That's one small step for man… The Moon has always fascinated humans, and thoughts on how to get there occupied minds for hundreds of years. During the space race, setting foot on the Moon was the ultimate goal and the Apollo missions to the Moon are amongst the most successful and well-remembered manned space flights that NASA ever accomplished. In Project Apollo Norman Ferguson reveals fascinating facts and figures, and recounts amazing stories about the astronauts and their spacecraft, and how they made the giant leap for mankind.
That's one small step for man… The Moon has always fascinated humans, and thoughts on how to get there occupied minds for hundreds of years. During the space race, setting foot on the Moon was the ultimate goal and the Apollo missions to the Moon are amongst the most successful and well-remembered manned space flights that NASA ever accomplished. In Project Apollo Norman Ferguson reveals fascinating facts and figures, and recounts amazing stories about the astronauts and their spacecraft, and how they made the giant leap for mankind.
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Overview
That's one small step for man… The Moon has always fascinated humans, and thoughts on how to get there occupied minds for hundreds of years. During the space race, setting foot on the Moon was the ultimate goal and the Apollo missions to the Moon are amongst the most successful and well-remembered manned space flights that NASA ever accomplished. In Project Apollo Norman Ferguson reveals fascinating facts and figures, and recounts amazing stories about the astronauts and their spacecraft, and how they made the giant leap for mankind.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780750991759 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | The History Press |
| Publication date: | 05/21/2019 |
| Sold by: | INDEPENDENT PUB GROUP - EPUB - EBKS |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 192 |
| File size: | 5 MB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
THE MOON
Various theories been put forward on how the Moon was formed but the most commonly accepted is the Giant Impact Theory. Around 4.5 billion years ago a large Mars-sized body collided with Earth. Most material was drawn in by Earth's gravity but the rest was collected in a process known as accretion.
Structure
The Moon's structure is similar to Earth's in that it has an outer crust, a mantle and a core. The Moon's crust on the near side is around 43 miles (70km) thick, with the far side's double that.
Geological Features
The Moon certainly does not possess a smooth and polished surface, but one rough and uneven, and, just like the face of the Earth itself, is everywhere full of vast protuberances, deep chasms, and sinuosities.
Galileo, Siderius Nuncius (1610)
The terms to describe lunar features and the names of specific ones have been the subject of much discussion. Some names are officially recognised by the International Astronomical Union, founded in 1919, while others are unofficial.
Surface Composition
The Moon is covered with a layer of dust called the regolith, formed by meteorite impacts over millions of years. It can be up to 49ft (15m) deep. Amongst the rock types, igneous basalts make up most of the material found in the maria, and lighter toned anorthosites are found in the lunar highlands. Breccias were formed by rocks being fused together through meteoroid impacts.
Gardening
American scientist Harold Urey described how continual impacts erode and turn over the lunar surface as 'gardening'.
Water
Water's presence on the Moon was confirmed in 2009 when a Centaur booster was deliberately impacted in Cabeus crater and the ensuing ejecta analysed. The water, in ice form, is thought to be from a comet's impact.
Colour
Depending on different lighting conditions, astronauts observed variations in surface colour. Shades of yellow, brown, grey, white, tan and black were all seen.
Man in the Moon
There liveth none under the sunne, that knows what to make of the man in the Moone.
John Lyly, Endymion (1591)
For centuries some have seen the appearance of a human face in the lunar features:
Right eye: Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains)
Left eye: Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity) and Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility)
Nose: Mare Vaporum (Sea of Vapours) and Mare Insularum (Sea of Islands)
Mouth: Mare Nubium (Sea of Clouds) and Mare Cognitum (Sea That Has Become Known)
Other figures believed to be visible in the Moon include: a rabbit, a hare, a man carrying sticks (sent as punishment for collecting them on a Sabbath), a woman weaving a pot, a crab, a toad, a lion, a fox, Judas Iscariot, and a hunchback sitting under a tree.
Crater Names
There are many thousands of craters and their names have accumulated over centuries. They can be named after notable scientists or polar explorers, as long as they are deceased. However, others have been rewarded: the Apollo 11 crew had craters in the Sea of Tranquility named in their honour.
Fifty craters are:
Alan Alexander Aloha Amundsen Anderson Apollo Archimedes Babbage Beer Bliss Bunsen Byrd Cassini Chaucer Curie Cyrano Darwin Einstein Freud Geiger Goddard Grissom H G Wells Halley Hippocrates Hubble Huxley Ian Icarus Isabel Ivan Joy Marco Polo Marconi Mary Newton Norman Parkhurst Robert Schrödinger Shackleton Susan Tereshkova Titov Tycho Van de Graaff Verne von Braun Wallace Zhukovskiy
186 Miles
The largest crater is Bailly: its diameter is 186 miles (300km).
Impact Basins
The largest impact basin on the Moon's visible area is Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) with a diameter of 731 miles (1,160km). On the far side South Pole-Aitken Basin has a diameter of 1,550 miles (2,500km) and a depth of more than 5 miles (8km).
Zap Pits
Zap pits are small craters formed by micrometeorites.
Aristarchus
Aristarchus is the brightest crater. Although only 25 miles (40km) in diameter, it is easily seen with the naked eye due to its relative brightness in Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms).
Moonquakes
Unlike Earth, the Moon does not have tectonic plate movement. However, it is seismically active and moonquakes were detected by seismometers left behind by the Apollo missions.
Mascons
Spacecraft orbiting the Moon had variations in their orbits, put down to 'mascons', i.e. 'mass concentrations'. Mascons are believed to have been caused by large impacts bringing deeper and denser material closer to the surface. When it was thought mascons would lower Apollo 15's orbit to just 33,000ft (10km) above the lunar surface, corrective action was taken.
Magnetic
The Moon does not have a significant magnetic field but evidence it once did (around 3 billion years ago) was found in returned rocks. The lack of a north or south pole made navigation harder on the surface as compasses were inoperable.
Perigee and Apogee
The Moon's orbit around the Earth is not perfectly circular. Its furthest point is apogee and the nearest point of the oval-shaped orbit is perigee.
Distance from Earth Position
252,900 miles (407,004km) Apogee
221,800 miles (356,952km) Perigee
Orbits around the Moon use the terms apolune and perilune.
Super Moon
The term 'Super Moon' describes a full Moon seen at perigee. It appears 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than when seen at apogee. A full Moon at apogee is called a Micro Moon.
59 Per Cent
Due to 'tidal locking', the Moon always presents the same face to Earth. 59 per cent of its surface can be seen from Earth, due to 'libration' – the Moon's oscillation caused by its elliptical orbit.
The Dark Side
The Moon has no 'dark side' but as almost half is never seen from Earth the concept of a 'far' or 'dark' side arose. It was first observed when Luna 3 took photographs in 1959. The first humans to see it directly were the crew of Apollo 8.
Lunar Months
The two most commonly used periods of describing how long it takes for the Moon to orbit Earth are:
Sidereal
The lunar orbital period with respect to the stars is 27.32166 days (27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes, 12 seconds).
Synodic
The mean length of the synodic month, also known as a lunation, is 29.53059 days (29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 3 seconds) and is the period between one new Moon and the next. A synodic month is longer than the sidereal as the Earth itself has moved its position relative to the Sun and it takes a few days for the Moon to 'catch up' to regain its alignment with the Sun.
Metonic Cycle
The Metonic Cycle is a period of 19 years, or 235 lunations, after which the Moon returns to exactly the same place in the sky, and its phases begin again to take place on the same day of the year.
Blue Moon
A 'Blue Moon' is the second full Moon in a calendar month or the third full Moon in an astronomical season (using equinoxes and solstices rather than calendar months) that has four full Moons.
Tides
The Moon's gravitational pull causes the water on Earth to bulge, producing two tides a day. When the Sun, Moon and Earth line up, at new and full Moons, spring tides are the result – either higher than the normal high or lower than the normal low tides. They are so named not because of the season but from them 'springing out' and then back with increased strength. Neap tides, which occur when the Sun and Moon are at right angles to each other at quarter Moons, see high and low tides experience their smallest differences.
Land Tides
The Moon also affects land and Earth's crust is raised, up to 12in (30cm). The crust sits on top of molten rock and this allows movement, although it is imperceptible to anyone standing on the affected area at the time.
Eclipses
Solar Eclipse
Solar eclipses occur when the new Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth. It is a fortunate coincidence that the Moon and Sun seen from Earth are similar in apparent sizes: the Sun is 400 times bigger than the Moon but is 400 times farther away.
As the Moon begins to move away from totality (when no sunlight is seen), due to the rugged nature of the Moon's topography the Sun's light begins to appear in small areas first, causing a phenomenon called 'Baily's Beads' after the astronomer who described them in 1836. The final 'bead' is known as the Diamond Ring.
The last total solar eclipse to be seen in the UK was in August 1999 and the next is in 2090.
Lunar Eclipse
Lunar eclipses occur when the Moon passes into the Earth's shadow, causing it to take on a red hue. They are more common than their solar counterparts.
Annular Eclipse
An annular eclipse is when the Moon is further away from Earth than for a total eclipse. As it does not cover the whole of the Moon, it creates an effect called the 'ring of fire'.
Partial Eclipse
Only part of the Sun is obscured.
* * *
The Moon Illusion
When near to the Earth's horizon the Moon appears to be larger than its actual size. This phenomenon was discussed by notable figures such as Aristotle, Leonardo da Vinci and René Descartes and many theories have been proposed, but a conclusive explanation has yet to be agreed.
Mapping the Moon
Scientific mapping began in the seventeenth century with the advent of the telescope. Several maps were subsequently produced, including Johannes Hevelius's in Selenographia of 1647, and in 1651 Giovanni Riccioli defined a nomenclature system still used, with features such as Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility). Maps continued to be improved through subsequent years, but in the twentieth century photography took over and the use of robotic probes in the 1960s resulted in the end of Earth-based observation maps.
First Photograph
The first-ever photograph of the Moon was taken in 1840 by John Draper. Draper was a member of staff at the New York University and took the photograph on its roof. His son Henry took the first 3D images of the Moon in 1863.
'Picture of the Century'
In November 1966, Lunar Orbiter 2 took a photograph looking obliquely across Copernicus crater from an altitude of 28.4 miles (45.7km). It was the first to show real detail of the lunar topography and was described as the 'Picture of the Century' by Life magazine.
Lunar Facts and Figures
1/6
Lunar gravity is one-sixth that of Earth's.
1.5
The Moon moves away from the Earth 1.5in (3.8cm) each year.
115
The maximum surface temperature is 115°C (239°F); the minimum is –179°C (–290°F).
1,651
During the total eclipse of 21 August 2017, the Moon's shadow moved across the USA at an average speed of 1,651mph (2,657km/h).
2,159
The Moon's diameter is 2,159 miles (3,475km).
2,286
The Moon orbits the Earth at 2,286mph (3,679km/h).
35,387
The highest point on the Moon is 35,387ft (10,786m), situated close to the Engel'gardt crater on the far side. It is over 6,000ft (1,828m) higher than Mount Everest.
1,499,070
The Moon travels 1,499,070 miles (2,412,519km) in each orbit around the Earth.
CHAPTER 2TO THE MOON
This foolish idea of shooting at the Moon is an example of the absurd length to which vicious specialisation will carry scientists working in thought-tight compartments.
Professor A.W. Bickerton, in 1926
Thoughts of space travel go back hundreds of years but it wasn't until the twentieth century that scientific theories and technology were sufficiently advanced to provide the means.
In Russia, a teacher called Konstantin Tsiolkovsky wrote about how multistage, liquid-fuelled rockets could leave Earth orbit and be steered in the vacuum of space. In Germany, Hermann Oberth independently developed the concepts of staged rockets and liquid fuel, while in America Robert Goddard was responsible for several advances including using gyroscopes for control and mounting rocket engines on gimbals for steering. In 1926 he successfully launched the first liquid-fuelled rocket.
* * *
The Space Race
The Space Race began in October 1957 with the launch of Sputnik – the world's first satellite – by the USSR. The USA had no coherent space programme and navy, air force and army all vied for their opportunity. A new organisation was created in 1958 to manage the space programme: NASA – the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A civilian-led organisation, it was tasked with putting a man into space as part of Project Mercury. However, it was not to win this particular race as in April 1961 the USSR sent Yuri Gagarin into orbit – another in a line of space firsts by the Soviets.
Six Mercury missions were flown, from the 15-minute sub-orbital lob of Alan Shepard only weeks after Gagarin's flight to the 34-hour-long endurance flight by Gordon Cooper.
After the USSR launched its two- and three-man Voskhod flights – making the first EVA (extra-vehicular activity or 'spacewalk') in March 1965 – the USA's two-man Gemini project began. Astronauts flew in a craft similar in shape to Mercury's but with a bigger cabin and hatches able to be opened and closed in space. Ten flights proved techniques required for Apollo: rendezvous, EVA and long duration. For the latter, Jim Lovell and Frank Borman spent fourteen days in orbit in their cramped spacecraft.
* * *
Unmanned Missions
The race was also pursued with unmanned vehicles. The USSR reached the Moon first in 1959 and the same year Luna 3 sent back photographs from the far side. The USA attempted to catch up, and in 1964 Ranger 7 took America's first photographs in space. The following year Ranger 9 sent live TV footage of its final moments as it deliberately impacted the lunar surface.
In 1966 Luna 9 made the first soft landing and its successor was the first object to achieve lunar orbit. In preparation for the Apollo landings, the USA sent Surveyor craft, which achieved several landings, and Lunar Orbiter craft.
The Soviets continued to send Luna, then Zond, spacecraft, and in September 1968 Zond 5 took the first live creatures to the Moon: turtles, flies and worms.
With the Americans having already landed men in July 1969, the Soviet's Luna 16 returned soil samples to Earth via an ascent stage that landed in Kazakhstan in September 1970. Luna 17 deployed Lunokhod 1, the first lunar rover, in November 1970, which operated for 11 months, travelling 6 miles (10km).
The Soviets continued until 1976, with Luna 24 returning soil samples.
* * *
Soviet-Manned Landings
Cosmonauts were due to perform a lunar flyby as part of the Zond programme in December 1968 but technical issues cancelled the flight. For the landing missions a cosmonaut would pilot a Lunar Craft lander to the surface while another cosmonaut would remain in the Lunar Orbit Module. The death of the Soviets' Chief Designer, Sergei Korolev, was a major factor in preventing the Soviets from attempting a landing.
The N-1
The Soviet Moon rocket was to be the N-1. Its first stage was powered by thirty rockets and was only 19ft (5.8m) shorter than a Saturn V. Despite its power, it was not successfully flown: four attempted launches failed. The launch on 3 July 1969 saw the rocket fall back onto the launch pad and explode – destroying the launch complex.
* * *
Wernher von Braun
During the Second World War, von Braun directed Nazi Germany's rocket programme. As the war neared its end, his work on the V-2 ballistic missile made him a valuable acquisition, and von Braun and others aimed to be captured by the Americans rather than the Soviets. They were relocated to America where von Braun advised the US Army on its rocket projects and was a public advocate of space travel. In 1960, von Braun was appointed Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center. His team was given the task of designing the Moon rocket.
A Study of Lunar Research Flights
This US Air Force secret project (also known as Project A119) investigated the possibility of exploding an atomic bomb on the Moon. It was intended that the dust cloud be seen from Earth, as a show of US strength following Russian early achievements in the Space Race. It was later revealed that the Russians had also looked at similar plans. Both projects were abandoned in favour of sending scientific expeditions.
* * *
Kennedy's Goal
NASA had been looking at the possibility of lunar missions since its inception but without official commitment. With Yuri Gagarin's flight, and an embarrassing military failure at the Bay of Pigs in April 1961, President John F. Kennedy was looking for an area of technological enterprise where the USA could beat its communist opponent. Kennedy discussed with advisers and then made his decision:
I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth.
Special Joint Session of Congress, Washington DC, 25 May 1961
This was announced just three weeks after America had put its first astronaut into space, in a flight that lasted 15 minutes. Robert Gilruth, head of NASA's Space Task Group, later revealed he reacted to the commitment by saying he was 'aghast' and not sure it would be possible to achieve.
A year later Kennedy made another speech which also served to act as inspiration for the 'great national effort' needed:
We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we're willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.
Rice University, Houston, 12 September 1962
However, in September 1963 Kennedy offered cooperation with the USSR, including a joint lunar expedition. Inside the White House there were concerns over the space programme's cost and while it is thought the USSR seriously considered Kennedy's offer, after his death in November that year, his successor Lyndon Johnson was not minded to cooperate with the Soviets.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Project Apollo"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Norman Ferguson.
Excerpted by permission of The History Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Introduction,
Author's Note,
1 The Moon,
2 To the Moon,
3 The Technology,
4 The Astronauts,
5 Life in Space,
6 The Apollo Missions,
7 After Apollo,
Sources,
Acknowledgements,