Prospector was a proposedlunar probe that was intended to be flown in support of theApollo lunar missions.[1]
Prospector arose as a result of PresidentJohn F. Kennedy's desire to rehabilitate the tarnished image of US spaceflight. In 1961,NASA proposed a series of robotic probes, including Prospector, to be managed by theJet Propulsion Laboratory.[2]
Prospector was based on a study that had been performed by theMarshall Space Flight Center in June 1960, to determine what lunar missions could be achieved using theSaturn I rocket.
NASA envisioned Prospector as "a large versatile 'space truck'"[3] that could be launched by aSaturn rocket and that could soft-land on the Moon with a wide variety of payloads. Among the applications envisioned were:[3]
Prospector was initially planned to have its first launch between 1963 and 1966.[4] However, as plans progressed, the project ran into weight overruns, requiring a larger launcher such as theSaturn V.[2] Its role also began to change from one of support for the Apollo missions to more of a substitute for them,[2] which NASA'sSpace Task Group did not endorse.[5] The project was canceled in 1962.[2]
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