Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
-
Similar Topics
-
By NASA
In November 1969, Apollo 12 astronauts Commander Charles “Pete” Conrad, Command Module Pilot (CMP) Richard F. Gordon, and Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) Alan L. Bean completed the second crewed lunar landing mission. Conrad and Bean achieved a pinpoint landing in the Ocean of Storms within walking distance of the Surveyor 3 spacecraft that landed there in April 1967. While Gordon conducted science from lunar orbit, Conrad and Bean completed two spacewalks on the lunar surface, deploying science instruments, collecting geology samples, and inspecting Surveyor including retrieving several of it parts for study back on Earth. Preparations continued for the next two missions, Apollo 13 and 14, tentatively planned for March and July 1970, respectively.
Apollo 12
Left: The crew of Apollo 12 – Charles “Pete” Conrad, left, Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean. Right: The Apollo 12 crew patch.
Left: The Apollo 12 crew of Charles “Pete” Conrad, center, Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean, facing them, at the traditional prelaunch breakfast, with their mascot “Irving” behind Conrad. Right: Conrad leads Gordon and Bean onto the astronaut van for the ride to Launch Pad 39A.
Left: Apollo 12, moments before liftoff into rainy skies. Middle: Liftoff of Apollo 12. Right: Lightning strikes Launch Pad 39A shortly after the Apollo 12 launch.
Lift off came precisely at 11:22 a.m. EST on Nov. 14, 1969, with the Saturn V launching Apollo 12 into a dark and rainy sky. The flight proceeded normally for the first 36 seconds, with Conrad even commenting that, “It’s a lovely liftoff. It’s not bad at all.” Then everything went haywire. With Apollo 12 at about 6,600 feet altitude and flying through clouds, observers on the ground noted lightning striking the launch pad. Onboard the spacecraft, the astronauts saw a bright flash, followed by many of the spacecraft’s electronics going offline, causing the three power-generating fuel cells to also go offline.
A second event 52 seconds into the flight caused the spacecraft guidance navigation system to go offline. In the Mission Control Center (MCC) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, a young engineer named John W. Aaron monitored the spacecraft’s systems through the two incidents. He correctly deduced that the spacecraft’s Signal Conditioning Equipment (SCE) must have suffered some unknown upset and went offline. The simple solution to restoring it to normal function involved moving a seldom-used switch from its Normal to its Auxiliary position. Bean recalled the switch’s location on his panel, carried out the requested action, and restored the spacecraft’s systems. Aaron’s quick action saved the launch from two lightning strikes. Once Conrad understood the cause of the excitement, he radioed to Houston, “I think we need to do a little more all-weather testing.”
Left: View of the Earth shortly after Trans Lunar Injection, with one of the Spacecraft Lunar Module (LM) Adapter panels silhouetted against the clouds. Middle: During Transposition and Docking, the LM Intrepid still attached to the S-IVB third stage. Right: The receding Earth during the translunar coast.
The rest of the ascent continued without incident and Apollo 12 settled into orbit around the Earth. After verifying that all systems continued functioning properly following the lightning strikes, the astronauts received the call, “The good word is you’re Go for TLI,” the Trans Lunar Injection, the second burn of the third stage engine to send them on their way to the Moon. In his characteristic fashion, Conrad replied, “Hoop-ee-doo! We’re ready! We didn’t expect anything else!” The next major event, the Transposition and Docking (T&D) maneuver, began about 25 minutes later.
After the separation of the Command and Service Module (CSM) Yankee Clipper from the S-IVB stage, Gordon turned it around and slowly guided it to a docking with the LM Intrepid still attached to the top of the S-IVB. Conrad commented during the maneuver, “I got an awful pretty looking Intrepid sitting out the window here, gang. We’ll go get her.” After the docking, Gordon backed away from the third stage, extracting the LM in the process, and completing the T&D maneuver. For the next three days, the astronauts continued their journey toward the Moon. Along the way, they inspected Intrepid to verify it came to no harm from the lightning strikes, conducted one midcourse maneuver to ensure their accurate arrival near the Moon, and provided two TV broadcasts showing views of Earth and their spacecraft.
Left: Image from lunar orbit of the Fra Mauro highlands, the proposed landing site for Apollo 13 (inside white circle). Middle: The Lunar Module Intrepid as seen from the Command Module Yankee Clipper shortly after undocking. Right: Yankee Clipper as seen from Intrepid.
The Apollo 12 astronauts awoke for their fourth mission day to find themselves within the Moon’s gravitational sphere of influence. Apollo 12 sailed behind the Moon, losing contact with Earth. Thirteen minutes later, the astronauts fired the Service Propulsion System (SPS) engine for the Lunar Orbit Insertion burn, placing them into an elliptical orbit around the Moon.
Left: Still from 16 mm film looking out Alan L. Bean’s window at about 3,500 feet during the descent, showing the location of Surveyor Crater, the Apollo 12 landing site. Right: Illustration of the Apollo 12 landing site and the two surface traverses.
During the third lunar orbit, the crew fired the SPS engine again to circularize their orbit. The next day, Conrad and Bean donned their spacesuits and reactivated the LM for the separation and landing, extending Intrepid’s landing legs. After undocking and while behind the Moon, Conrad and Bean fired the LM’s Descent Propulsion System engine to lower Intrepid’s orbit. Exactly half a revolution later, Intrepid began the burn to drop it from orbit all the way to the landing in the Ocean of Storms. With Bean providing updates from the guidance computer, Conrad skillfully piloted Intrepid to a smooth landing just northwest of Surveyor Crater, and as they learned later, only 538 feet from Surveyor 3. Without much fanfare, Conrad and Bean completed the postlanding checklist, although Bean allowed himself a little exuberant “Good landing, Pete! Outstanding, man! Beautiful!” Conrad radioed to Mission Control, “Okay, we’re in hot shape, Houston. We’re in real good shape!” They had a chance to look out the windows, with Bean exclaiming, “Holy cran, it’s beautiful out here!” Conrad replied, “It sure is; it’s something else,” later adding, “Man! I can’t wait to get outside!”
Left: Charles “Pete” Conrad on the Lunar Module ladder about to descend to the surface. Middle: Alan L. Bean takes his first steps on the Moon. Right: Conrad working on the central station of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package, with its various instruments deployed around it.
Conrad and Bean donned their Portable Life Support System (PLSS) backpacks that provided oxygen and communications while on the surface and donned their helmets and gloves. They depressurized the LM, opened the hatch, and Conrad backed out onto the porch, slowly climbing down the ladder. Halfway down, he pulled a lanyard that deployed a color TV camera on the side of the LM’s descent stage, providing a view of him on the LM ladder. After he jumped from the bottom rung onto the footpad, Conrad exclaimed, “Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that’s a long one for me,” in reference to Armstrong’s famous words as he took humanity’s first step on the Moon and Conrad’s shorter stature. As he stepped off the pad, he remarked, “Oooh is that soft and queasy.” After taking a few tentative steps, Conrad informed everyone that he could see Surveyor 3 sitting inside the crater. He collected the contingency sample – in case they had to leave quickly due to an emergency, geologists would have one small sample from the Ocean of Storms.
Bean joined Conrad on the surface, both acclimating rapidly to working in one-sixth g. Conrad set up the S-band antenna for communications with Earth, but while setting up the TV camera, Bean accidentally pointed it at the Sun and damaged the vidicon tube, ending the live TV transmission from the Moon. Bean deployed the Solar Wind Collector (SWC), a Swiss experiment that collected particles from the solar wind, and then he and Conrad set up the American flag. They began the primary task of the first spacewalk – setting up the various instruments of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP). Conrad and Bean carried them to their deployment location about 430 feet to the northwest of Intrepid. They explored the area around the ALSEP site, visiting craters of interest and collecting rock and soil samples before heading back toward Intrepid. They remarked on several occasions how the lunar dust clung to their suits and equipment, and as Conrad quipped, “We’re going to be a couple of dirty boogers.” First Bean then Conrad climbed up the ladder and once inside Intrepid they closed the hatch and repressurized the cabin. Their first spacewalk lasted 3 hours and 56 minutes. They set up hammocks in Intrepid and went to sleep.
Left and middle: Charles “Pete” Conrad and Alan L. Bean with the Surveyor 3 spacecraft, with their Lunar Module (LM) Intrepid visible in the background. Right: View from inside the LM through Bean’s window following the second spacewalk.
After a short night’s rest, Conrad and Bean prepared for their second spacewalk. As before, first Conrad and then Bean descended the ladder to the surface. Conrad walked to the ALSEP to inspect one of the instruments, the seismometer they deployed during the first spacewalk picking up his footsteps. Both then headed west from Intrepid, where Conrad rolled two rocks down into a crater, the vibrations captured by the seismometer. They collected several documented samples, often preceded with expressions like “Oooooh!” and “That’s a beauty!” and dug a trench to expose subsurface material, collecting a sample from about eight inches deep.
They set off toward the main objective of this spacewalk – Surveyor 3, resting on the inner slope of 600-foot-wide Surveyor Crater. Entering the crater from the south rim, they walked counterclockwise while descending down the slope until they reached the robotic spacecraft. After taking “tourist” pictures with Surveyor, the two photographed the craft from all angles, noting that the trenches left by its scoop and the marks from its footpads when it bounced after landing looked as fresh as when Surveyor photographed them in 1967. Using cutters, Conrad removed the craft’s camera, scoop, and other parts for return to Earth, where engineers and scientists examined them for the effects of 31 months in the harsh lunar environment. The work at Surveyor completed, the two returned to Intrepid. Bean retrieved the SWC experiment, overcoming difficulties in rolling it back up. Compared with a short 77-minute exposure during Apollo 11, this SWC collected samples of the solar wind for nearly 19 hours. With everything packed up, Bean followed by Conrad headed up the ladder. After closing the hatch, they repressurized Intrepid, ending the 3-hour 49-minute excursion.
The Apollo 12 landing site photographed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2011, the inset showing the Lunar Module Intrepid’s descent stage.
Left: A still from 16 mm film recorded aboard Yankee Clipper of Intrepid’s approach just prior to docking. Middle: The Moon shortly after Trans Earth Injection. Right: A receding Moon during the trans Earth coast.
After returning inside Intrepid, Conrad and Bean took photographs out the windows, showing the signs of their visit – numerous footprints, the American flag, the S-band antenna, and in the distance, the ALSEP station. As Gordon in Yankee Clipper flew overhead on his 30th lunar revolution, Intrepid’s Ascent Stage engine ignited, and Conrad and Bean lifted off from the Moon after 31 hours and 31 minutes on the surface. Conrad exclaimed, “Liftoff! And away we go!” with Bean adding, “Boy, did it fire!” Intrepid and Yankee Clipper executed a series of maneuvers that led to their docking about three and a half hours after liftoff from the Moon. Their independent flights had lasted 37 hours and 42 minutes. The three astronauts opened the hatches between the two spacecraft and began transfers from Intrepid into Yankee Clipper, including the lunar samples, cameras, and film. Gordon transferred some unneeded items to be jettisoned in Intrepid. The transfers completed, they closed the hatches between the spacecraft and jettisoned the LM. To calibrate the seismometer left on the Moon, controllers sent a command to Intrepid to fire its thrusters to drop it out of orbit and send it crashing onto the surface. The seismometer recorded signals for nearly one hour after the impact.
Left: Recording from the Apollo 12 seismometer of the intentional crash of Intrepid’s ascent stage. Right: LRO image of the impact area and debris field of Intrepid’s ascent stage, east of the Fra Mauro B crater.
The primary activity for their remaining time around the Moon consisted of photographing potential landing sites for future Apollo missions, such as the Fra Mauro highlands and the Descartes region. On their 45th revolution, they went around to the Moon’s back side for the last time and they fired the SPS for the Trans Earth Injection burn. Apollo 12 left lunar orbit after 3 days 17 hours and 2 minutes. Conrad radioed to Mission Control, “Hello, Houston. Apollo 12’s en route home.”
During the three-day return trip to Earth, the astronauts conducted a midcourse maneuver to refine their trajectory, answered questions from geologists and other scientists, and held a press conference at the end of which they held up a homemade sign to the camera that read, “Yankee Clipper sailed with Intrepid to the Sea of Storms, Moon, November 14, 1969,” signed by all three crew members. With the Sun and the Earth nearly aligned, the astronauts could only see a very thin crescent of their home planet, prompting Conrad to comment, “Houston, we just got our first glimpse of you this morning, and there’s not very much of you out there.”
Left: The Moon continues to shrink in size as Apollo 12 heads for home. Middle: The Earth appearing as a thin crescent. Right: The Apollo 12 astronauts observed a total solar eclipse as they passed into Earth’s shadow shortly before reentry.
Left: The Apollo 12 Command Module Yankee Clipper descends on its three main parachutes seconds before splashdown. Middle: A recovery helicopter hovers over Yankee Clipper in the Stable II, or apex down, position, seconds after splashdown. Right: Image taken by a recovery diver of the decontamination officer assisting Alan L. Bean out of Yankee Clipper, with Richard F. Gordon, left, and Charles “Pete” Conrad already aboard the life raft.
Shortly before reentry, orbital mechanics had a show in store for the astronauts – their trajectory passed through the Earth’s shadow, treating them to a total solar eclipse. Gordon radioed Mission Control, “We’re getting a spectacular view at eclipse,” and Bean added that it was a “fantastic sight.” The excitement of the eclipse over, the astronauts prepared the cabin for reentry. The CM separated from the Service Module and rotated to point its heatshield into the direction of flight. At 400,000 feet, Yankee Clipper now travelling at 24,625 miles per hour encountered the first tendrils of Earth’s atmosphere. About four minutes of radio blackout followed as ionized gases created by the heat of reentry surrounded the spacecraft. As Apollo 12 came out of the blackout, the prime recovery ship U.S.S. Hornet established radar contact with the spacecraft at a distance of 119 miles. At about 24,000 feet, the spacecraft jettisoned its apex cover, then deployed its two drogue parachutes to slow and stabilize the capsule. At 10,000 feet, the three main orange and white parachutes deployed, with Conrad reporting, “Three gorgeous beautiful chutes.” Precisely 244 hours and 36 minutes after lifting off from Florida, Apollo 12 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean less than four miles from Hornet, bringing the second lunar landing mission to a successful conclusion.
Left: Apollo 12 astronauts Richard F. Gordon, left, Alan L. Bean, and Charles “Pete” Conrad aboard the recovery helicopter. Middle: Conrad, front, Gordon, and Bean walk from the helicopter to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF). Right: Admiral John S. McCain addresses the Apollo 12 astronauts in the MQF.
The capsule assumed the apex down Stable 2 position in the water, but in less than five minutes three self-inflating balloons righted the spacecraft into the Stable 1 upright orientation. Five minutes later, a helicopter dropped the first three recovery team swimmers into the water, tasked with securing a flotation collar and rafts to the spacecraft. Decontamination officer Ernest “Ernie” L. Jahncke next dropped into the water and once the crew opened the hatch, he handed them fresh flight suits and respirators. A few minutes later, the crew reopened the hatch, and first Conrad, then Gordon, and finally Bean climbed aboard a life raft where Jahncke used a disinfectant solution to decontaminate the astronauts and the spacecraft. The recovery helicopter lowered a Billy Pugh net to haul the astronauts up from the raft, first Gordon, then Bean, and finally Conrad. Aboard the helicopter, NASA flight surgeon Dr. Clarence A. Jernigan gave each astronaut a brief physical examination during the short flight back to Hornet, declaring all three healthy.
After it landed on Hornet’s deck, sailors lowered the helicopter to the hangar deck, where Conrad, Gordon, and Bean, followed by Dr. Jernigan, walked the few steps to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) where NASA engineer Brock R. “Randy” Stone awaited them. He sealed the door of the MQF exactly one hour after splashdown. The five men spent the next five days together in the MQF until they arrived at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at MSC. The astronauts took congratulatory phone calls from President Richard M. Nixon, who field-promoted all three from U.S. Navy Commanders to Captains, and from NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine. After the astronauts talked briefly with their families, Commander-in-Chief of Pacific Naval Forces Admiral John S. McCain formally welcomed them back to Earth, followed by brief speeches by Rear Admiral Donald C. Davis, Commander of Recovery Forces, and Capt. Carl J. Seiberlich, Hornet’s skipper.
Left: Apollo 12 Command Module Yankee Clipper in the water with U.S.S. Hornet approaching as a rescue helicopter circles. Middle: Recovery team members lift Yankee Clipper out of the water. Right: Sailors haul Yankee Clipper aboard the Hornet.
Within an hour after the astronauts arrived on board Hornet, the recovery team hauled Yankee Clipper out of the water and towed it below to the hangar deck next to the MQF. As Hornet set sail for Pearl Harbor, arriving there four days later, workers attached a hermetically sealed plastic tunnel between the MQF and Yankee Clipper, allowing Stone to leave the MQF and open the hatch to the capsule without breaking the biological barrier. He retrieved the two rock boxes containing the lunar samples, the bags containing the Surveyor parts, film cassettes, and mission logs from the capsule. He brought them to the MQF where he sealed them in plastic bags and transferred them to the outside through a transfer lock that included a decontamination wash.
Outside the MQF, NASA engineers placed these items into transport containers and loaded them aboard two separate aircraft. The first aircraft carrying one rock box and a second package containing film departed Hornet within nine hours of the recovery, flying to Pago Pago, American Samoa. From there the two containers were placed aboard a cargo aircraft and flown directly to Ellington Air Force Base (AFB) near MSC in Houston, arriving there late in the afternoon of Nov. 25. A second aircraft departed Hornet 14 hours after the first and included the second rock box, additional film as well as the astronaut medical samples. It flew to Pago Pago where workers transferred the containers to another cargo plane that flew them to Houston. Less than 48 hours after splashdown, scientists in the LRL were examining the lunar samples and processing the film.
Left: Technicians carry the first box of Apollo 12 lunar samples from the cargo plane after its arrival at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston. Middle: Technicians log in the first set of Apollo 12 lunar samples and film at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory’s (LRL) loading dock. Right: A technician weighs the first Apollo 12 Sample Return Container in the LRL.
Left: Technicians place the first Apollo 12 Sample Return Container (SRC) inside a glovebox at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory. Middle: The first Apollo 12 SRC inside a glovebox. Right: Scientists get the first glimpse of the Moon rocks inside the first SRC.
Left: Apollo 12 astronauts Richard F. Gordon, second from left, Alan L. Bean and Charles “Pete” Conrad prepare their mission report inside the MQF. Middle: Workers at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu offload the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) from Hornet with the Apollo 12 crew inside. Right: Workers at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston offload the MQF with the astronauts inside.
Meanwhile, in the Pacific Ocean, Hornet sailed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, with the astronauts inside the MQF to maintain the strict back-contamination protocols. They also celebrated Thanksgiving on Nov. 27. Dr. Jernigan conducted regular medical examinations of the astronauts, who showed no ill effects from their ten-day spaceflight or any signs of infection by any lunar microorganisms. The crew members availed themselves of one amenity aboard the MQF that was a novelty at the time – a microwave oven for meal preparation.
On Nov. 28, Hornet arrived at Pearl Harbor. Workers lifted the MQF with the astronauts inside onto a flat-bed trailer. After a brief welcoming ceremony including traditional Hawaiian flower leis, ukulele music, and hula dancers, they drove the MQF to nearby Hickam AFB, where Air Force personnel loaded it onto a cargo aircraft. After an eight-hour flight, the aircraft arrived at Ellington on the morning of Nov. 29, where the MQF was offloaded in front of a waiting crowd of well-wishers including MSC Director Robert R. Gilruth and Apollo 11 astronaut Neil A. Armstrong. The astronauts’ wives and children were on hand to welcome them home to Houston. Workers placed the MQF on a flat-bed truck and drove it to the LRL. Less than two hours after landing in Houston the astronauts arrived inside the Crew Reception Area (CRA) where they spent the next 11 days. During their time in quarantine, they completed many of the postflight debriefs and examined the lunar rocks as well as the parts of Surveyor 3 such as its camera that they returned from the Ocean of Storms.
Left: Robert R. Gilruth, director of the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, welcomes the Apollo 12 astronauts home. Middle: The Apollo 12 astronauts’ wives Barbara Gordon, left, Jane Conrad, and Sue Bean and their children welcome their husbands home. Right: Apollo 11 astronaut Neil A. Armstrong greets the Apollo 12 crew upon their return to Ellington.
Left: Workers drive the Apollo 12 astronauts inside the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) from Ellington Air Force Base to the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC), now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Middle: The MQF approaches MSC. Right: The MQF docked the MSC’s Building 37, the Lunar Receiving Laboratory.
Left: Charles “Pete” Conrad examines some of the Moon rocks he and Alan L. Bean returned from the Moon. Middle: Conrad and Richard F. Gordon place the rocks samples back in the collection bags. Right: Conrad examines the camera from Surveyor 3 that he and Bean returned from the Moon.
Left: The Apollo 12 Command Module Yankee Clipper arrives at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Middle: Yankee Clipper temporarily parked outside the LRL before workers roll it inside. Right: In the LRL, Richard F. Gordon writes on Yankee Clipper that served as his home for 10 days.
After the astronauts departed Hornet in Pearl Harbor, workers lifted Yankee Clipper from the carrier’s flight deck to the dock and drove it to Hickam AFB where technicians safed the vehicle by draining its toxic fuels. To preserve back-contamination protocols, Yankee Clipper’s hatch remained sealed. On Dec. 1, workers loaded Yankee Clipper onto a cargo aircraft at Hickam AFB. It arrived at Ellington AFB the next day and workers trucked it to the LRL, then towed it inside the spacecraft room of the CRA. The Apollo 12 astronauts signed their names on the capsule below the same words they held up during their inflight news conference – “Yankee Clipper Sailed with Intrepid to The Ocean of Storms, Moon, November 14, 1969.”
Left: The Apollo 12 Command Module Yankee Clipper on display at the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton. Middle: A technician examines the Surveyor 3 camera returned by Apollo 12. Right: The Surveyor 3 camera on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Visitors to the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton can view the Apollo 12 CM Yankee Clipper on display. Surveyor’s camera is on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Apollo 13
Left: Apollo 13 astronaut James A. Lovell preparing to test his spacesuit in a vacuum chamber in the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Middle: Workers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare the Apollo 13 Command and Service Module. Right: Lovell during the geology field trip to Kilbourne Hills, New Mexico.
The next Moon landing mission, Apollo 13, planned to launch on March 12, 1970, and visit the Fra Mauro highlands region of the Moon. With the mission’s increased emphasis on science, geology training for the Apollo 13 prime crew of Commander James A. Lovell, CMP Thomas K. “Ken” Mattingly, and LMP Fred W. Haise, and their backups John W. Young, Jack L. Swigert, and Charles M. Duke, took on greater importance. Lovell, Haise, Young, and Duke, accompanied by several geologists, traveled to Kilbourne Hole, New Mexico, for a one-day geology field trip on Nov. 11. The area’s volcanic origins served as appropriate training for their planned landing site, then believed to be a result of volcanic activity. The astronauts practiced deploying their ALSEP set of instruments, including during suited tests in a vacuum chamber in MSC’s Space Environment Simulation Laboratory. At KSC, workers in the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building (MSOB) continued preparing both the CSM and the LM for Apollo 13 prior to stacking with the Saturn V rocket in December.
Apollo 14
Left: The Apollo 14 Command and Service Modules arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for preflight processing. Middle: The Apollo 14 Lunar Module (LM) descent stage arrives at KSC. Right: The Apollo 14 LM ascent stage arrives at KSC.
Spacecraft components for Apollo 14, then planned for launch around July 1970, arrived at KSC in November 1969. The CM and SM arrived on Nov. 19 and workers in the MSOB mated the two components five days later. The two stages of the LM arrived in the MSOB on Nov. 24.
With special thanks to Robert B. Fish for his expertise on U.S.S. Hornet recovery operations.
To be continued …
News from around the world in November 1969:
November 10 – Sesame Street premieres on PBS.
November 12 – Five Americans and one New Zealander became the first women to visit the South Pole.
November 15 – Wendy’s Hamburgers opens in Columbus, Ohio.
November 20 – Brazilian soccer star Pelé scores his 1,000th goal.
November 22 – Isolation of a single gene announced by scientists at Harvard University.
Explore More
12 min read 40 Years Ago: STS-51A – “The Ace Repo Company”
Article 6 days ago 1 min read Oral History with Jon A. McBride, 1943 – 2024
Article 7 days ago 9 min read 30 Years Ago: STS-66, the ATLAS-3 Mission to Study the Earth’s Atmosphere
Article 1 week ago View the full article
-
By NASA
Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth The Moon Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto & Dwarf Planets Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud 2 min read
Sols 4359-4361: The Perfect Road Trip Destination For Any Rover!
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image of its workspace, which includes several targets for investigation — “Buttress Tree,” “Forester Pass,” “Crater Mountain,” “Mahogany Creek,” and “Filly Lake.” Curiosity used its Left Navigation Camera on Nov. 8, 2024 — sol 4357, or Martian day 4.357, of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 00:06:17 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Earth planning date: Friday, Nov. 8, 2024
After the excitement of Wednesday’s plan, it was a relief to come in today to hear that the drive toward our exit from Gediz Vallis completed successfully and that we weren’t perched on any rocks or in any other precarious position. This made for a very smooth planning morning, which is always nice on a Friday after a long week.
But that isn’t to say that Curiosity will be taking it easy for the weekend. Smooth planning means we have lots of time to pack in as much science as we can fit. Today, this meant that the geology group (GEO) got to name eight new targets, and the environmental group (ENV) got to spend some extra time contemplating the atmosphere. Reading through the list of target names from GEO felt a bit like reading a travel guide — top rocks to visit when you’re exiting Gediz Vallis!
If you look to the front of your rover, what we refer to as the “workspace” (and which you can see part of in the image above), you’ll see an array of rocks. Take in the polygonal fractures of “Colosseum Mountain” and be amazed by the structures of “Tyndall Creek” and “Cascade Valley.” Get up close and personal with our contact science targets, “Mahogany Creek,” “Forester Pass,” and “Buttress Tree.” Our workspace has something for everyone, including the laser spectrometers in the family, who will find plenty to explore with “Filly Lake” and “Crater Mountain.” We have old favorites too, like the upper Gediz Vallis Ridge and the Texoli outcrop.
After a busy day sightseeing, why not kick back with ENV and take a deep breath? APXS and ChemCam have you covered, watching the changing atmospheric composition. Look up with Navcam and you may see clouds drifting by, or spend some time looking for dust devils in the distance. Want to check the weather before planning your road trip? Our weather station REMS works around the clock, and Mastcam and Navcam are both keeping an eye on how dusty the crater is.
All good vacations must come to an end, but know that when it’s time to drive away there will be many more thrilling sights to come!
Written by Alex Innanen, Atmospheric Scientist at York University
Share
Details
Last Updated Nov 11, 2024 Related Terms
Blogs Explore More
4 min read Sols 4357–4358: Turning West
Article
3 days ago
2 min read Mars 2020 Perseverance Joins NASA’s Here to Observe Program
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission has recently joined the NASA Here to Observe (H2O) program,…
Article
5 days ago
3 min read Sols 4355-4356: Weekend Success Brings Monday Best
Article
6 days ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…
All Mars Resources
Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…
Rover Basics
Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…
Mars Exploration: Science Goals
The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…
View the full article
-
By NASA
NASA/Matthew Dominick NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured this timelapse photo of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) International Space Station as it orbited 272 miles above the South Pacific Ocean southeast of New Zealand just before sunrise on Sept. 28, 2024. At the time, the comet was about 44 million miles away from Earth.
Though the comet is very old, it was just discovered in 2023, when it approached the inner solar system on its highly elliptical orbit for the first time in documented human history. Beginning in mid-October 2024, Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will become visible low in the west following sunset. If the comet’s tail is well-illuminated by sunlight, it could be visible to the unaided eye. Oct. 14-24 is the best time to observe, using binoculars or a small telescope.
The comet hails from the Oort Cloud, which scientists think is a giant spherical shell surrounding our solar system. It is like a big, thick-walled bubble made of icy pieces of space debris the sizes of mountains and sometimes larger. The Oort Cloud lies far beyond Pluto and the most distant edges of the Kuiper Belt and may contain billions, or even trillions, of objects.
Image Credit: NASA/Matthew Dominick
View the full article
-
By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is depicted receiving a laser signal from the Deep Space Optical Communications uplink ground station at JPL’s Table Mountain Facility in this artist’s concept. The DSOC experiment consists of an uplink and downlink station, plus a flight laser transceiver flying with Psyche.NASA/JPL-Caltech The Deep Space Optical Communications tech demo has completed several key milestones, culminating in sending a signal to Mars’ farthest distance from Earth.
NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration broke yet another record for laser communications this summer by sending a laser signal from Earth to NASA’s Psyche spacecraft about 290 million miles (460 million kilometers) away. That’s the same distance between our planet and Mars when the two planets are farthest apart.
Soon after reaching that milestone on July 29, the technology demonstration concluded the first phase of its operations since launching aboard Psyche on Oct. 13, 2023.
“The milestone is significant. Laser communication requires a very high level of precision, and before we launched with Psyche, we didn’t know how much performance degradation we would see at our farthest distances,” said Meera Srinivasan, the project’s operations lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Now the techniques we use to track and point have been verified, confirming that optical communications can be a robust and transformative way to explore the solar system.”
Managed by JPL, the Deep Space Optical Communications experiment consists of a flight laser transceiver and two ground stations. Caltech’s historic 200-inch (5-meter) aperture Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, acts as the downlink station to which the laser transceiver sends its data from deep space. The Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory at JPL’s Table Mountain facility near Wrightwood, California, acts as the uplink station, capable of transmitting 7 kilowatts of laser power to send data to the transceiver.
This visualization shows Psyche’s position on July 29 when the uplink station for NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications sent a laser signal about 290 million miles to the spacecraft. See an interactive version of the Psyche spacecraft in NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System.NASA/JPL-Caltech By transporting data at rates up to 100 times higher than radio frequencies, lasers can enable the transmission of complex scientific information as well as high-definition imagery and video, which are needed to support humanity’s next giant leap when astronauts travel to Mars and beyond.
As for the spacecraft, Psyche remains healthy and stable, using ion propulsion to accelerate toward a metal-rich asteroid in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Exceeding Goals
The technology demonstration’s data is sent to and from Psyche as bits encoded in near-infrared light, which has a higher frequency than radio waves. That higher frequency enables more data to be packed into a transmission, allowing far higher rates of data transfer.
Even when Psyche was about 33 million miles (53 million kilometers) away — comparable to Mars’ closest approach to Earth — the technology demonstration could transmit data at the system’s maximum rate of 267 megabits per second. That bit rate is similar to broadband internet download speeds. As the spacecraft travels farther away, the rate at which it can send and receive data is reduced, as expected.
On June 24, when Psyche was about 240 million miles (390 million kilometers) from Earth — more than 2½ times the distance between our planet and the Sun — the project achieved a sustained downlink data rate of 6.25 megabits per second, with a maximum rate of 8.3 megabits per second. While this rate is significantly lower than the experiment’s maximum, it is far higher than what a radio frequency communications system using comparable power can achieve over that distance.
This Is a Test
The goal of Deep Space Optical Communications is to demonstrate technology that can reliably transmit data at higher speeds than other space communication technologies like radio frequency systems. In seeking to achieve this goal, the project had an opportunity to test unique data sets like art and high-definition video along with engineering data from the Psyche spacecraft. For example, one downlink included digital versions of Arizona State University’s “Psyche Inspired” artwork, images of the team’s pets, and a 45-second ultra-high-definition video that spoofs television test patterns from the previous century and depicts scenes from Earth and space.
This 45-second ultra-high-definition video was streamed via laser from deep space by NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration on June 24, when the Psyche spacecraft was 240 million miles from Earth. NASA/JPL-Caltech The technology demonstration beamed the first ultra-high-definition video from space, featuring a cat named Taters, from the Psyche spacecraft to Earth on Dec. 11, 2023, from 19 million miles away. (Artwork, images, and videos were uploaded to Psyche and stored in its memory before launch.)
“A key goal for the system was to prove that the data-rate reduction was proportional to the inverse square of distance,” said Abi Biswas, the technology demonstration’s project technologist at JPL. “We met that goal and transferred huge quantities of test data to and from the Psyche spacecraft via laser.” Almost 11 terabits of data have been downlinked during the first phase of the demo.
The flight transceiver is powered down and will be powered back up on Nov. 4. That activity will prove that the flight hardware can operate for at least a year.
“We’ll power on the flight laser transceiver and do a short checkout of its functionality,” said Ken Andrews, project flight operations lead at JPL. “Once that’s achieved, we can look forward to operating the transceiver at its full design capabilities during our post-conjunction phase that starts later in the year.”
More About Deep Space Optical Communications
This demonstration is the latest in a series of optical communication experiments funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Technology Demonstration Missions Program managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the agency’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) program within the Space Operations Mission Directorate. Development of the flight laser transceiver is supported by MIT Lincoln Laboratory, L3 Harris, CACI, First Mode, and Controlled Dynamics Inc. Fibertek, Coherent, Caltech Optical Observatories, and Dotfast support the ground systems. Some of the technology was developed through NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program.
For more information about the laser communications demo, visit:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/dsoc
NASA’s Optical Comms Demo Transmits Data Over 140 Million Miles The NASA Cat Video Explained 5 Things to Know About NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications News Media Contacts
Ian J. O’Neill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-2649
ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov
2024-130
Share
Details
Last Updated Oct 03, 2024 Related Terms
Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) Jet Propulsion Laboratory Psyche Mission Space Communications & Navigation Program Space Operations Mission Directorate Space Technology Mission Directorate Tech Demo Missions Explore More
3 min read How NASA Astronauts Vote from Space Aboard International Space Station
Article 23 mins ago 2 min read The Science of the Perfect Cup for Coffee
Material research is behind the design of a temperature-regulating mug
Article 6 days ago 1 min read Let It Go: (After Latching) Challenge
Article 1 week ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics
Missions
Humans in Space
Climate Change
Solar System
View the full article
-
By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Research into phase-change material (PCM) options for NASA helped one of the researchers find the ideal material to use in a mug that maintains the ideal temperature of a hot beverage for hours. ThermAvant International now offers mugs and tumblers.Credit: ThermAvant International LLC Dr. Hongbin Ma was tired of drinking coffee that had gone cold. Fortunately, Ma, the CEO of ThermAvant Technologies LLC in Columbia, Missouri, was working on a NASA-funded study of phase-change materials, which are used to hold a steady temperature. Materials absorb or release more heat as they transition from solid to liquid or vice versa than they do before or after this phase change.
NASA has long used phase-changing materials to manage temperature extremes in space. The Apollo lunar rover, International Space Station, Orion capsule, and headlights on the newest spacesuit design all utilize phase-change material. As part of his NASA-funded research, Ma tested and recommended a phase-change material that could be used in a spacesuit-cooling system, a modified version of those used in spacecraft.
A phase-change material needs to transition at the desired temperature, but it also needs to be safe. Paraffin wax and refrigerants are effective but are toxic to humans, which would make a leak hazardous. Ma’s team ultimately recommended a bio-based option for spacesuits.
Bio-based waxes also proved to be the perfect solution for maintaining optimal temperature for coffee. In this case, it was a beeswax-like soy substance. Ma’s company, ThermAvant Technologies, took the opportunity to infuse the bio-based waxes into a product on Earth.
A phase-change heat exchanger like this one uses uses a PCM that will help maintain a comfortable temperature in the Orion spacecraft. NASA-funded research into spacesuit material alternatives helped ThermAvant International LLC develop the Burnout thermal mug for coffee. Credit: NASA Released in 2018, the Burnout Mug is vacuum insulated with the wax called HeatZorb, sealed between the inner and outer shells. The wax is formulated to maintain the ideal temperature for hot drinks over time. As soon as hot liquid goes in, the wax absorbs excess heat and melts, resulting in a drinkable temperature in just a few moments. As the coffee starts to cool, that stored heat is released back into it.
The company is developing other uses for the same technology to meet unique needs in the medical field. Two in development are a small insulin container and a donor organ transportation box – both of which rely on specific, controlled temperatures. From hot beverages to life-saving medical equipment, NASA’s research continues to drive innovation across industries.
Read More Share
Details
Last Updated Sep 27, 2024 Related Terms
Spinoffs Technology Transfer Technology Transfer & Spinoffs Explore More
3 min read Measuring Moon Dust to Fight Air Pollution
Article 1 week ago 2 min read Printed Engines Propel the Next Industrial Revolution
Efforts to 3D print engines produce significant savings in rocketry and beyond
Article 2 weeks ago 2 min read Tech Today: Flipping NASA Tech and Sticking the Landing
NASA tech adds gecko grip to phone accessory
Article 2 months ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics
Technology Transfer & Spinoffs
Humans in Space
Orion Spacecraft
Spacesuits
View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.