.

Three members of the Ranger 7 television experiment team stand near a scale model and lunar globe. From left: Ewen Whitaker, Dr. Gerard Kuiper, and Ray Heacock. Kuiper was the director of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) at the University of Arizona. Whitaker was a research associate at LPL. Heacock was the Lunar and Planetary Instruments section chief at JPL.

› Learn more about the Ranger 7 mission

This post was written for “Historical Photo of the Month,” a blog by Julie Cooper of JPL's Library and Archives Group.

TAGS:RANGER, SPACECRAFT, MISSIONS, HISTORY, VISUALIZATION, EARTH'S MOON, SOLAR SYSTEM

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Julie Cooper, Certified Archivist

  Julie Cooper is a certified archivist who identifies and processes collections for the JPL Archives, and helps researchers find information about the history of JPL.