Oops, I've realized the error in my ways in using that Java applet.
I used NASA's accurate ephemeris generator instead and looked for local minima less than 0.2 AU between 1959 and 2004, and here's what popped out:
Date Range (AU) 1964-Oct-21 0.1951679125 (Ranger 7) 1965-Feb-16 0.1257446466 (Ranger 9) 1972-Dec-29 0.0871449693 (Pioneer 10) 1980-Dec-18 0.0668657295 1982-Apr-11 0.185725114 (Venera 13) 1990-Apr-15 0.0300532941 (Galileo) 1998-Apr-15 0.0249093031 (Lunar Prospector) 2004-Dec-21 0.0964277899
That rules out Giotto.
Lunar Prospector was launched on January 7, 1998. The approach on April 15 (9 Rmoon) was the closest since 1959 according to current data.
signature.asc
Description: OpenPGP digital signature_______________________________________________ ERPS-list mailing list [email protected] http://lists.erps.org/mailman/listinfo/erps-list
