[FPSPACE] Luna or Lunik?

[DSFPortree at aol.com]

Howdy, Dima:

My sense has been that Lunik was a Western invention adopted by the Soviets 
as an understandable name for propaganda purposes. So, it would have appeared 
in Soviet sources, but wouldn't have been the "official" designation for the 
spacecraft until after Western sources first used it. Does what you have confirm 
or deny that notion?

When I write about these things for pop audiences I generally refer to the 
early Lunas as Luniks if I am only talking about the early Lunas. Lunik sounds 
like Sputnik, which is usually also part of the story, giving it a nice period 
feel. If I'm talking about the whole Luna series, I refer to the early Lunas 
as Lunas to avoid confusion, but if space permits will briefly mention the 
Lunik and Mechta designations.

David


David S. F. Portree
author & educator
dsfportree at aol.com
Flagstaff Arizona USA

DSFP homepage
http://members.aol.com/dsfportree/dsfp.htm

"You know, one day just maybe I'm gonna meet someone who gets the whole 
'don't wander off' thing. Nine hundred years of phone-box travel, it's the only 
thing left would surprise me."