Designing the Apollo II patch
- kept astronauts names off patch b/c wanted design to be representative of everyone who had worked toward lunar landing
- more than 40,000 people
Astronauts of Apollo II
- CDR: Neil Armstrong
- CMP: Michael Collins
- LMP: Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin
--veteran mission
Media Coverage of Apollo II
- most covered Apollo mission
- estimated 530 million people watched the broadcast of the Apollo II moon landing (14% of total population in 1969)
- Apollo II event times were good viewing times (primetime with first steps on the moon)
Apollo II Spacecrafts
Command Module: Columbia
Lunar Module: Eagle
Apollo II Landing Site
- mare surface
- multiple landing sites
- hit first landing site
- landed 3.5 miles from purposed landing site
How they landed on the moon?
- undocking of the 2 spacecrafts and this happened on opposite side of the moon
- lunar module burns to land on surface on moon
- when hatches are closed, there is a tunnel between the 2 spacecrafts
- when undocked, air in tunnel gives lunar module a litt
Gravity on moon
- "lumpy" : some areas have higher force of gravity than others
- if spacecrafts pass over one of these gravity lumps, then it goes into a lower faster orbit --which causes it to land long
EVA (Extravehicular Activity)
activity done by an astronaut outside a spacecraft (e.g. spacewalk, moonwalk)
Apollo II Contingency Sample
Neil Armstrong took a quick rock sample, if something happens and they had to go back right away
Total time on lunar surface
total time in lunar module on surface of moon
total time of mission
2 hours 31 min
~24 hours
8 days
Scientific concerns of astronauts being exposed to lunar surface
- astronauts breathed in moon dust
- worried they would bring back diseases from moon
- when astronauts come back to Earth:
- given hazmat suits
- spacecraft was painted in antibiotics
- put in quarantine (for 18 days)
Biological materials of the moon
- determined that "life" on the moon was never alive, no viable life forms
- moon rocks are sterile (biological inert)
Distance astronauts explored on moon (Apollo 11)
~150 m
- equivalent to the infield of a baseball diamond
Principle of superposition
- the determination of the relative ages of surfaces based on their vertical relationships
- superposition (and belief that these surfaces were formed when lava flowed across a portion of the moon), implies mare surfaces are young
How do the holes in the rocks form?
- vesicular
- small cavities formed when CO2 came out of molten magma and expanded while rocks cooled and solidified
Age of 10022 lunar rock sample
- put in nuclear reactor
- radiogenic age: 3.59 billion years old
Age of lunar rocks compared to rocks on Earth
- the young surfaces of the moon are really old compared to almost any surface on the Earth
- the moon was geologically active 3.59 billion years ago, but not much has happened since
Albedo of mare and highland surfaces
Mare: reflects 7%-11% of the light that hits it
Highland: reflects 12%-18%
--mare: very low albedo, low viscosity magma (lava flows more easily than on Earth)
3 types of Lunar science
1. samples returned
2. experiments on the surface
3. experiments in orbit
Lunar Regolith Experiment during Apollo II
- since moon has no atmosphere, cosmic rays, solar wind, UV, x rays, and y rays are hitting the surface of the moon
- a sheet that was pointed to the sun
- sheet was exposed to 2.5 hours to particles of the sun
- very easy experiment to set up and take do
Why are the results of the Lunar Regolith experiment significant?
- Helium-3 as an energy source
- Helium-3 can be found by digging a patch of lunar surface 2.2 sq km to a depth of about 9ft.
- 220 pounds of Helium-3 will be enough to power the largest cities of the Earth for at least a year
Seismometer experiment
- a can that monitored the moon shake
- gives info about the layers below the surface
- layers of lava
Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment
- not used while astronauts on the moon
- glass prisms (retro-reflectors)
- face the mirrors towards Earth
- light will reflect back to you, no matter where you are
- How it was used?
- shoot lasers to the surface of the moon
- was able to determine the d
unique characteristic of lunar rocks that give us context
- rocks from the moon are the only extraterrestrial samples we know where they came from (specifically, we know the location of where they were collected on the moon)
in situ definition and problem of finding these samples
- a sample in the location in which it was originally formed
- Problem: on the surface of the moon, in situ samples are very very rare
Chemical Signature of basalts on moon
- In Apollo rocks: rare earth elements are 100 times more abundant than in an average solar systems sample
- EXCEPT for Europium (10 times less abundant)
What is radiogenic age?
the measure of how long it has been since a rock is cooled to become a rock
Exposure Age
how long in current orientation on surface
10022 exposure age
400 million years in this orientation
--change on surface of moon is very slow
Main characteristics of lunar rocks
- all the samples have similar chemical composition
- determined there were two lava flows, separated by about 200 million years (3.6, 3.8 billion years of radiogenic age)
Cumulative crater density and N(1)
- one count the number of craters (N) larger than a certain size (0)
- N(1): - the total number of craters equal to or larger than 1km per 10,000 sq km
- E.g. A surface with N(1) = 10 has 10 craters > 1 km per 10,000 sq km
Mare Tranquillitatis N(1)
N(1) = 64
- 64 craters > 1 km per 10,000 sq km
Exposure Age of Mare Tranquillitatis
- wide range of exposure ages suggest no single event responsible for sample emplacement
Why is Mare Tranquillitatis surface area darker than other mare surfaces?
- lunar rocks: high in TiO2 (titanium)
- TiO2: an opaque material, small amounts can make sample very dark
- lunar lava flows cover a very large area compared to lava flows on Earth
Viscosity of lunar magma compared to Earth Magma
- Lunar magma: 3,000cp (maple syrup)
- Earth magma: 30,000cp (ketchup)
- Low viscosity of lunar magma
- low viscosity of 10022 lava is believed to be a consequence of the low SiO2 abundance , a chemical property that is common to all lunar basalts
Main Results from Lunar Basalt Samples and going to the moon
- lunar gravity is "lumpy
- lunar regolith is biologically inert
- lunar regolith is rich in solar particles (Helium-3)
- mare flow dated to 3.6 billion years
- basalt shows "Europium Anomaly
When Apollo 11 flew over a higher mass concentration it
moved to a ____ orbit and its velocity ____
lower
increased
Astronauts from Apollo 12
CDR: Charles "Pete" Conrad
CMP: Richard F. Gordon
LMP: Alan L. Bean
--all from Navy, and super tight friends
Apollo 12 Spacecrafts
- command module: Yankee Clipper
- lunar module: Intrepid
Apollo 12 media coverage
- huge drop from Apollo 11
- Nixon was first president to be at the launch of a Apollo mission
Apollo 12 launch and issues
- 60 seconds after launch, spacecraft was struck by lightning
- many alarms went off in command module, lost platform and computer went offline
- hot gases behave similar to a huge copper wire trailing behind the spacecrafts
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Mission Control
- as soon as spacecraft clears the tower after launch, control of flight goes from Kennedy Space Center to mission control in Houston
- always been political: Houston b/c Johnson's district
People who work in mission control
- very young people
- close to front in mission control, most important
The Trench in mission control
- FIDO + GUIDO: calculating in current time, where the spacecraft will go next
- RETRO: figuring out/calculating how to get astronauts home at anytime
--> abort spacecraft on top of rocket; to prevent huge nuclear explosion on Earth + will abort into the
How rockets steer
- steering by the movement of the engines (gimbaling)
- steering is done by a computer
- Platform of the rocket:
- gyroscopes: origin of the position of the spacecraft
- allows a detailed knowledge of the STATE of your spacecraft and target
Spacecraft orientation issue during launch and how was it fixed
- command module platform was lost from lightning strike
- command module had no idea where it was
- gyroscope knew where the rocket was oriented
- how command module reestablished orientation in space: secstine calculated the angles between them and star
Did Apollo 12 stay on free return trajectory?
- first Apollo mission to move off of free return trajectory
Apollo 12 Landing Site
- still in Apollo Zone (on lunar equator and center of moon), but very far away from Apollo 11 site
- landed on mare surface
- Mare evolution: want to see if all mare surfaces are the same
What is the science goal of the Apollo mission?
- determine when the 4 impact events occurred
- Copernican
- Eratosthenian
- Imbrium
- Nectarian
Pre-mare craters and post-mare craters
Pre-mare: filled in craters
- older eroded craters (space weathering)
Post-mare: craters sit on top of surface
- bright-rayed craters
- Copernican and Eratosthenian
- fresh rayed craters: copernican--still see material thrown away from crater
How to learn about Copernicous without landing in the crater?
- to use material Copernicous had blown away from crater
Why scientists and engineers wanted to land on the Apollo 12 landing site?
- Scientists: landing site had material from the crater that they could collect
- Engineers: wanted this landing site b/c they wanted to show they could land in a particular spot
How did they land in a particular spot on moon with the lumpy gravity?
- higher, slower orbit
- lower, faster orbit
- the frequency sent to the Earth changes when it passes over something with more mass (pulled towards moon) or less mass (pulls towards earth) on the moon
- Dopler Effect:
-> more mass: longer frequency on Ear
Did Apollo 12 land in the particular spot?
- Yes
- Used Dopler effect
- changing landing site several times, telling computer that landing site was changed
Coverage on surface of the moon in Apollo 12
- both astronauts had cameras
- colored camera + video
- camera was fried, pointed it at the sun: moon has no atmosphere
Seismometer experiment in Apollo 12 fuel
- want it to be able to be powered to be able to continue the experiment after the mission left
- Fuel: radioisotope thermoelectric generator that has plutonium in this generator
- powers for 20-30 years
Seismometer experiment: how does it work?
Lunar Passive Seismic Experiment
- "fancy pendulum"
- recording the shaking of the moon
Seismometer experiment: what did we learn?
- lunar module impact smashing back into the moon measured from the Apollo 12 seismometer
- the moon shake for over an hour, while Earth only shakes is a few seconds
- Why?
- the moon shakes for over an hour b/c the lunar rocks are extremely dry, there is
Megaregolith
- lunar crust is fractured to a depth of ~25km
- moon is a huge dry rock
- the fractured crust is extremely dry
- cold moon property
EVA times for Apollo 12
- 2 EVA's
1. 3.9 hours
2. 3.8 hours
--walked equivalent to around UW campus
Surveyor 3 camera biology
- took camera off S3 and brought it back to Earth
- found bacteria in camera
- bacteria was there when it was assembled on Earth
- biology on surface of moon, is biology humans we bring
- bacteria was freeze dried ( 31 months)
What is Gnomon?
- tripod, upside pendulum (stick straight up, unless on slope)
What did the Gnomon provide reference to?
- gravity (stick only points straight up, unless on slope)
- sun direction (shadows)
- color (color scale of moon, true representation)
- size
Chemistry comparison of rock samples between Apollo 11 and 12
- all same as Apollo 11 except Ti02, titanium
- Apollo 12 doesn't have as much titanium
- the landing site of 12 is lighter than 11
--> chemical difference between these two mare surfaces
Age difference of the rocks samples between Apollo 11 and 12
- 11: 3.6 billion years old
- 12: 3.2 billion years old
What does the age and chemical difference between Apollo 11 and 12 mean?
- tells us that not all mare surfaces on the moon were formed at the same time
Sample 12033: what is it?
- handful of light colored regolith
- most studied and most important Apollo 12 sample
- all the pieces of this sample have sharp edges
- sharp fragments: "glass
How does regolith impact humans?
- biologically bad:
--affects lungs when breathing it in and out
--the sharp fragments impacting lungs
Regolith Sample 12033 make-up
- 49%: glass
- 29% bassalt
- 11% basalt (crystal)
- 11% highland material
glass definition
- a state of matter intermediate between the close-packed, highly order array of a crystal and the highly disordered array of gas
how is glass formed?
- Apollo 12 regolith was formed from material that was melted by the energy of meteoroid impacts
- this material cools very fast, fast enough that the material solidifies before it can crystallize
- structure: highly ordered array of a crystal and highly
Devitrification definition
- process of crystallization in glass
How is glass different from basalt?
- glass: little iron and titanium; lots of aluminum
- rich in potassium, rare earth elements, phosphorus
- basalt: more iron, titanium; less aluminum
Significance of sample 12033: the regolith sample
- this light material was thrown from Copernicus
- able to tell the age of Copernicus crater
Copernicus age
- the sample 12033 has light material that came from the Copernicus crater
- the age of this sample is the same as the crater:
-- age of Copernicus: 800 million years old
- the raised craters are young
Erosion rate on the moon
- erosion on the moon is VERY slow
- min erosion rate: 0.2 - 0.4mm in 1 million years
Type of samples in Apollo 11 and Apollo 12
- Apollo 12: almost all basalt
- Apollo 11: half basalt, half impact breccia
Apollo 12 rock samples compared to age of Earth rocks
- the mare surfaces in Apollo 12 are some of the youngest surfaces on the moon, but still older than the oldest Earth rocks
Hot and cold moon charcteristics
- Hot:
- internal processes
- all surfaces features are volcanic
- mare: lava flows
- Cold:
- external processes
- all surfaces are impact related
- craters: impact craters
- highlands: heavily cratered
Both hot and cold
Eroded and raised craters ages
- eroded (pre mare craters): > 3.2 billion years old
- raised (post mare craters, Eratosthenian): > 1 billion years old, < 3.2 billion years old
Copernican and Eratothenian era time frames
Copernican: < 1 billion years old
Eratothenian: > 1 billion years old, < 3.2 billion years old
Main points learned from Apollo 12
1. pinpoint landing is possible
2. lunar rocks are extremely dry (no water, seismometer kept shaking)
3. Copernicus crater is 800 million years old
4. Mare flow dated to 3.2 billion years
5. Lunar erosion is VERY slow (only change is impact particles)
6.
Total time of out of spacecraft and number of EVA's
EVA: 2
Time: 7 h 45 m 18 s
Why does the Moon have far more Helium-3 on its surface than the Earth?
- the moon's regolith directly interacts with solar particles
The ages of the Apollo 11 samples support the idea that geological activity on the Moon
- lasted at least 200 Myrs
- Samples in Apollo 11, some radiogenic ages of rocks were either 3.6 Myrs ot 3.8 Myrs
Why were the Apollo 11 astronauts quarantined for 18 days after their return to Earth?
- to prevent lunar organisms from contaminating the Earth
The vesicles in the Apollo 11 basalt sample 10022 are an indication that the sample:
- cooled on the surface of the moon (basalt sample)
Why does the mare that Apollo 11 landed on have a lower albedo that most of the other lunar mare?
- the Apollo 11 mare is rich in the mineral ilmenite (titanium)
Why does the mare that Apollo 11 landed on have a lower viscosity than typical lava on the Earth?
- The Apollo 11 mare is poor in silicate minerals