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Clementine lunar probe and the strange backgrounds of that spacecraft

Clementine spacecraft
(Picture I)

Kimmo Huosionmaa

In 1994 United States launched the new space probe to the Lunar Orbiter, and that probe got the name "Clementine". It was the first lunar mission of NASA after Apollo, and there were used many new kinds of sensors like CCD-cameras and another kind of systems, like radar, what mission was to look for the water on the moon. The clementine had the strange background because it was made by NASA and  BMDO (Ballistic Missile Defense Organization). 


The BMDO existence in this project has caused many rumors, that the real purpose of the "Clementine" mission was to look for Russian missiles or some other installations from the surface of the Moon. And the top of those rumors was of course, that the mission was made for locating the alien base from the Moon, and then the base could be intercepted by missiles, but this was of course only one hypothesis. 


There were many things, what was kept secret in the "Clementine" mission, and one of them was the reason, why BMDO took part in this project? Was there somebody, who believed, that there were sent secret nuclear weapons to the Moon by the Soviet Union? The nuclear systems could have the similar shape with Luna 16 probes, but I certainly hope, that those special nuclear missiles are only fiction. The Moon would be the perfect place for remote-controlled nuclear missiles, that can launch to the Earth and their targets by using remote control. The guidance of those weapons would be done with television and joystick. Or the warhead can use the image-identification system, what is brand new guidance method because it needs a quite much computer power. 


The reason, why BMDO was involved in this project is the mystery because that organization mission is to plane the ballistic missile defense tools like ABM-missiles and directed energy systems against ICBM. Above the text is a picture of "Clementine", and that spacecraft claimed to be different, and the real "Clementine" is mentioned be the football-shaped spacecraft, what would be covered the solar panels and light cells. The mission of those light cells would be that they can make 360 degrees image for the probe, what can use as the kinetic energy ammunition. 


Why I expect that is the vegetable "Clementine" is the ball-shaped thing and the spacecraft should have some connection with their names. And maybe the real "Clementine" was the ball, what mission was to demonstrate the way to make similar visibility as the bugs have. Another thing, what might be demonstrated could be, that could the CCD-chips replace the normal silicon panels, what makes the spacecraft more compact than using traditional structure. If the solar panels could also work as the cameras, they could warn the space probe incoming micro-meteorites. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clementine_(spacecraft)

Picture I
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/image/clementine_nasm.jpg

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