Apollo 11 News Special

8/6/2019 Apollo 11 News Special

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F E A T U R E

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N A T I O N A L A E R O N A U T I C S A N D S P A C E A D M I N IS T R A T I O NC ) 3-6926W dshingto.nr D . C . 20546E A S '

WO 3-6928

F O R R E L E A S E : IMMEDIATEJuly 3, 1969

SPECIAL

NOTE TO EDITORS:

This is one of four packages of^special features

detailing the activities of Apollo 11.



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FEATUREN A T I O N A L A E R O N A U T I C S A N D S P A C E A D M I N I S T R A T I O NO 3-6926

Washington, D . C . 20546E L L . W O 3 - 6 92 8


SPECIAL

MOON TOOLS

When Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin,

Jr., mention MESA as they go about their chores during man's

first visit to the Moon's surface they will not be talking

about a table-like selenological formation.

They will be refer.-ring to a pallet located on their

lunar-landing spacecraft T his Modularized Equipment Stow-

age Assembly (MESA) is located to the left of the ladder on

which the Moon-exploring astronauts descend to the s urface.

On the MESA will be carried fresh batteries and

lithium hydroxide canisters for their life-support back-packs,

a television camera which will transmit live p ictures from the^r

5

Moon to Earth, tools for gathering samples of the Moon and

containers for returning these samples to Earth°

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Appropriately enough, the MESA also contains a folding

table on which the sample containers are placed for loading

by the astronauts.

The tools include a hammer which will be used to drive

a core-sampling tool into the lunar surface and scoop and tongs,

each with an extension handle, for collecting soil and rock

samples.

An equipment transfer bag, which looks like a laundry

bag, also will be on the MESA to offer a handy place for the

astronauts to place tools while they are not being used. The

bag hangs on the edge of the table portion of the MESA.

The sample containers look like a fisherman's tackle

box. They have seals to preserve the vacuum in which the

samples are collected. One container will carry about 20 pounds

of a bulk sample,..lunar material scooped into.a large bag.

The second box will contain the15 or so

small bags of docu-

mented lunar.samples-and the core sample. Material in the

second box will weigh about 30 pounds.

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FEATURE

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N A M N A I A E R O N A U T I C S A N D S P A C E A D M I N I S T R A T IO N 'O 3 -6 9 2 6W ashington, D. C . 20546E C S • W O 3 -6 92 8


SPECIAL

APOLLO 11 ASTR ONAU TS A RE ALL EXPERIENCED

Three veteran astronauts, all experienced at the

critical maneuvers of rendezvous and docking two vehicles

in space, will fly Apollo 11 in America's attempt to land

men on the Moon.

A ll are also former jet test pilots, with a total

of nearly 12,000 manhours flying time.

Spacecraft Commander Neil A. Armstrong, scheduled to be

the first Earth man to set foot on another celestial body.,

commanded Gemini 8 when it made history' s first space dock-

ing in March 1966, joining nose-to- nose with an unmanned

A gena target vehicle

When an electrical short circuit caused a thruster

to malfunction, A rmstrong and his crewmate, David Scott,

demonstrated exceptional piloting skill in overcoming t}ioproblem and bringing their spacecraft to a safe emer—gency

splashdown.

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Lunar Module Pilot Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., who will

descend to the Moon's surface with Armstrong, set a record

of 5 1/2 hours of extravehicular activity (EVA) as pilot--No.

2 man--of Gemini 12 in November 1966.

While outside the spacecraft, he attached a tether to

the Agena, retrieved a micrometeorite detector, and evaluated

the use of special body restraits as aids to working in weight-

lessness.

That 94 1/2-hour flight, with James Lovell as Commander,

included rendezvous and docking with a previously launched

Agena, using backup onboard computations for the first time

because of a radar failure.

Command Module Pilot for Apollo 11, Michael Collins,

who will-remain-in Lunar orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin

descend to the surface and return, was pilot of Gemini 10 in

performing complex rendezvous and docking maneuvers in July

1 9 6 6 .

Collins and Command Pilot John Young docked with

a separately launched Agena and, using its engine, maneuvered

into another orbit for rendezvous with a second, passive Agena.

Also using the Agena engine, they propelled the docked space,

craft to an altitude of 475 miles, then a record.

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In two periods of EVA, Collins worked a total of 92

minutes outside the spacecraft at tasks that included retrieving

a micrometeorite experiment from the passive Agena.

Armstrong, 38-year-old civilian, was born in WaP a-

koneta, Ohio, and graduated in aeronautical engineering; from

Purdue University. He was a naval aviato r in the Korean war

and flew 78 combat missions.

As a NASA aeronautical research pilot before becoming

an astronaut, he flew the X-15 rocket plane to 200,000 feet

and 4,000 miles an hour. He also flight-tested other rocket

and jet planes and the unpowered paraglider.

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Armstrong married Janet Shearon, of Evan: )n, Ill.,

and has two sons, 12 and 6. His hobbies incli. ,, soaring, for

which he holds an expert's gold badges.

Collins, also 38, was born in Rome, Italy. After

receivinga bachelor of science degree from the U.S. Military

Academy, he j oined the Air Force--in which he is now a lieutenant colonel--and served as an experimental flight test-joficer'

Married to the former Patricia Finnegan, of Boston,he has two daughters, 10 and 7, and a son of 6. For fun he

goes-fishing and plays handball

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Aldrin, 39, was born in Montclair, N.J. Iie hau a

bachelor of s cience degree from the U.S. Military Academy

and a doctorate in science from the Mas sachusetts Institute

of Technology, where his thesis was on guidance for manned

orbital rendezvous.

Now an Air Force colonel, he flew 66 combat missions

in Korea and later taught aerial gunnery, served at the

Air Force Academy, flew jet fighters in Germany, and moved

into Air Force spaceflight assignments before becoming a

NASA astronaut,

Aldrin married Joan Archer, of Ho- Ho-Kus, N.J.; they

have two sons, 13 and 11, and a daughter of 12.e likes tou

.., in nd scuba dive.

The Apollo 11 crew is closely matched physically as

well as in age and flight experience:rmstrong and Collinsare both 5_feet 11 inches; Aldrin, 5 - 10.nd each weighs165 pounds.

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PF E A T U R E

N A T I O N A L A E R O N A U T I C S A N D S P A C E A D M I N I S T R A T IO NO 3-6926Washington, D. C . 20546E L S . W O 3 -6 9 28


S P E C I A L

M O O N S U I TS

wear a bulky

make walking and

t hazards unknown

i.t's c alled,

amounts'to a one-man spacecraft. It provides an atmosphere

for breathing and pressurization, a communications link, and

protection against heat, cold, meteoroid particles, and solar

radiation.

America's first men on the Moon will

snowsuit-like garment and a backpack that

working difficult but protect them agains

on Earth.

The Extravehicular Mobility Unit ., as

The complete 183-pound outfit will weigh the

equivalent of only 30 1/2 pounds- in the Loon's reduced

gravity. But inthe lunar vacuum the suit 'tends to retain

its fullest shape, like a ballon, and resist bending at the

joints

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The basic pressure garment consists of a nomex comfort

layer ., a neoprene-coated nylon pressure bladder ,, and a nylon

restraint layer. This is topped by a thermal-meteoroid cover

consisting of a liner of two layers of neoprene-coated nylon,

seven layers of Beta/Kapton laminate, and an outer layer

of Teflon-coated Beta fabric.

The cover is designed to protect against temperatures

from 250 degrees above to 250 degrees below zero Fahrenheit

and micrometeorites traveling at speeds up to 64,000 miles an

hour.

Over a soft communications helmet the astronauts wear

a transparent bubble helmet and an extravehicular visor to

shield their eyes from the Sun's ultraviolet, infrared, and

visible light. Insulated gloves and 33-layer lunar overshoes

protect their hands and feet.

Under the suit is a cooling garment of knitted nylon

spandex with a network of plastic tubing through which water

is circulated from a 70-pound backpack called the Portable

Life Support System.

The backpack also supplies oxygen for up to - P our hours,

plus a 30-minute emergency supply, and contains communications

and biotelemetry equipment and batteries.

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F E A T U R E

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N A T I O N A L A E R O N A U i IC S A N D SPACE ADMIN ISTRATIONO 3-6926Washington, D. C . 20546E L . WO 3_69?p

F O R R E L E A S E : IMMEDIATE

July9, 1969

SPECIAL

NOTE TO EDITORS:

This is the second of four packages of ppecial features

detailing the activities of Apollo 11.

-end-/9/69



F E A T U R EN A T I O N A L A E R O N A U T I C S A N D S P A C E A D M I N I S T R A T I O NO 3-6926

Washington, D. C. 20546ELS . WO3-6928

F O R R E L E A S E ' IMMEDIATEJuly 9, 1969

SPECIAL

SPLASHDOWN PROCEDURES

When the Apollo 11 astronauts land in the Pacific Ocean

following the first manned landing on the Moon they may at fir st

glance think they have landed on the wrong planet.

First person to greet them will be a Navy swimmer decked out

in astrange looking biological isolation garment (BIG)heswimmer will pass three more of the strange costumes into the Apollo

spacecraft ' for donning by the astronauts

The garments are designed to prevent any alien organisms that

the. astronauts- may have .picked up on the Moon. Although the chanced

of this happening are considered remote, all precautions are beingtaken in line with recommendations of an inter -agency committee

which has approved NASA plans and procedures to prevent contamination.pmore



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The isolation garments are made of a lightweight cloth fabric

which completely covers the wearer. Built into a hood is a face

mask with a plastic visor, air inlet flapper valve and air outlet

biological filter. The swimmer's suit is designed to prevent

the inhaling of potentially contaminated air and the astronaut's

suit filters the exhaled air of the flight crew.

Tests have shown that the astronauts can put on their suits

in less than five minutes inside the spacecraft in good sea

conditions.

The biological garments were developed by the Crew Systems

Division at NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center. Manned testing was

done in various test chambers and at sea under recovery conditions.

The garments are made by the B. Wilson Co., Hartford, Conn.,

under a contract with the Manned Spacecraft Center. Of the 100

garments ordered, three were used as qualification test articles

at the Army Biological Laboratories, Ft. Dietrck, Md., where they

were certified for biological containment.

After putting on the garments, the crew will leave the

Apollo spacecraft and step into a raft containing a liquid decon-

taminating solution. The solution also will be-applied to the suits

in the raft

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F E A T U R EN A T I O N A L A E R O N A U T I C S A N D S P A C E A D M I N I S T R A T I O NO 3-6926

Wasfiington, D. C. 20546ELS . WO 3-6928


SPECIAL

VISUAL APOLLO 11 SIGHTINGS POSSIBLE

Earth-bound observers may have two opportunities to see the

Apollo 11 space vehicle during the first 12 hours of itsflight

to the Moon.

11he first opportunity isfor observers in the South Pacific

(wily when the S-TVL thivd ,tage engine firesa second t i r r i e t o

inject the ;spacecraft on a path tothe Moon.

This will occur midway through the second revolution in Earth

parking orbit over the Gilbert Islands at 2 hours 44 minutes 1$

seconds after lift-off. The engine's exhaust plume should be

easily visible to the eye over a large part of the sky and will

be between 3 and 20 degrees long. Visibility should last for

several minutes for observers between the Gilbert and the Phoenix

Islands,



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1 1 " l i p ; tijnc*: cif' local. vi.sibili ,y for this second pha:,; , and i.ho

telescope pointing coordinates, are given below. Without tlr.i

data, it will be impossible to find the spacecraft. This data

applies only if the luanch is at the scheduled time, 9:32 a.m.

EDT July 16, and the mission proceeds as planned. They will be

incorrect if the mission is off nominal. The following chart gives

the pointing; data for telescopes. Observers should use the data

for the nearest city.



Gr eenwich Mean bight

City Time :ascension t)eclination

Hrs. Min. ncgrocs

N e w Y o r k s 1 2 0 10 h 3 1m 1 5s 8.6710

0h 33m 35s 8.41

Washington, D.C. 1 3 0 10h 31m 50s 3.68

2 10 10h 34m 50s 8.34

Jacksonville 1 1 0 10h 29m 27s 9.312 2 0 10h 34m 32s 8.65

Miami 1 00 10h 28m 08s 9 . 6 6

2 10 10h 33m 19 s 8.95

Lou i st.s 2 20 lOh 35m 40^

3 0 0 10 h 3 8 m 1 7s f;.0

Chicago 2 2 0 10h 36 m 02s 8.20

2 50 10h 38m 02s 7 . 9 7

Ho u s t o n 2 10 10 h 3 4 m lls 8.873 20 10h 38m 3 3 s 8. 28

Denver 3 2 0 10 h 3 9 m , 51 s 7.9;24 00 10h 42m 06 s 7 . 6 4

Phoenix 3 3 0 10h 39m 55s 8.14

4 30 10h 43m 05s 7 . 7 1

LosAngeles 4 0 0 10 h 4 1 m 4 4 s _ ; 7.925 00 10h 44m 46s 7.5_?.

Sari Francisco 4 3 0 10 h 4 3 m 4 2 s 7.605 2 0 10h 46 m 09s 7.29

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Greenwich. Mean RightC ity Time Ascension Declination

zirs . Min. 1)cSrees

Santiago 22 40 10 h 16in 1ls 15.45

00 30 10 h 26m 04.s 13.28Buenos Aires 21 50 10 h 08m 3 8 s 16.69

23 30 10 h 19m 57s 14.28

Rio de Janeiro, 21 10 9 h 58m 18s 16.9022 40 10 h llm 4 1s 14.44

Lima 23 40 10 h 20m 3 9 s 13.061 30 10 h 29m 16 s 11.36

Mexico City 2 00 10 h 32m 5 8 s 9.513 30 10 h 38m 2 0 s 8 .68

Panama Citv 0 20 10 h 23m 5 5 s 11.141 50 10 h 30m 43s 10.02



F E A T U R ENATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACS 1 ► r,MINISTQATION

TE LS .WO 3-6926

W ashington, D. C. 20546O 3-6928


July 9 1 969

SPECIAL

APOLL O 1 M E N U

The Apollo 11 astronauts will carry some 70 items of food

for regular meals and snacks as they leave Earth for their

historic Moon-landing voyage.

For the first time in the United States manned. space flight

program spacemen will have a selection of four different classes



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Another innovation for the Apollo 11 is the "snack pantry"

which will be carried to complement the regular menu of balanced

meals. Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and

Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., will be able to make pantry-raiding forays

without having to break into the regular food packs.

Among the snacks aboard will be cheddar cheese spread,

various salad spreads, bread, hot dogs, puddings, beverages including -

coffee (black, with sugar, or with sugar and cream). The items

were selected by the individual crew members according to their own

tastes.

The regular balanced meals also were selected individually

by the astronauts. A typical dinner includes beef and potatoes,

butterscotch pudding, brownies and grape punch.

The freeze -dried rehydratable foods are prepared for eating

by inserting water into the plastic bag containers, kneading

the bag to mix the ingredients for about three minute sand then

squeezing the food into the mouth through a tube at the tope of the

bag. Either hot or cold water may b e added while the crewmen are

in the Apollo command module but only cold water is available for

`Armstrong and Aldrin while they are 'in the lunar module.

The wet pack food is similar to the tv dinners on sale at

grocery stores. No addition of water is necessary and these foods

are eaten with a spoon. Since the spacecraft does not have an oven

or refrigerator, these foods are eaten at room temperature

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IThe spoon-bowl foods are similar to the wet pack food except

that they are contained in plastic bags like the rehydratable

food. No water is added and the ci-ewman can squeeze it into his

mouth through a tube or open the bag and eat with a spoot-).

In addition to the food item-O ., the Apollo 11 crew also w.Lll

have chewing gum ., wet cleaning towels ., tooth brushes and edible

toothpaste, dental floss and three stainless steel spoons in their

food kits.

Their bread supply consists of rye and white.



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Snack Pantry.

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Beaches

Fruit Cocktail

Canadian Bacon anti . pple atic e

&icon Squares ()

Sausage Patties*

Sugar Coated Corn Flakes

Strawberry Cube:

Cinn. Tstd. Bread Cubes (4)

Apricot Cereal Cubes (4)

Peanut Gabes (4)

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Snack PantrY

DRIED^~TC7w

Apricots ^ j1

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naalad ( 5 oz.) l 1Chicken! Salad (5oz.) 1

Cheddar C.e se (2oz. 3

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LM-5 Food

M E A L a.acon svexes (8)

Peaches

&i aar Cookie Curb s (6)

Coffee

F`iincappIc:-Ovapefruit drink

M E A L R.3 f , e , fte ll

C 2"ffamof Chicken Scup

Date filet Cnke (fit)

Grape Punch

Orange Drink

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Extraflt!verege 8

Dried f-ruit 4

Candy Bar 4Bread 2Fasn salad ap ead ( tube food) 1

Turkey v id Gravy 2

$poolm 2

-end-



F E A T U R EN A T I O N A L A E R O N A U T I C S A N D S P A C E A D M I N I S T R A T I O N TELS . WO 3-6926

W ashington, D. C. 20546O 3-6928

F O R R E L E A S E : IMMED IA T EJuly 10, 1969

SPECIAL

MOON WATCH SET

A world-wide watch has been set up for unusual

events on the Moon's surfeac through the course of the

Apollo 11 flight and lunar landing next month. More than

200 astronomers on Earth will be scanning for unusual and

unexplained activity.

The watch for.

"traslent lunar phenomena" is being

coordinated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory,

Cambridge, Mass., under a contract with the National Aero-

nautics and' Space Administration.

Throughout the eight-day flight, the Center will

send reports of unusual events to NASA'.s Mission Control

Center, Houston, for careful study and possible verification.

by the astronauts.similar watch was held on the Apollo 8

and 10 circumlunar flie ts,- although no phenomena were re-

ported.

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Observers have reported strange events on the Moon

for several hundred years, although nothing has been verified.

Most often reported were flashing lights, spots of color

and gaseous clouds -- activities which could indicate the

presence of energy in a Moon that is otherwide believed to

be "dead."

The Smithsonian, through its Center for Short-Lived

Natural Events, will involve more than 200 amateur and pro-

fessional astronomers in the informal network. They will be

linked together through the Observatory's-world,-wide com-

munication system.



F E A T U R E

SPECIAL

N A T I O N A L A E R O N A U T I C S A N D S P A C E A D M I N IS T R A T I O NT E LS . WO 3

-6926Washington,; D . C . 20546O 3 -6 9 2 8

T O R R E L E A S E : IMMEDIATEJuly 10, 1969

LUNAR SURFACE EXPERIMENTS

Besides taking pictures and gathering samples of

lunar soil and rocks, the first Americans on the Moon

will set out three instruments to collectother scien-

tific information.

The first to be deployed is asheet of aluminum

foil that will be unrolled like a window shade and hung

from apole, facing the Sun, to entrap particles of gases

inthe solar wind.efore leaving, Spacecraft Commander

Neil Armstrong will simply roll it up again to bring 'back

for laboratory analysis of bits of matter embedded in the

foil.

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The other two inst:Lument s--which will be left

behind- -are called EASEP, for Early Apollo Scientific

Experiments Payload. One is a Moonquake detector, called

the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP). The other,

called the Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector Experiment-(LRRR),

is an array of small mirrors that will reflect b eams Of

light projected from Earth.

The Passive Seismic E xperiment Package is basically

a set of suspended weights thattend to remain immobile as

the package itself, a vertical cylind er on a cylinder on

a square base, moves with motions of the Moon.

Relative motion between the weight s and the rest of

the package generates, an electric charge proportional to

the amount and frequency of-the.motion.he-readings are

transmitted to Earth by radio.

The unit includes fold-out solar panels that will

power the experiment during the lunar_ day and isotope heaters

to help it survive the cold (-280.) lunar night for upto a year.he heaters are fueled with a small amount ofplutonium 238, which emits a very low level o f radiation.r

They are shielded so th at no stray radioactitity- can escape'

to the lunar environment,

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Measurements of the Moon's earthquake-like vibrations

will indicate its structure and internal physical properties,

shifts of the lunar crust, and meteoroid impacts.

Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., the Lunar Module Pilot,

will begin deploying the PSEP by opening a door on the out-

side of the LM-and pulling a lanyard. This extends a boom

and allows the PSEP to be drawn from the scientific equip-

ment bay and lowered to the lunar surface

Aldrin then picks up the package, which weighs only

a sixth of its 100 Earth pounds, and walks about 30 feet

from the LM. He sets the PSEP on the lunar surface.-walks

around it, and pulls out a deployment handle. Using the handle

'to steady himself, he removes a series of retainer-pins and

lanyards.

He then grasps the carrying handle and, rotating the

unit, aligns it by.observing the.shadow-cast by an indicator

o n ' t o p . -hen he is satisfied with the alignment, he pulls..

a lanyard attached to the deployment handle, and the spring-

loaded solar panels pivot to their deployed position.inally, s ^

Aldrin will adjust the antenna for best transmission to Earth

from the particular landing site.- µs

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Total deployment time: about six minutes.

The Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector is a wholly passive

experiment, having no electronics and no connection with

the seismic experiment. It consists of 100 cylindrical,

cavities each containing a fused silica retro-reflecting

prism shaped like the inside of a hollow cube sliced in

half.

Such corner reflectors, each formed by three flat

surfaces at right angles to one another, have the unique

property that light shining into the corner is bounced

sequentially off each of the three faces of the corner and

thus reflected straight back to its source.

Narrow laser beams projected from Earth thus will beF

reflected back to the same station, and the time they take

to go to the Moon and return will provide a measure of the

distance to within about six inches as compared to about

.five feet by present methods.y sending beams from two ormorearth stations to one reflector on the Moon -observers

can also calculate accurately the distance between the stations.

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Observations from a number of stations over several

years are expected to reveal previously unmeasurable varia-

tions in the orbits and rotation of the Earth and Moon, pro -

viding new understanding of the nature of gravity and of the

internal structure of the Moon.

They will also permit precise studies of the wobbling

of the Earth on its axis, producing information that may

allow scientists to predict.earthquakes.

Precise measurements of the distances between points

on the Earth may also provide a check on the theory of con -

tinental drift: the theory that Africa, South America, mid

Antartica were once a single continent that have drifted

apart and area still slowly moving away from one another.

To deploy the reflector array, which weighs about

65 Earth (or 11 lunar) pounds, Spacecraft Commander Armstrong

will remove the unit from the scientific equipment bay of the

LM by using a boom and lanyard as in removing the seismic-

experiment. He carries it about 30 feet from the LM and sets

It on the lunar surface about 10 feet from the seismic exper io tilt andturn.the unit, he then

aligns the reflector toward Earth.

The job takes about four minutes.

i

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tr

F E A T U R EN A T I O N A L A E R O N A U T I C S A N D S P A C E A D M I N I S T R A T IO NO 3-6926

Washington, D. C 20546ELS WO 3-6928


July 10, 1969

SPECIAL

QUARANTINED ASTRONAUTS

Home for Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong,

Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins for the first 65 hours

after they have returned to Earth from the Moon will be

a modified 35-foot long converted house trailer called the

Mobile Quarantine Facility.

The facility, called MQF for short, is made of heat-



-2-

Bunks ., chairs, tables, toilet facilities, sink and

kitchen equipment are designed to offer the most comfortable

living accommodations as well as to facilitate medical and

debriefing activities.

The Moon explorers will enter the MQF aboard thc^

recovery ship, the USSHornet,about 90minutes after they

have landed in the Pacific Ocean and remain until they

arrive at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Space-

craft Center near Houston nearly three days later.

Power systems in the mobile facility are designed to

operate while it is being transported on the recovery ,;hip,

a C-141 aircraft which will carry it from Hawaii to 4.11ington

Air Force Base near Houston, and a truck which will carry it

from Ellington to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory.

The Mobile Quarantine Facility is airtight and thepressure inside will be slightly less than that outside to

insure that any gas flow will be inward so that the quarantine

of the crew will be assured. Wastes will be stored in container.-)

until after the quarantine period of 21 days beginning with

the a.scent from the Moon': ,, ,, urfacc.

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Items to be passed into or out of the facility

will go through a submersible transfer lock. Specially

packaged and controlled meals will be passed in where: they

will be prepared in a microwave oven.

A complete communications system is provided for inter-

com and external communications to land bases from ,;Ijpor

aircraft.

The Mobile Quarantine Facility weighs about 12,00

pounds and is mounted on a pallet.

The facility, one of four units including a training

model, were built under contract with Melpar, Inc., Falls

Church, Va. Fabrication of the units was done by Air-:;cream,



qw



F E A T U R E

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N A T I O N A L A E R O N A U T I C S A N D S P A C E ; A D M I N IS T R A T I O NQ 3.,6026W ashington, D. C. 20 546ELS . W (`. )

3-6928


SPECIAL



FEATURE

* I t

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONO 3-6926W ashington, D. C. 20546ELS< W O 3-6928

F O R R E L E A S E : I M M E D I A T E

July 11, 1969

SPECIAL

LUNAR MODULE DECISION

Delays in perfecting t he Lunar Module may act ually have

speeded the landing of U .S. Ast ronauts on t he Moon

How it happened was t old recently by George Low, Manager

of the Apollo Spacecraft Program, and Chris Kraft, Director of

Flight Operations, at NASA 's Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston,.in recounting t he story behind t he Apollo 8 flight around the

Moon by Frank Borman and his crewmates last Christ mastime.ow: "T he Lunar Module, like every first ship of a kind,

was taking longer to get t hrough checkout at t he Cape t han we

had planned for.

"But we were in a position where we could get a good{flight t est off on the Saturn V to make sure that it really

would function as it should; and more than that, to perform the

design mission of the Command and Service Module to fly to the

Moon, " go intolunar 'orbit, and come back again much earlier

than we would have,otherwise have done it.

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"I was pretty sure of the spacecraft and its hardware

and felt we could do it from that point of view; the real

question was: Was Chris ready with his operational people

and did he have the trajectories and programs for his com-

puters and all the other things that needed to be done?

"Chris, taking his usual positive attitude, said: Yes,

let's do it.

"Understand, the lunar orbit portion is a great deal more

difficult than a circumlunar flight, because all the systems

have to work one more time and work without fail.

Kraft: "This was ahead of the schedule that we had in-

tended to build some of the software necessary to do the job

in the control center. We had to develop all the procedures,

all the mathematics. At the same time, Lunar Orbiter had

shown us that the determination of orbits around the Moon was

not going to be a very easy problem.

"It was on that basis that I insisted we attempt anyway

to do the lunar orbit aspects of the Apollo 8 flight. It would

give us an early lead, not only in our ability to get into

orbit around th e Moon, to get to the right place at the right

pericynthion at the back- side of the Moon, but also to get s om e x _

experience with the orbits with which we were going to fly

the landing missions."

-end-

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F E A T U R ENATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONO 3-6926

Washington, D. C. 20546ELS . WO 3-6928


SPECIAL

LUNAR EXPLORATION AFTER THE FIRST LANDING

From.statement of George E. Mueller ., Associate

Administrator for Manned Space Flight, before the Committee

on Aeronautical and Space Sciences, United States Senate,

April 29, 1969.

Because of the uncertainty regarding the number

of developmental flights required before the handing, the

planning and development of the Apollo capability has

included acquisition of a sufficient quantity of hardware

items and operatt-nnal facilities to achieve the program's

initial objective with a reasonable allowance for poscsible

contingencies

Early accomplishment of the Apollo objective would

make available Apollohardware for continued utilization

and development of this nation's capabilities in manned

space flight.4

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Our plans for Saturn V launch vehicles which remain

after the initial lunar landing are to use them for contin-

uing lunar exploration, which includes a number of manned

landings, the emplacement of experiment packages on the

surface of the Moon, and other activities to increase not

only our operational capabilities in space but also to in-

crease our store of scientific data.

The current Apollo schedule provides for five .flights

in 1969, the last three of which are being configured to

carry out a lunar landing. Assuming a successful manned

lunar landing and return on the Apollo 11 mission in the

summor. of 1969, we plan to reduce the number of Apollo launches

in fiscal year 1970 from five to three.nce the nationalgoal has been achieved, the lunar exploration phase will be

conducted at a rate of approximately three launches per year.

We have developed 'a lunar exploration program with

planned landings,at ten sites, four of which lie essentially`

in the zones of the intital Apollo lunar landing candidate

sites.he first landings, if the launch is on schedule this . . #

summer, will be in an Eastern Mare region and the second in

another Mare of different characteristics in the weste-rn region.

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The third flight will be directed to a highland,

flat region characterized by the Fra Mauro formation. The

fourth landing; will be the first attempt to land in the cr.atered

highlands near the Crater Censorius.

The fifth landing mission is planned for the Littrow

area which is characterized by dark volcanic material.

The next visit will be to the impacted Crater Tycho

which isthe site of the Surveyor VII landing.

This will be followed by a landing mission in the

Marius Hills, area with its many volcanic domes.

The eighth landing is planned for Schroter's Valley

with ti'le purpose of looking for and examining possible

transient events and to learn more about the red. flares which

have been seen in the area.

Hyginus Rille will be the site of the ninth landing

mission where we will be looking for volcanic craters in the

Linear Rille to determine whether or not its origin is vol-

canic.

The Crater Copernicus is the site where we will be

looking for deep seated material which will have come from

deep below the surface by the explosive force which Formed the.

xcrater. el l

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Initial steps required to provide a greater capability

in the basic Apollo system for lunar exploration involve:

Space Suit

Astronaut mobility is a key element in eff ective

manned lunar surface exploration.

Studies have indicated that astronaut mobility can

be gained by the adoption of a constant volume suit.histype suit reduces the amount of energy expended in movement

by improvements to joint design, incorporating rotary bearings,

rolling convolutes and convolutes and constant volume bellows.

This suit requires simpler f abrication techniques than current

models and offers opportunities for improved quality contr o l - .

Also, the constant volume suit does not involve an entirel y

new development eff ort in that it uses a considerabe amount

of existing Apollo technology - materials, thermal meteoroidt:

garment layup, extravehicular visor assembly, helmets and con-

nectors for lif e support system.

Portable Life Support System (PLSS)

As the constraints imposed by the space suit are

relaxed it will also be necessary to provide improvement

to the current Portable Life Support System to permit a

longer life support capability while the astronaut; .I..ut -

:id*e tha Lunar Module.ome gain in this direction can beprovided by incorporating an additional battery and water`

tank, Y-more-

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Extended Lunar Module Staytime

Tho current staytime capability of the Lunar Module

is approximately 36 hours, with the initial rrii;sions planned

forless than 24 hours. Within either of these periods, there

is a fixed period of time required for a checkout of Lunar

Module systems just after touchdown and again before lift-off.

These checkout periods will remain essentially constant regard-

less of overall duration of the surface mission. Therefore,

additional staytime can be devoted to lunar exploration.

Modifications to increase staytime will include adding water

and oxygen tanks, batteries, crew provisions, enlarging the

descent propellant tank and providing a greater measure of

habitability.

Command and Service Module Modifications and Instruments

A variety of scientific instruments has been studied

over the past few years, with a view to providing an orbital

soientific capability for the Command and Service Module.heseinstruments include camaras and other remote sensors which will

permit detailed-geologic and geochemical study of the inter-

r . _-7-71ationships of surface features on the Moon and allow some

'cientific extrapolation of the data returned from samples and

other surface measurements.he installation of science instru-ments and the overall increase in mission duration imposed

by extended surface staytime would require some modifications

to the basic Command and Service Module.

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Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package ( A L S E P )

The Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package is the

basic geophysical tool for lunar exploration. It is designed

to measure the internal structure of the Moon, determine the

heat flow from the interior of the Moon and monitor the solar

wind and radiation environment. To get an accurate picture

of the internal structure of the Moon, it will be necessary

to emplace ALSEPstations in networks. Improved ALSEPSwill

allow continuation of a seismic network on the Moon and permit

measurement over an extended period of time of such lunar

activities as heat flow ,, solar wind and charged particles.

Advanced Lunar Supporting Systems

To expand further our lunar exploration capability,

we are continuing sl.--uaies of more extensive supporting systems.

Beyond improved suit mobility, there will be a need for

versatile mobility aids which will permit the astronauts to

visit areas of difficult access but high scientific interest.

Alunar flying unit would provide not only greater range to

travel over the lunar surface, but also a vertical mobility

for exploration of crater walls and steep terrain.

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Another mobility aid under active study 1:3 the

roving vehicle which would make possible more far ranging

automated traverses over the lunar surface and increase the

capability for gathering lunar samples. To further increase

staytime for the astronauts to accomplish complex investIga-

tions on the lunar surface, studies are being pursued on the

concept of landing shelters and logistics support at the site

by an automated lander.

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-end-

Apollo 11 News Special

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