Later Apollo flights were able to do more and move further in order to cover larger areas, particularly when the Lunar Rover vehicle became available in 1971. The Lunar Laser Ranging Retroreflector we installed is still in use today in a variety of scientific experiments. The time available was fully allocated and we were working diligently to complete our assigned tasks. But we had a number of experiments to install, samples to document and collect, and photographs to take. It is true that we would have liked to stay on the surface longer and traveled further away from the Lunar Module and the television camera. I felt the potential gain was worth the risk.
HOW LONG DID THE FIRST MAN ON THE MOON STAY TV
I candidly admit that I knowingly and deliberately left the planned working area out of TV coverage to examine and photograph the interior crater walls for possible bedrock exposure or other useful information. Preflight planners wanted us to stay in TV range so that they could learn from our results how they could best plan for future missions. My colleague demonstrated a variety of techniques in view of the television camera that I had installed in a position predetermined to be in the optimum spot for coverage of all of our activities. There was great uncertainty about how well we would be able to walk in our cumbersome pressurized suit. After returning to and repressurizing the Lunar Module, we were able to drain and measure the remaining water in the backpacks to confirm the predicted. NASA officials limited our surface working time to 2 and 3/4 hours on that first surface exploration to assure that we would not expire of hyperthermia. We did not have any data to tell us how long the small water tank in our backpacks would suffice. For example, because normal air conditioning is inadequate for lunar conditions, we were required to use cold water to cool the interior of our suits. That combination cannot be duplicated here on Earth, but we tried as best we could to test our equipment for those conditions. We were operating in a near perfect vacuum with the temperature well above 200 degrees Fahrenheit with the local gravity only one sixth that of Earth. There were many uncertainties about how well our Lunar module systems and our Pressure suit and backpack would match the engineering predictions in the hostile lunar environment. It is true that we were cautious in our planning.
HOW LONG DID THE FIRST MAN ON THE MOON STAY FULL
The plan for the lunar surface work was widely distributed and we even did a full dress rehearsal for the press at the NASA Johnson Space Center. The answer to that question is: Just about anyone who had any interest in learning the answer. And, although I have not checked, I believe the comparison with the size of athletic fields is reasonably accurate.
I was delighted to read your December 7 column on the the Apollo 11 lunar surface traverses, The NASA maps do accurately portray the locations of the pathways used to complete the myriad of tasks we were assigned. Improvisation was not really an option.īut, reading between the lines, I kinda think he wanted to do more, go further. We cheated just a little, and very briefly bounded off to take pictures of some interesting bedrock.īut basically, he says, we were part of a team and we were team players on a perilous, one-of-a-kind journey.
NASA wanted us to conduct our experiments in front of a fixed camera.
We were wearing new-fangled, water-cooled uniforms and didn't know how long the coolant would last.It was really, really hot on the moon, 200 degrees Fahrenheit.Today Neil Armstrong wrote in to say, here are the reasons: In yesterday's post, I talked about Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's walk across the lunar surface back in 1969 and wondered, how come they walked such a modest distance? Less than a hundred yards from their lander? "Buzz" Aldrin, the first men to land on the moon, plant the U.S. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin E.
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