Apollo 14: Science at Fra Mauro
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
DOCUMENT RESUME ED 059 053 SE 013 177 TITLE Apollo 14: Science at Fra Mauro. INSTITUTION National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C. REPORT NO NASA-EP-91 PUB DATE 71 NOTE 96p. AVAILABLE FROM Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 20402 ($1.25 1971-0-415-283) EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29 DESCRIPTORS *Aerospace Technology; Earth Science;Instructional Materials; *Lunar Research; Photographs; Resource Materials; Scientific Research IDENTIFIERS NASA; *Space Sciences ABSTRACT The many scientific activities and experiments performed during the Apollo 14 Mission are presentedin a descriptive, non-technical format. Content relates toexperiments on the lunar surface and to those performedwhile traveling in space, and provides a great deal of information aboutthe flight. Many photographs from the journey, a map of the lunarwalk, and a summary of highlights of manned space flights areincluded. (PR) r4N U S DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH LA EDUCATION & WELFARE DFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HASBEEN REPRO DUCED EXACTLY ASRI.CEIVED FROM THE PERSON ORORGANIZATION ORIG INATING IT POINTS OF VIEWOR OPIN IONS STATED DO NOTNECESSARILY OFFICE OF EDU JJ REPRESENT OFFICIAL CATION POSITION ORPOLICY 1 -.040/Ow 1.4.11"2. - arc ;1 ...welttg4 54: -fta;47.111 "..:^411 ::: _AMP ..,. - metrilt-ser. At 4.1 -_) I Apollo 14 .. Science By Walter Froehlich at Fra Mauro ert Nur c. Or Tire tracks, drawn across the barren lunar surface, trace the path the astronauts walked with their two-wheel pull-cart from their landing craft, Antares, into the Fra Mauro foothills toward Doublet Crater. ,. 4.6t'f** 16' met 40 4 .44; fr - 1-- t'S' yearn, 8 .011 1 911164%. 1.CZ, . It was the morning of a new day on the Apollo spacecraft. He was waiting for Moon. The Sun was hanging low in the Shepard and Mitchell to complete their sky, about 20 degrees above the horizon. Moon exploration and return to the Long, inky shadows contrasted sharply Kitty Hawk. with the glaring brightness of lighted Every so often, the men turned their lunar surfaces where no atmosphere heads back toward Antares, the lunar exists to refract the rays. module moon landing craft or LM, to Astronauts Alan B. Shepard, Jr. and assure themselves it was still in their line Edgar D. Mitchell were climbing a of sight. It stood about one-half mile (800 steepening slope; their maps indicated meters) behind them at the bottom of the they were approaching their destination, slope, parked on a slight incline. For the rim of Cone Crater where rocks may Antares was their home and base station have remained unchanged since time during their planned 33'12 hour stay on the began. Here might be found scientific Moon. Antare would also serve as treasures holding clues to the birth and their launch pad and their spacecraft development of the neighborhood of the for the first lap of their return journey universe of which the Earth is a part. to Earth. "You know we haven't reached the "I can stop and rest here for a minute," rim yet," said Apollo 14 Commande said Shepard. Shepard. "I'm not sure that was Flank "Okay, let me pull," answered Mitchell. (Crater) we were in a minute ago either," He was referring to the two-wheeled replied Astronaut Mitchell. "Wait a minute. pull-cart, the modularized equipment transporter or MET, especially designed The rim's right here . That's the east shoulder running down from Cone. tor the Apollo 14 Moon expedition. The That's Flank over there. We're going to astionauts variously nickname() the little hit it on the south side." aluminum vehicle "rickshaw," "wheel- Pinpointing a major difficulty, Mitchell barrow," and "caddy cart," and Shepard had earlier commented: "You can sure be and Mitchell took turns pulling it. On it deceived by slopes here. The Sun angle is were geological tools, cameras and very deceiving." scientific instruments. Scientists had Walking on the Moon is easy because provided the men the best equipment men and their backpacks weigh only modern technology could offer. one-sixth as much as they do on Earth. When Shepard and Mitchell reached the But uphill movement in a bulky space suit too of the ridge they thought to be Cone limits mobility and can be exhausting. Crater, their disappointment was The rhythmic counds o the astronauts' communicated to Mission Controi and breathing was picked up by the built-in their television and radio audience. microphones of their helmets and could The first hint of disillusionment came be heard a quarter of a million miles from Mitchell. (400,000 kilometers) a-idy at Mission Oh boy," he said as he got his first Control in Houston, 'Texas. Also hearing look above the riOge. "We got fooled on 'Nere millions of radio listeners and that one." television viewers on every continent. Shepard explained what had happened. "Really got a pretty steep slone here," "Our positions are all in doubt now,'' said Shepard. he began. "What,we were looking at was "Yeah, we kind of figured that from Flank . the top of it wasn't the rim of listening to you," came a reply from Cone. We've got a way to go yet." Astronaut CAFCOM Fred W. Heise at On the crater-pocked lunar surface Mission Con1rol. (CAPCOM is the capsule with its low gravitational pull, its communicator, an astronaut assig led to 'unfaniliar lighting conditions, and its carry on the conversation between lack of conventional landmarks, maps Mission Control and the Moon are hdrd to interpret and directions explocers.) difficult to follow, and the astronauts Another CAPCOM at Mission Control, had undert3timated the distance and Astronaut Ronald Evans, was talking difroulties of the terrain toward Cone with tne third Apollo 14 crew member, Crater. Astronaut Stuart A. Roosa, flying in At a monitoring console at Mission Moon :rbit in "Kitty Hawk," the main Control, space physicians traced 3 Apollo 14 EVA Map 41 C Station where the astronauts turned back to return to Antares 12' Boulders White Rocks , Flank Crater 11/2' Rock With Glass " Legend Apollo 14 traverse Prep lanned traverse Weird Crater Sharp crater rim Subdued crater rim 4: Blocks larger than 1 meter Boulder Field Triplet Crater TV ANTARES Boulder Fleid "Thumper" area. Numbers Indicate locations of geophone sensors, ALSEP Laser Ranging Retroflector Doublet Crater 100 200 Meters Unloading a hand tool. Astronaut Mitchell stops with the pull-cart, the "modularized equipment transporter" or MET, which was especially designed for Moon service with Apollo 14. A:4*c , ',...,' *,;,, '14.'.4,:s- -7' .4,'-:4 i'.7...f ..,,.,,N L'.."''' ,..:-$ f i t1. C!?;'g:;1. ::: .'tt ! 7. .' ,-.7,....4fCP.'.y1;4 l's ',..'7! `..- '''- .' I 7' ; !? 4- '' ; ..: .-' .1.. .. " a f C l'S` ...:."... : C V'''" I';'';47 P.1*Sr"..-V.I.t ',A..,5c471k. it.'., - Itgl 5 ,414 fd.,...?' itt':. ' ft.' ,,Irf V 1, ttiri.;:-..,A:. -1,4f.t.4., 4 ',:a.4103,1,'" it 1 . ,'',' ," , - .,:.,' i ,', 1 44 4 '!4:- .4144,11.4`..., '''' 1,111,,, :.f. 4, 14 ,, , ., ., Ai! ( ^Ntfi.: , , " , . -, 21111 Ir, ' '4" ;,'; 4 ' 17 oke., rt.,4, a 3. '!I A *, 2 . , -,..4;::,tkrwili$r ? Al . - i ,"f4.7.44:-,, ,.,,,, t, -,,i, ' it C^,tli ti4t,, 7.i.- l'' ..,;, 4 ' ?''1:, .1 e lik3 ' i "44t'0.4" 4 -14'' i"':.:,:"... ,,11 '' e% 'fi .I. ; '{..1r fief t!',:L._4,/ ; ir 1).."1"w4 T ..*- ` 4'1 ' k ;ff 4. v.. f!' 7 ,,,. 1.1(- 471/' '.;,'^ r -' 1.'... ." i, ry r ;1s 4 ..,.. , ,1 t4.-..0 C, ,.., , ? " ,J .:. ..4tr> 1 A e ..t ,' 'E''' '1,,t 2Ii. G ''q .1'. :, ' '4. ', ,' 'Isoi, , 1t' . pe 4,,,, 1 ,i.. !.. t 1 1. - 5 14 Hammer and smaH rock collection bag, placed atop these lunar boulders by Apollo 14 astronauts, provide perspective for assessing the boulders size. readings transmitted from tiny sensors koosa, too, was aiming radar beams to attached to the astronauts' chests, and Earth and a set of identical beams at the these readings indicated that Shepard's Moon so that scientists on Earth could heart was beating 150 times a minute, compare the Moon-aimed beams, after -S74"- Mitchell's 128 times. they were reflected by the Moon and 4 vw45,, CAPCOM Haise relayed a message from bounced to Earth, with those aimed e the physcians. directly at Earth. From the comparisons, "Yeah, Al and Ed," he said, "They scientists hoped to learn much about the want you to take another stop here." Moon's surface properties, and also about The human body consumes more layers below the surface. The experiment oxygen and generates more heat as its was called "Bistatic Radar:" activities increase. But the astronauts' Roosa also aimed radio signals at the portable life support sy,.1tem (PLSS) Moon to determine more accurately the in their backpacks had only limited contours and heights of lunar mountains capacity for delivering oxygen and and hills. cooling the spacesuit. The astronauts' That experiment with an "S-Band activities could not be allowed to transponder" raquires analysis of exceed the PLSS's ability to support reflected radio beams which also give their needs. There was no danger of clues to variations in lunar gravity. this happening now. Shepard's suit was These variations are believed to be caused set at a low cooling rate. But physicians by mass concentrations, called do not war,: Moon-walking astronauts to "mascons," of certain materials below the overexert themselves. Moon's surface. More than two hours had elapsed since Even while Roosa was engaged in the men had opened Antares' hatch for charting the Moon, his colleagues on that second Moon walk. According to the lunar surface were illustrating the the lunar traverse schedule, the time had importance to astronauts of accurate come to think about turning around and and complete maps of the regions near heading back.