9. Lunar Surface Closeup Stereoscopic Photography
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9. Lunar Surface Closeup Stereoscopic Photography The lunar samples returned by the Apollo 11 launch with sufficient Ektachrome MS ( SO368 ) mission have provided preliminary information film for the complete mission. To obtain a photo- about the physical and chemical properties of graph, an astronaut merely sets the camera over the Moon and, in particular, about Tranquility the material to be photographed and depresses Base. Because of the mechanical environment to the trigger located on the camera handle. When which lunar samples are subjected during their the exposure is complete, the film is automatically return from the Moon, limited information can be advanced to the next frame, and the electronic obtained from lunar samples about the structure flash is recharged. and texture of the loose, fine-grained material that composes the upper surface of the lunar crust. A stereoscopic camera capable of photo- graphing the small-scale ( between micro and macro) lunar surface features was suggested by Thomas Gold, Cornell University, and built under contract for NASA. The photographs taken on the mission with the closeup stereoscopic camera are of outstand- ing quality and show in detail the nature of the lunar surface material. Several photographs con- tain unusual features. From the photographs, information can be derived about the small-scale lunar surface geologic features and about proc- esses occurring on the surface. This chapter presents a description of the closeup stereoscopic camera, lists and shows single photos from pairs available for stereoscopic study, and contains an interpretation of the results reported by Profes- sor Gold in Science, vol. 165, no. 3900, pp. 1345- 1349, Sept. 26, 1969. Apollo Lunar Surface Closeup Camera The Apollo Lunar Surface Closeup Camera (ALSCC), built by Eastrnan Kodak under con- tract to the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, was designed to optimize operational simplicity (fig. 9-1). The camera is an automatic, self- powered, twin-lens stereoscopic camera capable of resolving objects as small as SO pm in diameter on color film. Simplicity of operation was achieved by making the camera focus and the flash ex- posure fixed and by loading the camera prior to FIGURE9-1. - Apollo lunar surface closeup camera. 187 188 APOLLO 11 PRELIMINARY SCIENCE REPORT The requirement to simplify the ALSCC op- crew, Astronaut Armstrong indicated the gen- eration necessitated a reasonable depth of field eral areas, relative to the lunar module, where that could be achieved only by limiting the sequential sets of photographs were taken. Based image magnification produced by the system. The upon Astronaut Armstrong's comments and the camera lenses are diffraction-limited 46.12 mm time history of events on the surface, the general f/17 Kodak M-39 copy lenses focused for an locations of the photographs were tentatively object distance of 184.5 mm, providing an image established (fig. 9-3). magnification of 0.33. The lenses are mounted 29 mm apart, with their optical axes parallel. Description of Photographs The area photographed is 72 mm x 82.8 mm and Analysis of the photographic data is not com- centered between the optical axes; thus, stereo- plete and will therefore be published in future scopic photographs with a base-to-height ratio of documents. For this report, only a preliminary 0.16 are provided (fig. 9-2). description of four photographs, provided by Gold, is included. Location of the Stereoscopic Photographs A stereoscopic view (fig. 94) shows a close- The specific location at the Apollo 11 lunar up of a small lump of lunar surface powder ap- landing site where individual stereoscopic photo- proximately 0.5 in. across, with a splash of glassy graphs were taken cannot be determined with material over it. A drop of molten material ap- a high degree of confidence. Because of the lim- pears to have fallen on the powder, splashed, ited size of the area photographed by the cam- and frozen. era, the subject material cannot be identified Figure 9-5 shows a clump of lunar surface within the large-scale lunar surface photography. powder with various small, differently colored In the scientific debriefing of the Apollo 11 pieces. Many small, shiny spherical particles can be seen. I Film format: 27.64 by 24 mm Film plane - TV u~-Xn .k4-~ m x akJ - m u 10 5 0 10 20 Ft -_ LM rocket exhaust disturbance - Crater * Rock ;:t;,;!3., Documented-sample area LRRR Lunar Ranging Retroreflector PSEP Passive Seismic Experiment Package & Tentative location of stereoscopic photographs FIGURE9-2. - Schematic of the ALSCC. FIGURE9-3. - Locations of ALSCC photographs. LUNAR CLOSEUP STEREOSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHY 189 FIGURE9-4. - A small lump of lunar soil with a glazed FIGURE9-6. - Stone embedded in powdery lunar surface top and a smaller glazed piece to the right. The larger material. ( NASA ASll-45-6712 object shows no change of color or texture compared with the surrounding ground, known to be soft, fine- grained soil, except for the glaze mark. (NASA AS11- 45-6704 ) Another stereoscopic view (fig. 9-6) shows a made by high-velocity micrometeorite impacts. stone, approximately 2.5 in. long, embedded in One stereoscopic view (fig. 9-7) of the sur- the powdery lunar surface material. The small face of a lunar rock shows an embedded %-in. pieces grouped closely around the stone suggest fragment of a different color. On the surface, that it suffered some erosion. On the surface, several small pits are seen, mostly less than one- several small pits are seen, mostly less than one- eighth in, in size and with a glazed surface. The eighth in. in size and with a glazed surface. The pits have a raised rim, characteristic of pits pits have a raised rim, characteristic of pits made by high-velocity micrometeorite impacts. FIGURE9-5. - Clump of lunar surface powder (NASA FIGURE9-7. - Stereoscopic view (NASA ASll-45-6709) ASll-45-6706) 190 APOLLO 11 PRELIMINARY SCIENCE REPORT The stereoscopic views in figures 9-8 to 9-20 are included in this report to make the avail- ability of the photographs known. Descriptions or interpretation of these photographs were not available for this publication. These photographs are available upon request from the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Tex. The following is a listing of the 17 photograph numbers, keyed to the figure number used in this chapter. Photograph AS 11-45-6704 AS1145-6706 ASll45-6712 AS 1145-6709 AS1145-6697 AS1145-6698 AS 11-45-6699 ASll45-6700 ASll45-6701 AS1 1-45-6702 FIGURE9-9. - Stereoscopic view ( NASA AS11-45-6698 ) FIGURE9-10. - Stereoscopic view (NASA AS11-45-6699) FIGURE9-8. - Stereoscopic view ( NASA ASll-45-6697 ) LUNAR CLOSEUP STEREOSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHY FIGURE 9-11. -This is the bottom of a crater, and the affected area is close to the upper edge of the frame (and re sum ably beyond). Here, glazing is seen in a very regular fashion, with the edges and points that face upwards and out in a direction to the upper right consistently affected. The stereoscopic view is re- quired to observe the directional effect. (NASA AS11- FIGURE9-13. - Stereoscopic view (NASA ASll-45-6702) FIGURE 9-12. - Stereoscopic view ( NASA ASll-45-6701) FIGURE 9-14.-Stereoscopic view (NASA ASll-45- 6702-1 ) 192 APOLLO 11 PRELIMINARY SCIENCE REPORT FIGURE9-15. - Stereoscopic view (NASA ASll-45-6703) FIGURE9-17. - Stereoscopic view (NASA ASll-45-6707) FIGURE9-16. - Stereoscopic view ( NASA ASll-45-6705 ) FIGURE9-18. -A large area of glazing is seen in the lower left region, both on the horizontal and on the sloping surfaces of the ~rotuberance.Some glazing is also seen on the lower right object, with edges and points particularly affected. In the upper part of the picture a small glossy bead is seen poised on a nar- row pedestal. (The detail in the color stereoscopic transparencies far exceeds that which can be repro- duced in the present print. ) ( NASA ASll-45-6708) LUNAR CLOSEUP STEREOSCOPIC PHOTOGRAPHY 193 known previously or that could not be seen with similar definition by Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin in their careful inspection of the lunar surface. One of those is outstanding in being wholly unexpected and possibly of consequence not only to lunar geology but also to aspects of the study of the Sun, the Earth, and other bodies of the solar system. The observation is that of glossy surfaces, in appearance a glass of color similar to the sur- rounding powdery medium, lying in very par- ticular positions. Small craters that are plentiful on the lunar surface - 6 in. to 2 or 3 feet in diameter - have frequently some clumps of the lunar soil or rough spots of the surface texture concentrated toward their center. They. give- the FIGURE9-19. - Stereoscopic view (NASA ASll-45-6710) appearance of having been swept in at a time later than the formation of the crater. Some of these little lumps appear to have just their top surfaces glazed. The glassy patches that can be seen on the photographs range in size from X mm to about 1 cm. The glazed areas are clearly concentrated toward the top surfaces of protuberances, al- though they exist also on some sides. Points and edges appear to be strongly favored for the glazing process. In some cases, droplets appear to have run down an inclined surface for a few millimeters and congealed there. The astronauts' information was that similar things were seen in many small craters, many more than the eight instances of which we have photographs. They were not able at the time to pick up any of the objects for the sample return. They did not see a single glazed piece in any different geometrical position other than near the center of a small crater.