Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle: User's Guide

Apollo 15 Commander David Scott drives the lunar roving
vehicle on the surface of the Moon, the first time the rover
was used. Source: NASA

The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) was an electric vehicle that allowed Apollo 15, 16, and 17 astronauts to drive on the Moon. It was folded up in the lunar module (LM) and deployed as show in in Image 1.

Image 1: Deployment sequence.
Source: Boeing Company

Astronauts were able to explore much more terrain with the rover.

 
The Apollo 15 astronauts drove a total of 27.8 km (17.3 miles) in 3 hours, 2 minutes of driving time.

 
The Apollo 16 astronauts traversed 26.7 km (16.6 miles) in 3 hours 26 minutes of driving.  Apollo 16 covered less distance in a longer time.  Note comments about visibility by Apollo 16's commander HERE.

 
The Apollo 17 astronauts went a whopping 35.9 km (22.3 miles) in 4 hours 26 minutes total drive time. At their farthest, the Apollo 17 astronauts were 7.6 km (4.7 miles) from the LM!

Image 2: Control and display console. 
Source: Boeing Company

The final cost of this amazing machine was $38 million. Four lunar rovers were built, one each for Apollos 15, 16, and 17, and one that was used for spare parts after the cancellation of further Apollo missions.

A 1-gravity trainer was also built to allow astronauts to practice driving.  They also trained to handle malfunctions.  Fortunately, the LRV operated just fine for all three missions.

Image 3: Example of one of many malfunction logic flow diagrams.
Source: Boeing Company

It took only 17 months to develop the LRV. Apollo 17's lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt said,

"....the Lunar Rover proved to be the reliable, safe and flexible lunar exploration vehicle we expected it to be. Without it, the major scientific discoveries of Apollo 15, 16, and 17 would not have been possible..."

Image 4: When the steering dies, just pick up the rover to change direction! 
Source: Boeing Company

Sources:

[1] "Lunar Rover Operations Handbook"; Doc. LS006-002-2H; Boeing Company, LRV Systems Engineering; July 7, 1971; https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/43944200-Lunar-Rover-Operations-Handbook-07071971.pdf

[2] "The Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle"; https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_lrv.html

Apollo 14 Surface Navigation Problems

During their lunar exploration in 1971, Apollo 14 moonwalkers Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Edgar D. Mitchell had some unexpected problems navigating on the rugged surface.

Fifty years later, this conversation from their technical debriefing still has value for Artemis astronauts.

Alan Shepard assembles a double core tube as he stands beside the portable workbench or
modular equipment transporter (MET) unique to this mission during the
 second moon walk on Feb. 6, 1971. Credits: NASA/Edgar Mitchell

SHEPHARD

Until we really get a feel for navigation on the surface, there should be some strong check points to follow.

First of all, it gives you a feeling of security to know where you are. You know where you are distance-wise and what you have left to cover.

Second, there's no question in my mind that it's easy to misjudge distances, not only high above the surface -- that we discussed before -- but also distances along the surface.

It's so crystal clear up there -- there is no closeness that you try to associate with it in Earth terms -- it just looks a lot closer than it is.

Edgar Mitchell moves across the lunar surface as he looks over a traverse map during
exploration of Fra Mauro. Lunar dust can be seen clinging to the boots and legs of the
space suit. Credits: NASA/Alan Shepard

MITCHELL

I certainly agree with that. I think there are two problems that affect your distance measurements.

One, as Al described, and the second is there has to be a little bit of distortion in the bubble. I don't know how much that contributed to it, but I think it contributed some.

I believe that our primary problem in navigation was the surprise brought about by the roughness and the undulation of the terrain.

We couldn't see -- one set of landmarks, the prominent landmarks -- our next set of landmarks from our present position.

Large craters which we expected to be able to see standing out on a reasonably flat plane were not on a flat plane. They were hidden behind other craters, ridges, and old worn-down mounds.

You'd say , "Well, this next big crater ought to be a couple of hundred meters away, or 100 or 150 meters." It just wasn't anywhere in sight.

So you'd press on to another ridge and you still didn't see it. All you would see would be another ridge. Finally, you'd get over to it and there it was. You could not get enough perspective from any one spot to pin down precisely where you were.

...but that was kind of the feeling I had. I never knew what to expect when I went over the ridge of the sand dune or what I was going to see on the other side of it.

SHEPHARD

I think that complicated our problem. I don't know what to suggest on that.

I think that we have talked about navigation problems before. We always felt that you know you'd see these craters out here. Men have planned for them and they're very well defined and we ought to be able to locate them easily, but that just isn't the case.

There has to be more thought given to some better way of positioning oneself on the chart.





Source: "Apollo 14 Technical Crew Debriefing"; February 17, 1971; https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a14/a14-techdebrief.pdf

Hands on the Moon

In general, hand/arm fatigue is an ongoing problem for all astronauts when using their hands in a pressurized spacesuit. Imagine trying to squeeze a football for several hours over multiple days.

It can lead to finger, wrist, and arm pain including cramps and black fingernails.

Apollo missions were brief - 75 hours for the longest mission.  Now imagine you're an Artemis astronaut spending weeks in and out of a pressurized suit, not just a few days.

Gloves for the Apollo program were customized using plaster hand casts from each astronaut.
These are casts from Apollo 11 astronauts on display at the
US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL. Photo: Mickey Kulp

A rubber inner-glove was made from the plaster cast. 
The knuckles were artificially enlarged for easier bending. Photo: NASA

Dave Scott, the commander of Apollo 15, and Jim Irwin, lunar module pilot, spoke to reviewers in 1971 about their experiences using gloves in a pressurized suit on the moon. 

Scott's 50-year-old advice still has application for Artemis astronauts and designers.

Dave Scott making statements immediately after splashdown. 
Note his blackened fingernails. Photo: NASA

SCOTT

I ended up with a compromise solution on my arm length and my gloves. I had requested, just prior to the flight, for the people to shorten the arms so I could have mobility close to my chest, where I had to do most of the work.

If the arms were too long and the fingers were extended at that point, I got hand cramps trying to work the gloves. If the arms were shortened , when my arm was outstretched my fingers were pushing against the inside tips of the gloves.

My feeling before the flight was that I'd rather have the tight arms than the cramps in the hands. It resulted in too much pressure on my fingertips, but I'll accept that compromise because it enabled me to continue working without any hand cramps.

I never got any hand cramps at all throughout the whole operation. I felt like I had good mobility in cinching up the geology sample bags and in doing all that ALSEP [Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package] operation. Driving the Rover was also quite comfortable, except for my fingertips.

Other than that, I thought the PGA [Pressure Garment Assembly] was excellent.

Apollo 15 crew (L-R): CDR Dave Scott, CMP Al Worden, LMP Jim Irwin.  Photo: NASA

IRWIN

I think I had the same fit that you did on EVA-1, certainly. At the end of the EVA, my fingers were really sore -- the fingernails and the end of the fingers.

After that, I cut my fingernails back to the quick, just as far as I possibly could with the scissors; and then on EVA-2, my fingers didn't bother me at all . That solved it for me. I didn't have any cramps either.

Neil Armstrong's lunar glove from Apollo 11.  Photo: NASA.

SCOTT

I surely think that a better glove could be made which fits tighter. I think the gloves, in my case, are still too bulky, and there is too much easement inside the glove.

I think for an EVA operation you need to have a glove which has a smaller easement than for an IV [Intravehicular] operation when you don' t plan to pressurize. 

Scott gives some sound advice for our era of space exploration:

When you plan to run pressurized all the time, as you do an EVA glove, I think they should be designed and built for that operation alone, and not try to compromise by having it comfortable in an IV situation.

Neil Armstrong's lunar glove from Apollo 11.  Photo: NASA.

Further Reading

[1] "Apollo 15 Technical Crew Debriefing"; 14 AUG 1971; PDF scan by Glen Swanson; https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/a15tecdbrf.html

[2] "Neil Armstrong's Flown Suit"; https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11NAAFlownSuit.html

Dick Gordon: Sleeping at the Moon

During Apollo missions to the moon, the command module pilot (CMP) stayed in lunar orbit while the two other astronauts landed and explored.

Dick Gordon was the CMP on the second moon landing mission, Apollo 12, in 1969.
Photo: NASA

After the mission, CMP Dick Gordon attended a debriefing in December 1969, and he had this to say about sleeping in space...

Sleep is probably an individual preference. I definitely had a preference for actually sleeping in the couch. I slept in the couch all but two nights.

These two nights, I slept in the sleeping bag underneath the number 1 couch, the left-hand couch. But it was always my preference to put the sleeping bag on, then get in the couch, and tie myself in the couch with a harness.

For some reason , I slept better with the lap belt and the shoulder harness on, and securely lashed down to the couch, rather than free floating or being suspended in the sleep restraint under the couch.

That was just a personal preference and it seemed to work better for me.

During sleep periods, I would wake up maybe two or three times. I would look around the spacecraft and make sure everything was okay and then really go back to sleep.

I got extremely tired at the end of that first day of lunar orbit activities. That sleep period was scheduled to be a relatively short one anyway. It necessarily turned out to be so because at the end of the day was the ... lunar orbit plane change number l occurred.

The CMP was alone in the command module during the lunar excursions. When his orbit went behind the moon, he was completely out of contact with every human everywhere. Gordon goes on to say:

But then I found that I had to do all the housekeeping and presleep activities by myself, whereas the 3 of us had been able to do them before and to clean them up in fairly rapid order.

It took a considerable length of time to wade through all that by myself, and this cut short the sleep period. So I actually was pretty tired in lunar orbit and didn't really catch up until one day out of lunar orbit on the way back.

I don't think anybody's performance was affected by fatigue and I'm not sure that fatigue really came into play. But certainly most of us in this particular occupation are used to performing while we are fatigued.

Source: "Apollo 12 Technical Crew Debriefing"; December 1, 1969; https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/a12-techdebrief.pdf

Apollo Docking Emergencies

Image: NASA

Apollo Lunar Orbit Rendezvous

During the Apollo moon landings in the 1960s and 1970s, two astronauts landed on the moon in the lunar module (LM). The third astronaut remained in lunar orbit in the command service module (CSM).

After the lunar mission was completed, the two moonwalkers would discard much of their unnecessary equipment (like their life support backpacks) and launch back into orbit.

But what would they do if the LM could not properly re-dock with the CSM?

Spacecraft Design

Both spacecraft had two doors. One was in the roof, and one was in the side.

The roof doors were where the two vehicles docked. The "tunnel" was the connection from the top of the CSM to the top of the LM.

When both craft were correctly docked, astronauts could travel easily between spacecraft using the tunnel.

But each spacecraft also had side doors. On the LM, the side door was where the astronauts came and went on the lunar surface. On the CSM, the side door was only used at launch and landing.

Later, on Apollo 15, 16, and 17, the side door was used when the command module pilot went outside to collect film canisters.

Image: NASA

Docking Failures

No docking failures were ever encountered in lunar orbit, but astronauts and mission planners gave it considerable thought.

The thinking revolved around two choices:

1. Transfer through the roof doors.
2. Transfer through the side doors.

Technical Debrief Discussion

In 1970, after successfully returning to Earth after a crippling explosion, the Apollo 13 crew discussed their thoughts on these choices with Deke Slayton (Chief of the Astronaut Office) and others.

The topic came up about "transfer from the LM to the CSM, if you were not properly docked."

LOVELL We did the WIF [Water Immersion Facility] exercise, and my feelings were that if we ever were faced with that in reality we were in deep trouble. As a matter of fact, we came up with a new technique.

HAISE We had several ways to go. You go through the tunnel or you could go outside. All we determined was that we couldn't make it through the tunnel.

LOVELL No, but we were trying to determine if we could use the PLSS [Portable Life Support System, backpack] from the lunar surface. Remember we wanted to leave the PLSSs on instead of taking them off.

HAISE We never had a PLSS on, in the water tank.

LOVELL Remember that late in the game we were talking about using a PLSS with John down at the Cape in the one-g mockup. I'm trying to see what the situation was that set us up so we could use that. We said instead of taking the PLSS off and putting the OPS [Oxygen Purge System] on.

HAISE We never did any training for that though. There was some idle conversation about that one day, because the hatch jammed and wouldn't seal. It was stuck in there and we couldn't pressurize the LM.

LOVELL Yes, but the normal thing was to get rid of the PLSS.

HAISE Yes. Do a vacuum mate/demate.

LOVELL I think you would be much better off to leave the PLSS on and do the EVT [Extravehicular Transfer] with the PLSS, because you would have communications and you wouldn't have to do all that vacuum demating and mating and get all that stuff squared away.

HAISE You never get even one-g, on the ascent stage. Why don't you just lift off with the PLSS on your back, and go into orbit that way?

SLAYTON It depends entirely on what your failure mode is. Even in that case, if you get docked, you can get repress from the CSM and get back to normal, anyway.

LOVELL We were looking at the case where we had no LM pressurization, and, we couldn't go to the tunnel. We had to go exterior.

We thought that we could even recharge our PLSS with the LM system under vacuum conditions, better than we could take off the PLSS, put on the OPS, and pressurize.

We were willing to launch with the PLSS on our back and transfer that way, because we would have communications that way. It would take a long time, maybe 4 hours to recharge the PLSS. That was the only change we had on that.

Diagram from Apollo 10 debriefing transcript showing the EVA that would be route taken to
transfer from the LM to the CM should the docking tunnel not be usable. Source: NASA

Sources:

[1] "Apollo 13 Technical Debrief"; 24 April 1970; PDF by Glen Swanson; https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a13/a13-techdebrief.pdf

[2] "Apollo Oxygen Purge System (OPS) for the Portable Life Support System (PLSS) & Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU)"; Karl Dodenhoff; https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/alsj-OPS.html

[3] "Apollo 10 Day 5, part 17: Snoopy prepares for the main event"; Corrected Transcript and Commentary Copyright © 2012-2021 by W. David Woods, Robin Wheeler and Ian Roberts; https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap10fj/as10-day5-pt17.html

Zero Gee Adaptation

Everyone, even veteran astronauts have an adjustment period when they first enter a micro-gravity environment.

Reading through the "Apollo 13 Technical Debrief", it seems like all three astronauts had some trouble at first.

Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13.
He was a veteran of Apollo 13, Apollo 8, Gemini 7, and Gemini 12.
Photo: NASA

LOVELL

"My feelings were as I've had previously. When we first get subjected to zero g, I feel I' m upside down, my head is full, and blood is rushing to my head; this lasts several hours.

I think this sensation lasted approximately 6 hours. But basically, that's the only sensation I felt in zero g. After that, it went away."

 

Jack Swigert, command module pilot.
Apollo 13 was his only space mission.
Photo: NASA

SWIGERT

"I think Fred and I felt the same fullness of the head."

Fred Haise, lunar module pilot.
After Apollo 13, he flew the initial set of Space Shuttle approach and landing tests.
Photo: NASA

HAISE

"We both mentioned it about the same time. I don't know who mentioned it first. We both had it go away about the same time. Offhand, I don't remember how many hours had elapsed."

SWIGERT

"It was around 8 hours; we both mentioned that the fullness of the head was gone."

HAISE

"I had one other different reaction. On the morning of the second day, I woke up with a pretty severe headache.

I drank some juice and ate some bacon cubes. That didn't sit right and I upchucked about 2 ounces of my juice.

I sat still for about half a day pretty much; I never had any symptoms again after that."

LOVELL

"I think a general comment concerning space flight is in order.

The fact that when you first get inserted, what you do for the first day (especially if we go into Skylab or something like that) should be held down. We should not try to do too many different things per day.

No matter who you are, it's going to take a while to get used to zero gravity.

Towards the end of our flight, we didn't know we were in zero or one g. You get so used to it.

But, in the beginning, zero gravity is different. You do feel different; so, you've got to just take it easy until you get accustomed to it."

Photo: NASA

I met Fred Haise once after he gave a talk, and he seemed like the coolest guy in the world!

Photo: NASA

Source: "Apollo 13 Technical Debrief"; 24 April 1970; PDF by Glen Swanson; 

https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a13/a13-techdebrief.pdf

Apollo Emergency Salt Remover

For emergency landings, survival equipment was provided to support Apollo astronauts for up to three days.

The survival items were in two rucksacks made of Armalon, a Teflon-coated glass fabric. They included numerous items like a raft, a radio and beacon transceiver, three water containers, a machete, a desalter kit, sunglasses, and combination survival lights.

Photo Credit: Michael Kulp
Location: US Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL
Date: March 1 2019

Desalter Kit

Humans cannot drink seawater, so Apollo astronauts had a special kit that turned salt water into drinking water.

The desalter kit was a standard off-the-shelf Department of Defense (DOD) survival item for military crews. 

It consisted of two processing bags, eight chemical packets, and mending tape. The chemical packets were designed to be used in conjunction with the processing bags. The processing bags were plastic with a filter at the bottom.

Each chemical packet could produce one pint of drinking water. Eight chemical packets could produce one gallon of drinking water.

The water was processed by mixing sea water and a chemical packet for an hour. The mixture was then filtered through a valve in the bottom of the bag.

The Apollo requirements were tough on flammable materials, so the standard DOD mending tape was replaced with fiberglass tape.

Sources:

[1] NASA Technical Note TN D-6737, Fred A. McAllister, March 1972, https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/tnD6737%20-%20CrewProvisnsEquip.pdf

[2] National Air and Space Museum; https://www.si.edu/object/chemicals-desalinization-rucksack-1-apollo:nasm_A19781452006

Apollo Survival Light

 

Photo Credit: Michael Kulp
Location: US Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL
Date: March 1 2019

For emergency landings, survival equipment was provided to support Apollo astronauts for up to three days.

The survival items were in two rucksacks made of Armalon, a Teflon-coated glass fabric. They included numerous items like a raft, a radio and beacon transceiver, three water containers, a machete, a desalter kit, sunglasses, and combination survival lights.

Combination Survival-Light Assembly

The combination survival-light assembly provided an almost Swiss-army-level of gadgetry for astronauts in a survival situation.

It was a lightweight, hand-held unit used for visual signaling. It was made of grey-painted steel with brass fittings, and was made for NASA by ACR Electronics.

This one item included a strobe light, a flashlight, and a signal mirror. But wait! There's more: it also included a siren whistle, a compass, fire starters, cotton balls, halogen tablets, a water receptacle, knife blades, needles, nylon cord, and fishhooks.

NASA Technical Note TN D-6737 says:

"The combination survival light was developed for use in the Gemini Program. It satisfies the Apollo postlanding requirements. This item, intended for use during an emergency postlanding situation, has not been required during any mission. However, postflight testing demonstrated that the units remain functional."

Sources:

[1] NASA Technical Note TN D-6737, Fred A. McAllister, March 1972, https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/tnD6737%20-%20CrewProvisnsEquip.pdf

[2] National Air and Space Museum; https://www.si.edu/object/survival-light-combination-rucksack-1-apollo-11:nasm_A19980011001

Apollo Fashion Show

Aside from the bulky spacesuit (called a PGA, or Pressure Garment Assembly), an Apollo astronaut's wardrobe consisted of:

1. ICG: Inflight Coverall Garment

2. CWG: Constant Wear Garment (long johns)

3. BIG: Biological-Isolation Garment


Inflight Coverall Garment

This was a three-piece flight suit consisting of a jacket, trousers, and a pair of boots.

This was worn over the CWG whenever the astronauts were in a "shirtsleeve" environment (not wearing the pressure suit).

The first garments designed for Apollo flight were constructed of 4190B Beta cloth. But, to make them more durable, designers changed the material to Teflon-coated Beta cloth.

Astronauts reported discomfort caused by skin irritation, so designers added a Nomex lining to the jackets.

When the problem of skin irritation persisted, the material was again changed to woven Teflon fabric.

Apollo 12 astronauts (left to right) Conrad, Gordon, and Bean wearing ICG while preparing
for water egress training aboard the MV Retriever. Credit: NASA

Constant-Wear Garment

The CWG was a one-piece cotton-knit garment that covered the torso and feet, but left the lower arms bare.

It was designed to be worn next to the skin to provide warmth and absorb sweat.

Each astronaut had two of these garments.

Apollo training illustration of in-flight clothing items. Credit: NASA

Biological Isolation Garment

This was not worn in flight. It was designed to prevent astronauts from bringing moon germs (if any existed) back to contaminate Earth.

The BIG was a one-piece garment that included shoes, gloves, and hood.

Astronauts wore the isolation garments from splashdown to the recovery van.

It was made from a lightweight, high-density cotton fabric and required no special cooling equipment. Filters to screen out particles were provided in the BIG mask design.

Apollo 11 astronauts await the recovery helicopter with the
decontamination officer, all wearing BIGs. Credit: NASA

Source: NASA Technical Note TN D-6737, March 1972, 

https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/tnD6737%20-%20CrewProvisnsEquip.pdf

"It's just gone."

  

Edgar Mitchell moves across the lunar surface as he looks over a traverse 

map while exploring the Fra Mauro region. Credit: NASA/Alan Shepard

I have been studying the technical details of lunar exploration for a while now.  I think the archives have important information that will help Artemis explorers and mission planners.

While reading through the "Apollo 14 Technical Crew Debriefing" from 1971, I found some interesting comments from lunar module pilot Ed Mitchell about visibility on the lunar surface.

"In looking out the window from the LM [Lunar Module], I had a very definite impression of the relief. I think we stated several times that the relief was greater than we expected. However, I observed that when we got on the lunar surface, subsequent to that, that your observation of the relief changes with Sun angle.

The Sun wipes out, or seems to smooth out, a lot of relief that you see at certain Sun angles and that you just don't see at other Sun angles. Or maybe the visor distorts it in some way. But sometimes you see a very good sized, crater, a depression ahead of you. You look at it at a different angle and it's just gone.

When you turn your head a different way, you don't see it. So, perhaps there's a bit of distortion in the visors. You're never quite sure whether it's visor distortion or whether it's Sun angle or what it is that causes you to see these things or not to see them at a particular point in time."

Source: Apollo 14 Technical Crew Debriefing, February 17, 1971, https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a14/a14-techdebrief.pdf

 

This aligns with similar startling observations from Apollo 16 commander John Young posted here: https://outwardspace.blogspot.com/2021/09/apollo-16-invisible-obstacles.html

Visibility issues related to a combination of sun angle and/or visor distortion may pose a hazard to future lunar explorers.  

Depending on the landing site, a mission lasting one lunar day (about 30 Earth days) will expose Artemis astronauts to every possible sun angle, including possible weeks of darkness.

Space Fiction: "It was my goof."

This is from my space fiction blog. It has historical information about Apollo 8 you might like.

"Mick made a mistake recently. While we were talking on his way to Lunar Gateway 5,
he was fooling around doing somersaults in zero G and bumped a switch."

More here: https://ramonerocketeer.blogspot.com/2021/10/it-was-my-goof.html



The Apollo 8 historical information is from:

[1] "Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon" by Jeffrey Kluger; 

https://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Thrilling-Story-First-Mission/dp/1627798323/

[2] "The Apollo 8 Flight Journal" section "Day 5: The Green Team" by David Woods and Frank O'Brien; https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap08fj/24day5_green.html

Apollo 16 Mystery Debris

Mysteries abound in spaceflight, and when I see an official technical document with an astronaut quoted as saying "I don't know what they were, but they were there." it piques the interest.

 

L-R: Mattingly, Young, Duke during water egress training.  Source: NASA

The following comments were taken directly from "Apollo 16 Technical Crew Debriefing."


YOUNG is John Young, Apollo 16 Commander.

MATTINGLY is Ken Mattingly, Command Module Pilot.

DUKE is Charlie Duke, Lunar Module Pilot.

SLAYTON is Deke Slayton, Chief of the Astronaut Office.




DUKE It's a good idea to brace yourself. And, I was surprised with the debris that I caught out of my left eye as it came by the hatch window from the staging.

YOUNG Hey, that's another thing that you remarked on.

MATTINGLY Yes. That amazing.

YOUNG The debris was going right along with us.

MATTINGLY It was passing us. I don't understand that.

DUKE I think that was from retrofire.

MATTINGLY No, sir. This was during the powered flight steady state. There were particles; I looked out John's window and particles were going past us in the same direction. I kept looking at that; there's no way. But, it did it. I don't remember it on the S-I; but, I remember it on the S-II and the S-IV.

SLAYTON This wasn't during the staging sequence?

MATTINGLY No, sir. This was steady state, powered flight well after staging; and, I don't know where they came from. I don't know what they were, but they were there.

Source: "Apollo 16 Technical Crew Debriefing", May 5, 1972, https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/a16-techdebrief.pdf

Moon Secrets Inches Away

 

Apollo 12 lunar module pilot Alan Bean with commander Pete Conrad reflected in his visor. Credit: NASA

More info: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/a12-techdebrief.pdf

Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean - who was also a fine artist - had some advice in 1969 for future lunar explorers who will be uncovering the moon's secrets...

* * * * *

The entire lunar surface was covered with this mantle of broken up material, fine dust of varying depth. As a result, everything looked pretty much the same - sides of the craters, tops of the craters, flat lands, and ejecta blanket.

If you're going to do any geology, you're going to have to dig through this mantle of brown or black and to look beneath the surface a little bit. We had a shovel that we used for trenching, but because of the length of the extension handle and the inability to lean over and what have you, we never could trench more than about eight inches. That was about the best we could do, and that was a pretty big effort.

If we're going to do any good geology, it's going to take a lot of trenching to get down below the surface. I'd like to recommend that we get a better trenching tool.

Maybe all we need to do is lengthen the extension handle about six inches; but if we're going to look and see what's beneath the surface, we're going to have to dig it out of there somehow.

...I felt that, on the surface everything was pretty much the same and the real secrets were hiding about two to eight inches under the surface.

[Excerpt from "Apollo 12 Technical Crew Debriefing", December 1, 1969. Source: NASA]

Unusual Fitness Exercises

 

Al Worden, Apollo 15 command module pilot. Source: NASA

More info: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a15/a15-techdebrief.pdf

Everyone needs to exercise for physical fitness and good health.  Astronauts needs to exercise even more since floating in microgravity weakens the body over time.

Apollo astronauts did not spend more than 12 full days in space, so their bodies remained in good shape.

Still, scientists asked them to use exercise gear.  The results would be reviewed and applied to future long-duration missions (like today's International Space Station).

During Apollo 15 in 1971, command module pilot Al Worden used an "Exergym."  It was a cord system that provided resistance for muscle tone.  

But he found a better way to exercise!

* * * * *

"The Exergym is good for keeping some muscle tone, but I found that there was just no way I could get a heart rate established and keep it going. There was just no way I could do that. So I finally decided on a combination of two exercises. I used the Exergym a little bit, just to keep my shoulders and arms toned, and I ran in place. 

I took the center couch out and wailed away with my legs, just like running in place as a matter of fact.

I didn't say anything to the ground, but the doctors watching the biomeds called up and said, "Hey, you must be exercising. We can see your heart rate going up." And they kept me advised as to what my heart rate was. It worked out very nicely, I thought, because they could tell you that you're up to 130, going up to 140. Then I would exercise a little bit harder, and true, even though I wasn't exerting any pressure on anything, just moving the mass of your legs around really gets your heart going. 

I'm really convinced that that's the way to exercise in flight; get that kind of motion going and keep it going not let up on it at all. I did that for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. I just ran in place as hard as I could.

As a matter of fact, I thought I'd strained some muscles that I had never used before because I was just free wheeling legs and wasn't exerting any pressure on anything. I really thought that was a useful exercise, and as far as cardiovascular was concerned, I thought that was a much better exercise than the Exergym."

[Excerpt from "Apollo 15 Technical Debrief", MSC-04561, 14 August 1971. Source: NASA]

Donning and Doffing

 

Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 commander.  Source: NASA

More info: https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/AS17Tech2.pdf

Astronaut Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17, commented about dressing ("donning") and undressing ("doffing") in the confined space of the Lunar Module.  But first, a vocabulary lesson.

LCG is a "Liquid Cooled Garment."  This was worn under the big moon suit.  It had small tubes sewn in to circulate water and keep the astronauts cool.  

CWG is a "Constant Wear Garment" like long-johns.

* * * * *

"When we doffed the suit, we went into a drying mode as the checklist suggests prior to the sleep period. I'm really glad we did because our suits stayed relatively fresh and clean on the inside.

We doffed our LCGs every day and slept in CWGs rather than the LCG. And I'm glad we did that because it was much more comfortable.

We made it a buddy system in the entire donning and prep when it came to the suit operations, except for putting on the gloves. We found it easier to put them on in parallel and get them locked and verified locked.

We actually, each individually in almost all cases, put our own glove dust covers and ring dust covers on. Maybe we had to help each other once in a while.

And contrary to some of our initial desires, we decided to go ahead and put those dust covers on for every EVA. After the first EVA, we found out what the dust problem really was."

[Excerpt from "Apollo 17 Technical Debrief, Manned Spacecraft Center Document MSC-07631" dated 4 January 1973.]

Apollo 16 "Invisible" Obstacles

More info: Apollo 16 Lunar Surface Journal; https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/a16.trvsta1.html

Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) gets a high-speed workout by Apollo 16 commander John Young. Source: NASA

When exploring the moon, Apollo astronauts visited several different "stations." These could be craters or other landmarks that looked interesting to scientists.

In the early missions, the astronauts walked to each station. Later, they had a cool moon buggy to drive.

John Young, the Apollo 16 commander, spent three days driving the Lunar Rover to distant stations, and he had some scary moments with "invisible" craters.  

After he returned to Earth in 1972, he met with engineers to discuss the mission and the worries he had about driving on the moon.

When Artemis astronauts return to the moon, this may be something to watch for...

* * * * *

"I was scared to go more than 4 or 5 kilometers an hour. Going out there, looking dead ahead, I couldn't see the craters. I could see the blocks alright and avoid them. But I couldn't see craters. I couldn't see benches. I was scared to go more than 4 or 5 clicks. Maybe some times I got up to 6 or 7, but I ran through a couple of craters because I flat missed (seeing) them until I was on top of them. And, I don't recommend driving in zero phase (which is the direction directly opposite the Sun). (Pre-flight) they kept saying they wanted it included in the traverse, and I specifically cautioned them not to include it on the traverse. But, there is no way for us to get to Flag Crater without driving in zero phase. It sure is grim. The other direction (on the way back to the LM) was about twice as good. I saw my tracks on the way back. We were doing 7, 8, 9, and 10 clicks. It wasn't any good during the traverses where we were going down-Sun. I was tacking a lot of times. But, when you got to a ridge, you couldn't tell if it was a drop-off, or whether it was a smooth, shallow ridge. In a couple of cases, you couldn't see there was a ridge. I didn't care for that much. It's kind of like landing an airplane aboard ship where you're looking right into the Sun and you can't see what you're doing. You just go ahead and land it anyway. It is not normal but, on occasion, you have to do it. But you'd just as soon not."

[Excerpt from the Apollo 16 Lunar Surface Journal with corrected transcript and commentary by Eric M. Jones (Copyright © 1997).]

Eat Well Today

Your reminder to eat well today. 😄

Moonwalking Apollo astronauts had lots to accomplish in a short time.  To keep them on track, each astronaut had a little book strapped to the cuff of their spacesuit.  The book had reminders about the tasks they needed to finish in which order.

Sometimes, the checklist creators would add some humor.  The reminder below relates to a high-energy snack bar the astronauts could nibble while they worked.

Image: Apollo 16 moonwalk checklist worn on the spacesuit cuff

Source: Apollo Lunar Surface Journal https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/alsj-DrinkFood.html

Apollo 16 moonwalker Charlie Duke said,

"That food stick was a thing that stuck inside the suit and it came up like this (on the right-hand side of the neck ring) and, when you were out on the surface, you could just reach over (with your teeth) and pull it up and chop off a piece. And it was really high-energy stuff."

Landing on the Moon

When a crew capsule lands on the Earth, it slows down by using parachutes to grab the thick blanket of air in our sky.

But, when a crew capsule (or a robot) lands on the moon, there is no air to grab. A parachute is useless.

The Apollo 12 lunar module, Intrepid, ready to land on Nov. 19, 1969.
Credits: NASA/Richard Gordon

So, to safely land on the moon, we have to use thrust to slow down. This video shows how you can experiment with thrust to build your own moon lander.