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Author
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Topic: Apollo 11: First step onto the moon
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Philip
Member Posts: 6002
From: Brussels, Belgium
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted 09-16-2018 08:55 AM
   
Which foot of Neil Armstrong was the first to touch the lunar surface during Apollo 11? Just learned that his left overshoe was left on the moon... |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 43576
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-16-2018 09:12 AM
To quote the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal: Neil has his right hand on the ladder and will step down with his left foot, leaving his right foot on the footpad. Both of Armstrong's overshoes were left on the surface, as were Buzz Aldrin's. The only lunar overshoes to return to Earth were Gene Cernan's and Harrison Schmitt's from Apollo 17. |
schnappsicle
Member Posts: 396
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted 09-17-2018 06:59 AM
Any idea why the Apollo 17 crew returned to Earth with their overshoes? I would think that of all the overshoes, the ones from Apollo 11 would be the first ones returned. I know weight was a major consideration, but with all the rocks and samples returned, wouldn't weight have been even more critical on Apollo 17? |
oly
Member Posts: 971
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015
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posted 09-17-2018 07:21 AM
Apollo 11, being the first lift off from the lunar surface, would want to be within the engineered calculated lift off weight limit. Following the Apollo 11 launch data review, Apollo 12 performance was evaluated, as were all subsequent missions. There were also modifications to flight profiles and rendezvous techniques that allowed for a greater take off weight limit. So Apollo 17 had the benefit of all previous mission data reviews and the performance improvements to allow a greater return payload weight. There is also the possible point that the Apollo 17 crew could be more relaxed how critical the weight numbers were, and perhaps they just wanted to bring the over-boot back more than previous crews. Plus, as the last mission, what was NASA going to do to the crew on their arrival home carrying such items? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 43576
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 09-17-2018 07:29 AM
Per the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, discussing Cernan ahd Schmitt on Apollo 17: ...they each had two pairs of EVA gloves — a fact confirmed when, at the end of the second EVA, Gene asked Bob Parker if "those gloves that you've got packed in the back have got something in them." At 171:54:54, they departed from the checklist and jettisoned two pairs of gloves rather than two pairs of boots. As suggested by the dialog from here [174:52:48] to 174:56:09, they jettisoned the unused EVA gloves — which they must have gotten out of storage, another action not in the checklist. Gene says that they had decided to bring the boots home and, perhaps, they decided to jettison a pair of gloves instead. | |
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Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.47a
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