Discussion
Watched a programme on Discovery last night which was about moon landings.
Does anyone know exactly how NASA got the Lunar Rover to the moon when it appears to be almost as big as the Lunar Module.
Always intrigued me as I have never seen a photograph of the Rover attached to the Lunar Module.
Just asking in case anyone thinks I am doubting that the yanks ever landed on the moon......
Suggested that once. Big mistake!!!!
Does anyone know exactly how NASA got the Lunar Rover to the moon when it appears to be almost as big as the Lunar Module.
Always intrigued me as I have never seen a photograph of the Rover attached to the Lunar Module.
Just asking in case anyone thinks I am doubting that the yanks ever landed on the moon......
Suggested that once. Big mistake!!!!
It was "flat packed" to the side of the descent stage of the Lunar Module.
By simply pulling on wire and hinges, the whole assembly folded out and the wheels sprung into position. Seats, equipment and storage boxes etc were simply "plugged" into their locations on the floor plan and hey presto, a working moon car.
The key to how all this could be done was the fact that everything used on the moon can be made much more flimsily and lighter than it would need to be made for earth use. A genuine Lunar Rover would have collapsed if they tried to drive it on earth.
The astronauts practised using "beefed up" versions on earth.
The recent images taken by the LRO moon probe clearly show the Lunar Rovers of Apollo 15, 16 and 17 parked exactly where they were left by the astronauts.
By simply pulling on wire and hinges, the whole assembly folded out and the wheels sprung into position. Seats, equipment and storage boxes etc were simply "plugged" into their locations on the floor plan and hey presto, a working moon car.
The key to how all this could be done was the fact that everything used on the moon can be made much more flimsily and lighter than it would need to be made for earth use. A genuine Lunar Rover would have collapsed if they tried to drive it on earth.
The astronauts practised using "beefed up" versions on earth.
The recent images taken by the LRO moon probe clearly show the Lunar Rovers of Apollo 15, 16 and 17 parked exactly where they were left by the astronauts.
Eric Mc said:
Back in 1971, ITN (who covered the Apollo missions for ITV) had a working replica built for their TV presentations.
I wonder where it ended up?
Here's a shot of a the Apollo 16 astronauts checking the unfurling process at Cape Kennedy (as it was)
I have never seen that before. That looks great. Answered my question.I wonder where it ended up?
Here's a shot of a the Apollo 16 astronauts checking the unfurling process at Cape Kennedy (as it was)
fatboy69 said:
Eric Mc said:
Back in 1971, ITN (who covered the Apollo missions for ITV) had a working replica built for their TV presentations.
I wonder where it ended up?
Here's a shot of a the Apollo 16 astronauts checking the unfurling process at Cape Kennedy (as it was)
I have never seen that before. That looks great. Answered my question.I wonder where it ended up?
Here's a shot of a the Apollo 16 astronauts checking the unfurling process at Cape Kennedy (as it was)
Even though I mentioned that the photo was taken at the Cape, it COULD have been taken at Grumman's Bethpage facility in New York during installation testing. I think one of the figures in the photo is Charlie Duke. It's hard to tell with them dressed up in their "White Room" clobber.
I love everything about Apollo. It was a bright shining moment in American history, a time when what would normally be the technology of warfare was harnessed for a peaceful purpose - although the motivation was getting one over on a potential enemy.
I love everything about Apollo. It was a bright shining moment in American history, a time when what would normally be the technology of warfare was harnessed for a peaceful purpose - although the motivation was getting one over on a potential enemy.
RobDickinson said:
Eric Mc said:
I wonder what CGI could have done in 1971?
2001 space odyssey was released in 1968...And, despite the fact that it was state of the art in its depiction of space (for its time), it's depiction of the moon was full of errors.
Anyone trying to fake a real lunar mission using "2001" era special effects would have been rumbled within days - if not hours - of the images being released.
But I don't want to discuss this really. I much prefer talking about the real technology, the real bravery of the astronauts, and the real ingenuity of those who solved the myriad of technical problems that needed to be overcome in a very short space of time.
Eric Mc said:
Even though I mentioned that the photo was taken at the Cape, it COULD have been taken at Grumman's Bethpage facility in New York during installation testing. I think one of the figures in the photo is Charlie Duke. It's hard to tell with them dressed up in their "White Room" clobber.
I love everything about Apollo. It was a bright shining moment in American history, a time when what would normally be the technology of warfare was harnessed for a peaceful purpose - although the motivation was getting one over on a potential enemy.
A rather interesting link here, spot the star wars referenceI love everything about Apollo. It was a bright shining moment in American history, a time when what would normally be the technology of warfare was harnessed for a peaceful purpose - although the motivation was getting one over on a potential enemy.
http://www.ehartwell.com/LM//index.htm
Eric Mc said:
By simply pulling on wire and hinges, the whole assembly folded out and the wheels sprung into position. Seats, equipment and storage boxes etc were simply "plugged" into their locations on the floor plan and hey presto, a working moon car.
I like that. These days they'd get lots of big computers, a team of 100 people and take 10x as long to arrive at a solution 1,000x more expensive that doesn't work as well. In the Apollo days it seems all it took was one genius with a pencil and an old envelope...Gassing Station | Science! | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff