Mission Summary
Lunar Orbiter 5 completed the global photographic survey of the Moon, closing out one of the most productive mapping efforts of the early space age. Launched August 1, 1967, the fifth and final spacecraft of the program combined two tasks: high-resolution imaging of candidate Apollo landing sites and broad coverage of the regions its predecessors had not yet captured.
Operating from a near-polar orbit, it photographed 36 high-priority targets and filled the remaining gaps in far-side coverage. Together the five Lunar Orbiters mapped about 99 percent of the lunar surface, giving mission planners an unprecedented chart of the worlds Apollo would soon visit. Having finished its survey, controllers deliberately commanded the spacecraft to impact the Moon on January 31, 1968, ensuring that its silent transmitter would not interfere with the missions to come.
Sources and notes can be found on the Sources page.
