APOLLO LUNAR MISSION

this Earth has only one natural satellite but we have may do very well with this our lone Moon it is interwoven in man's history it's waxings and waning long ago recorded on calendars what now compels modern man to fly to the moon there is the great urge of Discovery and exploration for exploration has always opened new unexpected Horizons to our view and opened undreamed of frontiers of Economic Development technology and social well-being but in setting foot for the first time on this Heavenly Body we are not simply discovering a new chain of mountains there is a greater opportunity before us the Moon is a vast natural laboratory existing much as the Earth did billions of years ago for the Moon is without an atmosphere it is without weathering and erosion to forces which have reworked the face of the Earth and obscured its remote past it is a laboratory we could never build with all our hands and all our tools we can fly scientists and scientific instruments of this laboratory we can study the origins of the earth and perhaps of the universe a flight to the moon in the space age is not long two and one2 days to travel back in time 5 billion years this is a voyage of exploration that man must make we cannot draw a straight line from the earth and fly along it to the Moon the Moon is moving around the earth at 2300 mph the Earth is revolving around the Sun at 67,000 mph both are revolving on their axes we must fly between two points constantly changing in space for the man flight we have chosen a free return trajectory to the moon this means that the spacecraft is fired from orbit to the Moon in such a way that it will loop around the moon and return without further power being applied normally of course we will insert the spacecraft into orbit at the moon's equator and land at a pre-selected site we choose a launch time and trajectory so that the crew will land in daylight the sun will strike the site at an angle of 7 to 20° this gives the crew visual perception to avoid obstacles when Landing preparation for launch will begin here the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center a Vehicle Assembly Building provides protection against the weather during most of the pre-launch checkout period it is almost 44 stories high and tall enough to check out an Apollo Saturn 5 space vehicle on its mobile launcher the assembled space vehicle travels to the Launchpad 3 and 1/2 M away on a transporter crawler this is the Command Module living quarters of the crew the mission Commander is in the left couch his crew a Command Module pilot in the middle couch and a lunar module pilot to the right the Command Module contains all systems critical to piloting the flight once the spacecraft leaves Earth orbit the second unit is the service module the service module contains a large propulsion engine it takes over after the jettison of the big booster we carry two spacecraft in a lunar Mission the second is a lunar Landing spacecraft or lunar module it has separate descent and Ascent stages below the lunar module an instrument unit carries a computer and Associated Electronics it guides the spacecraft into Earth orbit and computes the trajectory to the moon the launch vehicle is composed of three boosters plus the instrument unit together they are called the Saturn 5 launch vehicle Saturn 5 will launch into orbit 40 times the weight of Gemini 85 times that of mercury final countdown for the Apollo Saturn space vehicle is conducted from the launch control center next to the Vehicle Assembly Building at tus 30 minutes the launch escape tower is armed from this point until it is released at slightly more than 50 nautical miles the launch escape tower would be fired for emergency escape carrying the Command Module to safety the spacecraft is not launched directly for the moon but into Earth orbit the first stage of Saturn 5 propels the space C to 34 nautical miles altitude and is jettison the second stage takes over then a structure between the first and second stages is jettison in this period too the launch Escape system is jettisoned from now on the crew can fly the spacecraft safely back to Earth if necessary after the second stage is jettisoned the third stage takes over and inserts the spacecraft into a parking orbit 100 nautical miles above the Earth at Marshall space flight center propulsion and Stage experts monitor the performance of the launch stages closely the flight is not yet 12 minutes old the third stage shuts down but we retain it in orbit and will use it yet once more so far we are on very familiar ground of man flight but we are preparing for the unfamiliar the crew completes their inflight checkout if all systems are now go this man f director at Mission Control Center Houston will commit three Pioneer astronauts 1/4 million miles into space the decision is made over the ocean the third stage is fired for 5 minutes and man is on his way the crew will have little time to reflect on this fact for 15 minutes later protective panels will open as the command and service modules separate from the lunar module using the service module control jets the mission Commander turns around he completes his Maneuvers and docks with the lunar module the third stage and instrument unit are jettisoned the flight to the Moon is now in a coasting phase velocity in space will average 3,300 m per hour the mission Commander will navigate taking star readings as a backup to ground computations midcourse Corrections from the ground will be made during the trans lunar flight to maintain the proper trajectory just before the spacecraft approaches the moon the lunar module pilot will transfer to the lunar module and check it out as the crew swings around the Moon The Sur this module main engine is fired to reduce velocity and insert the spacecraft into an orbit 80 nautical miles above the Moon after a period of preparation including sleep the mission commander and lunar module pilot transfer to the lunar module The Command Module pilot is Left Behind to fly the Apollo spacecraft in orbit the lunar module is separated two automatic firings of its descent engine lower it to the immediate landing area the mission Commander takes over the controls for the touchdown he carefully brings his spacecraft to a safe landing but no one opens a hatch and leaps out the crew must check the lunar module systems and put on special life support equipment the outside temperature is about 200° F there is no oxygen in the airless atmosphere spere the moment we have waited for comes two Americans stand alone on The unexplored Plains of the Moon surrounded by The Silence of billions of years what will they say the crew will explore the lunar surface working together as a team they return to their spacecraft to replenish oxygen sleep and eat total stay about 24 hours the crew will set up a series of experiments known as the Apollo lunar surface experiments package or alep once set up it will look something like these scientific instruments being tested on a simulated lunar surface the experiments will measure the charged particles of the solar wind the magnetic characteristics of the Moon presence of ions and seismic activity a small atomic generator furnishes electrical power to the experiments once activated a data collection station can transmit 1060 data bits a second back to Earth and continue to send us this precise information long after the crew leaves a very important important task is collection of geologic samples 40 to 50 lbs of lunar samples will be flown back in sealed containers when the exploration of the Moon ends the crew will rejoin the Command Module they re-enter the lunar module and fire the ascent engine The Descent engine and Landing platform are left behind the onboard computer will guide the lunar module into an orbit slightly lower than that of the Command Module the crew makes the Final Approach and docks the two exploring astronauts with their lunar samples transfer back to the Command Module the lunar module is separated and left in orbit around the moon the flight director at Mission Control will relay the necessary guidance information for the Homeward voyage the service module's main engine is fired and the crew on its way the transar trip is of course the reverse side of the coin to the trans lunar trajectory midcourse Corrections will be set into the computer from the ground if required after more than a week in Space the crew approaches the Earth about 20 minutes before re-entering the Earth's atmosphere the service module is jettisoned now all that is left of the original space vehicle is the Command Module we aim for a re-entry Corridor about 20 mi deep it begins with the atmosphere 80 Mi above the Earth the re-entry path will be controlled on board by the computer but manual Corrections can be made by the crew re-entry velocity will reach about 25,000 mph as the atmosphere slows the spacecraft down the crew is protected from the enormous heat buildup by the blunt end of the spacecraft and by shielding around the entire spacecraft at 10,000 ft pilot shoots pull out the main Landing parachutes and the spacecraft is slowed to safe landing speed it heads for touchdown in the ocean in one way this Landing is quite different from previous missions a mobile quarantine laboratory will pick up the crew and take them direct to the lunar receiving laboratory at the man spacecraft Center the crew will undergo a 3-we isolation period for debriefing and detail observation there is a very remote possibility of lunar contamination the lunar samples will undergo preliminary study for 4 weeks isolated against Earth contamination samples will then be distributed to distinguished foreign and American scientists these scientists will apply their specialized knowledge for detailed analyses of the samples studies will continue for years and the moon which has been with us for 5 billion years will begin to yield up its silent secrets and this only a beginning we would have demonstrated our ability as a nation to operate in space up to lunar distances as for what lies beyond the moon Saturn vehicles will have the capability to launch spacecraft to explore Mars Venus and other planets the Apollo lunar mission is our beginning of the inevitable exploration of space