Surveyor 3
on the Surface of the Moon
(LM is in the background)
(LM is in the background)
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APOLLO
TO THE MOON - PAGE 2
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| Landing only 183 meters from its target in the Ocean of Storms, the LM (Intrepid) was brought in almost entirely by computer and radar. Spending 7.75 hours outside on the lunar surface, astronauts Conrad and Bean took two moon walks and found and brought back parts from Surveyor 3 which made a soft landing in 1967. |
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Surveyor 3
on the Surface of the Moon
(LM is in the background) |
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| "OK, Houston, we've had a problem here". Over 320,000 km from earth, enroute to the moon, an oxygen tank in the Service Module exploded leaving the Command Module (Odyssey) without power or air. The three astronauts had to use the LM (Aquarius) as a life raft. The LM was only intended for two people and only for decent and return from the moon. Now the LM had to house three people all the way to the moon and back. Since Odyssey had no power, the engines on Aquarius had to be used to maneuver the two spacecraft around the moon and head back to earth. Aquarius was designed only to land on the moon, where there is no atmoshpere. She would burn up in reentry back to earth, so at the last moment, the astronauts returned to Odyssey and used its batteries to maneuver into earths atmosphere. |
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| Landing in the Fra Mauro region, Shepard and Mitchell spent over 9 hours outside on the lunar surface running extensive experiments and rock collecting. The flight marked the return to space for Alan Shepard, America's first man in space. |
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Edgar Mitchell
Looks at Traverse Map
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Alan Shepard
by Large Boulder
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| Spending over 19 hours outside on the lunar surface, Scott and Worden were the first to drive on the moon. The Lunar Rover made its debut in Hadley Rille. Covering over 27 km of terrain, the astronauts were able to survey a large portion of the landing area in greater detail. |
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Lunar Rover
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St. George
Crater and Rille
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| A malfunction in the propulsion system of the LM (Orion) almost scrubbed the landing. But once on the lunar surface, Young and Duke spent 3 days exploring (20.23 hours outside on the surface). The landing area was Descartes, believed to be an area of active volcanism, but proved not to be the case. The Lunar Rover was able to achieve a top speed of 18 km/hr (11 miles/hour). |
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John Young
& ALSEP Deployment Site
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John Young
at North Ray Crater
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| "Here Man completed his first exploration of the Moon, December 1972 A.D. May the spirit of peace in which we came be reflected in the lives of all mankind." Budget cuts axed Apollo 18, 19 and 20, so Apollo 17 became the last of the Apollo missions to the moon. Schmitt and Cernan landed in the Taurus-Littrow Valley and drove around almost 34 km of lunar ground. Schmitt was the first scientist to visit the moon (a geologist). They were the last men (so far) to walk on the moon. |
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Gene Cernan
with LRV
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Gene Cernan
with Rover and LM
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