Catalog Of Apollo Experiment Operations

Reviews Apollo mission reports, preliminary science reports, technical crew debriefings, lunar surface operations plans, and various relevant lunar experiment documents, collecting engineering- and operation-specific information by experiment. Organized by discrete experimental and equipment items emplaced or operated on the lunar surface or at zero gravity during the Apollo missions. Also attempts to summarize some of the general problems encountered on the surface and provides guidelines for the design of future lunar surface experiments with an eye toward operations.

The Catalog of Apollo Experiment Operations reviews Apollo mission reports, preliminary science reports, technical crew debriefings, lunar surface operations plans, and other relevant lunar experiment documents, and collects engineering- and operation-specific information by experiment. It is organized in two parts, by experiments performed (1) on the lunar surface or (2) under zero gravity. It also summarizes some of the general problems encountered on the lunar surface. For example, low gravity caused cables to stick up and get caught on boots and made it easy for instruments to fall over. Dust was also a problem that caused abrasion, visibility, and thermal control conditions. Moreover, operating in a pressure suit limits a person's activities, especially in the hands. A very important document for anyone interested in Apollo science. Originally published as NASA Reference Publication 1317 in January 1994.

DISCLAIMER: This is a REPRINT of NASA report RP-1317. Its author is Thomas A. Sullivan. It is printed from a pdf file available online for FREE. It is printed for those who do not like reading on a screen, and would prefer a printed and bound copy. The figures are low resolution (96 dpi). CONTENT: This catalog is a good comprehensive detailed description of Project Apollo experiments. Both surface and orbital experiments are covered. Each experiment is described by Purpose, Unloading from the LM, Site Selection, Deploying the Instrument, Operation of and Repairs to the Experiment, Navigating/Recognizing landmarks, Hazards, Special Tools, Success or Failure of the Experiment, Differences Between Training and Actual Use, and more. A nice book for history of Project Apollo, and planning for future experiments on the Moon. Many lessons learned: low gravity caused cables to stick up and get caught on boots and made it easy for instruments to fall over, and dust was also a problem that caused abrasion, visibility, and thermal control conditions. Moreover, operating in a pressure suit limits a person's activities, especially in the hands. A very important document for anyone interested in Project Apollo lunar science. There are many illustrations and pictures, but they are at low resolution. Please note: this is a REPRINT of a NASA pdf file that is available online for FREE.

This catalog reviews Apollo mission reports, preliminary science reports, technical crew debriefings, lunar surface operations plans, and various relevant lunar experiment documents, collecting engineering- and operation-specific information by experiment. It is organized by discrete experimental and equipment items emplaced or operated on the lunar surface or at zero gravity during the Apollo missions. It also attempts to summarize some of the general problems encountered on the surface and provides guidelines for the design of future lunar surface experiments with an eye toward operations. Many of the problems dealt with on the lunar surface originated from just a few novel conditions that manifested themselves in various nasty ways. Low gravity caused cables to stick up and get caught on feet, and also made it easy for instruments to tip over. Dust was a problem and caused abrasion, visibility, and thermal control difficulties. Operating in a pressure suit limited a person's activity, especially in the hands. I hope to capture with this document some of the lessons learned from the Apollo era to make the jobs of future astronauts, principle investigators, engineers, and operators of lunar experiments more productive. Sullivan, Thomas A. Johnson Space Center APOLLO LUNAR EXPERIMENT MODULE; APOLLO LUNAR SURFACE EXPERIMENTS PACKAGE; CATALOGS (PUBLICATIONS); LUNAR ROVING VEHICLES; LUNAR SURFACE; APOLLO FLIGHTS; LUNAR DUST; LUNAR PHOTOGRAPHS; LUNAR SEISMOGRAPHS; LUNAR SOIL; MANNED LUNAR SURFACE VEHICLES; MICROGRAVITY; SPACECREWS...

"Transports the reader behind NASAs facade, and into the 1960s' politics, planning sessions, turf battles, camaraderie, and jealousies of the world's major space agency. An absorbing, insightful, and revealing critical history." -- The Observatory

The evolution of the thermal design of the Apollo lunar surface experiments package central station from the basic concept to the final flight hardware is discussed, including results of development, prototype, and qualification tests that were used to verify that the flight hardware would operate adequately on the lunar surface. In addition, brief discussions of the thermal design of experiments included in the experiments package are presented. The flight thermal performance is compared with analytical results and thermal-vacuum test results, and design modifications for future lunar surface experiment packages are presented.