 |
| Pioneer Z launch cover with Goldey cachet, postmarked at Port Canaveral on December 15, 1960. The mission failed shortly after launch. |
Pioneer P-31, also known as Atlas-Able 5B or Pioneer Z, was intended to be a lunar orbiter probe, but the mission failed shortly after launch. 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 take images of the lunar surface with a television-like system, 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.
 |
| Photo: Launch of Pioneer Z on December 15, 1960. |
 |
| Pioneer Z launch cover with "Swanson" stamped cachet, postmarked at Patrick Air Force Base on December 15, 1960. |
(Reference from
Pioneer P-31)
