Report of the ad hoc working group on Apollo Experiments and Training on the scientific aspects of

101 Pages·2009·27.5 MB·English

REPORT

of the

AD HOC WORKING GROUP ON APOLLO EXPERIMENTS AND TRAINING

on the

SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS OF THE APOLLO PROGRAM

December 15, 1963
FO:qEWORD
In t he spring of 1962 t he Office of ~anned Space Flight reques ted
the Off ice of Space Sci ence to prepare t he broad outlines of a
scienti f i c program for Project Apollo. A draft r epor t was pre
par ed in July 1962 and circulated to members and consul t a3ts of
t he Working Group for their comments . Simul taneously, copies
of t he draft repor t were r evi ewed by partlcLpants i n t.he Jowa
Summer Study sponsored by t he Nat ional Academy of Sclences ,
Additional copi es of the draf t r eport uei:e also circulated
widely wi thin NASA.
This may be consider ed the l'j nal versi on of the Sonet t report
as i t i ncorporat es those changes S 19gest ed in 196? by the
members and consultant s of Lhe Wo::'kjng Group .
The r epor t has not been r evised because of the general en
dorsement by the Iowa Summer Study. rhe fo llowing state
ment Is on pe.ge 11-l.t of "A Review of Space Resear ch" ,
NhS/ NRC Publicat ion 10'79," Among the mos t i mportant
.?_ci ent i f ir; tasks for seeable for manned lunar explorations
are: (i) observation of natura] phenomena, i ncluding
micro- and macrost ruct ur e and composition ; (i i) collect ion
of representative sampler ; and (i i i ) emplacement of
moni toring equipment . Fo: a mor e ex tensi ve statement of
ob ject i ves which we endorse , we r efer to, "Draf t [{epor t
of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Apollo Exper i ment s and
Traini ng on the Scient i f i c Aspect s of l;he Apol lo Program"
(July f) , 1962), prepared under the chai rmanshi p of
Dr. C. P. Sonett , NASA. "
The principal c rt tLsi srn of t he r epo.r t by the Towa Sllmmer
Study can hest be S unrna.rtzed by , "A number of LnvestLgatLo: :::,
pr i mar i l y ast ronomical , have been suggested whi ch make IIS8
of t he Moon as a space pLat.f'orrn (chapter's I I , XI) . In Sitl)
experi ments , i nvestiga ti ons , and explorations of the Moon
i t sel f', whi ch by Lhei l' natnr e r equire man 's presence on
the Moon, shouLd have pr :Lorit y befor e t hose merel y maki ng
use of Lhe Moon as a space plat form (2-19)" , (IIA Revt ew
of Space Research" , NAS/NHC Publ icatt on ~07q ) .
v. C. 1".

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Dri ll Holes 38
MISSIONS 41
HOne Hour lf Mission 42
Apollo I - 4-8 Hour Mission 42
Apol l o II - 24 Hour Mission 43
Apollo VII - 120 Hour Mission 44
SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS 45
~ummary of Weight and Materials Requirements as 45
Related t o the Need for Soft Landed Packages
Mobility Requirements 46
Space Suit Requirements 47
Summ~ry of Research and Development Requirements 48
LANDING SITES 51
RECOMMENDATION OF A SCIENTIST ASTRONAUT 52
Qualifications 53
]3.ecruiting 54
Training of Astronaut Scientists 54
Scientific Training of Non-Scientist Astronauts 60
Institutional Needs 61
TABLE I - Equipment for Geological Work 65
TABLE 2 - Ueophysical Experiments 66
TABLE 3 - Surface Physi0s Experiments 67
TABLE 4 - Experiment~ on Lunar Atmosphere, Fields and 69
Particles
TABLE 5 - A.5tI:'-onomy & ;B{Dmgy &q1~imen:t·s 70
TABLE 6 - Schedule of Scientific Activities on Apollo 71
Missions
FIGURE 1 - Photogeologic Map of' Kepler Quadrangle In Pocket
FIGURE 2 - Reproduetio.n of Photogeologic Map of In Pocket
Copernicus Quadrangl e, Showing Proposed
Fi rst Landing Site
.'-' .'. /. , I ,' :,,' :
j - .:
APPENDIX A - l.,..i lC:::'; VioI'k:lnc.; Gr-oup on !\po11.0 Se:1.ent.! ft c '72
Exp. :- !'~;,entc and rp:·~;t1n-i_j)g
75
APPENDIX C -- IJ<J.Ylo:lTJI--:; ,JJte::: ,Ss'}ect c;d by Shoemaker arid 79
Eli;r( :~:t(:.n , TJ . ;:~, GeoJ.og:ical Survey
APPENDI X D . 1,<dv::1ng SJ.t8:'S Sc:Lected by Duane 1:1. Dugan s 92
.r\rn~:8 \E~~c~~I.JI(~h C;enter
-l~
SUivlMARY
The Committee believes that the principle scientific
achievements of the Apollo missions will lie in the area
of the geology of the moon; however, it is believed that
sigLificant observations can also be made in solid body
geophysics, sur~ace physics, the investigation of the lunar
atmosphere, and i n rudio astronomy.
The report outlines the scientific activities that can
be done in short and long missions. The report recommends:
that the missions be supported by soft landed packages;
that a ground vehicle be made available for the late missions;
and that the space suit have maximum limb, arm, and digital
mobility.
A suggested first landing site is in the Copernicus
Quadrangle at approximately 30N and 28°W (Lunar Carto
graphic Coordinates), and two lists of possible sites are
appended.
The commit tee has recommended that a sci en tist·· astro
naut be included or each mission and that the training of
scientist-astronauts be done at a NASA facility physically
near the Manned Spacecr af t Center.
-2···
INTRODUCTION
This document is an attempt to describe the primary scientifi~
objectives and tasks involved in manned expl orat i on of the moon by
the Apollo missions. It i s the product of' several meetings of the
working group, written submissions mostly from the consultants to
the group, and the substance of considerations of the lunar and
Planetary Progr~mB Office.
The Ad Hoc Apollo Group Comml,ttee consisted or the following
members and consul t ant s, listed according to the scientific fields
with which they were most closely concerned:
a. Chairman, Co Po Sonett
b. Geology and Geochemistry: D. W. Dugan and V. C. Fryklund,
member sj G. Po Kuiper, W. Wo Rubey, E. M. Shoemaker, H. C. Urey,
consultants .
c. Geophysi cs (Solid Body): J. A O'Keefe, P. D.Ln",Jman,
o
member ;A. Cr-al'Y~: consultant .
d. Atmosphere : M. Dubin, member.
e. BioJogy: F. Quimby, member.
f. Fields and Particles and flasma Physics : J .. E. Naugle,
memberj To Gold, and M. Eimer, consultants.
g. Solar Physics and Classi0al Astronomy: J. R. Gill,
member
h. Radio Astronomy: R. W. Davies, memberj F. T. Haddock,
consultant.
i. Surface Physics: L. Do Jaffe and M. Dubin members;
T. Gold, consultant.
The consultants mut with the members for some four days.
-3-
It is hardly necessary to dwell on the scientific rewards to
be gained by the manned exploration of the moon, The basic data
concerning the moon is of great interest to several scientific
fields, and the same basic data is of course, requisite to any
engineering activities on the moon. In addition, the moon can
provide a large stable base ~rom which observations are not limited
by the presence of an atmosphere.
We have attempted to describe the scientific work that should
be done, and give an indication of the relative importance of the
work. In the development of the scientific program, the guideline
criteria used in the choice of tasks were the following:
a" scientific importance,
b. scientific feasibility,
c. peculiar to the moon, and
d. can best be carried out with the assistance of man
-4··
A natural subdivision of the scientific objectives, first in
order of their importance to the Apollo missions and then to the
scientific exploration of the moon, are: (1) examination of the
physical and geological properties of the surface in the immediate
vicinity of the landing craft to determine if these properties
will affect the operations and safety of the landing craft; (2)
geological mapping; (3) study of the i nt er i or of the moon by sol i d
body geophysical methods; (4) study of any lunar atmosphere and
the physics of the immediate surface of the moon; and (5) radio
astronomy from the surface.
Once the major fields of scientific activity were determined,
and the Justifi cations for these choices are given in later section9-;
it became apparent that the scientific work included three types
of act i vi t i es :
a, Observation of natural phenomena.
b. Collection of material, by which is meant the dis
covery and preparation for return of geological samples, surface
fragments of special interest, and biological samples, as well as
any collection device emplaced during the period of manned sur
face activity.
c. Emplacement of equipment designed for monitoring
functions of a long-lived nature. The majority of these are
expected to be experiments which initially require manual dex
terity or, more important even require human decision-making
capacity for optimal operation. Thereafter the equipment can be
left unattended to telemeter data back to earth.
-5-
A fi rst anal ysi s indicates that the movement from the landing
craf t required for emplacement of equipment, removal of equi pment
to areas not i nfluenced by r etro and t akeoff blast, placing
packages on stable rock bases , and st r i nging wire wil l al so be
needed for the i niti al geological reconnaissance of the landing
area. During this preliminary reconnaissance activity we bel ieve
the astronauts can serve as porter s . It is probabl e that some
of the collecting act i vi t i es can also be fit ted i nto the schedule.
The report then i ndi cates the scient i fic fiel ds of greatest
interest; some of the more important scient i fi c activities or
exper i ments; suggestions as to the possible scient ific cont ent
of one hour , 8 hour , 24 hour, and, say , 7 day missions. A
number of support ing activities are also consi dered. Two
l i sts of suggested landing sites chosen for scientific inter est
are given in Appendj ~ ·C and D.
The final section consider s the sel ection and trai ning of
a scientist astronaut . The Committee has recommended that
scienti st s with appropr iate background be trained as ast ronaut s
for the Apol l o missions .