Hiten was launched by Japan on
January 24, 1990. The spacecraft entered a circumlunar orbit and released a
small orbiter, Hagoromo, into lunar orbit. The transmiter on Hagoromo failed
rendering it scientifically useless, but the orbit insertion burn was verified
optically. The only scientific instrument on Hiten was the Munich Dust Counter
(MDC). The MDC provided data on the dust environment between the earth and the
moon until April 10, 1993 when Hiten was intentionally crashed into the lunar
surface between the craters Stevenius and Furnerius.
Hiten carried an optical
navigation camera called the Optical Navigation System (ONS). The ONS consisted
of a 384 by 490 pixel array. Since Hiten was spin stablized, the ONS shifted
the charge from pixel to pixel to compensate for smear. The images were
converted into a 4-bit digital signal that was relayed to earth. The resolution
of the camera was about one arc minute.
Due to the limits of its spin compensation, small chip size, and 4-bit imagery,
the images the ONS obtained were useful only for navigation. However, the ONS
was used during the final plunge to the lunar surface, making for a Ranger-esque
kamikaze sequence, although the quality is much poorer. The white dot marks
the impact point. The view below has been colorized. Click on it for
a black and white version.
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© Ted
Stryk 2007