Apollo 17 ( eng. Apollo 17 ) is a spacecraft on which the 11th and last manned flight of the Apollo program took place , during which the sixth landing of people on the Moon was made . It was the third J-mission ( eng. J-mission ) with a focus on research. For the first time a professional scientist, a geologist Harrison Schmitt entered the crew. At the disposal of the astronauts as well as during the two previous expeditions, there was a lunar vehicle , "Lunar Rover" No. 3 . The command and service module Apollo 17 had the call sign America, the lunar module Challenger. .
Apollo 17 | |
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General information | |
A country | |
Organization | |
Ship flight data | |
Carrier rocket | Saturn-5 SA-512 |
Launch pad | Kennedy Space Center complex 39A, Florida , USA |
Launch | December 7 , 1972 05:33:00 GMT |
Landing ship | December 19 , 1972 19:24:59 GMT |
Flight duration | 301 hour 51 minutes 59 seconds |
Weight | command module 30 369 kg lunar module 16,456 kg |
NSSDC ID | 1972-096A |
SCN | 06300 |
Flight crew data | |
Crew members | 3 |
Call sign | Command module: "America", Lunar module: "Challenger" |
Crew photo | |
From left to right: Harrison Schmitt, Eugene Cernan (sitting), Ronald Evans | |
Related expeditions | |
Apollo 17 was launched on December 7, 1972, with a delay of 2 hours and 40 minutes. The delayed start was first caused by a malfunction of the starting equipment. At that time, it was the first night launch in the history of the US manned space program. .
On December 11, 1972, the Challenger with Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt on board landed in the Taurus – Litters Valley , on the southeastern edge of the Sea of Clarity . Astronauts remained on the Moon for a little more than three days, 74 hours 59 minutes 40 seconds. During this time, they made three exits from the ship with a total duration of 22 hours 3 minutes 57 seconds. 110.5 kg of lunar rock samples were collected and brought to Earth.
December 19, "Apollo 17" fell down in the Pacific Ocean. The expedition lasted 301 hours 51 minutes 59 seconds.
Flight Planning
By the end of 1967, NASA was able to plan a lunar manned program for the period after the proposed first landing, which was supposed to carry out the Apollo 11 . NASA leaders requested funding from Congress to build 15 Saturn-5 launch vehicles , 15 command and service modules and 14 lunar modules. The success of the Apollo 11 mission meant that the United States still had the means to carry out nine more lunar landings. Four days after the Apollo 11 astronaut landing, on July 28, 1969 , NASA announced tentative plans for subsequent flights, up to Apollo 20. The landing of the Apollo 12 was scheduled for November 1969. "Apollos" from the 13th to the 15th were to fly with the same lunar modules as in the first flights. Apollo 16 , then planned for April 1971, was to become the first J-mission ( eng. J-mission ) with an improved lunar module and the "Lunar Rover" [1] .
The need to cut the budget and reduce political support in Congress forced NASA to announce on January 4, 1970 that the Apollo 20 mission was canceled. The schedule of the remaining flights was stretched. Apollo 13 was moved from March to April 1970, and Apollo 14 was moved from July to the end of that year. The Apollo 13 crash and further budget cuts forced NASA in September 1970 to abandon the Apollo 18. The third H-mission, then known as Apollo-15, and the fourth J-mission (Apollo-19) were also canceled. The three remaining missions were renumbered. What was originally Apollo 16 was Apollo 15 and the first J-mission. Apollo 17 became the third J-mission and the last manned flight to the moon in the framework of the Apollo program [1] .
Crew
Main
Initially, the main crew of the Apollo-17 included astronauts, who had previously trained as understudies of the crew of the Apollo-14 [2] . 38-year-old commander Eugene Cernan had the experience of two space missions. He flew a pilot on Gemini-9A and a pilot of a lunar module on Apollo 10 . This flight was the first test of LM in the lunar orbit and the dress rehearsal of the first landing on the moon. The 39-year-old pilot of the command module Ronald Evans has not yet flown into space [3] . The 40-year-old lunar module pilot Joe Engle , as a pilot of a special group of testers, made 16 flights on X-15 rocket planes , including three suborbital, in which he climbed to heights over 50 miles, which the US Air Force considered to be the boundary of space he set June 29, 1965 , rising to 85,527 m) [4] .
After reducing the number of missions remaining, the scientific community increased the pressure on NASA to send an astronaut scientist to the moon. Most suitable for this 37-year-old Harrison (Jack) Schmitt . He was admitted to the astronaut in 1965 , was the only professional astronaut among astronauts to study, directly participated in the geological training of all crews, from Apollo 11 to Apollo 14, and was fully prepared for flight as a pilot of the lunar module backup crew "Apollo 15" [5] . The final composition of the main crew of the Apollo 17 was announced shortly after the end of the flight of the Apollo 15, August 13, 1971 [6] :
- Eugene Cernan - the commander.
- Ronald Evans - pilot command module.
- Harrison (Jack) Schmitt - pilot of the lunar module.
Engle, who for personal reasons was absent in Houston during the flight of the Apollo 15, accidentally found out about the collapse of his plans on August 10, looking at the MCC to check mail. Later in an interview he said: “When this happens, you can do one of two things. You can lie down on the bed and cry. And you can support the mission and make it the best in the world. ” He found the strength not to slam the door and help Schmitt fit into the team [7] .
At a press conference a week after the crew was announced, the first question was asked to Schmitt about replacing Angle. He replied that he considered Joe to be one of the most outstanding test test pilots. But in terms of his own capabilities to control the spacecraft, Schmitt expressed his willingness to compete with any astronaut involved in the program. Cernan agreed with this, saying that Schmitt sits here as part of the crew, not for some other reason, but only because "he was rowing with oars with all his strength, he earned it, and he deserves it" [7] .
Duplicate
The first Apollo 17 backup crew included Apollo 15 astronauts with their full complement: David Scott (commander), Alfred Worden (pilot of the command module) and James Irwin (pilot of the lunar module). However, a few months after their flight, a scandal erupted with the first day envelopes , which, by agreement with the German businessman Walter Ayermann, but without the knowledge of NASA, took to the moon for the purpose of subsequent commercialization.
Scott, Warden, and Irvine were withdrawn from the Apollo 17 backup crew, received penalties in the service, and were suspended from flight training. In July 1972, they were replaced by no less experienced astronauts, all who had experience of flying to the Moon [2] :
- John Young is the commander, four flights into space, two of them to the Moon (on Apollo 10 and Apollo 16 with landing).
- Stuart Rusa , pilot of the command module, flew in the same capacity on the Apollo 14 (one flight).
- Charles Duke - the pilot of the lunar module, flew the Apollo 16 and landed on the moon with Young (one flight) [2] .
Young later recalled that he and the other alternates sincerely wished that everything was going according to plan, and the main crew flew to the moon. All three let go of their whiskers and vowed not to shave them off until the ship with Cernan, Evans and Schmitt took off from the launch pad [2] .
Ship call sign and flight emblem
Apollo 17 was to be the last mission of the program. Therefore, the ships received names, filled with special dignity. The command and service module was called “America” as a tribute to American society [8] . The lunar module received the call sign "Challenger" ( born Challenger - "Challenge" ) in honor of the Challenger sailing-steam corvette , which launched the first oceanographic expedition exactly 100 years before the start of the Apollo 17 flight [9] . The name also symbolized the challenges that America will face in the future [8] .
The emblem of flight depicts the sun god Apollo , which symbolizes not only the Apollo program , but all of humanity , its knowledge and wisdom. Next - the moon is golden in color, meaning the golden era of space flight, which is nearing completion. Also on the emblem there is an eagle , whose wings bear the blue and red stripes of the American flag and three white stars (carriage). Apollo not only looks at the moon, where people have already visited, he looks to the future with his new achievements and accomplishments [8] .
Selecting a landing area
The process of selecting the Apollo 17 landing area began in October 1971 . Scientists set out to explore the highlands, which were not affected by the meteoric impact that formed the Sea of Rains ; detect signs of relatively young volcanism ; to receive from orbit photographs and data of scientific instruments on still unexplored areas and to get the most out of new mobile geophysical instruments that astronauts will take with them. Consideration of all these factors reduced the choice to three areas: 1) Taurus — Littrov, a district on the eastern margin of the Sea of Clarity ; 2) 93 km Gasdendi crater in the north of the Sea of Humidity and 3) Alphonse crater 111 km in diameter, in the northeast of the Sea of Clouds [10] . Jack Schmitt, who was actively involved in the selection of the landing site, insisted on landing in the Tsiolkovsky crater on the far side of the moon using a satellite in near-moon orbit to provide communication . But from this idea, for reasons of high costs, refused. The final choice in February 1972 was made in favor of the Taurus – Littrov region [8] .
Landing sites of the Apollo spacecraft (marked with green triangles), the Luna spacecraft (red) and Surveyor space (yellow) on the map of the visible hemisphere of the Moon . "Apollo 17" - to the northeast of the center | Vertical view from the orbit of the Apollo 17 landing area (the landing site is marked with a white arrow) | Landing area is larger. Above the Northern massif, below - the Southern massif. Light winding thread between them - Lee — Lincoln Scarp Escarp ( Rus. Scarp ) | The landing area of the Apollo 17 is even bigger. At the left edge of the picture - the crater Camelot |
Taurus-Littrov Valley a width of about 7 km is a formation, like a bay , in the eastern part of the Sea of Clarity. The coordinates are 20 ° 10'N. 30 ° 46 'E [11] From three sides it is surrounded by mountains with a height of over 2000 m. The name refers to the Taurus Mountains and the crater of Littres (in honor of the Austrian astronomer and mathematician Joseph Litrov ), located southeast of the Sea of Clarity. The pilot of the command module, Alfred Worden , who worked in orbit while his colleagues were on the moon , drew attention to this area during the flight of the Apollo 15 . Warden took many photos and gave verbal descriptions to specialists on Earth. He noted the darker color of the valley surface compared to the color of the Sea of Clarity, he found dark-framed craters similar to volcanic outcrops ( cones of volcanic ash ) [8] . Geologists were attracted by the possibility of obtaining samples of dark soil and lava flows in this area. It was also hoped that more ancient and younger geological samples would be discovered at the same time as compared with those brought by astronauts from other missions. Finally, the Taurus-Littrov provided an opportunity to obtain samples of high-mountain rocks. Within reach was a landslide from the mountainous Southern Massif ( eng. South Massif ), which reached the bottom of the valley. And at the foot of the mountains were scattered huge boulders, which rolled down. Traces of rolling of some of them had a length of about 2 km [8] [11] .
Expedition scientific baggage
The set of scientific instruments ALSEP ( Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package ) "Apollo 17" consisted of instruments for five experiments. Four of them were to be placed on the lunar surface for the first time: a stationary lunar gravimeter , a device for determining emissions of lunar soil particles and meteorites , a mass spectrometer to study the composition of the lunar atmosphere, and equipment for seismic profiling. Another experiment - the study of heat flow in the lunar soil - was previously part of the Apollo 15 and Apollo 16 ALSEP kits. But in the first case, the probes were not deepened completely, and in the second case, during installation, the electrical cable was accidentally cut off, and the device failed. On the surface of the moon was planned to place other instruments that were not included in the ALSEP kit. Three of them have never been used before: an apparatus for determining the electrical properties of a surface, a device for measuring neutron flux , and a portable mobile gravimeter (transported on a Rover). Another cosmic ray detector was previously carried to the Moon by the Apollo 16 astronauts [12] .
In the module of scientific instruments of the Apollo 17 service module were placed: a probe for profiling the lunar surface, a scanning infrared radiometer and a spectrometer in the far ultraviolet region of the spectrum . In addition, as in the previous Jay missions, the scientific instrument module contained a panoramic camera, a mapping camera, and a laser altimeter [13] .
Flight Features
The launch of Apollo 17 for the first time in the history of the US manned space program was to take place at night [1] . It was scheduled for 9:53 PM EST . This was due to the location of the landing area in the northeastern part of the lunar disk, a large mass of the lunar module and the need to land at a low morning sun, rising about 13 ° above the lunar horizon. For the same reason, the launch from the near-Earth orbit and the transition to the flight trajectory to the Moon should have been carried out for the first time not on the second orbit over the Pacific Ocean , but on the third orbit, over the Atlantic . A few days before the start, the crew was transferred to the nightly schedule of the day [8] .
The first window to start opened on December 6 at 21:53 local time and remained open for 3 hours 38 minutes, until 01:31 on December 7 . The angle of elevation of the sun above the horizon at the time of diving would be 13 °. The second, exactly the same window, opened at 9:53 pm on December 7 (the angle of elevation of the Sun was 16.9 ° —19.1 °). The next three windows opened only on January 4-6, 1973 [14] . But this could already prevent the launch of the Skylab orbital station , scheduled for April 30 [15] .
The eastern location of the landing area left little time for the specialists at MCC to calculate the orbital parameters of the ships. Braking to enter the near-moon orbit was always carried out behind the lunar disk, and calculations could be done only after the ships appeared from behind the eastern edge of the moon. To understand whether a collision with the Moon threatens, and to decide whether to continue or interrupt a mission, it took at least 12 minutes (and it was advisable to have 15 minutes left). Therefore, it was decided to lower the perileenia of the orbit decrease gradually, by two maneuvers, and not by one, as in the previous flights [1] [8] [15] .
Start Delay
The last prelaunch countdown began according to the plan, 28 hours before the start, at 12:53:00 UTC on December 5, 1972 and twice planned for 9 hours (for the rest of the staff) and 1 hour. Everything went smoothly. But 2 minutes 47 seconds before the start, the ground-based computer did not issue a command to charge the third-stage oxygen tank. The operator manually sent a command to pressurize the tank, but the computer did not register a boost. As a result, the automatic blocking system worked, stopping further operations 30 seconds before the start. Astronauts immediately turned off the onboard pyrotechnic devices. Experts in the MCC began to look for a way to enter into the computer information about the pressurization of the tank [3] [15] . The first blocking of the prelaunch countdown lasted 1 hour 5 minutes 11 seconds. The countdown was resumed from a 22-minute readiness, but again stopped 8 minutes before the start to correct the operation of the computer. This second stop lasted 1 hour 13 minutes 19 seconds. Finally, the countdown was resumed from an 8-minute prelaunch and continued normally until take-off. The total delay was 2 hours and 40 minutes [3] . During the waiting period, Ronald Evans managed to fall asleep and snore softly [8] , and the ballistics adjusted the flight path so that the Apollo 17 would arrive at the Moon without delay [1] . This was the first delay of the start due to a malfunction of the starting equipment during the Apollo program [11] . The reason, as it turned out later, was a defective diode [16] .
Start and flight to the moon
Apollo 17 was launched at 05:33:00 UTC (00:33:00 local time) on December 7, 1972 [3] . In the area of the cosmodrome, it was observed by about 500,000 people. He was clearly visible to the naked eye in South Carolina to the north of Florida and to Cuba to the south [16] . In less than 12 minutes, the ship entered an almost circular near-earth orbit with an altitude of 166.7 km and 167.2 km [3] .
RN Saturn-5 Apollo 17 after sunset half a month before the start, November 21, 1972 | Start Apollo 17 | Start, taken from the service tower | Takeoff "Apollo 17", shot with a long exposure |
For two turns, the astronauts and the MCC checked all the systems of the ship. At the very beginning of the third revolution over the Atlantic Ocean , the engine of the third stage was switched on again. He worked for almost six minutes - 351 seconds. "Apollo 17" moved to the trajectory of the flight to the moon, gaining a speed of 10.8 km / s [3] . The maneuver began in the dark, on the night side of the planet, and ended when the sun came out over the horizon . According to Sernan, it was very beautiful [8] . Half an hour later, the astronauts began rebuilding the compartments. Ron Evans removed the command and service module from the third stage and turned it 180 ° to inspect the lunar module, which was located in the adapter in the upper part of the third stage. Schmitt reported that he saw the “Lunar Rover” in the cargo hold of the landing stage. Evans docked “America” to the “Challenger”, it took a little more than 14 minutes. Opening the door, Cernan examined the transition tunnel between the command and lunar modules in order to check the locks that held both ships together. Three of the ten locks were not closed, they had to be closed manually. Then Cernan blew the pyrobolts , holding the lunar module in the third stage, and Evans, turning on the engines of the orientation system, took the docked ships to a safe distance. Schmitt filmed everything with a movie camera. After that, at the command of the Earth, the third stage engine was turned on again so that it collided with the Moon at a preselected point. Seismic waves from a collision were to be recorded by all four seismographs left by previous expeditions on the moon [1] .
Earth, shot shortly after the transition to the trajectory of the flight to the moon. Africa and Madagascar are visible on the left. | The lunar module "Challenger" in the adapter, in the upper part of the third stage S-IVB , before docking | Spent third stage with an empty adapter in its upper part | A view of almost complete Earth from a distance of about 50,000 km. Visible: Africa, Madagascar, Arabian Peninsula (top) and Antarctica (bottom). Apollo 17 at that time was right above the southern tip of Africa. This picture was named “The Blue Ball” ( English The Blue Marble ) |
While Cernan and Evans filmed spacesuits , Schmitt, looking out the window, told the MCC about half an hour about the weather in different parts of the globe , making their predictions . As the Earth rotated and removed, he constantly updated these forecasts, so one of the telecom operators in Houston called him a real meteorological person. Nine hours after the flight began, the astronauts began a period of rest [1] .
The second working day in space was scheduled to be shortened. Astronauts had to be quickly returned to the usual daily routine. On the day of the moon landing, they were supposed to wake up at 07:30 am EST . The moon landing was scheduled for 2:30 pm and soon after, Cernan and Schmitt were to make a full 7-hour exit to the surface. Because of the night launch, astronauts woke up at 3:30 pm EST time. Everyone could sleep no more than three hours. But after 10 hours of wakefulness, at 01:30 on December 8, everyone was already asleep, taking a sleeping pill . On the second night, Cernan, Evans and Schmitt slept for 7.5 hours and were able to rest well [1] .
By the beginning of the third day of the flight, the Apollo 17 had already flown a little more than half of the way and was approximately 200,000 km from the Earth. Soon after the ascent, the astronauts conducted the first correction of the trajectory. To do this, it took only 2 seconds to turn on the main engine of the service module. On the same day, for the first time, Cernan and Schmitt switched to the lunar module, turned on its power supply and checked all the systems. Apart from small problems with communication, the inspection, which lasted two and a half hours, showed that the Challenger is in good condition. At bedtime, all astronauts again took sleeping pills [1] .
On the third night, the MCC gave the crew a full 8 hours of sleep, but even after that the astronauts had to be awakened for the first time, and this was only possible from the tenth attempt. The telecom operator even sang an energetic tune of the battle song of the sports teams of the University of Kansas (Evans graduated). But this also had an effect only after the third double [8] . In the first half of the fourth working day in space, Schmitt for the second time switched to the lunar module and switched on its power supply for about half an hour to see how telemetry works in the MCC. A retest of the communications system showed, as suggested in Houston, that the causes of the problems of the previous day were on Earth, and not in space. Cernan joined his colleague very late. He was detained in the command module by an unexpected natural need. After inspecting the lunar module, all three astronauts donned their spacesuits to check if they had any problems on the day of their arrival to the moon. Then they rehearsed how Evans would put the pin-cone of the docking unit in place and close the access door when there was one left. Cooking dinner on this day took longer than usual. The reason was that Evans could not find the scissors . Each astronaut had a pair of surgical scissors - they cut packages with food made from very dense cellophane . Evans was afraid that without scissors he would have serious nutritional problems when his colleagues were on the moon. It was agreed that Cernan or Schmitt will leave him their own if the loss is not found [1] .
Cernan (left) and Evans in the command module. Shot on the way to the moon | Schmitt in the cockpit of "America" | Cernan shaves on the fourth day of flight | Evans with soup package |
After lunch, flight time was transferred that day to compensate for the delayed start. At exactly 65 hours of flight time, all hours on the ship and in the MCC were moved forward to 2 hours and 40 minutes and were set to 67 hours and 40 minutes. This did not lead to corrections in the flight plan, since everything that needed to be done before 67:40 was already completed. After translating the clock, the astronauts conducted an experiment to observe visual flashes ( phosphenes ). In previous flights, almost all astronauts observed such flashes when they closed their eyes. Scientists assumed that the flashes were caused by high-energy cosmic rays . At the time of the experiment, Evans put on a special helmet that covered his eyes. Slow-moving plates of photographic film were embedded in the helmet, on which the cosmic rays should have left traces. Cernan closed his eyes with a regular dressing. It took about 15 minutes for the astronauts to get used to the dark. After that, they reported an average of one outbreak every two and a half minutes [1] . Shortly before the release, the Apollo 17 crossed the invisible border beyond which the gravitational field of the moon began to affect the ship more strongly than the earth. Up to the moon, 61,000 km remained, the speed at this point decreased to 2583 km / h and then began to increase [8] .
Launching the Moon Orbit
The next morning, the MCC decided to give the astronauts a nap for half an hour longer than planned. But Cernan awoke to wake himself, he is the only one on the eve of the crew did not take sleeping pills. After breakfast, astronauts, undermining the pyrobolts , shot off the cover-door, which closed the module of scientific instruments ( English Scientific Instruments Module ) in the service module. Throughout the flight to the moon, Cernan, Evans and Schmitt could admire excellent views of the Earth . At the very beginning it was almost complete, and on the approach to the Moon about 2/3 of the earth's disk were illuminated. The visible side of the moon , on the contrary, was dark. Only as they approached it, from a distance of approximately 18,500 km, astronauts saw a narrow strip of illuminated surface at the edge of the disk, due to which the sun shone dazzlingly [8] . Cernan reported on this at 86 hours 46 minutes of flight time (taking into account the transfer of hours). The commander was amazed. He had something to compare. During the flight of the Apollo 10, he did not see anything like it. The crews of all the previous Apollo flew up to the Moon in the dark and did not see the illuminated surface before entering the circumlunar orbit. Thanks to the eastern location of the landing area, the Apollo 17 crew saw what no one had seen before them. From a distance of 9260 km, the moon looked very large and was growing rapidly. It seemed to Cernan that they were falling right on the moon. Opposite impressions he had in his previous flight, when the Apollo 10 launched to the Earth and began to rapidly move away from the Moon. Half in joke, Cernan asked if the ship would touch the moon. Receiving from Houston the answer that everything is going according to plan, he added, referring to the tracking group ballistics : "If you guys could only imagine what needle eye you are threading, getting from a quarter of a million miles to 50 miles away (from the surface of the moon), you would have tremendous pride. We are proud of you " [1] .
At 88:43:21 of Apollo 17 flight time, it disappeared behind the western edge of the lunar disk, radio communication with it was interrupted. 11 minutes after that [1], the main engine was turned on at a distance of 141.9 km from the moon. He worked 393.16 seconds. The ship entered the circumlunar orbit with an apostrophe of 314.8 km and a displacement of 97.4 km. The flight to the moon lasted 83 hours 2 minutes and 18.11 seconds [3] . Shortly thereafter, at 89:39:42, the third stage of the launch vehicle at a speed of 9180 km / h crashed into the moon at the coordinates of 4.21 ° S. 12.37 ° W, 155.6 km from the estimated. The seismic vibrations from impact were recorded by all four seismographs left by previous expeditions on the moon [8] . During the first flight over the visible side of the moon, experts at the MCC were busy tracking the parameters of the orbit, and the astronauts clung to the portholes. The area of the future landing was still in complete darkness. The reflected light of the Earth did not help either, since the Sun was still illuminating the ship at that time. But when it went down, in bright earth light the lunar surface became perfectly visible. Schmitt described in detail everything he saw below. At the second orbit, astronauts were preparing for the first maneuver to transfer the ship into a descent orbit. In the landing area, the Sun illuminated only the peaks of the surrounding mountains [1] . At the end of the second turn, the main engine of the service module was turned on for 22.27 seconds. The spacecraft went into orbit of descent, where the lunar module will be undocked the next day, with parameters of 109 km by 26.9 km [3] . The perislenia of the new orbit was located just east of the landing area. The rest of the day crew members worked with the equipment of the module of scientific instruments, photographed, tracked navigation landmarks. Shortly after the fifth flight over the landing area, at 95:47 flight time, the astronauts said goodbye to the MCC until the morning [1] .
Landing
The landing day, December 11, was supposed to be a very long working day. A few hours after landing, Cernan and Schmitt had to make their first exit to the surface without rest. And even if everything went according to plan, it would take at least 22 hours and a half from lifting to rebound. In the morning, the MCC woke up the astronauts with the song of Steve Goodman City of New Orleans performed by John Denver . Schmitt, a country lover, asked to start it again, while everyone put himself in order. All three of them on the eve took sleeping pills and slept very well. The astronauts very quickly had breakfast and dressed in spacesuits. Cernan and Schmitt switched to the lunar module and checked its systems. The undoing took place at the beginning of the 12th orbit when the ships were over the other side of the moon. For another hour and a half, “America” and “Challenger” flew nearby, and the astronauts visually inspected both ships, took pictures and continued to check the systems. At 111: 57 flight time, [1] Evans switched on a cruising engine for 3.8 seconds and transferred the “America” to an almost circular orbit with a height of 129.6 km per 100 km. After that, Cernan and Schmitt made the second maneuver, which lowered the perilences of the descent orbit. The engines of the lunar module orientation system were turned on for braking for 21.5 seconds. The parameters of the orbit amounted to 110.4 km at 11.5 km [3] with peristalization just east of the landing site.
Earth above the lunar horizon. In the foreground is the docked Challenger. Picture taken on the third round | "America" after undocking at the twelfth orbit | "Challenger" after undocking | Taurus — Littre district, shot by Cernan one turn before landing. In the center - the South Massif. A command module is visible just below it. |
The engine of the landing stage of the Challenger was switched on at 112: 49: 53 at an altitude of 16.1 km, and a controlled descent from orbit began. The astronauts flew forward, their backs to the lunar surface. Almost immediately, a warning came on that there was not enough fuel in the tanks. But it was clearly a false alarm that could be ignored. At the request of the MCC, Cernan entered the updated navigation data into the on-board computer, otherwise it could have been a short distance to the target for a whole kilometer. Houston asked astronauts to turn off and turn on the fuel metering system switch. After that, the alarm went out. At an altitude of about 2300 m "Challenger" turned into a vertical position. Directly in front of the astronauts was the Taurus-Littre Valley, and the Earth hung above it in the sky. In all previous flights, it was higher, and astronauts of other expeditions did not see it when landing. Basically, only the commander looked out the window, the pilot was busy with the indications of the instruments that he dictated to the commander. But Cernan allowed Schmitt to look out a window a couple of times. The autopilot led the ship almost exactly to the landing position, which was chosen before the flight. But Cernan saw that there were better places nearby. Using the handle of the manipulator, he made several course corrections, sending the Challenger to a point a little closer along the course. As the landing went down, the landing site was finally chosen, and the commander made several more corrections. At an altitude of about 90 m Cernan switched to manual control. To save fuel, he maintained the vertical speed a little more than the standard, knowing that it can be quickly repaid. At the final stage of planting, the descent rate was 0.9 m / s. Moon dust appeared at an altitude of about 20 m. The lateral velocity was zero, but Cernan kept moving slightly forward to sit on the spot he had just seen. A good guide for determining the moment of contact with the surface was the shadow of the lunar module. The Challenger landed at 19:54:58 UTC on December 11, 1972 at a location with coordinates of 20.19080 °. sh. and 30.77168 c. in two hundred meters from a previously planned point [3] . The fuel in the landing stage tanks remained for 117 seconds. The lunar module rose to the ground with a slight slope of 4-5 ° back, because its rear support was almost in the middle of the crater with a diameter of 3-4 m [17] [8] [18] .
First day on the moon
Preparing to surface
Immediately after landing, Cernan and Schmitt brought the “Challenger” take-off stage into full readiness for an emergency take-off from the moon, in case the lunar module received any damage. In Houston, in the meantime, telemetry was checked. After receiving permission from the MCC to remain on the Moon, the astronauts transferred all the systems to modes that ensured a 3-day stay on the surface. Cernan and Schmitt had lunch, took the first photographs through the windows of the ship and gave the specialists descriptions of the surrounding area. Evans, during the first flight after landing on the landing area, reported to Houston that he saw a small bright spot in the valley and reported its coordinates . As it turned out, he was mistaken only 20 meters [19] .
Panorama of the pictures taken by Cernan and Schmitt through the windows of the Challenger before the first exit to the surface. In the distance, just to the left of the center, the South Massif, on the right - the Northern Massif |
Start of the 1st extra-shipping activity (CIA)
Four hours after landing, the astronauts unsealed the cockpit. The first to get out of the lunar module was the commander. While still at the top of the stairs, he, pulling on the ring, opened the cargo hold where the tools, food supplies, and power supply batteries were stored. In all flights, from Apollo-11 to Apollo-16 , television cameras were installed in this compartment, which took astronauts down the stairs and the first steps on the moon (only in the case of Apollo-16, the camera did not turn on electricity after its overspending due to a 6-hour delay in landing). Challenger did not have this camera at all. It was removed to fill in a little more fuel. The tele picture will appear only when the Lunar Rover camera is installed. Before setting foot on the lunar soil, Cernan said: [20]
I'm on a plate of support. And, Houston, descending to the Taurus-Littre, we would like to dedicate the first step of the Apollo 17 to everyone who made it possible.
Original Text (Eng.)I'm on the footpad. And, Houston, I like it, I would like it.
Looking around, Cernan reported that the lunar module sat down with one support in a shallow crater, similar to a shallow dining plate. Soon Schmitt joined the commander. Astronauts first thing unloaded "Lunar Rover". Cernan made a test drive, which showed that the moon car was fully functional. Schmitt filmed a test run on a camera. When Cernan approached him, Schmitt stepped back a bit. He wanted to get in the frame and the Earth. She was always at the same point of the firmament, above the Southern Massif, with an elevation of 45 ° above the horizon . But she never got into the frame (the astronauts will understand how to take pictures of it, a little later) [21] .
Cernan during a test drive. TV camera and antennas on the Rover are not yet installed | Test drive around the Challenger. In the background - the South Massif | Cernan salutes the flag | Schmitt, Flag and Earth |
Then Schmitt uploaded the tools to the Rover, and Cernan put on him the lunar information transmitter (the Lunar Communications Relay Unit - LCRU), a control device for a television camera on commands from the Earth, the television camera itself and two antennas. Soon the Earth received a television picture from the moon [22] . Then the astronauts made the first measurements using a portable mobile gravimeter , which they installed on the Rover, and hoisted the US flag near the lunar module. It was a flag that hung on the wall of the MCC main hall for several years (since the flight of Apollo 11 ), during which all previous moon landings were carried out. The Apollo 17 crew also had another US flag with them. The astronauts will bring it back to Earth and give the MCC instead of the old one. Schmitt first photographed Cernan at the flag. Then the camera took the commander. He bent his knees, almost knelt to capture the Earth. But from the first time she didn’t hit the shot either. Well got the second double. Schmitt also tried to take a picture of Cernan. It was the third time. After that, the astronauts placed on two supports of the lunar module cosmic ray detectors (one in constant shadow, the other in the sun) and loaded onto the Rover receiver-transmitter for an experiment to determine the electrical properties of the surface and explosive charges for an experiment to build a seismic profile [23 ] .
Placement of ALSEP devices
Schmitt unloaded a set of scientific instruments ALSEP. While he was referring it to a location about 100 meters west of the lunar module, Cernan accidentally hit the hammer that was sticking out of his popliteal pocket and tore off the rear extension of the right-hand rear wheel Rover. The commander tried to repair the wing extension using adhesive tape , which the astronauts had with them. It happened, but not immediately. "Rover" after the test drive was already stained with moon dust. She stuck to the adhesive tape, which after that no longer stuck to anything. Cernan had to make several attempts to wrap an extension cord and a wing. Meanwhile, Schmitt, moving 100 meters west of the Challenger, found that there was an uneven surface. It was necessary to go further. The astronaut's pulse rate while carrying ALSEP devices jumped to 140 beats per minute. Schmitt found a suitable place about 185 meters north-west of the lunar module [23] .
ALSEP devices. In the foreground on the left is a radioisotope thermoelectric generator. To the left of the center is a device that records the frequency of falling meteorites. To the right of the center is a pile of garbage from the packages. At the right edge of the picture and just above the center is a geophonic module. Above it is the Geophone Rock. To the left of it is a red flag at the location of one of the geophones. | Stationary gravimeter in the foreground. Behind him in the center is the central station. Top left away - the lunar module | Geophone number 3 (marked with a red flag). In the distance, for the "Rover", Cernan drills a hole in the ground | Rock Geophone Rock. Photo taken by Schmitt |
While Cernan was repairing the wing, Schmitt installed the ALSEP central station and the radioisotope thermoelectric generator and proceeded with the placement and connection of the instruments. Cernan drove up to him on the Rover and brought with him a drill . He drilled two holes 2.5 m deep each and placed a device for studying heat flows in the lunar soil, deepening two sensors in the holes. In the previous expedition, the same experiment was lost due to the fact that John Young accidentally caught his foot and cut off the cable connecting the device to the central station. Schmitt placed a stationary gravimeter to register tidal phenomena on the moon and detect gravitational waves in outer space; a mass spectrometer to study the composition of the lunar atmosphere and a device that records the frequency of meteorite incidence [24] . Next, Cernan proceeded to drilling a well for taking a column of soil. And Schmitt placed a geophonic module of the experiment to build a seismic profile and 4 geophones for recording seismic vibrations, which after the departure of the astronauts will be caused by explosions of explosive charges. Not far from the location of the experiment lay a large boulder, reaching three meters in height. He received the name of rock Geophone Rock [Comm. 1] [25] . Cernan drilled a well to a full depth of 3.2 m, but when removing the connected drill bits with a column of soil inside, it encountered great difficulties. Not even a special foot-operated jack helped. The pulse rate at the commander rose to 150 beats per minute. Schmitt helped remove the column of soil. After that, he collected several geological samples nearby, and Cernan lowered the instrument for measuring neutron flux into the well and separated the sections from the soil column. Astronauts were almost 40 minutes behind schedule. At MCC, it was decided to slightly shorten the first geological trip [26] .
Schmitt on foot returned to the lunar module, taking with him sections with a column of soil. Then he unloaded the transmitter experiment to determine the electrical properties of the surface and set it about 140 meters east of the "Challenger". Cernan, meanwhile, turned on the Rover's navigation system and went to his partner [27] .
First geological trip
The first trip was reduced by the MCC to about one hour and assumed only one geological stop ( Eng. Station 1 ) on the edge of the Steno crater ( Eng. Steno Crater ). Cernan and Schmitt drove 1.2 km and stopped 150 meters from the Steno crater. Because of the uneven terrain, they never saw it. But to go further did not make sense. There were a lot of boulders at the stop for collecting samples. In addition, extra-shipping activity (CDA) has been going on for almost 5 hours. Both astronauts in the backpacks of the portable life-support system run out of water in the main tanks (3.9 l), and they switched to reserve tanks (1.5 l). Cernan reported that the wing extension still held, and Schmitt installed it on the ground and removed the first of eight explosive charges from the fuse for the experiment on profiling the lunar surface (charge No. 6). It had 454 g of explosive [27] .
At the top and slightly to the left is the landing stage of the Challenger. To the left of it is Geophone Rock. At the bottom of Steno crater, a little higher - the place of the first geological stop (Station 1). EP-7 is an approximate location for the second (No. 7) explosive charge. Photo taken in July, 2009 by LRO spacecraft. | Cernan at Rover. To the left of it and a little further on the ground is the charge of explosives. This is a combination of two shots of a panorama shot by Schmitt on Station 1 | Schmitt with shovel-rake on Station 1 | A boulder on the edge of a 20-meter crater at Station 1 |
Astronauts began collecting samples from a relatively young crater with a diameter of about 20 m and a depth of 3-4 m. They split off several fragments with a hammer from two boulders, collected small stones with a scoop-rake and a separate regolith bag of about 1 kg [28] . Returning to the lunar module, the astronauts halfway made a very short stop. Schmitt, without leaving the Rover, put a second explosive charge (No. 7) on the ground, holding him by the long antenna . Then Cernan slowly made a clockwise circle on the Rover, so that Schmitt would also be able to shoot a panorama on this spot without dismounting. When a few hundred meters remained before the lunar module, Schmitt told Cernan that moon dust was covering him and that, apparently, they had lost the wing extender. Soon the astronauts arrived at the transmitter of the experiment to determine the electrical properties of the surface [29] . In total, they traveled 3.3 km, the Rover was on the move for 33 minutes [3] .
Completion of 1st WBC
Near the transmitter, Cernan drove about 100 m from the west to the east on the Rover, and then crossed the tracks on this segment at a right angle, approximately in the middle, so that a cross was formed , oriented by its rays to the cardinal points . The astronauts laid four 35-meter transmitter antenna cables in parallel with the tracks. After this, Cernan reported that he had found a brown stone. Schmitt, who helped pack the find in the sample bag, immediately realized that it was a piece of colored expanded polystyrene , in which the Rover's deployable antenna was packed, but he did not say anything, deciding that the commander was poking fun at the scientists. The expanded polystyrene packaging, abandoned by Sernan at the lunar module at the beginning of VKD, heated up on the Sun, and the gas began to break it. One of the pieces flew 100 meters to the transmitter and antenna [29] .
Travel map of Sernan and Schmitt | Schmitt (away) at the end of the western cable of the transmitter antenna experiment to determine the electrical properties of the surface (view from east to west) | Schmitt, transmitter and antenna (view from north to south) |
Partial panorama shot by Sernan after the antenna is deployed. Schmitt Unveils Transmitter Solar Panels |
Returning to the lunar module, the astronauts cleaned the Rover and the spacesuits of each other from the lunar dust. From the MCC, they were promised to come up with something overnight to fix the wing of the lunomobile. While stacking the samples in the containers, another Styrofoam panel was torn apart. His piece flew past the astronauts. Cernan thought that a meteorite had fallen nearby. But Schmitt explained that this was in fact and where the “brown stone” came from. MCC reported that, according to John Young , during the Apollo 16 expedition gas-filled plastics also exploded. Cernan and Schmitt put the collected samples, cameras and photographic film into the cabin. The pilot got into the Challenger first, the commander took regular measurements using a gravimeter and also climbed into the cockpit [30] . The first EVA lasted 7 hours 11 minutes 53 seconds. 14.3 kg of lunar rock samples were collected [3] .
After VKD
The astronauts inflated the cabin and removed their helmets and gloves. The moon dust, as their predecessors said, smelled strongly of gunpowder . By this time, Evans had already completed his working day in orbit and was fast asleep. Cernan and Schmitt filled the packs with oxygen and water and changed the batteries and lithium hydroxide cassettes that absorbed carbon dioxide . After that, they took off their spacesuits . Both were very tired, their fingers ached. Cernan rubbed corn . The astronauts were on their feet for 20 and a half hours (in Houston it was 3 am on 12 December ). The crew responded to questions from specialists at the MCC, concerning the ride on the Rover, ALSEP devices and the geology of the landing area. Schmitt started hay fever . This was noticed even by a telecom operator in Houston by the sound of a voice. Schmitt was the only astronaut who visited the moon for whom the lunar dust caused an allergic reaction (the allergy was almost gone the next morning). The astronauts dined, cleaned up in the cockpit and went to sleep in hammocks , Cernan upstairs, head to the back wall, Schmitt perpendicular under it, head to the right wall. Houston, despite the late retirement, promised to give them a full 8 hours of rest [31] .
Second day on the moon
Preparing for the second exit
December 12 MCC woke astronauts with the music of Richard Wagner “Flight of the Valkyries” [Comm. 2] [32] . Cernan and Schmitt both slept for 6 hours, but they felt well rested. While they were sleeping, they were looking for a way to repair the Rover in Houston. In practice, the found solution was checked by the backup crew commander John Young in a spacesuit. He himself told Cernan that he needed to take four sheets of a map of the landing area printed on thick photographic paper (each sheet about 20 cm x 26.7 cm in size), glue them together with scotch tape and attach additional clamps to the wing with the clips. portable light bulbs . All repairs, according to Young, should take no more than 2 minutes [32] .
The astronauts had breakfast. From the MCC, they were informed that the 2nd extra-shipping activity (HAC) should proceed mainly according to the plan, with all the planned geological stops, but with a slight reduction of work on some of them [32] . Cernan stuck together four sheets of a map of the area of the lunar area, as Young had told him. Then the astronauts donned spacesuits and knapsacks and at about 17:30 local time Houston unsealed the cockpit. Hopes that when opening the hatch from the cabin, along with the remnants of air, the lunar dust will fly out, did not materialize. According to Sernan, anything flew out, but not the dust. Astronauts were 1 hour and 20 minutes behind schedule [33] .
Beginning of the 2nd OICV
Descending from the stairs, Cernan said: “Okay, Houston. Stepping onto the Taurus-Littre Plain on a wonderful evening of this Tuesday, the Apollo 17 astronauts are ready to work. ” Coming out after the commander, after switching on the camera, Schmitt asked Houston to measure the length of his shadow. It was necessary to better assess the distance and size by eye (on the Moon, they always seemed smaller than they were in reality). It turned out that the shadow of Schmitt at that moment was 4.5 m, to which he was very surprised. Cernan made another measurement using a mobile gravimeter , and Schmitt loaded cameras, film tapes and four charges of explosives into the Rover (one, at the request of the MCC, was left in the sun, in the plate of the eastern support of the lunar module). The commander with the help of a partner attached a paper extender to the wing. Repair took about five minutes. Schmitt walked 140 m to the transmitter of the experiment to study the electrical properties of the surface and turned it on. When Cernan rode to him, Schmitt stated that the paper wing was doing its job: the moon dust did not rise up [34] .
From left to right: John Young, Charlie Duke (both with a mustache), Donald Slayton and other NASA staff at MCC are considering ways to repair the Rover’s wing. | Improvised wing at the beginning of the 2nd VKD | Cernan goes to Schmitt after repairing the wing |
Trip to the South Massif
From the transmitter’s location, the astronauts drove west and about 540 meters from the lunar module, without departing from the Rover, installed explosive charge No. 4. After traveling 1.2 km, they reached Camelot crater (600 m in diameter) and turned south west [34] . On the way, Cernan and Schmitt, in agreement with Houston, made a very short unplanned stop. They traveled 3 km, in a straight line to the lunar module was 2.6 km. At the small Schmitt crater, without leaving the Rover, I picked up a stone and a little regolith with a special scoop on a long handle. This method of collecting samples was coined by Schmitt and used on the moon for the first time. During the 2nd and 3rd EVA there will be several such geological stops [35] .
The first stop ( eng. Station 2 ) on this trip was planned in the area of the landslide at the foot of the Southern Massif, at the Nansen crater, named after the Norwegian Arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen . To get to him, the astronauts had to climb on the natural scarp eng. Lee — Lincoln Scarp , towering about 80 m above the valley level. A relatively flat, convenient place for the ascent was found in the pictures taken from orbit, and even before the flight it was called English. Hole-in-the-Wall ( Rus. "Good place" ). It was clearly visible from afar, and Cernan kept heading straight for him. Astronauts entered the area of lighter ground ( eng. Light mantle ) than in other places of the Taurus – Liters valley. The slope steepness in the Hole-in-the-Wall reached 30 °, and in some places Cernan had to lead the Rover in a zigzag fashion. The way up stretched for 600 m and took 5 minutes. In the area of the Nansen crater, astronauts needed to find large boulders that could be identified with traces of rolling down the slopes of the Southern Massif. If they were found, scientists could be confident in obtaining samples of the underlying rock that was exposed high on the mountainside [35] .
As the astronauts approached the Southern Massif, the mountain (altitude 2300 m) looked more and more impressive. When they looked from the lunar module, its top rose above the horizon by 11 °, and the Earth - by 45 °. Near the mountain, its top was 25 ° above the horizon, and the Earth was still 20 ° above. Cernan said that if the Earth begins to hide behind a mountain, Station 2 will have to change the place. Astronauts have been on their way for 70 minutes. From the MCC, they were told that there were 5 minutes to the point of no return. In the event of the failure of one of the packs of the portable life support system and the need to use an emergency oxygen purge system, Cernan and Schmitt would have only 80 minutes to return to the Challenger. The astronauts answered that they were almost there. And soon they stopped at the Nansen crater, having traveled 9.1 km. In a straight line to the lunar module was 7.6 km. The road took 73 minutes. This trip was the longest and longest for the whole time of the Apollo program [35] .
Station 2 at Nansen Crater
Having stopped at the Nansen crater (Station 2), the astronauts cleaned the Rover instruments and the camera from dust, made another measurement using a mobile gravimeter and started collecting samples. They broke off several pieces from three large boulders. One of the fragments of the third boulder will later prove to be the oldest specimen of lunar rock from the Apollo collected during all the expeditions (4.6 billion years ± 0.1 billion years). Nearby, there were no visible signs of these boulders rolling, but their bluish-gray color coincided with the color of the layers of rock seen above on the mountain. In the deepening of one of the boulders, Cernan and Schmitt collected soil on which the sun's rays never fell. At the discretion of the astronauts, the MCC proposed to increase the time spent on Station 2 by 10 minutes by reducing the forthcoming stop at Station 4. The astronauts agreed. Due to the fact that the crater of Nansen was located in a small lowland at the foot of the Southern Massif, the lunar module was not visible, even when the astronauts climbed a little on the slope of the mountain. After working with the third boulder, Cernan kicked him with his foot, he rolled, turning over twice, and stopped. Schmitt kicked him twice more, but the stone did not move anywhere else. The astronauts took the ground from the place where it lay [36] . Work on Station 2 lasted 1 hour 5 minutes 55 seconds [8] .
"Rover" on Station 2 at Nansen crater. To the left of it is the first boulder with which the astronauts worked. To the right of the "Rover" visible traces of it, leading to the right and up to the escarpment | Land over the second boulder. Behind the Boulder - South Massif | Crater Nansen | Permanently shaded ground |
Work at Lara Crater
The place of the next stop ( eng. Station 3 ) was not clearly defined in advance. Any crater that would give an idea of the geological nature of the escarpment could be suitable for it. But before that, when astronauts drove 700 meters from Nansen crater, Houston asked them to stop again, dismount and take measurements with a gravimeter. Schmitt collected a few stones. Cernan, sitting down in the Rover, fell and at the same time dug the regolith , revealing a lighter ground. Was collected bag of this soil. Work at this stop, dubbed Station 2a, lasted 12 minutes. Next, the astronauts went to the northeast. They descended the Hole-in-the-Wall and soon stopped at a young crater 15–20 m in diameter not far from the crater Lara (named after the heroine of Boris Pasternak’s novel Doctor Zhivago ). From the start of the 2nd OCD, 3 hours and 50 minutes passed. Cernan and Schmitt traveled a total of 12.6 km, to the lunar module in a straight line was 6.0 km [37] .
To save time, the PCO asked astronauts to separate and work separately. Cernan was supposed to deepen the double sampling tube (each section was 42 cm in length) and measure with a gravimeter, and Schmitt alone to collect samples and photograph a panorama on the camera. The commander managed to quite easily and quickly deepen the sampling tube, with each hammer blow she entered the regolite by about 5 cm. On Earth, the soil column in the lower section, which Cernan would pack in a sealed metal container, was supposed to be left intact until improved methods of scientific analysis. She was supposed to be a time capsule . Telecommunications operator in MCC Robert Parker asked Cernan not to forget to put in there a small note for posterity. “Yes, I will attach a note. No one will know, ”answered Cernan. It was an impromptu joke. And so that the scientists did not understand him literally, the commander took out the sampler, went to the Rover and showed an open tube to the camera. The regolith was clearly visible with small stones. Sealed the container, Cernan added: “Okay, the long bank is closed, and I think no one knows what is in it except for me” [38] .
Sampling alone went with Schmitt not as productively as if the astronauts did it together. It was quite difficult to hold the package with my left hand and pour the soil in it with the right in a spacesuit. Schmitt accidentally pushed the container with the samples, he overturned, and all the bags fell out of it. Schmitt dropped to his knees and hands, put the container upright and packed all the bags into it. Holding the container, Schmitt tried to get up, but stumbled and fell on his chest. After that, he finally got up. Houston asked Schmitt to shoot a panorama. From the start of the 2nd OCD, 4 hours and 20 minutes passed. On Station 3, the astronauts were 29 minutes [38] .
Ballet Crater. Behind him is the scarp slope to the left In the foreground on the right is a scoop and sample container. | Cernan at Rover at Station 3 | Schmitt Ballet |
Having hurried astronauts on the road, Parker said that there was no end to the callers from the Houston Ballet Foundation calling for MCC, asking if Schmitt would be able to perform with them next season. “I hope I can,” Schmitt replied and jumped up high on his right leg twice, while the left one was stretched back and bent at the knee. Later, a small crater, whose astronauts worked on Station 3, was named Eng. Ballet Crater [38] .
Orange Ground
From Station 3, Cernan and Schmitt drove north-east. They made the next stop (Station 4) at a large boulder on the edge of the Shorty crater (diameter 100 m). From the start of the 2nd OCD, 4 hours and 49 minutes passed. In total, the astronauts traveled 15.1 km, to the lunar module in a straight line was 4.2 km. About 30 minutes remained at work in this place [38] .
While Cernan was cleaning the battery and the Rover's camera from dust, Schmitt began to inspect the boulder and reported that he discovered orange soil next to him. Cernan asked him not to touch anything until he himself looked (later Cernan admitted that at first he wondered if his partner was tired of his long stay on the Moon). “He is everywhere! Orange! ”Schmitt continued excitedly. "Really. I can see it even from here, ”Cernan confirmed and, raising the sun - protection mask , confirmed it again. Orange color was distinguishable for specialists and on Earth on the TV picture, which was transmitted by the Rover's camera. (The post-flight analysis of the orange soil showed that it consisted of very small glass beads with a high content of titanium and a low content of quartz . The intensity of color depended on the ratio between titanium and iron ). Schmitt said that closer to the center of the zone of orange soil has a crimson hue , then goes into orange and, finally, into the usual gray . Schmitt has dug a groove. Astronauts collected orange soil samples, including a column using a double sampling tube. When it was removed, the open end of the lower section was filled with very dark, almost black ground (on Earth, it turns out that this ilmenite is in the form of the smallest balls of crystallized glass, similar in composition to orange, but having a different cooling history). From the beginning of the 2nd VKD 5 hours 3 minutes passed. Safety rules in case of a foot return to the lunar module left no more than 20 minutes to this stop. Finally, Cernan removed the panorama from the Shorty crater, and Schmitt broke off a piece of the size of a fist from a boulder (the boulder was very cracked). The astronauts for the first time turned on the receiver of an experiment to study the electrical properties of the surface, which, together with the antenna, was located behind the Rover, on the bookcase for tools, and drove on [39] . Work on Station 4 at the Shorty crater lasted 36 minutes 6 seconds [8] .
Schmitt at "Rover" on Station 4. Between the "Rover" and the boulder you can see a spot of orange soil. Right - Crater Shorty | Orange ground | Crater Shorty. On the inner wall of the crater, to the left of the center, there is a streak of orange soil. |
Panorama shot by Sernan at the Shorty crater |
Camelot Crater and Completion of the 2nd WBC
Having traveled about 1.5 km east of the Shorty crater, the astronauts made a very short stop at the Victory crater and, without leaving the Rover, placed another explosive charge on the ground, filmed a circular panorama and took a sample of the ground. Further, the path lay to the crater of Camelot. The next geological stop ( eng. Station 5 ) Cernan and Schmitt made a Camelot crater on the southwestern edge of the crater, near the field of boulders. 1.4 km to the lunar module in a straight line [40] . The astronauts with a hammer broke off pieces of several boulders, collected lunar dust, which lay on one of them, and regolith from an open space between large stones [41] . Work on Station 5 lasted 30 minutes 43 seconds [8] .
Boulders on the edge of the Camelot crater. Behind them is the far wall of the crater. Away - Northern Massif | Schmitt collects samples on Station 5 | Shot from the panorama, filmed by Cernan at the crater of Camelot. Schmitt runs to "Rover" |
The astronauts drove further east along the edge of the Camelot crater and saw a lunar module from a distance of 1.1 km. They drove to the tracks of the Rover, which he left on the way to Station 2. Schmitt said: “Someone has been here before us.” Then they drove past the charge of explosives, which they installed at the beginning of the 2nd EVA. At about 400 meters from the Challenger, they placed another explosive charge, No. 8. The PMU asked Schmitt to dismount at the ALSEP devices in order to inspect the stationary gravimeter . Cernan brought him to the central station, and himself, having traveled the southern geophone cable, returned to the lunar module [42] . During the 2nd EVD, astronauts traveled 20.3 km. The Rover was in motion for 2 hours and 25 minutes [3] Specialists on Earth could not understand what was happening with the gravimeter, and they thought that it was not exactly level. But the level bubble was exactly in the center. Despite this, Schmitt was asked to move the device and install it again exactly. On the way to the lunar module, Schmitt collected regolith caked into glass from the center of a small crater. The astronauts cleaned each other from lunar dust, collected sample containers, cameras, film cassettes, and climbed into the LM cabin [42] . 2nd VKD lasted 7 hours 36 minutes 56 seconds. 34.1 kg of lunar rock were collected [3] .
In the booth of the Challenger, Schmitt was again allergic to moon dust, although not as strong as the first day. Having done all the necessary procedures after the ECD, the astronauts answered the questions of specialists in the MCC. They were 2 hours behind schedule. In Houston, it was already 03:23 on Wednesday, December 13th . Evans, flying close to the landing area at the 32nd orbit, slept soundly for a long time. The astronauts had dinner, and Houston wished them good night, promising not to wake them up to full 8 hours and not to cut off the 7-hour 3rd UCM [43] .
Third Day on the Moon
Trip to the Northern Massif
The MCC kept its promise about sleep and woke the astronauts exactly after 8 hours, when the second hour of the day was already in Houston on December 13 [44] . The Challenger cab was depressurized 53 minutes behind schedule [8] . Descending the stairs, Cernan once again said: “God help the Apollo 17 crew!” It was about 4:30 pm in Houston. Soon he was joined by Schmitt. By the beginning of the 3rd EVA, the Sun had already risen 33 ° above the horizon, and the astronauts found that it had become easier to look eastward. From the MCC they were informed that during the day their shadows would be about 8 feet (2.4 m) long. Schmitt wondered how much it would be in meters. There was no answer. Cernan replied: “I'll draw you, measure out with steps. You yourself can measure. " Because of the increase in solar activity, astronauts were asked to remove the cosmic ray detector in the suitcase for cameras and film [45] .
Cernan at the "Rover" at the beginning of the 3rd VKD | "Challenger", the third day. Garbage bags at the right support | Schmitt before the third trip. In the glass mask (with an increase) visible reflections of the Earth over the southern massif and photographing Sernan |
On the third trip, Cernan and Schmitt were to visit the Northern Massif. They drove 3 km to the English cliff . Turning Point Rock at the foot of the mountain. At this point, the astronauts, without leaving the "Rover", took a sample of the ground with a shovel and turned to the east. They climbed diagonally along a slope of about 20 °. The stop ( eng. Station 6 ) was made at a huge split boulder that rolled down from the Northern Massif [8] .
Station 6 at Tracy's Rock
Stopping at the cliff, both astronauts had difficulty unloading from the Rover. On the steep slope, Cernan was higher up the slope, Schmitt - lower. From the beginning of the 3rd VKD, they drove 3.8 km, to the lunar module in a straight line was 3.1 km. Station 6 was located at an altitude of 76 meters above the Taurus – Littre valley. The whole valley from this place was visible, in full view, including the Challenger almost in its center. The 6 x 10 × 18 m rock actually consisted of five fragments. Apparently, it split up 22 million years ago by 1200 m from the Northern Massif with a height difference of 500 m. The astronauts split many pieces from different fragments of the rock with a hammer and collected the lunar soil in a place where the sun's rays never hit. Cernan discovered that a fragment of the rock that lay higher than the others along the slope was covered with a thick layer of regolith . He leaned his left hand on the stone, and his right, holding the sample bag, twice scooped up the moon dust, and then took some pictures. Concluding his stay at this stop, Cernan reported to the Earth that the wheels of the Rover, made of metal mesh, in two places received dents the size of a golf ball . But Schmitt could not get on his seat, it was lower down the slope. He walked down about 100 meters to a small crater, where Cernan picked it up [46] . Work on Station 6 lasted 1 hour 10 minutes 46 seconds [8] .
Rock Turning Point Rock | Schmitt at Station 6 Rock. View from the north. In the distance, just to the right of the cliff top, on the light strip at the landing site, the Challenger is barely visible. This is a combination of two shots of the panorama captured by Cernan. | Schmitt on the other side of the cliff. View from the south | Fragment of the rock from which Cernan collected soil. On the left, the astronaut's handprint, to the right, the grooves left by the sample bag |
The rock, in which the astronauts worked, received several names after the flight: Eng. Station 6 Boulder (Rock), Split Boulder (Rock) and Tracy's Rock (named after the daughter of Cernan). Upon the return of the astronauts to Earth, the pictures of the cliff on Station 6 were printed in many newspapers and magazines. Apollo-12 astronaut Alan Bean , who became an artist after leaving NASA, wanted to draw astronauts at this boulder. He met with Cernan to ask him about the details. During the conversation, Cernan said that if he knew that the pictures of the rock would become so famous, he would have written something on the moon dust, for example, the name of his daughter Tracy, who at the time of the flight was 9 years old. Bean asked Cernan to write on a piece of paper exactly how he would have written his daughter's name. When the picture was ready, Bean invited Cernan to come see what happened. In the place on the rock where Cernan took samples of the lunar dust, the name of his daughter was written. According to Bean, by drawing this picture, he saved a colleague from the hassle associated with re-flying to the moon to write a name, and taxpayers from the costs of sending Cernan [46] .
Five fragments of Station 6 Rock, shot from the LRO spacecraft orbit in December 2013. The trail of rolling rocks has a length of 980 m. Just below the rock are visible traces of "Rover" | “Challenger” (left of center), shot by Schmitt from Station 6 on camera with 500 mm lens | Schmitt at the "Rover" on Station 6. When the sunscreen is raised, you can see the astronaut's face | Alan Bean's painting "Tracy's Rock" |
Stations 7 and 8
The location of the next geological stop ( Station 7 ) was not clearly defined in advance. Astronauts had to descend to the foot of the Northern Massif and in a short period of time (10-15 minutes) collect more various stones. Cernan and Schmitt drove diagonally down the slope in an easterly direction about 500 meters and stopped at a placer of boulders. Work on Station 7 lasted 22 minutes. The astronauts collected several sacks of samples and a separate stone of about the size of a soccer ball [8] [47] .
Schmitt at Rover at Station 7 | Boulders on Station 7. In the background - the South Massif | Not a boulder rolled down after Cernan worked with a hammer. Near Schmitt with scoop | Schmitt and Rover on Station 8 at the foot of the Scalpchat Hills |
From Station 7, the astronauts drove further east and, having traveled for about 2 km, stopped at the foot of the hills of the Scalpchat Hills. This place became the easternmost point not only of their trips, but also the easternmost place from the Apollo expeditions visited [8] . From the start of the 3rd EVD, Cernan and Schmitt traveled 6.6 km, in a straight line to the lunar module was 4.0 km. While Cernan was cleaning the camera of the Rover from dust, Schmitt began collecting samples. By this time, due to overheating, the experimental equipment for studying the electrical properties of the surface had failed. The commander noticed that the paper wing of the right rear wheel again needs repair, it held on only one clamp. Jumping like a kangaroo , Schmitt climbed the slope about 50 m from the Rover. He decided to roll a small boulder down to Cernan, which worked with a hammer with another stone near the moon car. Schmitt kicked a stone with a foot, it rolled a little, but got up. The astronaut kicked him a few more times. The stone rolled a little more and stopped in a hollow. “Come on! Go for it! Listen, I would slide down this slope easily, and why not you? ”- Schmitt said to the stone. “There is not enough 5/6 gravity, ” Cernan suggested. Schmitt took the ground from the place where the stone lay before it was disturbed. Cernan went up to his partner and hammered several pieces from the boulder. Having gone down, the astronauts collected small pebbles and regolith with a scoop-rake. Schmitt dug a groove about 25 cm deep and took samples of the regolith from various depths, and Cernan adjusted the Rover's wing. At the end of his stay at Station 8, the commander, sitting down in a lunomob in a jump, missed and fell on his back next to the Rover with his feet up the slope. He couldn’t get up on his own, nor turn over his legs. Schmitt helped him to turn his face down, and then helped him to stand up, with his hand pushing Cernan up behind the glass mask. The astronaut got very dirty with moon mud. The suit pockets were full of regolith [48] . Work on Station 8 lasted 47 minutes 53 seconds [8] .
Station 9 at Van Zerg Crater
Further, the path of the astronauts lay to the south-west, in the direction of the lunar module. According to the plan, two more geological stops were ahead. Schmitt noticed that moon dust was beginning to shower again, as if the wing had become loose again. Cernan suggested that it was deformed. Overcoming a large field of boulders, Cernan clawed the bottom of the Rover about one of them. The next stop ( eng. Station 9 ) was made according to the plan at the crater Van Zerg. Before the lunar module remained 2.2 km. The commander discovered that the Rover's wing had folded down, and this allowed the dust to rise [49] . From the MCC, with great delay, it was reported that the receiver of the experiment to determine the electrical properties of the surface had disconnected due to overheating even at Station 6 and has not functioned since. The specialists hoped that it would cool down and work again, but this did not happen. In the regolith at the crater Van Zerg astronauts found many small balls of dark glass . Despite the large number of boulders and stones, there were no debris from the underlying rock, which was incomprehensible to the geologist Schmitt. The MCC noted that Schmitt’s oxygen supply would not allow astronauts to be out of the ship for more than 7 hours and 30 minutes. At the very end of his stay at Station 9, Schmitt discovered a lighter layer under the dark surface layer of the regolith. After digging a groove, the astronauts collected it from different depths. Houston decided to abandon the last stop ( Eng. Station 10 ) at the crater Sherlock. MCC asked astronauts to deepen a double sampling tube and place explosive charge No. 5 on the surface [50] .
Cernan shoots panorama on the edge of the van Zerg crater | "Rover" in the middle of a field of boulders at the crater Van Zerg | Siernan with a double sampling tube on Station 9. In the foreground in the center - a charge of explosives | Schmitt jumps on the seat "Rover" on Station 9 |
Returning to the lunar module, the astronauts made a short stop 1.1 km from Challenger. Schmitt, without dismounting, collected soil samples. Then they stopped almost at the ship, 30 m east of the transmitter antenna of the experiment to determine the electrical properties of the surface (190 m from the LM). Schmitt, descending from the Rover, found that a shelf for tools behind the moon car was open. Over the course of the entire EVD, astronauts experienced problems with its lock. It was very dirty with dust and began to open and close badly. According to Schmitt, everything was in place, the main thing - a large container with samples that hung on a shelf. He did not notice, however, the loss of the scoop and rake-scoop, as well as two long arms for tools that fell out somewhere along the way. At this point, Schmitt installed the charge of explosive No. 2 and picked up a large stone not far away, which he noticed during the 1st EVD. This basalt weighing 8.11 kg (sample number 70215) will be the most massive sample that the Apollo 17 astronauts deliver to Earth. Its fragments were later presented to the public in various expositions and became the only moonstones that were ever allowed to be touched by anyone who wanted [51] . In total for the 3rd EVD, astronauts covered a distance of 12 km [52] .
The charge of explosive number 2 (in the foreground below). The bookcase for tools behind the Rover is open. On it to the right of Sernan the container for samples hangs. | Sample No. 70215 at the Moon Reception Laboratory on Earth |
Completion of the 3rd WBC
Upon returning to the Challenger, the astronauts unloaded the containers with the collected samples. The PMU asked them to collect regolith in a sealed metal cup, contaminated by the exhaust of the engine of the landing stage. He was recruited under the lunar module, near the back support, with the help of a scoop, with which Schmitt collected samples while sitting on the Rover [52] .
Land over the "Challenger" | Schmitt at Rover after the end of the third trip. The pallet from under the device for studying the electrical properties of the surface is leaning against the LM support | Cernan at the end of the 3rd CID |
The astronauts planned to hold the ceremony to complete the last excursion to the surface of the moon, but they almost forgot about their plans. They tried to remind them from the MCC several times, but Schmitt had already gone to the ALSEP devices, and Cernan was going to take the Rover to the place of the last stop. Finally, the commander understood what he was talking about and called Schmitt back. For the ceremony needed a stone. Cernan picked up a boulder the size of a soccer ball on Station 9 and laid it on the moon car, at his feet. But his partner packed it in a container. Schmitt picked up a piece of basalt the size of a fist, and both astronauts stood in front of the camera. Addressing the young people of the planet, who are hoping for the future, Cernan said that the pieces of the moonstone will be sent to all countries of the world as a symbol of the fact that in the future humanity can live in peace and harmony. This stone (sample No. 70017) weighing 3 kg later became known as Eng. The Goodwill Rock ("Goodwill Stone"). Nearly 500 stone fragments were transferred to 135 countries of the world, including the Soviet Union (together with the small flags of these countries flying to the Moon aboard the Apollo 17), all US states and territories, as well as leading museums and research centers [52 ] .
Plaque left on the moon by the crew | Cernan holds The Goodwill Rock (photo from the TV monitor screen) | Cernan opens the memorial tablet | "Rover" at the site of the last parking (extensions of both rear wings have already been removed) |
Then Cernan opened the memorial plate on the front support of the lunar module. It depicted the Western and Eastern hemispheres of the Earth, the Moon between them and the inscription: “Here the Man completed his first exploration of the Moon, December 1972 after Christ . May the spirit of the world with which we come reflect in the life of all mankind. ” Below were the signatures of all three astronauts and US President Richard Nixon . After the ceremony, Cernan, having made the last measurement with a gravimeter , threw the device away with the movement of a hammer thrower . Then he put the "Rover" in the place of the last stop, where the MCC will be able to observe the upcoming takeoff. Post-flight analysis of photographs showed that Cernan set the Rover 158 meters east of the Challenger. The commander took off the paper wing (it is on display at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington ) and the extension of the rear left wing (exhibited at the Museum of the Lyndon Johnson Space Center ). Schmitt, meanwhile, additionally leveled the ALSEP central station and the stationary gravimeter . MCC asked to knock on it and move it back and forth. Then Schmitt photographed all the instruments and removed the neutron flux detector from the hole in the deep soil sample. Cernan cleaned the Rover equipment from dust [52] . Finally, he knelt down beside the moonmobile and wrote his daughter's initials in the lunar dust: English. TDC (Theresa [Tracy] Dawn Cernan) [8] . Taking with him the last charge of explosives (No. 3), he went to the lunar module. Cernan put it on the ground at the end of the western cable of the transmitter antenna of an experiment to study the electrical properties of the surface (35 m west of the transmitter and 110 m east of the Challenger). Approaching the lunar module, Cernan decided to throw a geological hammer that had become unnecessary. Schmitt asked to provide it to him, because Cernan is already a metal gravimeter. The commander yielded, only asked not to get into the ship or into the ALSEP devices. Schmitt threw the hammer like a disk thrower . The instrument flew for a long time (Cernan managed to take a few pictures) and fell, throwing up a regolith fountain and forming a small crater.
Challenger, shot by Schmitt from ALSEP devices. To the left of LM, Cernan is visible in the distance at the site of the last parking lot of the Rover | Flight of the hammer (against the black sky) | The hammer fell, whipping up a fountain of moon dust (just below the hollow between two hills) | Schmitt watches as dust settles after the hammer falls. This is the last photo of the Apollo astronaut on the moon outside the ship. |
Astronauts cleaned each other from dirt. Both had only a few minutes left for the critically small volumes of oxygen reserves. Schmitt first climbed into the cabin of the lunar module. Cernan handed him four containers with samples and a briefcase with cameras and film. Then he said the words of farewell to the Moon [52] :
Bob, this is Jin, I am on the surface (of the Moon) and, taking the last step of a person from the surface of the house for a while, but we believe, not very long, I would just like to (say) what I think will go in history. That today's challenge of America forged the future fate of mankind. And, leaving the Moon in Taurus-Littres, we leave the same way as we came, and, if it is the Lord’s will, return with peace and hope for all mankind. God help the Apollo 17 crew.
Original Text (Eng.)Bob, this is a Gene; I would like to make it a little bit more. Man’s destined tomorrow. We are willing to give you our peace of mind. "Godspeed the crew of Apollo 17."
In an interview in 2000, Cernan first said that he had not prepared his short farewell speech in advance. The right words came to him just a few minutes before they were spoken. But since the crew members very carefully selected the call signs for their ships, the commander planned to use two words in advance: Eng. "America" and English. "Challenge" . Cernan climbed into the Challenger cab and closed the hatch [52] . The last exit to the surface lasted 7 hours and 15 minutes and 8 seconds. During it, the astronauts collected 62 kg of samples of lunar rocks. In total, Cernan and Schmitt were outside the ship for 22 hours 3 minutes 57 seconds. They traveled 35.7 km on the Rover. The maximum distance from the lunar module was 7.6 km. A total of 110.52 kg of geological samples were collected [3] .
After the 3rd WBC
The astronauts inflated the cockpit and connected the spacesuits to the life support system of the lunar module. From the MCC, they were informed about two records set by them: the duration of a single lunar VKD (second) and the total duration of lunar VKD. In addition, the total duration of WCS on the moon under the Apollo program , according to Houston, was 80 hours, 44 minutes and 8 seconds. Cernan and Schmitt weighed sample containers. Then they unsealed the cabin again to throw away all unnecessary. Schmitt with his hands pushed the pack of the portable life support system for Cernan. He rolled down the stairs. Cernan threw the Schmitt satchel, but he was stuck on the landing in front of the hatch. The commander had to push him with his foot. The astronauts decided to take their moon boots back to Earth and did not throw them away. Instead, they threw away their spare, unused gloves. MCC allowed the crew to leave on board all the samples, the mass limit was exceeded by only 18 kg. Astronauts took off their spacesuits and during dinner answered questions from geologists. By the time of Houston it was already about half past two in the night. Following the instructions of the TsUP, the astronauts laid out the sample containers in the cabin to optimize the center of mass of the takeoff stage of the ship and fuel consumption. Houston promised to give them 8 hours of rest and wished him to sleep peacefully [53] .
Cernan after the third exit | A gravimeter shot from the Sernan window. Below and to the left are visible dark impact craters at the site of its fall and rebounds. | At the bottom of the picture - Schmitt's satchel. In the upper right corner - Geophone Rock | Schmitt after the 3rd EVA |
The fourth day on the moon. Rise and return to orbit
On December 14, the MCC was supposed to wake the astronauts shortly after noon (Houston time). But they made themselves known a quarter of an hour earlier. Cernan and Schmitt, with a discordant duet, suddenly sang “Good morning to you” to telecom operator Gordon Fullerton . He, in turn, started a symphonic poem by Richard Strauss, prepared for the ascent, “ Thus spoke Zarathustra .” The astronauts had already had their breakfast, before the take-off from the moon there was a little less than five hours. From the MCC, they were told that Ron Evans had successfully completed a maneuver to change the orbital plane of “America” (in three days the rotation of the moon led the orbit of the command and service module far away from the landing area). Schmitt said that at night he was awakened by a loud noise during the transmission of a communication channel from one tracking station to another. He said that in honor of this event and in the continuation of the traditions of the flight of the Apollo 8 [Comm. 3] wrote a poem , which he immediately read. Shortly after breakfast, the astronauts put on their spacesuits and for the fifth time during their stay on the Moon they unsealed the Challenger cab to throw away two bags of rubbish. This 5th EVA has become very short. Luke remained open for exactly 60 seconds. [54]
The ignition of the main engine of the take-off stage was switched on at 22:54:37 UTC on December 14 (185: 21: 37 flight time). The duration of the stay of Sernan and Schmitt on the Moon was 74 hours 59 minutes 40 seconds [3] . After launching the camera operator Rover in Houston, for 26 seconds, it was possible to hold the Challenger in the frame, then he lost it, again caught in the frame, but not for long. When he made the panorama back down, it turned out that the US flag stood in its place. He just turned like a weather vane around its axis under the influence of a jet stream. If, after installation, its panel was pointing east, then after takeoff, it turned north. Also in its place and rested pan from under the device to study the electrical properties of the surface. In the 1st WCD, Cernan leaned him against the northern support of the landing stage [54] .
Immediately after the start of take-off, when transmitting a channel from one station of remote space communications to another, problems with radio communications arose. For four minutes, the astronauts did not hear the MCC, in addition, the tracking information was lost. Cernan later said that Schmitt spent almost half of his take-off time to establish a connection [54] . The engine of the take-off stage of the lunar module worked 441 seconds. The ship entered the initial orbit with a height of 89.8 x 16.9 km. Two maneuvers of convergence "Challenger" was transferred to orbit 119.8 x 89.8 km [3] . At the final stage of the rapprochement, Cernan and Schmitt in the Challenger flew back to the Moon, “America” was right in front of them. For Evans, who filmed the process on a television camera, and for observers on Earth, everything looked so that the lunar module approached, rising from the moon. When the distance between the ships decreased to about 30 m, Cernan stopped moving closer. Evans slowly deployed "America" so that his colleagues could properly inspect the ship on which they were to return to Earth. After that, Cernan very slowly completed the rapprochement and docked the Challenger to the command and service module. Two and a quarter of an hour passed from takeoff to docking [55] .
The landing site of Apollo 17, taken by the LRO satellite on August 14, 2011. In the center is the landing stage of the Challenger. Just north of it - the flag of the United States. On the left is Geophone Rock. North of it are the ALSEP devices. On the right - the transmitter and antenna of the experiment on the study of the electrical properties of the surface (SEP). South - "Rover" at the site of the last parking | Challenger during rapprochement | "America" before docking | LM before docking. Eugene Cernan is visible in the right window. |
After the hatches were opened, Evans handed over a vacuum cleaner to his colleagues. Vacuuming, Cernan and Schmitt handed Evans containers with samples and space suits with helmets and transferred to the command module. A large bag of garbage that Evans had accumulated during the three days of work alone was loaded into the take-off stage of the LM. The astronauts put on their spacesuits, checked the cabin tightness and increased the pressure in the transition tunnel. When they unlocked the docking station , this overpressure gently deflected the Challenger from America. Upon a command from the MCC, for 1 minute 56 seconds, the engines of the take-off stage orientation system were turned on; it descended from orbit. It was planned that the Challenger would collide with the Moon on the eastern slope of the Southern Massif. On Earth, they turned on the Rover camera and waited for this event, running close up at the place of the expected collision. However, they did not see anything [55] . But the blow was recorded by all seismographs left on the moon. The point where the Challenger hit the surface is 1.75 km from the planned one and 9.9 km south-west of the Apollo 17 landing site. Its coordinates are 19.96 ° N. 30.50 ° E [3] When “America” flew over the landing area, Evans told the MCC that he sees a small fresh crater of a very light color on the Southern Massif, which, he said, was not there before. According to calculations, the diameter of the crater formed after the collision should have been about 17 meters [55] .
Work in orbit
The 10th day of the flight, December 15 , was the last full working day in circumlunar orbit . Most of the time, astronauts have devoted visual geological observations. After discovering the orange ground at the crater, Shorty Evans and Schmitt were looking for portions of the lunar surface that were painted with pyroclastic emissions . In the area of the Shorty crater itself, the orange color of the surface, observed earlier by Evans, has disappeared. This was apparently due to the changed lighting conditions. But then, to the west of the landing area, craters were found, the surroundings of which were also painted orange, as well as red and reddish-brown. Especially many of them were in the area of the crater Sulpicius Gall on the southwestern margin of the Sea of Clarity [55] .
The MCC informed astronauts of the preliminary results of some scientific experiments. For example, measurements made on the 33rd coil (after the 2nd ECS of Cernan and Schmitt) using an infrared radiometer of the module of scientific instruments of “America” showed that after 11.6 days of the moonlit night Kepler C crater is a “warm spot” with a temperature of 132 K against the background of the surrounding surface, cooled down to 94 K. This indicated that the covering of emissions of rock from the crater retains heat better. The seismic profiling experiment registered both the rise of the Challenger and its fall onto the Southern Massif. The speed of wave propagation in the regolith turned out to be very close to that in the landing area of the Apollo 16 . A preliminary analysis of the information obtained using a mobile gravimeter suggested that the Taurus – Littre valley was filled with a layer of basalt rocks 3-4 km thick. On the same day, two of eight (No. 6 and 7) explosive charges left on the Moon were blown up by a team from Earth. The second explosion (flare and regolith ejection) in the MCC was observed with the help of the Rover camera [3] [55] .
Return
December 16, Houston woke up the astronauts song of The Doors " Light My Fire ". Ron Evans, who was on duty and slept in headphones, slept through it all. Cernan suggested the MCC to start the song again, but then Evans woke up. Nevertheless, the proposal was accepted, and the song was launched again specifically for Evans. About eight hours after the ascent, the main engine of the service module was turned on over the back side of the moon . He worked 2 minutes 23.7 seconds. After 75 orbits in the lunar orbit, which lasted 147 hours 43 minutes and 37.11 seconds, the ship lay on its way back to Earth [3] . The astronauts conducted a 25-minute broadcast, showing the types of the rapidly receding moon. Evans started having stomach problems. For the first time during the flight, the MCC activated a closed communication channel so that the astronaut could communicate privately with doctors [55] . Three more explosive charges were blown up on the moon (No. 4, 1 and 8). Several attempts to turn on the camera "Rover" ended in vain. Later, it was found that the lunar information transmitter failed due to overheating [3] .
Evans (left) and Schmitt on the way back to Earth | Schmitt shaved off his beard, mustache | Cernan is trying to clean the moon dust from under the nails |
On December 17, after raising the mission, the astronauts told the astronauts that they had just crossed the border, beyond which the earth’s impact on the ship was stronger than the moon. This happened at a distance of 62 638 km from the Moon and 317 790 km from the Earth. The speed of “America” at that moment was about 4225.6 km / h. The main event of the day was the exit of Evans into outer space in interplanetary space . When opening the exit hatch, a felt-tip pen emerged from the cockpit, but Evans lost scissors did not appear. The astronaut secured the bracket near the hatch and mounted a camera on it. Holding onto the railings on the outer skin of the ship, Evans made his way three times to the scientific instrument module and back. He in turn drew and handed over to Schmitt, who was standing in the open hatch, the filmed tapes with the film of the probe on the profiling of the lunar surface, the panoramic and mapping cameras. This EVD lasted 1 hour 5 minutes 44 seconds (Evans was outside the ship for 45 minutes 20 seconds). The total duration of the Apollo 17 astronauts extravehicular activity was 23 hours 9 minutes 41 seconds. On the same day, the last three charges of explosives were blown up by a team from TsUPa on the moon. When the astronauts began the penultimate period of night rest before returning, their ship was at a distance of 250,412 km from the Earth [3] [8] .
Ron Evans during spacewalk. To the right of him is the sickle of the Earth. | Evans removed the cassette with panoramic camera film (white cylindrical object) |
On December 18, the crew was woken up by the song of the American duet The Carpenters "We've Only Just Begun." Astronauts attempted to find Evans scissors. From the MCC they were prompted by various places where they could go. But the search was not successful. [Comm. 4] [56] . The crew conducted another phosphene observation experiment. This time, none of the astronauts saw a single flash. Doctors on Earth suspected that Schmitt had overslept the whole experiment, his heartbeat was too slow for a waking man [1] . Cernan, Evans and Schmitt gave a press conference that lasted a little less than half an hour and was broadcast on television. When the astronauts went to bed, the ship was 135,733 km from Earth [8] .
On the landing day, December 19, the military song of the US Naval Academy “ Anchors Aweigh ” was heard in the headphones of the astronauts who were still sleeping "( Rus. Anchors on weight ) and immediately after it - the US anthem . 38 minutes after the ascent, at a distance of 46,330.2 km from the Earth, a 9-second switch-on of the engines of the orientation system was carried out with the only path correction on the way back. Less than three hours later, at 301 hours 23 minutes 49 seconds of flight time, the service module of America was separated from the command one. The ship entered the Earth’s dense atmosphere at a speed of 39,600.8 km / h at 301: 38: 38 at an altitude of 121.9 km. The return flight to Earth lasted 67 hours 34 minutes 5 seconds. Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific at 19:24:59 UTC at coordinates , 350 nautical miles northeast of Samoa and 6.5 km from the search and rescue ship of the US Navy Ticonderoga [8] . The net duration of the mission (excluding translation hours) was 301 hours 51 minutes 59 seconds, or 12 days 13 hours 51 minutes 59 seconds. 52 minutes after the landing, Cernan, Evans and Schmitt were delivered by helicopter aboard the aircraft carrier . After another 71 minutes, their space ship was also delivered there [3] .
Astronauts take turns lifting aboard the search helicopter (in the background aircraft carrier Tikonderoga) | Cernan (waving his hand), Evans (standing a little higher) and Schmitt delivered to the aircraft carrier "Ticonderoga" | Command module "Apollo 17" on the deck of an aircraft carrier | In orange suits from left to right: Cernan, Evans and Schmitt prepare to cut the “Return Cake” |
Ship after flight
After the flight, the command module of the ship was sent to deactivate the North Island carrier base , in San Diego ( California ), where he arrived on December 27th . Deactivation ended on December 30th . On January 2, 1973, "America" was delivered for a post-flight analysis to one of the plants of the space division of North American Rockwell Corporation in Downey (California) . Currently in the exposition of the Houston Space Center at the Lyndon Johnson Space Center [3] [57] .
Achievements and records of Apollo 17
The flight of the Apollo 17 was the longest manned flight to the moon. A record number of lunar rock samples were delivered to Earth. Records were set of the duration of the stay of astronauts on the lunar surface and on the lunar orbit . Apollo 17 became the most productive and almost trouble-free lunar expedition. During the flight, the ship covered a distance of 2 391 486 km [8] .
Flight | Mass of scientific instruments delivered to the moon (kg) | Duration of lunar VKD (h / min) | Covered distance on the moon (km) | Brought soil samples (kg) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Apollo 11 | 104 | 2:24 | 0.25 | 20.7 |
Apollo 12 | 166 | 7:29 | 2.0 | 34.1 |
Apollo 14 | 209 | 9:23 | 3.3 | 42,8 |
Apollo 15 | 550 | 18:33 | 27.9 | 76.6 |
Apollo 16 | 563 | 20:14 | 26.9 | 95.7 |
Apollo 17 | 514 | 22:03:57 | 35.7 | 110.5 |
Main scientific results
Moon geology
The Apollo 17 crew set two main geological tasks: to obtain samples of the ancient rocks of the lunar highlands and to find evidence of relatively recent volcanic activity in the Taurus – Litrov valley. Astronauts collected and brought 741 samples of rock and regolith . The samples collected in the valley turned out to be mainly basalts , formed 3.7–3.8 billion years ago. Based on photographs and observations made from orbit during the Apollo 15 expedition, scientists believed that volcanic activity could take place relatively recently in the landing area. Astronauts examined the shortie crater to determine if it is a volcanic crater . On the edge of the crater was discovered orange soil from small balls of orange and black volcanic glass , formed as a result of the eruption of 3.64 billion years ago. The Shorty crater turned out to be the usual impact crater of a much younger age [58] .
Orange ground under the microscope (orange and black volcanic glass) | Troctolite in the lunar receiving laboratory. Weight 156 g, about 5 cm in diameter |
Many very old stones were collected at the foot of the mountains to the north and south of the landing site. The study of these stones showed that a very strong meteoric impact, which formed the Sea of Clarity basin, occurred 3.89 billion years ago. Some stones, in the composition of which norit , troctolite and dunite were found , were formed even earlier, 4.2-4.5 billion years ago [58] .
Astronaut's findings allowed the age of the Tycho crater to be determined (85 km in diameter), which is located in the southern part of the visible side of the moon at a distance of 2,250 km from the landing area. One of the crater beams crosses the Taurus – Littre valley. Studies have shown that samples taken from such diverse geological formations as the Light Mentle ( English Light Mantle ) and craters at the bottom of the valley, were exposed to cosmic rays for the same number of years. The conclusion of scientists: the impact that formed the Tycho crater occurred shortly before dinosaurs died out on Earth, 109 ± 4 million years ago [59] .
Experiments on the surface of the moon
- Seismic profiling experiment. In the course of the experiment, after the departure of astronauts from the moon, eight commands of explosives weighing from 57 g to 2.7 kg were blown up by commands from the Earth. The experiment showed that the speed of propagation of seismic waves in the upper several hundred meters of the crust is from 0.1 to 0.3 km / s. This is much less than the speed characteristic of solid rocks on Earth, but is consistent with the highly cracked, breccia-like material that forms on the Moon as a result of prolonged meteorite bombardment. It was found that at the Apollo 17 landing site, the basalt surface layer is 1.4 km thick, which is slightly higher than the 1 km value obtained using a mobile gravimeter [60] .
- Mobile gravimeter. The measurements were made at 12 stops during three astronaut trips. The results of the experiment showed that the thickness of the basalt layer in the landing area is 1 km. This is slightly lower than the results of the seismic profiling experiment [61] .
- Stationary lunar gravimeter. The experiment, designed to detect gravitational waves , failed due to the error of the device manufacturer [62] .
- The experiment to determine emissions of lunar soil particles and meteorites was designed to determine the speed and direction of motion of the smallest particles arriving to the moon from the outside, such as fragments of comets or interstellar dust , as well as ejected from the surface as a result of meteorite impacts. However, an analysis of the results showed that the smallest particles of lunar dust transported at low speeds over the lunar surface were found mainly [63] .
- An experiment with a mass spectrometer showed that an extremely rarefied lunar atmosphere consists of three main gases: helium , neon and argon, and a large amount of other gases and substances, many of which are brought to the Moon from Earth: hydrogen , nitrogen , oxygen , chlorine , and hydrochloric acid. and carbon dioxide . The concentration of helium closer to the lunar midnight increases 20 times. This corresponds to the assumptions that took into account that helium does not freeze at night and that its source is the solar wind . The concentration of neon, measured only at night, was 20 times lower than expected. In a preliminary scientific report on the results of the flight "Apollo 17" ( eng. Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report ) noted that such results are incomprehensible. The argon concentration also drops (essentially becomes undetectable) overnight, as predicted for gas that freezes. Shortly before dawn, the concentration of argon begins to increase, indicating the migration of argon through the approaching terminator (pre-dawn argon breeze ). The concentration of pollutants increases dramatically with the rising sun [64] .
- An experiment to study the heat fluxes in the lunar soil showed a heat flux of 16 milliwatts per m² at the Apollo 17 landing site. This means that in order for a conventional 60- watt light bulb to burn, all heat energy emanating from the depths on a plot of 3,600 m² must be collected on the moon. Thus, the heat flux of the moon is 18-24% of the average heat flux of the Earth at 87 milliwatts per m². The experiment was conducted only in two areas of the moon (another one is the landing site of Apollo 15 ), so it is not known how the results are representative of the moon as a whole. But since both regions are located on the boundaries between the lunar seas and high mountains, it is believed that the heat flux values obtained may be 10–20% higher than the average values for the moon as a whole [65] .
- The experiment to determine the electrical properties of the surface was intended to verify on the moon the results of orbital measurements using a bistatic radar and probe for surface profiling [66] . The experiment showed that the relative electric constant of lunar rocks in the Taurus – Littre valley at frequencies from 1 to 32 MHz is approximately from 3 to 4 at the surface and increases to 6-7 at a depth of about 50 m. In the upper layers of the lunar soil to a depth of 2 km from the surface there is no liquid water [64] .
- The experiment to measure the neutron flux was intended to determine the degree of mixing and turning of the lunar regolith as a result of meteoric impacts. Based on the results, it was concluded that mixing to a depth of 1 cm occurs on average 1 time every million years, while mixing to a depth of 1 m only once a billion years [67] .
Experiments in orbit
- A probe for profiling the lunar surface gave insights into the subsurface structure of the Sea of Crises and the Sea of Clarity . In the Sea of Clarity, layers of basalt filling it were found at depths of 0.9 and 1.6 km. In the Sea of Crises, a layer of basalt was found at a depth of 1.4 km. The experiment did not determine the depth of the lower border of the basalts. But with reference to the Sea of Crises, the results of the experiment, together with other observations, suggest that the total thickness of the basalt layer ranges from 2.4 to 3.4 km [68] .
- A scanning infrared radiometer determined the temperature and cooling rate of the lunar surface at night. In different regions of the Moon, the instrument showed from 85 ° K (-188 ° C ) to 400 ° K (+ 127 ° C). Experimental results were also used to determine the size of boulders in emissions around impact craters and the density of distribution of such boulders depending on the distance from the crater [69] .
- The ultraviolet spectrometer was intended to determine the composition and density of an extremely rarefied lunar atmosphere. He was able to detect atomic and molecular hydrogen , atomic oxygen , atomic nitrogen , carbon , carbon monoxide , carbon dioxide and xenon . Molecular hydrogen was detected in the amount of 6000 atoms per 1 cm ³. No other components of the atmosphere were detected at the limit of the device’s capabilities. The spectrometer could not register helium , neon and argon , which are present in the lunar atmosphere. Short-term lunar phenomena in the crater Aristarkh , observed from the Earth, led to the assumption that in the crater sometimes there are emissions of gases . However, the spectrometer did not detect such emissions. The temporal atmosphere was recorded after the lunar module landed. But it disappeared a few hours later, after the exhaust gases of the rocket engines dissipated. During the return flight to Earth, the spectrometer was used to study various astronomical objects, including the Earth, the Milky Way, and individual stars [70] .
Photo and filming
Panoramic camera of the module of scientific instruments during the flight 1623 images were taken, of which about 1580 were shot with high resolution in near-moon orbit. The mapping camera made about 2350 shots of the lunar surface. From the command module, astronauts took 1170 shots with cameras . From the lunar module in orbit and on the surface of the moon, as well as on the moon outside the ship (the vast majority of images), Cernan and Schmitt filmed 2,422 frames. Of the 12 cassettes filmed, 16 mm film 4 were removed from the lunar module and 8 from the command module [71] .
45th Anniversary of Flight
On December 11, 2017 , on the 45th anniversary of the landing of the lunar module "Challenger" on the lunar surface, in the Taurus-Litters valley, US President Donald Trump in the White House signed the "Space Policy Directive No. 1". It provides for the resumption of the US program of manned flights to the moon. The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Harrison Schmitt , the only surviving crew member of the Apollo 17, the twelfth person on the moon, Buzz Aldrin , the second man on the moon, and the women astronauts Peggy Whitson and Christina Hammok Koch . As a reminder of the results of the study of the Moon, a sample of lunar rock No. 70215 was presented at the ceremony. This is a 14-gram fragment of lunar basalt brought by the Apollo 17 astronauts and initially weighing 8 kg 110 g [72] .
Donald Trump signs Directive No. 1 on space policy. To his right is Harrison Schmitt. On the left in a glass container on the table is a sample of lunar rock No. 70215 | Moon sample No. 70215 in front of the stone from which it was separated |
Apollo 17 in popular culture
"Apollo 17" is dedicated to the latest episode of the 12-series television series "From the Earth to the Moon" 1998 The author of the script and one of the producers is Tom Hanks . He in all the series, except the last (although he also appears in it), plays the main role of the narrator, who represents each series. In the 12th series, called FR. “ Le Voyage dans la Lune ” ( Russian “Journey to the Moon” ), the story of the flight “Apollo 17” is interspersed with excerpts from the first ever history of cinema science fiction film of 1902 “Journey to the Moon” directed by Georges Méliès [73] .
In the prologue to the Homer Hickam novel published in 1999 . “Back to the Moon” ( Rus. “Return to the Moon” ) describes the discovery by astronauts of “Apollo 17” of orange soil during the 2nd EVA. Further, the novel's plot unfolds around the orange ground [74] .
Released in 2005, the novel of Douglas Preston Eng. Tyrannosaur Canyon ( Rus. Tyrannosaurus Canyon ) begins with a description of the Apollo 17 astronauts' moon walks using quotations from transcripts of their talks with Earth [75] .
Notes
- Comments
- ↑ The names of the details of the lunar relief (craters, mountains, rocks, etc.) are given in the article in the original, in English, if there are no corresponding Russian-speaking analogues. The rest are in Russian, according to the catalog “The nomenclature series of the names of the lunar relief.” All names were given by astronauts and were officially approved by the International Astronomical Union in 1973. To avoid duplication, the IAU slightly changed the names of five craters: Bowen, Hess, Makin, Nansen and Steno. They were given the official names Bowen — Apollo, Hess — Apollon, Makin — Apollo, Nansen — Apollo and Steno — Apollo.
- ↑ Communications operator Gordon Fullerton and Harrison Schmitt were one-year graduates of the California Institute of Technology ( 1957 ). Caltech's last year students have a long tradition on the days of the final exams at exactly 7 am to simultaneously include the “Flight of the Valkyries” at full capacity and wake up the entire hostel.
- ↑ On Christmas Day 1968 , shortly after Apollo 8 set off on the opposite course to Earth, Schmitt read the poem to the crew at the MCC. It was a variation written by one of the employees on “ The Night Before Christmas ”.
- ↑ Schmitt still found Evans' scissors when the astronauts were engaged in the final packing of things in the cabin before landing. He put them in a bag with his personal belongings. About a month after the flight, at a party on the occasion of the successful completion of the expedition, Cernan and Schmitt solemnly handed Evans his scissors.
- Used sources
- 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Jones, Eric M. A Running Start - Up to Powered Descent Initiation (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is December 31, 2013.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Evans, Ben Apollo 17: Final voyage to the Moon (Eng.) . RocketSTEM (January 16, 2013). The appeal date is January 4, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Orloff, Richard W. Apollo 17. The Eleventh Mission: The Sixth Lunar Landing (Eng.) . Apollo By The Numbers: A Statistical Reference . NASA (2000). The appeal date is January 4, 2014.
- ↑ Joe Henry Angle . Space Encyclopedia ASTROnote (2013). The appeal date is January 4, 2014.
- ↑ Compton, 1989 , p. 219-220.
- ↑ Compton, 1989 , p. 242.
- ↑ 1 2 Compton, 1989 , p. 243.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Lindsay, Hamish Apollo 17. Last Manned Flight to the Moon (Eng.) . A Tribute to Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station . Colin Mackellar (2003–2014). The appeal date is January 6, 2014.
- ↑ Peebles, Curtis Names of US Manned Spacecraft (Eng.) . Spaceflight, Vol. 20 (February 2, 1978). The appeal date is January 6, 2014.
- ↑ Compton, 1989 , p. 247–248.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Compton, 1989 , p. 249.
- ↑ Lindsay, Hamish ALSEP (Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package) (eng.) . A Tribute to Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station . Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station (2003—2014). The appeal date is June 26, 2014.
- ↑ Press Kit, 1972 , p. 56.
- ↑ Press Kit, 1972 , p. 20.
- ↑ 1 2 3 I. I. Shuneiko. Manned flights to the moon, construction and characteristics of Saturn V Apollo, chapter IV, Apollo 17 . Rocketry, volume 3 . All-Union Institute of Scientific and Technical Information (1973). The appeal date is January 9, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Astronautics, 1974 , p. 413.
- ↑ Mission Report, 1973 , p. 10-11-10-12.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Landing at Taurus-Littrow (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The date of circulation is January 24, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Post-landing Activities (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The date of appeal is January 29, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Down the Ladder (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The date of circulation is January 30, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Rover Deployment (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is January 31, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Loading the Rover (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is January 31, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Jones, Eric M. ALSEP Off-load (Eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is February 4, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. ALSEP Deployment (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is February 6, 2014.
- ↑ S. G. Pugacheva, J.F. Rodionov and others. Catalog “Nomenclature series of names of the lunar relief”. - Moscow: State Astronomical Institute. P. K. Sternberg, Moscow State University, 2009. - P. 49-51. - 58 s.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Deep Core (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is February 10, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Jones, Eric M. Traverse to Station 1 (eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is February 10, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Geology Station 1 (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is February 11, 2014.
- 2 1 2 Jones, Eric M. Return to the LM and SEP Deployment (eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is February 12, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. EVA-1 Close-out (eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The date of appeal is February 13, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Post-EVA-1 Activities (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is February 14, 2014.
- 2 1 2 3 Jones, Eric M. EVA-2 Wake-up (Eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is February 14, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Preparations for EVA-2 (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is February 18, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Jones, Eric M. Outbound to Camelot (eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is February 20, 2014.
- 2 1 2 3 Jones, Eric M. Camelot to Station 2 (eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is February 21, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Geology Station 2 (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is February 26, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Traverse to Geology Station 3 (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is February 27, 2014.
- 2 1 2 3 4 Jones, Eric M. Geology Station 3 at Ballet Crater (Eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is March 2, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Orange Soil (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is March 5, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Traverse to Station 5 (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is March 6, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Geology Station 5 at Camelot Crater (Eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . Nasa (1995). The appeal date is March 7, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Jones, Eric M. EVA-2 Close-out (eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is March 10, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Ending the Second Day (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is March 13, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Preparations for EVA-3 (eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is March 18, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Traverse to Station 6 (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is March 26, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Jones, Eric M. Geology Station 6 (eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is March 28, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Station 7 (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is April 2, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Station 8 (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is April 4, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Traverse to Station 9 (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is April 10, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Geology Station 9 at Van Serg (Eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is April 11, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. EVA-3 Return to the LM (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is April 15, 2014.
- 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jones, Eric M. EVA-3 Close-out (eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is April 16, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. Post-EVA-3 Activities (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is April 29, 2014.
- 2 1 2 3 Jones, Eric M. Return to Orbit (eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is June 6, 2014.
- 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jones, Eric M. Return to Earth (eng.) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is June 10, 2014.
- ↑ Jones, Eric M. EVA-1 Preparations (English) . Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal . NASA (1995). The appeal date is June 30, 2014.
- ↑ Apollo: Where are they now? (eng.) . NASA (2013). The appeal date is July 16, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Samples Overview . Apollo 17 Mission . Lunar and Planetary Institute (2014). The appeal date is July 3, 2014.
- ↑ Wilhelms, 1993 , p. 323.
- ↑ Science Experiments - Lunar Seismic Profiling (English) . Apollo 17 Mission . Lunar and Planetary Institute (2014). The appeal date is July 4, 2014.
- ↑ Science Experiments - Traverse Gravimeter (English) . Apollo 17 Mission . Lunar and Planetary Institute (2014). The appeal date is July 8, 2014.
- ↑ Science Experiments - Lunar Surface Gravimeter (English) . Apollo 17 Mission . Lunar and Planetary Institute (2014). The appeal date is July 8, 2014.
- ↑ Science Experiments - Lunar Ejecta and Meteorite (eng.) . Apollo 17 Mission . Lunar and Planetary Institute (2014). The appeal date is July 8, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 Science Report, 1973 .
- ↑ Science Experiments - Heat Flow Experiment (English) . Apollo 17 Mission . Lunar and Planetary Institute (2014). The appeal date is July 15, 2014.
- ↑ Science Experiments - Surface Electrical Properties (English) . Apollo 17 Mission . Lunar and Planetary Institute (2014). The appeal date is July 15, 2014.
- ↑ Science Experiments - Lunar Neutron Probe (English) . Apollo 17 Mission . Lunar and Planetary Institute (2014). The appeal date is July 15, 2014.
- ↑ Science Experiments - Lunar Sounder (English) . Apollo 17 Mission . Lunar and Planetary Institute (2014). The appeal date is July 15, 2014.
- ↑ Science Experiments - Infrared Radiometer (English) . Apollo 17 Mission . Lunar and Planetary Institute (2014). The appeal date is July 15, 2014.
- ↑ Science Experiments - Ultraviolet Spectrometer (eng.) . Apollo 17 Mission . Lunar and Planetary Institute (2014). The appeal date is July 16, 2014.
- ↑ Photography Overview (English) . Apollo 17 Mission . Lunar and Planetary Institute (2014). The appeal date is July 16, 2014.
- ↑ NASA. Across Solar System (Newspaper) . nasa.gov . NASA (12/12/2017). The appeal date is December 14, 2017.
- ↑ From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries) (English) . NationMaster.com (Encyclopedia) (2003-5). The appeal date is July 16, 2014.
- ↑ Hickam, 1999 , p. 3-8.
- ↑ Anderson, Patrick Rex Marks the Spot (English) . The Washington Post (September 19, 2005). The date of circulation is July 17, 2014.
Literature
- Compton, William David. Where No Man Has Gone Before. A History Of Apollo Lunar Exploration Missions . - Washington, DC: NASA, 1989. - 415 p.
- Apollo 17 Press Kit . - Washington, DC: NASA, 1972. - 121 p.
- Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1972. Chronology of Science, Technology and Policy . - Washington, DC: NASA, 1974. - 580 s.
- Apollo 17 Mission Report . - Houston. Texas: NASA, 1973.
- Wilhelms, Don E. To a Rocky Moon: A Geologist's History of Lunar Exploration . - Tucson, Arizona: The University of Arizona Press, 1993. - 477 p.
- Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report . - Washington, DC: NASA, 1973.
- Hickam, Homer H., Jr. Back to the moon. - New York: Delacorte Press, 1999. - ISBN 0-38533-422-2 .
Links
- The official web site of Capt. Eugene Cernan, The Last Man on the Moon (Eng.) . The official site of Eugene Cernan, the last man on the moon. The date of circulation is July 17, 2014.
- AMERICA'S UNCOMMON SENSE. THE WEBSITE OF APOLLO 17 ASTRONAUT, SENATOR HARRISON H. SCHMITT. 1. APOLLO 17: DIARY OF THE 12TH MAN (Eng.) . Recklessness of America. The official site of the Apollo 17 astronaut, Senator Harrison H. Schmitt. 1. "Apollo 17": the diary of the 12th. The appeal date is December 15, 2017.
- See the Moon in 3D. The Apollo Program Lunar Landing Sites (English) . Moon in 3D. Landing places "Apollo". The date of circulation is July 17, 2014.
- Apollo 17 Flag Still Casting a Shadow (2009-2011) (English) . The US flag, installed at the Apollo 17 landing site, still casts a shadow (2009-2011). The date of circulation is July 17, 2014.
- Apollo 17 Summary (English) . Apollo 17 Sammari. The date of circulation is July 17, 2014.
- Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal (English) . The date of circulation is July 17, 2014.
- Apollo 17 "On The Shoulders of Giants" - NASA Space Program & Moon Landings Documentary on YouTube
- Map of the Moon: mountains, craters and famous seas . The appeal date is January 20, 2014.