Posts: 1624
From: Bethpage, N.Y.
Registered: Jul 2002

Posts: 1647
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 02-15-2007 03:55 PM               

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quote:

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Originally posted by Fra Mauro:
In terms of lunar exploration, did it make much of a difference that the Eagle landed long of it's intended landing site?

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From a geological perspective I doubt that the slight overshot made any difference. The accuracy of the geological maps of the moon at that time were not sufficient to make decisions at that scale, so the expectations of the actual versus planned sight would have been pretty much the same. In addition the Apollo 11 landing sight was pretty flat and geologically not very diverse as compared to the last 3 missions. Having said this it's possible, although unlikely, that the original sight might have yielded important discoveries not found at the actual sight. For example, the orange soil found on A17 covered a relatively small area. And rocks like the Genesis rock from A15 were quite rare. But in my opinion the odds are that the long landing on A11 made no difference in the overall exploration of the moon. Guess we'll just have to go back to be sure.