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— Mysteries of our Moon — The Neutral Point Discrepancy of our. — Mysteries Moon — Point Neutral The gravitational neutral zone between the Earth and the Moon is not where it is supposed to be. What does it all mean? lunar probe or spacecraft launched from the Earth will continuously lose veloc- ity until it reaches the neutral point due to the Earth's gravitationa pull. However, after it passes the neutral point, the Moon's pull becomes stronger and it begins to accelerate, increasing in velocity. It must have the proper tra- jectory to assume a lunar orbit or to score a direct hit. The need for an accurate measurement of the Moon's gravity, hence the precise neutral- point distance, was pointed out by Hugh Odishaw, Executive Director of the United States National Committee for the IGY (International Geophysical Year). He presented a report in 1958 to all member nations of the IGY, entitled "Basic Objectives of a Continuing Program of Scientific Research in Outer Space".' In it he indicated that estimates of the Moon's mass at that time were based on observations of the motions of asteroids and the Earth's polar axis. The uncertainty attributed to the Moon's mass was given as 0.3 per cent, which was great enough to affect lunar rocket trajectories. Accordingly, Odishaw indicated the desirability of determining the Moon's mass more precisely in early Moon experiments. This could be accomplished by tracking the rocket as it approached the Moon and deriving the Moon's pull at each point of the trajectory, hence the surface gravity. By now, the reader probably realises how much difficulty NASA and the Russians would have had in sending successful Moon probes, even if they knew the exact position of the neutral point. If the neutral point, hence the Moon's gravitational pull, deviated considerably from the predicted value derived from Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, a series of failures would be expected in attempts to send successful lunar probes. It is also reasonable to conclude that a discovery of a significant difference in the expected Moon gravity would require many more years of reprogramming, rocket design, lunar probe design, and so on. The time required for people to readjust their thinking pat- terms would also be significant, especially after nearly 300 years of education and training in the gravitational concepts of Isaac Newton. In the style of the [US] Department of Defense, it should also be expected that suppression of the new findings would occur. Keeping these ideas in mind, along with the conventional idea of the position of the neu- tral point from the Moon, the history of lunar probes will be reviewed. The Moon was chosen as the first target for exploration because it is the closest celestial body to the Earth. Russia was the first nation to send a successful lunar probe, called Luna I, on January 2, 1959. It flew within 4,660 miles of the surface and broadcast infor- mation back to Earth after travelling into space. The US had made three unsuccessful attempts with Pioneers 1, 2, and 3 in 1958 before achieving a fly-by 37,300 miles from the surface several months after Luna 1. Luna 2 was launched on September 12, 1959 and became the first lunar probe to hit the Moon, sending back signals before impact. Luna 3 was launched October 4, 1959 and cir- cled behind the Moon, approaching within 4,372 miles. It sent back pictures of the far side. Significantly, the Russian program for exploration of the Moon came to a stop for four years following the Luna 3 lunar probe! All of the Luna shots were tracked with radar to collect trajectory and gravitational data. As previously mentioned, the trajectory of an object in the Moon's vicinity enables the surface gravity to be calculated, which, in turn, enables the neutral point to be calculated. If the findings deviated from the expected ones, it would probably require years to reassess and re-engineer future Moon probes. A soft landing would require a much larger launch vehicle and a great deal more fuel if the gravity were a lot higher than expected. Russia's secrecy concerning its space program is well-known. Therefore, the US may not have benefited from information obtained by Russian Moon probes. According to © 1982 by William L. Brian II Reprinted from Chapter 3 of MOONGATE: Suppressed Findings of the US Space Program—The NASA-Military Cover-up Published in 1982 by Future Science Research Publishing Co. Portland, Oregon, USA NEXUS ¢ 35 FEBRUARY-MARCH 1996