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Author
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Topic: Restarting Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicles (LRVs)
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Max Q
Member Posts: 399
From: Whyalla South Australia
Registered: Mar 2007
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posted 08-29-2011 09:25 AM
   
If the lunar rovers were to be accessed right now and the batteries were replaced would they still function after all this time? |
Space Cadet Carl
Member Posts: 225
From: Lake Orion, Michigan
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 08-29-2011 09:35 AM
Extremely unlikely. After 40 years of being cooked and frozen repetitively on a monthly basis, I have to guess that a lot of non-metallic components on the rovers have turned to dust by now. However... I'll wait for someone else to give a more technical response to this one. |
ilbasso
Member Posts: 1522
From: Greensboro, NC USA
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted 08-29-2011 11:41 AM
I recall that paraffin wax was used as a heat exchanger in the electronics. I wonder if any of that would be left? |
MadSci
Member Posts: 230
From: Maryland, USA
Registered: Oct 2008
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posted 08-29-2011 02:26 PM
I imagine vacuum welding would have seized many if not almost all of the moving parts of the rovers. Particularly when you consider that the whole device was bathed in lunar dust, and that it was not designed for long duration exposure. |
Ross
Member Posts: 479
From: Australia
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted 08-30-2011 08:52 AM
Not to mention the radiation. Since there is no atmosphere, the UV radiation alone would ensure that any exposed polymer (plastic or rubber) would no longer be viable. In addition any electronics would be at risk from the solar wind and other high energy particles. In short, the answer is an almost certain no. |
carmelo
Member Posts: 1051
From: Messina, Sicilia, Italia
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 01-27-2014 11:06 PM
Are the lunar rovers left on the moon by Apollo 15, 16 and 17 still working, and if not, could be reactivated by future astronauts? (Is a hypothetical question, I know that are historic pieces protected.)Editor's note: Threads merged. |
Mike Dixon
Member Posts: 1428
From: Kew, Victoria, Australia
Registered: May 2003
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posted 01-28-2014 12:06 AM
The onboard batteries (powering the drive, steering, comms and camera) would be long shot by now. Beyond that, would a replacement power system get these babies moving? No idea, but great question. |
One Big Monkey
Member Posts: 171
From: West Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Jul 2012
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posted 01-28-2014 01:08 AM
Interesting. Obviously the main issue for something left that long on Earth would be corrosion. I'd guess a bit problem here would be thermal expansion and contraction of components? |
Jay Chladek
Member Posts: 2272
From: Bellevue, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2007
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posted 01-28-2014 02:29 AM
I suppose galvanic corrosion might be a concern (dissimilar metals causing ion transfer from one to the other resulting in corrosion of the metal). But to me, the more overriding concern would be what four decades of cold and hot soaking the vehicle would have done to the adhesives, fasteners and lubricants used inside certain elements such as the electronics and the electric motors. Would those parafin heat radiators for the batteries even still have parafin in them?As a result, while the rovers might potentially look good on the outside, I doubt they would be driveable even if somebody were to plug a fresh battery in. Still, it might be nice for somebody to actually get up there to even try. |
garymilgrom
Member Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007
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posted 01-28-2014 11:15 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Jay Chladek:
Would those parafin heat radiators for the batteries even still have parafin in them?
Jay, we need to send someone and have a look! |
Fra Mauro
Member Posts: 1624
From: Bethpage, N.Y.
Registered: Jul 2002
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posted 01-28-2014 02:36 PM
How about Danny Koker from Count's Customs? |
p51
Member Posts: 1658
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 01-28-2014 04:16 PM
quote:
Originally posted by One Big Monkey:
Interesting. Obviously the main issue for something left that long on Earth would be corrosion.
Hey, I know a guy who went to an Island in the Pacific and found a WW2 2 1/2 ton truck that'd been sitting there since VE day. He dropped a battery in it, hand-cranked the engine over a few times and with some gas down the carb, it fired up. That was over 60 years, in a jungle!I wouldn't assume the rovers were toast, for this reason alone. Heck, I was told for years that the flags the Apollo crews left turned to dust years ago but the recent sat photos of the landing sites have shown shadows where those flags still stand... |
model maker
Member Posts: 130
From: NEVADA , USA
Registered: May 2012
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posted 01-28-2014 10:49 PM
I wonder if the rovers that are heavily coated with lunar dust would in fact have been protected to some degree BY that lunar dust? |
Shuttle Endeavour
Member Posts: 234
From: Freehold, NJ, USA
Registered: Aug 2013
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posted 01-28-2014 10:52 PM
I don't know if lunar dust would have helped the rovers more than damaged them. I heard that if an astronaut got too much dust on their spacesuit, it would cause them to overheat. |
LM1
Member Posts: 681
From: New York, NY
Registered: Oct 2010
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posted 01-29-2014 06:51 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Fra Mauro:
How about Danny Koker from Count's Customs?
Danny could probably restore them remotely from Earth. |
carmelo
Member Posts: 1051
From: Messina, Sicilia, Italia
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 01-29-2014 10:16 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Shuttle Endeavour:
I don't know if lunar dust would have helped the rovers more than damaged them.
In fact seems that Yutu is damaged by lunar dust. But rovers had working without any problem in a lot of lunar dust bowls. |
moorouge
Member Posts: 2458
From: U.K.
Registered: Jul 2009
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posted 01-30-2014 03:09 AM
This from the examination of Surveyor 3 parts to be found in the Apollo 12 mission results might provide some clues as to the rovers state. A number of microscopic craters were observed on the returned pieces. Some were probably the result of micrometeorite bombardment of the Moon. Many of these craters were on the side of the Surveyor facing the Lunar Module. It is likely that these are the result of a sand-blasting effect from dust that was blown away from the Apollo landing site by rocket exhaust. Some darkening of painted surfaces due to the effects of solar radiation was also observed. Several nuts, bolts, and screws were disassembled after being returned to Earth, and none were found to have become cold-welded by their exposure to space. |
Charlie16
Member Posts: 496
From: Italy
Registered: Dec 2010
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posted 01-30-2014 04:46 AM
Gene Cernan told me: if you go to the moon, remember to bring the batteries, I left the car near the LM. I want to keep dreaming that one day a man can do this. |
carmelo
Member Posts: 1051
From: Messina, Sicilia, Italia
Registered: Jun 2004
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posted 01-30-2014 10:23 AM
If it happens,will be many year from now... said 2030. Sixty years after that Gene left the car. |
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