Found Russian spacecraft on the Moon after 42 years

French scientists succeeded in using lasers to find the former Soviet Union's Lunokhod 1 self-propelled ship on the Moon. 42 years ago, Lunokhod 1 became the first explorer ship to travel on the Moon's surface.

Lunokhod 1 graphics image.

The laser signal used by the scientists of the Côte d'Azur Observatory struck the reflector on the 8-wheeled Lunokhod 1, which was brought to the Moon by unmanned Luna 17 spacecraft. November 1970.

The team determined Lunokhod 1's position by measuring the time required for a laser signal to travel from the transmitter to the mirror reflected on the ship and back to Earth.

Any contact with the Lunokhod was lost in September 1971, about 10 months after it landed in the Rain Sea area on the Moon.

In 10 months of operation, Lunokhod 1 explored an area over 10 km ² and transmitted to Earth more than 20,000 images and 200 panoramic images.