This is an artist concept of the Apollo spacecraft in lunar orbit. Two of the three astronauts are shown transferring from the Command/Service Module to the Lunar Module. The Command/Service Module will remain in lunar orbit while the Lunar Module is on the surface.
Routine 24-hour flights to the Moon could employ detachable crew modules atop nuclear thermal transfer vehicles.
By transferring the module from one propulsion element to the next, the passengers could complete their trip to the lunar surface without ever leaving the module.
This image was produced for NASA by Pat Rawlings and Bill Gleason.
• Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) launch is set for June 17, 2009
• The primary objective of LRO is to conduct investigations preparing for future exploration of the moon. Specifically LRO will scout for safe and compelling lunar landing sites, locate potential resources with special attention to the possibility of water ice, and characterize the effects of prolonged exposure to the lunar radiation environment. In addition to its exploration mission, LRO will also return rich scientific data that will help us to better understand the moon’s topography and composition.
• The instrument payload of LRO consists of seven scientific instruments from partner institutions around the nation and globe, including one instrument contributed by the Institute for Space Research in Moscow. These instruments will return lunar imagery, topography, temperatures, and more.
• Launching along with LRO is the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), a partner mission that will search for water ice on the moon by sending a SUV-sized rocket stage into the permanent shadows of a polar crater. LCROSS will fly into the plume of dust left by the impact and take measurements of its properties before also colliding with the lunar surface.
• In response to LRO’s “Send Your Name to the Moon” web site, the spacecraft carries a microchip with nearly 1.6 million names that were submitted by the public.
FACT: On the Apollo J-missions the Lunar Module engine nozzle only had 30 centimeters of clearance from the ground.
This graphic details the sequence of major events during the flight of Apollo 11 to the Moon and back to Earth, July 16-24, 1969. The journey begins with launch of the Saturn V from Earth (shown on the left). The trip to the Moon and the landing are depicted on the trajectory at the bottom of the graphic. Lift off from the Moon and the journey back to Earth are depicted on the trajectory at the top of the graphic.
(Above) Pushed by three 25,000-pound thrust nuclear thermal rocket engines, a NASA First Lunar Outpost piloted lander atop a 10-meter-diameter stage leaves Earth orbit for the Moon. This nuclear stage is the advanced technology base for eventual reusable lunar transfer vehicles and subsequent human voyages to Mars. This artwork was done for NASA by Pat Rawlings.
First Lunar Outpost was a NASA plan to return to the Moon after the collapse of the 1989 Space Exploration Initiative.
Earth’s Moon, just 3 days away, is a good place to test hardware and operations for a human mission to Mars. A simulated mission, including the landing of an adapted Mars excursion vehicle, could test many relevant Mars systems and technologies.
Artwork by Pat Rawlings.
This line drawing illustrates a cutaway view of the Apollo 14 Command/Service Modules, showing the engineering changes in the CSM which were recommended by the Apollo 13 Review Board.
The major changes to the Apollo 14 CSM include adding a third cryogenic oxygen tank installed in an empty bay (in Sector one) of the Service Module (SM), addition of the auxiliary battery in the SM as a backup in case of fuel cell failure, and removal of destratification fans in the cryogenic oxygen tanks and removal of thermostat switches from the oxygen tank heater circuits. Also a provision for stowage of an emergency five gallon supply of drinking water was added to the Command Module (CM).
This artist’s concept depicts mankind’s first walk on another celestial body. Here, Astronaut Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander, is making his first step onto the surface of the moon. In the background is the Earth, some 240,000 miles away.
