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The Exploring Machines. National Aeronautics and Space Administra DOCUMENT RESUME ED 283 723 SE 048 258 AUTHOR Nicks, Oran W. TITLE Far_Travelers: The Exploring Machines. INSTITUTION National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC. Scientific and Technical Information Branch. REPORT NO NASA-SP-480 -PUB DATE 85 NOTE 265p. AVAILABLE FROMSuperintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. PUB TYPE Books (010) -- Viewpoints (120) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC-11 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Aerospace Technology; *Lunar Research; Navigation; Research and Development; Satellites (Aerospace); Science and Society; Science Education; Science History; Scientific Enterprise; *Scientific Research; *Scientists; .*Space Exploration; Space Sciences; *Technological Advancement IDENTIFIERS *National Aeronautics and Space Administration ABSTRACT The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) program of lunar and planetary exploration produced_a flood of scientific information about the moon, planets and the environment of interplanetary space. This book is an account of the people, machines, and the events of this scientific enterprise. It is a story of organizations, personalities, political and perceptions of the golden era of solar system exploration._The engineering problems and outstanding accomplishments of the missions are narrated. Both failures and successes during the development and flights_oi the spacecraf-:s are highlighted. Although this book is not priwarily a scientific report, it does include technical aspects of space flight and conveys some of the excitement about creating and deploying lunar and planetary spacecraft. (ML) **************************************** ************ ********** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. **************************** FAR TRAVELERS The Exploring Machines as.DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research aria irnprovernent DUCAT1ONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has peen reproduced as eceiyed trom (he pereen or organization riginating 0 Miner chengee have peen Merle to improve reproduction mighty. POIM$ et view or Opinions stated in this deco- meM do not necessarily repreSent envoi OEM pOeitiOn or (lacy. BEST COPYAVAILABLE NASA SP-480 FAR TRAVELERS The Exploring Machines Oran W. Nicks Scientific and Technical Information Branch 1985 lUASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington, DC Library of Congress Ca loging in Publication Data Nicks, Oran W Far travelers. (NASA SP ; 480 1. Space probes.I. Tale.II. Series. 1-1_795.3.N531985 629A3 '5 B51794 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 4 Fore o d The first 25 years of space exploration resulted in extraordinary technological achievements and quantum increasesinthescientific understanding of our home, the planet Earth, and the solar system in which itresides. Communications, weather, and other Earth observational satellites have affected, directly or indirectly, the lives of most of us. Man has traveled to the Moon, explored its surface, and returned with samples of our nearest celestial neighbor. Unmanned spacecraft have explored our solar system from inside the orbit of Mercury out to the orbit of Pluto. NASA's program of lunar and planetary exploration with unmanned spacecraft produced a flood of scientific information about the Moon and the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, as wellas the en- vironment of interplanetary space. Some startling discoveries were made: a dust storm that completely covered Mars at the time Mariner 9 went into or- bit around the planet cleared to reveal a huge crater and a canyon larger than any on Earth; chemical reactions caused the Viking lander's biological in- struments to indicate active results that were not of biological origin; Voyager discovered a ring around Jupiter, active volcanoes on Jupiter's satellite Io, and the strange braided rings of Saturn. Many challenging engineering problems had to be solved to make these missions possible. Three outstanding accomplishments in this area were: achieving the navigational precision necessary to send Mariner 10 from Venus to Mercury and Voyager 2 from Jupiter to Saturn and Uranus; achiev- ing a soft landing on Mars, whose thin atmosphere required the use of a heat shield for atmosphere entry, a parachute for descent through the at- mosphere, and rocket motors for the final touchdown; and transmitting col- or television pictures of Saturn back to Earth from over 1 billion miles away with only 20 watts of power, the amount used by a refrigerator bulb. The story of the development of these autonomous exploring machines and the missions they accomplished is one of outstanding engineering and lentifi 'Tnents. There were heartbreaking failures, great successes, e brMient technological detective work during both the development and flitilts of the spacecraft. It is also a story of organizations, people, per- onlitie and outstanding dedication; there are many different percev: qns of the relative importance of these factors and the roles they ,d tn the achievements of the golden era of solar system exploration. iis i e case not only for people who only observed the program from the t-P1 but also for people who were an integral part of the enterprise As- a senior NASA official during most of the first quarter century ofspace exVioration, Oran Nicks played a major role in shaping and directing NASA's lunar and planetary programs. His story of this magnificent enterprisepro- vides an important account from one who had great personal commitment and dedication. H. M. Schurmeier Jet Propulsion Laboratory February 1985 vi Preface This book about exploring machines is the result of the vision of the late Frank -Red- Rowsome, Jr., Head of NASA's Technical Publications Section. It began as a partnership; I was to provide a manuscript, and he was to make it presentable. Red had many years of technical writing experience, and he specialized in explaining technical subjects simply and clearly. Furthermore, he knew the facts, the people, and incidents we were to write about almost as well as I. Soon after we began to work on the project Red died, leaving me with unforeseen doubts and decisions. I knew that our plans for sharing with others had been compromised, but by this time I was fired with enthusiasm. After reviewing the guidance Red had given me, and with encouragement from NASA officials, I pledged my best to honor ow commitment. In the planning stages, Red and I had many discussions about the form of the book; however, the final result is necessarily my interpretation. To help you understand what the book is, let me tell you what it is not. It is not a history. Many of the events discussed are history, but this ac- count is far from complete and coherent. On the other hand, it contains no fiction that I am aware of, and all of the characters, places, and incidents are realat least as I saw reality. The accounts are largely personal and are therefore limited to my viewpoint or to the views of acquaintances who shared their experiences with me. It is not a scientific report, although it is an attempt to share some ex- citing technical aspects of space flight with persons who are keenly in- terested, including those who have little formal training in technical subjects. I hope the book will also be enjoyed by those who are technically trained, especially those who understand the difficulties of explaining complex space missions and machines. Although the subject of the book is automated lunar and planetary spacecraft, there are many references to people, and many accounts are writ- ten in the first person. It is not, however, an autobiography or a biography V11 7 FAR TRAVELERS of a person or a spicecraft. The people, machines, andincidents are blended in an informal marwrier, in the hope that the interactiveprocesses involved in creating and deploing spacecraft will be viewed inperspective. The accounts oAE the missions, the coverage of the technicalsubjects, and most of all, the reognition of persons involved,are incomplete. Pangs of conscience stab often when I see or remember a friend whowas over- looked; many woui.d have been worthy subjects for examplesnot cited. I am sure my colleagueswill be reminded of more interesting events I might have used. Red and I belie-ed that the lunar and planetary spacecraftwere the first sophisticates of a ntlw age of machines and that people wouldwant to know more about how thy were created, how they worked, and what they did. So many activities ocrarred in such a few years that memories were becoming blurred, and might oon be erased completely, unless someone tried to write them down. We 1.Arre fortunate to have beena part of those special events, and we felt obligatd to share them, if possible. I hope you will ccept the book as an account of the men, machines, and events as one pers ii-xt saw them, and that you will forgive oversights of de- serving people andshortcomings of technical explanations andaccounts. The effort will have- been worthwhile if enjoyment is realizedfrom revisiting the era when explorig machines reached outto other worlds as peaceful en- voys of inquisitive,creative man. Oran Nicks January 1985 viil Acknowledgments Frank "Red" Rowsome had the idea for this book, andit was also his idea that I write it. He caused me to think about thewonderful but perishable memories from our early space adventures and inspiredme to share them with others through this book. He also guidedme in the early stages of out- lining and researching. Rebecca Swanson helped do research and typedmy initial, dictated drafts before she met her husband-to-be andwent his way. William Tsutsui put several draft chapters into betterprose, and most importantly, helped me adapt to a new word processor wilch he masteredquickly. Jo Ann William- son transcribed many tapes and copied revisions more thanonce. I will be forever grateful to Paul Sittler,a "friend" I met for the first time when my word processor failedon Christmas morning, just as I was plan- ning a quiet, productive week of writing during the schoolbreak.
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