While the first Moon landing might be seen as the culmination of the eight years that followed President Kennedy’s bold challenge, Apollo 11 was really just a beginning. Apollo 11’s success led to five more lunar missions, each with their own challenges, successes and unique stories. But all told, the Apollo program is just the first chapter in a story that—hopefully—will go on for quite some time: the story of how humans left home on a great adventure to explore the universe.
A close-up view of an astronaut’s bootprint in the lunar soil, photographed during the Apollo 11 EVA on the Moon. Credit: NASA.
EPILOGUE
APOLLO 12–17
Astronaut Alan Bean holds a Special Environmental Sample Container filled with lunar soil collected during the extravehicular activity (EVA) where Bean and Conrad walked on the lunar surface for nearly four hours. Conrad, who took this picture, is reflected in Bean’s helmet visor. Credit: NASA.
APOLLO 12
Apollo 12 launched successfully from Kennedy Space Center on November 14, 1969, with the crew of Pete Conrad, Alan Bean and Dick Gordon. But the launch wasn’t without a little drama. Thirty-six-and-a-half seconds after lift-off, the rocket was struck by lightning. Sixteen seconds later, a second bolt of lightning rattled the vehicle, taking out much of the spacecraft’s electrical system. Quick thinking by flight controller John Aaron in Mission Control had Bean flipping a re-set switch, and Apollo 12 continued on its way into orbit, and a full recovery meant the mission could continue to the Moon.
Since Apollo 11 had landed so far from its original target, the crew of Apollo 12 wanted to prove they could do a pinpoint landing. The LM Intrepid came down 600 feet (183 m) from the 1967 Surveyor 3 spacecraft, and the crew brought back Surveyor’s camera. Conrad and Bean collected lunar rocks and deployed the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package, or ALSEP, to gather seismic, scientific and engineering data. The three astronauts safely returned home, splashing down on November 24, 1969.
The three astronauts for the second lunar landing mission, Apollo 12, left to right, are Charles (Pete) Conrad Jr., Richard F. Gordon Jr. and Alan L. Bean. Credit: NASA.
The huge, 363-foot (111-m) tall Apollo 12 Saturn V launched from Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center on November 14, 1969. Credit: NASA.
This unusual photograph, taken during the second Apollo 12 moonwalk, shows two US spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. The Apollo 12 Lunar Module (LM) is in the background. The unmanned Surveyor 3 spacecraft is in the foreground. The television camera and several other pieces were taken from Surveyor 3 and brought back to Earth for scientific examination. Here, Conrad examines the Surveyor‘s TV camera prior to detaching it. Credit: NASA.
APOLLO 13
Apollo 13 was supposed to be NASA’s third mission to land on the Moon. But during the third day of the trip to the Moon for astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert—when the crew was nearly 200,000 miles from Earth—an oxygen tank in the Service Module blew up. And so began the most perilous but eventually triumphant situation ever encountered in human spaceflight.
The crew “powered down” the crippled Command Module, and moved into the Lunar Module, normally designed to be used only for landing on the Moon. The LM now served as a “lifeboat” for the crew, providing systems for power, propulsion and life support.
Engineers in the MER and other mission support rooms were instrumental in figuring out work-arounds (such as fitting the square CM lithium hydroxide canisters in the round hole of the LM’s system to remove carbon dioxide from the air inside the spacecraft) and computing the exact burns needed to get the spacecraft on the correct trajectory back to Earth. Despite the odds, the crew returned safely to Earth, initially thinking they had failed. But instead, the mission has become the prime example of NASA’s ingenuity and their ability to solve problems on the fly.
A group of flight controllers gather around the console of Glynn Lunney (seated, center) along with several NASA/MSC officials during Apollo 13. Credit: NASA.
Astronaut Jim Lovell pictured at his position in the Lunar Module (LM) during the flight of Apollo 13. Credit: NASA.
Interior view of the Apollo 13 Lunar Module (LM) during the trouble-plagued journey back to Earth. This photograph shows some of the temporary hose connections and apparatus which were necessary when the three astronauts moved from the Command Module to use the LM as a “lifeboat.” Astronaut John (Jack) Swigert Jr., Command Module pilot, is on the right. The astronauts needed to improvise to use the Command Module lithium hydroxide canisters to purge carbon dioxide from the LM. Credit: NASA.
This view of the severely damaged Apollo 13 Service Module (SM) was photographed from the Command Module following SM jettison. An entire panel on the SM was blown away by the explosion of an oxygen tank. Credit: NASA.
APOLLO 14
Apollo 14 launched on January 31, 1971, just a four-month slip in the schedule after dealing with the issues encountered during Apollo 13. Commander Alan Shepard and Lunar Module Pilot Ed Mitchell landed at the Fra Mauro region, while Command Module pilot Stuart Roosa remained in orbit. The astronauts used the Modularized Equipment Transporter (MET), a small cart, to haul equipment during their two EVAs. They collected samples, took photographs and went on an extended geological traverse to nearby Cone crater. While scientists were excited for the geological findings of the mission, the public’s foremost recollection seems to be Shepard hitting two golf balls on the Moon, near the end of the second moonwalk. The crew returned to Earth on February 9, 1971.
The prime crew of the Apollo 14 lunar landing mission. Left to right are Edgar D. Mitchell, Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Stuart A. Roosa. The Apollo 14 emblem is in the background. Credit: NASA.
A front view of the Apollo 14 Lunar Module (LM), which reflects a circular flare caused by the brilliant sun, as seen by the two Moon-exploring astronauts (out of frame) of the Apollo 14 mission during their first EVA. In the left background is Cone Crater. In the left foreground are the erectable S-Band antenna and the US flag. Credit: NASA.
Astronaut Alan Shepard stands beside a large boulder on the lunar surface during the mission’s second moonwalk on February 6, 1971. Note the lunar dust clinging to Shepard’s space suit. Credit: NASA.
The Apollo 14 Lunar Module (LM) ascent stage lifts off the lunar surface and the powerful LM engine causes a brief force of wind, which scatters some of the gold-colored foil that covers the LM and also disturbs the US flag. This picture was taken from a camera mounted inside the LM. Credit: NASA.
APOLLO 15
Apollo 15 launched on July 26, 1971, with the crew of Dave Scott, commander; Al Worden, Command Module pilot; and Jim Irwin, Lunar Module pilot. This mission saw the first use of the “moon buggy”—the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) which astronauts used to explore the geology of their landing site, the Hadley Rille/Apennine region. The LRV allowed the Apollo 15 crew to venture a total of about 18 miles (29 km) during their three moonwalks, driving at speeds as high as 10 m.p.h. Scott and Irwin collected samples from the low dark plains, the Apennine highlands and the area along Hadley Rille, a long, narrow winding valley. After leaving the lunar surface and docking with the CM, flight surgeons noticed some irregularities in Irwin’s heartbeat, delaying the jettison of the LM and other activities, but Irwin’s heartbeat returned to normal, allowing the mission to proceed. Worden conducted a 33-minute stand-up EVA on the return trip to Earth, to collect film canisters from outside the CM, and the crew of Apollo 15 splashed down on August 7, 1971.
The crew of Apollo 15, left to right, David R. Scott, Alfred M. Worden and James B. Irwin. The crew is posed behind the subsatellite that they later deployed from lunar orbit. Credit: NASA.
Dave Scott is seated in the LRV during the first Apollo 15 moonwalk. This photograph was taken by Jim Irwin. Credit: NASA.
Astronaut Jim Irwin gives a military salute while standing beside the deployed US flag on the lunar surface at the Hadley-Apennine landing site during the mission’s second EVA. The LM Fal
con is in the center. On the right is the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). Hadley Delta in the background rises approximately 13,124 feet (4 km) above the plain. The base of the mountain is approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) away. This photograph was taken by astronaut Dave Scott. Credit: NASA.
The LM Falcon is seen against the barren lunarscape during the third Apollo 15 EVA. The object next to the US flag is the Solar Wind Composition (SWC) experiment. Note bootprints and tracks of the LRV. The light spherical object at the top is a reflection in the lens of the camera. Credit: NASA.
APOLLO 16
The Apollo 16 crew of John Young, commander; Ken Mattingly, CM pilot; and Charlie Duke, LM pilot, launched on April 16, 1972. This was the second of three science-oriented missions for the Apollo program, with the primary objective of investigating the Descartes highlands area on the Moon, considered to be representative of much of the Moon’s surface. During the first EVA, the crew deployed a nuclear-powered, automatic scientific station called Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP), and the second and third EVAs were devoted to geological exploration and sample gathering using the LRV. The crew conducted a total of 20 hours and 14 minutes of lunar surface activities and collected over 700 individual pieces of lunar rocks and soil. Young and Duke traveled over 16 miles (26 km) in the LRV, staying on the lunar surface for 71 hours. The crew concluded their mission on April 27, 1972.
The launch of Apollo 16 on April 16, 1972. While astronauts Young and Duke descended in the LM Orion to explore the Descartes highlands region of the Moon, astronaut Mattingly remained with the CSM Casper in lunar orbit. Credit: NASA.
A partial view of the Apollo 16 Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) in deployed configuration on the lunar surface. The Passive Seismic Experiment (PSE) is in the foreground center; Central Station (C/S) is in center background, with the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) to the left. One of the anchor flags for the Active Seismic Experiment (ASE) is at right. Credit: NASA.
Charlie Duke collecting lunar samples at Station No. 1, during the first Apollo 16 EVA. Duke is standing at the rim of Plum crater. The parked LRV is in the background, left. Credit: NASA.
The LM Orion and the LRV as seen during the first Apollo 16 EVA. The lunar surface feature in the left background is Stone Mountain. Credit: NASA.
Gene Cernan walks toward the LRV during the moonwalk at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. The photograph was taken by Harrison Schmitt. Credit: NASA.
APOLLO 17
Apollo 17 was the final mission to land on the Moon and included the only trained geologist to walk on the lunar surface, Lunar Module pilot Harrison Schmitt. He was joined by Gene Cernan, commander, and Ron Evans, CM pilot. They launched just before midnight of December 7, 1972, the only night launch of the Apollo program.
Apollo 17 astronauts traveled the greatest distance (21 miles [34 km]) on their lunar EVAs with the LRV and returned the largest amount of rock and soil samples (238 pounds [108 kg]) from their landing site, a lunar valley called Taurus-Littrow. Apollo 17’s astronauts spent a record 22 hours performing EVAs, and Cernan and Schmitt performed the first “car repair” (with duct tape) on the Moon after a fender broke on the LRV. The astronauts deployed several scientific instruments and used a traverse gravimeter, an instrument they carried along on the Rover, measuring the relative gravity at several locations, providing information about the lunar substructure. Before Cernan climbed aboard the LM Challenger for the last time, he gave a short speech, that “America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return: with peace and hope for all mankind.”
The crew splashed down on December 19, 1972, in the South Pacific Ocean, and Cernan still holds the distinction of being the last person to walk on the Moon.
The crew of Apollo 17, the last lunar landing mission: Eugene A. Cernan (seated), commander; Ronald E. Evans (standing on right), Command Module pilot; and Harrison H. Schmitt, Lunar Module pilot. They are photographed with an LRV training vehicle. Credit: NASA.
Harrison Schmitt working beside a huge boulder during the third Apollo 17 EVA. Credit: NASA.
Wearing special germ-free clothing, Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, right, inspects lunar samples collected during the Apollo 17 mission, NASA’s final Apollo flight. Credit: NASA.
ACRONYM REFERENCE GUIDE
ABMA (Army Ballistic Missile Agency)
AEG (analytic ephemeris generator)
BIG (Biological Isolation Garment)
BME (Bench Maintenance Equipment; name of computer)
CM (command module)
CRT (cathode ray tube)
CSM (command and service module)
DSKY (display and keyboard)
EMCC (Emergency Mission Control Center)
EOR (Earth-Orbit Rendezvous)
EVA (extravehicular activity)
FDAI (flight director attitude indicator)
GATV (Gemini-Agena Target Vehicle)
GNC (guidance, navigation and control)
GSPO (Ground Systems Project Office)
GSSC (Ground Support Simulation Computer)
ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile)
IU (Instrument Unit)
JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
LCG (lunar module guidance computer)
LLTV (lunar landing training vehicle)
LM (lunar module)
LOC (Launch Operations Complex)
LOR (Lunar Orbit Rendezvous)
LRL (Lunar Receiving Laboratory)
MCC (Mercury Control Center)
MER (mission evaluation room)
MESA (modularized equipment stowage assembly)
MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
MOC (Mission Operations Computer)
MSC (Manned Spacecraft Center)
MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center)
NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics)
OAMS (Orbital Attitude Maneuvering System)
PARD (Pilotless Aircraft Research Division)
RCS (reaction control system)
RTCC (Real Time Computer Complex)
SESL (Space Environment Simulation Laboratory)
SM (service module)
SSR (staff support room)
USB (Unified S-Band system; another name for Block III
Receiver Exciter and Mark I ranging system)
VAB (Vertical Assembly Building)
SOURCES FOR
EIGHT YEARS TO THE MOON
PERSONAL INTERVIEWS
Alexander, James David (Rendezvous Analysis Branch engineer)
Bell, Jerry (Rendezvous Analysis Branch engineer)
Chaffee, Norman (NASA Propulsion and Power Systems engineer)
Cools, John (engineer and analyst for the RTCC, JSC)
Covington, Phillip (biologist, Lunar Receiving Laboratory)
Dieterich, Chuck (reentry officer in Mission Control)
Dinn, Michael (deputy director of Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station)
Ecord, Glenn (Structures and Materials, JSC)
Goodwin, Kenneth (JSC/MIT systems engineer)
Griffin, Gerald (Apollo flight director)
Heflin, Milton (NASA Landing and Recovery Division)
Honeycutt, Jay (Mission Simulation Branch, Flight Control Division)
Hughes, Frank (lead test engineer for the Apollo command and Lunar Module simulators)
Jenkins, Lonnie (Propulsion and Power Division)
Johnson, Gary (electrical systems and safety/quality assurance)
Keyser, Larry (Apollo assistant flight director)
Koos, Dick (Mission Simulation Branch, Flight Control Division)
Kosmo, Joseph (spacesuit engineer)
Kyle, Earle (aerospace engineer, Honeywell)
Lee, Dorothy M. and Laurie VanArsdale (daughters of Dorothy B. [Dottie] Lee, thermal protection systems for Apollo)
Lunney, Glynn (Apollo flight director
)
Manley, Richard (test engineer, North American Aviation)
McBarron II, James (manager for Apollo Space Development, Manufacturing and Operations Support)
McLane, James, Jr. (2009 interview; Engineering and Development Directorate, JSC)
Miller, Harold (Mission Simulation Branch, Flight Control Division)
Moore, David (chemist, Lunar Receiving Laboratory, JSC)
Moser, Tom (director of engineering, thermal protection systems for Apollo)
Painter, John (NASA engineer, communications systems)
Panter, William (engineer, JSC)
Parker, Tim (spacesuit designer and engineer, DuPont Systems)
Pohl, Henry (director of Engineering, JSC)
Shelley, Carl (Mission Simulation Branch, Flight Control Division)
St. Clair, Douglas (engineer in quality control, Raytheon)
Tuohy, Seamus (director of Draper)
Tylko, John (chief innovation officer, vice president of innovation and director, Aurora Flight Sciences)
Vaughan, Chester (Propulsion and Power Systems)
Widnall, William (engineer at MIT Instrumentation Lab)
Wood, William (systems engineer, Bendix/AlliedSignal, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Goddard Space Flight Center)
Eight Years to the Moon Page 33