* * * * APOLLO 15 VOICE TRANSCRIPT PERTAINING TO THE GEOLOGY OF THE LANDING SITE APOLLO 15 VOICE TRANSCRIPT Pertaining to the geology of the landing site � N.G. Bailey and G.E. Ulrich U.S. Geological Survey Branch of Astrogeology Flagstaff , Arizona 1�5 ,I. BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA Report No. 2- 3. Recipient's Accession No. SHEET liSGS-GD-74-029 r 14• Ill e and >illlltlll< 5. Report Date Apollo 15 Voice Transcript 1975 Pertaining to the Geology of the Landing Site 6. 7. Aurhor(s) 8. Performing Organiza,ion Rept. N. G. Bailey and G. E. Ulrich No. 9. Performina Oraanizacion Name and Address 10. Projecr/Task/Work Unil No. u.s. Geological Survey Branch of Astrogeology 11. Coouacr/Grant No. 601 East Cedar Avenue Flagstaff, AZ 86001 12. SponaorinJ Oraanization Name and Address 13. Type of Repou & Period Co vered Same Final 14. 15. Supplementary Noceo This is Apollo Voice Transcript Volume No. 4 of a series to be produced for the six manned lunar landings 16. Abstracts This document is an edited record of the conversations between the Apollo 15 astro- nauts and mission control pertaining to the geology of the landing site. It contains all discussions and observations documenting the lunar landscape, its geologic characteristics, the rocks and soils collected, and the lunar surface photographic record along with supplementary remarks essential to the continuity of events during the mission. This transcript is derived from audio tapes and the NASA Technical Air-to-Ground Voice Transcription and includes time of transcription and, photograph and sample numbers. The report also includes a glossary, landing site map, and sample table. 17, ltey Wotrdo and Docu...,nt Aoolyoio. 17 .. Descdpt:ora Astrogeology 0302 Astonauts 0509 Lunar bases 2201 Lunar craters 0302 Lunar dust 0302- Lunar geology 0302 Lunar photography 0301, 1405 Lunar rock 0302 Lunar topography 0302 17b. ldenlifiers/Open-Fnded Teuils Apollo 15 03/B Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astrophysics 22/A Space Technology, Astronautics 17<· COSATl Field/Gooup 19 21. No. of 18. Availability Statcm�nt •. Security Class (This Pag<s from NTIS, Re 232 Releaseable to the public. Available � .ASSIFIED Springfield, VA 22151 lU. Set:urny Class {This 22. Price Po�tr>:n t.SSIFIFil USCOMM DC <t.OJ29 P7l F CONTENTS Pa qe 1>., ,-�,-- '" '" Introduction • 2 Acknowledgments 2 Glossary of terms , abbreviations, acronyms , and symbols 3 Explanation of keywording 6 Geologic condensation of the Apollo 15 voice transcript 8 Descent • 8 LM Window Pre SEVA 8 SEVA. 11 LM Window Post SEVA • • • . 17 EVA 1 • . 24 Between EVA 1 and 2 • 65 EVA 2 • 74 Between EVA 2 and 3 • 166 EVA 3 • . 168 Orbit • . 219 Transearth Coast . 223 References • 232 ILLUSTRATION Figure 1. Apol lo 15 landing site showing LM location and area traversed by astronauts during EVAs • 7 TABLE Table 1. Apollo 15 sample listing cross-referenced to Apollo Elapsed Times 227 INTRODUCTION The fourth manned lunar landing occurred on July 30, 1971 when the lunar module Falcon landed in the lladley-Apennine region of the Moon . Apollo 15 was the first mission to utilize a battery-powered vehicle aptly named "Rover" to extend the ranqe of the astronauts surface explora tion with a resul tant 27.9 km of traverses •. It was also the first mi ssion with three EVAs which , along with the SEVA, produced double the amount of transcript concerning lunar qeoloqy than did either of the two previous landings. This document is an edited record of the conversations between astronauts David R. Scott, and James B. Irwin on the lunar surface and EVA capcom Joseoh P. Al len at Mission Control in Uouston during the nearly 67 hours the astronauts were on the Moon . It 1s a condensation hopefully of all the verbal data having geologic siqnificance. All discussions and observations documenting the lunar landscape , its qeoloqic characteri stics, the rocks and soils collected, and the photoqraphic record are retained along with the supplementary remarks essential to the continuity of events during the mission. We have deleted the words of mechanical housekeeping and enqineerinq data, attempting not to lose the personal and philosophical aspects of manned lunar exploration. The sources of this verbal transcri pt are the complete audio tapes recorded during the EVAs and the Technical Air-to-Ground Voice Transcription published by NASA. The voice record is listed chronologically given in days, hours , minutes and seconds. · These are the Apol lo Elapsed Times (AET) after launch from the Kennedy Space Center which was 9:34 a.m. E.D. T. on July 26, 1971. Figure 1 shows the vicinity of the landinq site that was described, sampled, and photographed by the Apollo 15 crewmen. ACKNOWLEOGI�ENTS The assistance of Apol lo 15 COillllander David R. Scott who revie\'1ed the transcript is qratefull.y acknowledged. R. L. Sutton, U. s. Geological Survey, gave valuable assistance with the sample and photo indexing. The cover illustration and figure 1 were prepared by R. E. Sabala, U. S. Geological Survey. This report was dupl icated by J. L. RemY. U. S. Geological Survey. Thanks are due to Cyndee Condit for her able communcation with the WYLBUR text-editinrf program on the National Institutes of Health Computer System which made possible the efficient editinq changes and reproduction for printing of the transcript . This project was supported by NASA Order No. Wl3,672. 2 GLOSSARY OF TERMS , ABBREVIATIONS. ACRONYMS, AND SYMBOLS APOLLO 15 CREW cc Capsule Communicator (Joseph P. Allen during the EVAs, other astronauts during other time periods) CDR Commander (David R. Scott) CMP Command Module Pilot (Alfred M. Worden) lMP lunar Module Pilot (James B. Irwin) MCC Mission Control Center (unidentified speaker) AET Apollo Elapsed Time - since launch from Earth (days-hrs-mins-secs) AGC lRV readout on TV camera ALSEP Apollo lunar Surface Experiments Package BSLSS Buddy Secondary Life Support System COMP Comprehensive Sample - scoop soil and rake sample of 3/811 to 1-1/211 rocks coll ected from a documented area approximately 1 meter square CONT Contingency Sample - bag of soil and rocks collected early in the EVA - sample reference in transcript keywording Core Drive tube coring device for col lecting soil samples by driving the tube with a hammer (the deep core was obtained by a battery-powered, rotary, hand-operated drill) CM Command Module, "Endeavour" DAC Data Acquisition Camera mounted on the lRV DB Documented Bag DOC Documented Sample - soil and/or rocks that are documented by photography before and after sampling EMU Extravehicular Mobility Unit - lunar surface space suit worn by the astronauts during EVAs ETB Equipment Transfer Bag for transport of items between lM hatch and lunar surface 3 GluSSARV CONT'D. EV (visor) Extravehicular EVA Extravehicular Activity - astronaut activities on the lunar surface FSR Football-Sized Rock 10 Identification IFH Instrumen t Fliqht Regulations LCRU Lunar Communication Relay Unit on the Rover lM Lunar Morlule, "Falcon" LPDS Landing Point Designator System lRl Lunar Receiving Laboratory lRRR, LR cubed Laser Ranging Retroreflector LRV lunar Roving Vehic1e - "Rover" Mag/Mags Magazine/Magazines - photographic MESA Modularized Equipment Stowage Assembly - a storage area on the LM that contains scientific �quipment NAV Navigation PAN Panorama of 70 mm photographs PHO Photo. photographic reference 1n the transcript keywording Pllg Plagioclase PlSS Portable Life Support System - backpack on EVA space suit PSE Passive Seismic Experhr.ent RAKE Rake Sample - sample reference tn transcript keywording SAMP Sample reference in transcript keywording SCB Sample Collection Bag 4 GLOSSARY CONT'D. SESC Special Environmental Sample Container SEVA S�and-up EVA SIDE Solar Ion Detection Experiment SRC Sample Return Container, "Rock Box" SWC, Sol ar Wind Solar-Wind Composition experiment Strut One of four legs on the LM Plus-Z Strut Forward leg on which the ladder is mounted Minus-Z Strut Rear leg of LM Plus-Y Strut Right leg of LM Minus-Y Strut left leg of the LM TRENCH Trench Sample - sample reference in transcript keywording *** Garbled or cli pped transmission Deletions between statements of statements that are not geologically relevant Pause by speaker Interruption by another speaker, or abrupt termination of a recording (words) Explanation of words probably said that were garbled turing transmission (words?) Explanation of words possibly said that were garbled during transmission 5 EXPLANATION OF KEYWORDING The purpose of the keywords enclosed in parentheses to the right of the transcript is to infonm the reader of either the phase of the mission (DESCENT. BETWEEN EVAs, etc. ) during which the statements were made, or the particular location or station (LM, 1, 2, etc. ) where the speaker was , or between which locations (LM-1. 1-2, etc.) the speaker was traversing. There are also separate sample (SAMP xxxxx) and photo (PHO xx xxxxx ) keys to denote the particular samples and photos either being described or taken at that particular moment. Normally, where both sample and photo keys occur in the same line, the photo numbers are cross-indexed to the sample numbers in that line. The occasional exceptions can be inferred from the context of the transcript -- AET 06 04 02 25 -- where SAMP SESC 15013 is not necessari ly referenced to any of the pan photo numbers keyed in the same line. Where remarks in the beginning of a statement were not either specifically or generally about the sampling or photography mentioned later in the same statement, the keywording was placed in the particular line containing the first mention of'the referenced activity as with SAMP 15205 in the statement made at 05 02 51 22. Because the taking of specific photos was not always mentioned. we have keyed all photos known to show a sample or its location in the first line that contains sampl e keywording at the time the sample was col lected.