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Apollo 13 and Moon of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
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The Moon and All the Crashes
| Title |
The Moon and All the Crashes |
| Explanation |
A clear blue summer sky finally grows dark and the new telescope, hastily set up in the backyard, generates excitment and anticipation. "I bought it for the kids.", Dad assures himself as he anxiously supervises two young boys' efforts to center a bright, first quarter Moon [ http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/vphase.html ] in the finder. The evening's [ http://www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/lessons/html/ moon.html ] first target acquired, James adjusts the focus knob and falls silent. Suddenly, "Wow, looks just like on Apollo 13 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950708.html ]!". His younger brother Christopher takes his turn. "Do you see the Moon [ http://www.salzgeber.at/astro/moon/ index.html ]?", James asks, eager to provide guidance based on his own observing experience. Christopher echoes his brother's enthusiasm, "Yes, and I see all the crashes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991208.html ] too!". The view they shared was not too different from this image of the seven day old moon, recorded in July 2000 by kids and staff during an observing session at Space Camp [ http://www.spacecampturkey.com/ ] in Izmir, Turkey. Along the terminator, the line between lunar night and day [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/imgcat/html/object_page/ lo4_m123.html ], the shadows outline to advantage the spectacular craters -- caused by all the crashes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990326.html ]. |
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Saturn The Giant
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Saturn The Giant |
| Explanation |
Forty years ago today (May 25, 1961) U.S. president John Kennedy announced [ http://history.nasa.gov/moondec.html ] the goal of landing Americans on the Moon by the end of the decade. Kennedy's ambitious speech triggered [ http://www.wamu.org/special/moon.html ] a nearly unprecedented peacetime technological mobilization and one result was the Saturn V [ http://www.hrw.com/science/si-science/earth/spacetravel/ spacerace/SpaceRace/sec300/sec380.html ] moon rocket [ http://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/Rockets/ ]. Its development directed by rocket pioneer Wernher Von Braun, the three stage Saturn V stood [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-350/ch-3-1.html ] over 36 stories tall. It had a cluster of five first stage [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-000559.html ] engines fueled by [ http://users.commkey.net/Braeunig/space/propel.htm ] liquid oxygen and kerosene which together were capable of producing 7.5 million pounds of thrust. Giant Saturn V rockets ultimately hurled [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/ contents.html ] nine Apollo missions [ http://history.nasa.gov/apollo.html ] to the Moon and back again [ http://www.literature.org/authors/verne-jules/ round-the-moon/ ] with six landing on the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ ]. The first landing, by Apollo 11 [ http://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/ introduction.htm ], occurred on July 20, 1969 achieving Kennedy's goal. Bathed in light, this Saturn V [ http://www.apollosaturn.com/frame-sv.htm ] awaits an April 11, 1970 launch on the third lunar landing mission, Apollo 13 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010519.html ]. |
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Lunar Farside from Apollo 13
| Title |
Lunar Farside from Apollo 13 |
| Explanation |
In April of 1970, after an explosion damaged their spacecraft, the Apollo 13 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo13info.html ] astronauts were forced to abandon their plans to make the third manned lunar landing. Still, while coasting around the moon in their desperate attempt to return to earth they were able to photograph the moon's far side. The large, dark, smooth looking feature on the left in this picture is known as the "Mare Moscoviense". It was created by a lava flow filling in a large impact crater on the lunar surface. As suggested by the name, the Mare Moscoviense was first photographed by an early Soviet lunar probe. For more information about the picture see the NASA photo caption. [ http://139.169.29.11/images/pao/AS13/10075506.htm ] |
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Apollo 14 on the Moon
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Apollo 14 on the Moon |
| Explanation |
The jewel-like glare from a brilliant sun reflects off the lunar module of the Apollo 14 [ http://www.c3.lanl.gov/~cjhamil/SolarSystem/apo14.htm ] mission to the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950903.html ] as it rests on the lunar surface in February 1971. Astronauts Alan Shepard [ http://tigger.uic.edu/~jph/abs.htm ] and Edgar Mitchell walked on the Moon's surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950922.html ] while astronaut Stuart Roosa piloted the orbiting command module. Coming only months after the abortive Apollo 13 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950707.html ] mission, Apollo 14 [ http://ees5-www.lanl.gov/APOLLO/ ] was famous for long exploratory moon walks, collecting samples of lunar bedrock from Cone Crater, deploying the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package, and hitting golf balls [ http://ees5-www.lanl.gov/APOLLO/a14.clsout2.html ]. The slope rising to the rim of Cone Crater is visible at the left edge of the photo. |
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Earth Rise
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Earth Rise |
| Explanation |
During the 1968 Christmas season Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders flew the Apollo 8 [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo-8/ apollo-8.html ] command module From the Earth to the Moon [ http://www.w3.org/hypertext/DataSources/bySubject/ Literature/Gutenberg/etext93/moon10.txt ] and back (launched Dec. 21, achieved 10 lunar orbits, landed Dec. 27). The Apollo 8 [ http://www.nasm.edu/APOLLO/AS08/Apollo8_fact.html ] mission's impressive list of firsts includes, the first manned flight using the Saturn V rocket [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950829.html ], the first humans to journey to the Earth's Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951128.html ], and the first to photograph the Earth from deep space [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950819.html ]. The famous picture above [ http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/images/pao/AS8/10074963.htm ], showing the Earth rising above the Moon's limb as seen from lunar orbit, was a marvelous gift to the world. This was astronaut James Lovell's third mission. His last flight would be as commander of Apollo 13 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950708.html ]. |
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The Moon and All the Crashes
| Title |
The Moon and All the Crashes |
| Explanation |
A clear blue [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960730.html ] summer sky finally grows dark and the new telescope, hastily set up in the backyard, generates excitment and anticipation. "I bought it for the kids ...", Dad assures himself as he over-anxiously supervises the two young boys' efforts to center a bright, first quarter Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/moon.html ], in the finder. The evening's first target acquired, James adjusts the focus knob and falls silent. Suddenly, "Wow, looks just like on Apollo 13 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950707.html ]!". His younger brother Christopher takes his turn. "Do you see the Moon?", James asks, eager to provide guidance based on his own observing experience. Christopher echoes his brother's enthusiasm, "Yes, and I see all the crashes too!". The view they shared was not too different from the above image [ http://www.tiac.net/users/jhendric/6day.html ] of a six day old moon, recorded in July 1995 by Rhode Island amateur astronomer Jim Hendrickson [ http://www.tiac.net/users/jhendric/skyphoto.html ]. Along the terminator, the line between lunar night and day, the shadows outline to advantage the spectacular craters [ http://bang.lanl.gov/solarsys/edu/craters.htm ] -- caused by all the crashes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960906.html ]. |
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