Word: luna
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...screens last week showed an awkward, eight-wheeled contraption that looked somewhat like the top half of a huge samovar. But what the outlandish vehicle lacked in styling, it more than made up for in performance. Three hours after reaching the moon aboard the latest unmanned Russian moon probe, Luna 17, Lunokhod I (literally "moonwalker") lumbered down one of two ramps extended by the mother ship and moved forward under the direct control of TV monitors on earth-thus taking the first giant step for robotkind on another celestial body...
...Soviets were understandably exultant. "The flight of Luna 17 signifies the start of a new stage in the study of the moon," said Radio Moscow. U.S. space officials saw no reason to disagree. "Just fantastic," said one NASA scientist. His boss, Acting NASA Chief George Low, noted that the Russians had launched 22 space missions in the past two months alone-earth satellites as well as two moon shots. With the addition of Luna 17 to the list, he said, it is clear that the Soviet Union is "operating with an advanced state of technology and is exploiting...
Vague Hints. Luna 17 landed on the unexplored Sea of Rains, one of the oldest lunar maria. It lies some 1,400 miles northwest of the Sea of Fertility, where Luna 16 landed two months ago to scoop up 3.5 oz. of moon dust for later study on earth. At first, the Russians gave only the vaguest hints about Luna 17's mission. But once the rover demonstrated its maneuvering ability, they began revealing details of their moon machine...
...passions of a nation. Tully and Munger are not fall guys for reformists, but men of substance, with more than a bit of sensitivity. They are even aware of their limits, perhaps too keenly: real pain comes when each realizes that the world of the ring, bounded by managers Luna and Solis, offers only ten or fifteen rounds of direct, virile action. Out of the ropes, both fighters and managers stride pitifully to find meaning and solace in love or family security, their marriages or affairs too often turning into the traditional Frankie-and-Johnny relationship of a tough mack...
Onto the Steppes. To the relief of the Russians, the trajectory was perfect and the terrestrial landing was as flawless as the lunar touchdown. As Luna 16 approached the earth, its shielded payload separated from the mother ship, slowed down in the thickening atmosphere, and released drogue parachutes for the final part of its descent. Twelve days after it had been sent aloft from the giant Baikonur space complex 125 miles away. the lunar package was recovered by helicopter from the bleak, sparsely settled Ap steppes of Kazakhstan in central Asia. While the Russians trumpeted news of their accomplishment...