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Mission record

Ranger 4

Also known as 1962 Mu 1, RA 4, Ranger4

NASA · Launched

Explore trajectory

Failed · Failure

Ranger 4 was a Block II Ranger carrying a television camera, a gamma-ray spectrometer and a rough-landing seismometer capsule. An apparent failure of a timer in its central computer and sequencer left the solar panels undeployed and the spacecraft inert, and it impacted the far side of the Moon without returning any scientific data.

Destinations
Moon
Launch vehicle
Atlas-Agena B
Launch site
Cape Canaveral, United States
Countries
United States
Mission types
Impactor, Lander

Chronology

Mission timeline

  1. Launch

    Ranger 4 launched

    Earth

  2. Impact

    Ranger 4 impacted the far side of the Moon at 12:49:53 UT

    Moon

Mission architecture

Vehicles

  • Ranger 4 · Spacecraft

    Destinations: Moon

Trajectory record

Trajectory dataset not yet available

No verified trajectory dataset is committed for this mission, so Mission Atlas renders no path.

Provenance

Sources

Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.

Data verified through August 24, 2026