[sci.space.shuttle] Antique Probes

lmm@cci632.UUCP (Lance Michel) (11/06/89)

Being somewhat new to the Net, I was impressed with the resources available
to anyone who is looking for information.  I was especially impressed over the
detail of the Status Reports From NASA.  However, the subject that I didn't
see covered thus far was the CURRENT status of some of the old probes which
have long since been forgotten by the media.  I was wondering if anyone could
provide any information regarding the following projects:

	Viking 1,2	1975	Still sending any signals?
				If not, when did they stop?

	Mariner 1,2	1962	Did we get any data?
		3-7	1963+	Do we even know where they are?
		8		Crashed in the ocean right?
		9	1971	What was the mission?
		10	1973	Venus.  Any data?
		??		That's all of them Right?

	Pioneer	1-3		Failed moon trajectories?
		4-9		All Moon related? 
		10,11		Jupiter,Saturn Still operating?

	Pioneer
	Venus	1	1978	Where are they now? How do you know?
	Venus	2		Probes released? What about them?

	Ranger	3-9	1965+	All Moon related?  Any data coming in?

	Lunar Orbiter		???? What was this for?

	Surveyor	1968	Just for landing site research?

	SOVIET PROBES:  Any info at all would be interesting.
				Luna
				Venera
				Mars
				Others?
I realize that this list is rather long, and beyond the scope of information
you wish to cover.  But I have looked in a few libraries and found not much
more than what I've listed.  If you feel that these questions require too much
work to answer, perhaps you could suggest some resources which are available to
the public and cover these projects in detail.  Also, I'm interested in knowing
if any of these probes are still sending signals of any kind.  At first I
thought a probe from 1965 would be long dead.  Then I realized that it wouldn't
take much to operate a simple "beacon" for decades.

P.S.  Please dont flame me,  I'm just another curious individual.

Thanx in advance for your attention!

Voyager Nut!