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Cernan Jump Salutes Flag
| Title |
Cernan Jump Salutes Flag |
| Full Description |
Eugene A. Cernan, Commander, Apollo 17 salutes the flag on the lunar surface during extravehicular activity (EVA) on NASA's final lunar landing mission. The Lunar Module "Challenger" is in the left background behind the flag and the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) also in background behind him. While astronauts Cernan and Schmitt descended in the Challenger to explore the Taurus-Littrow region of the Moon, astronaut Ronald E. Evans, Command Module pilot, remained with the Command/Service Module (CSM) "America" in lunar-orbit. |
| Date |
12/13/1972 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Replica of Plaque Left on Mo
…
| Title |
Replica of Plaque Left on Moon by Apollo 17 Astronauts |
| Full Description |
This image is a photographic replica of the plaque that the Apollo 17 astronauts left on the Moon at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. Apollo 17 was the final lunar landing mission in NASA's Apollo program. The commemorative plaque was unveiled at the close of the third extravehicular activity (EVA-3). The plaque was made of stainless steel measuring nine by seven and five-eighths inches, and one-sixteenth inch thick. It was attached to the ladder on the landing gear strut on the descent stage of Apollo 17 Lunar Module "Challenger. |
| Date |
12/12/1972 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
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Apollo 17's Moonship
| Title |
Apollo 17's Moonship |
| Explanation |
Awkward and angular looking, Apollo 17's lunar module Challenger [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/database/www-nmc?72-096C ] was designed for flight [ http://users.specdata.com/home/pullo/lm_mis1.htm ] in the vacuum of space. This sharp picture from the command module America [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/database/www-nmc?72-096A ], shows Challenger's ascent stage in lunar orbit. Small reaction control thrusters are at the sides of the moonship with the bell of the ascent rocket engine itself underneath. The hatch allowing access to the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17main.html ] is visible in the front and a round radar antenna appears at the top. This spaceship performed gracefully, landing on the moon and returning the Apollo astronauts to the orbiting command module in December of 1972 - but where is Challenger now? [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apolloloc.html ] Its descent stage remains at the Apollo 17 landing site, Taurus-Littrow [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo17/A17_lsite.html ]. The ascent stage was intentionally crashed nearby after being jettisoned from the command module prior to the astronauts' return [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.homeward.html ] to planet Earth. Apollo 17's mission [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970504.html ] was the sixth and last time astronauts have landed on the moon. |
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Apollo 17's Moonship
| Title |
Apollo 17's Moonship |
| Explanation |
Awkward and angular looking, Apollo 17's lunar module Challenger [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/tmp/1972-096A.html ] was designed for flight [ http://users.specdata.com/home/pullo/lm_mis1.htm ] in the vacuum of space. This sharp picture from the command module America [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/tmp/1972-096C.html ], shows Challenger's ascent stage in lunar orbit. Small reaction control thrusters are at the sides of the moonship with the bell of the ascent rocket engine itself underneath. The hatch allowing access to the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17main.html ] is visible in the front and a round radar antenna appears at the top. This spaceship performed gracefully, landing on the moon and returning the Apollo astronauts to the orbiting command module in December of 1972 - but where is Challenger now? [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ apolloloc.html ] Its descent stage remains [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/Apollo/ ls_17_5aa.html ] at the Apollo 17 landing site [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/Apollo/ landing_sites.html ], Taurus-Littrow [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo17/ A17_lsite.html ]. The ascent stage was intentionally crashed nearby after being jettisoned from the command module prior to the astronauts' return [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.homeward.html ] to planet Earth. Apollo 17's mission [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970504.html ] was the sixth and last time astronauts have landed on the moon. "Editor's note:" Eric Jones, Apollo Lunar Surface Journal [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/ frame.html ] editor, comments, "If you look at the [... large, dark] triangular window, you'll see a bright rectangular area - which is the rendezvous window - beneath it, a bright arc. After much discussion, my team of volunteers and I concluded that the bright arc is the top of [mission commander] Gene Cernan's bubble helmet lit by sunlight ..." |
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Lunar Module at Taurus-Littr
…
| Title |
Lunar Module at Taurus-Littrow |
| Explanation |
Can the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://hubblesite.org/ ] take a picture that shows the Apollo lunar modules [ http://users.specdata.com/home/pullo/lm_mis1.htm ] on the Moon? With its 2.4 meter diameter mirror [ http://hubblesite.org/sci.d.tech/nuts_.and._bolts/optics/ ], the smallest object that the Hubble can resolve [ http://astrosun.tn.cornell.edu/courses/astro201/ purpose.htm ] at the Moon's distance [ http://www.nineplanets.org/luna.html ] of around 400,000 kilometers is about 80 meters across. So, from low Earth orbit even Hubble's sharp vision can not image the Apollo lunar module descent stages, at most a few meters across, left behind [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981213.html ] at the lunar landing sites [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ apolloland.html ]. A space telescope over ten times the size of Hubble could ... or a much smaller telescope in close lunar orbit. In fact, this picture does just resolve Apollo 17's Lunar Module, Challenger [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020105.html ], and its shadow on the cratered floor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020128.html ] of the Taurus-Littrow valley in the Moon's Mare [ http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/lunarform/ maria.html ] Serenitatis. It was taken in 1972 from the Apollo 17 Command Module, America [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/tmp/ 1972-096A.html ], orbiting about 100 kilometers above the Moon's surface and covers an area about 1.1 kilometers wide. Using a web site [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/Apollo/ landing_sites.html ] created by Dan Durda of Southwest Research Institute, armchair astronauts can explore orbital views of this and the 5 other Apollo [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/apollo.html ] lunar landing sites. |
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Apollo 17's Moonship
| Title |
Apollo 17's Moonship |
| Explanation |
Awkward and angular looking, Apollo 17's lunar module Challenger [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/database/www-nmc?72-096C ] was designed for flight [ http://users.specdata.com/home/pullo/lm_mis1.htm ] in the vacuum of space. This sharp picture from the command module America [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/database/www-nmc?72-096A ], shows Challenger's ascent stage in lunar orbit. Small reaction control thrusters are at the sides of the moonship with the bell of the ascent rocket engine itself underneath. The hatch allowing access to the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17main.html ] is visible in the front and a round radar antenna appears at the top. This spaceship performed gracefully, landing on the moon and returning the Apollo astronauts to the orbiting command module in December of 1972 - but where is Challenger now? [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apolloloc.html ] Its descent stage remains at the Apollo 17 landing site, Taurus-Littrow [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo17/A17_lsite.html ]. The ascent stage crashed nearby after being jettisoned from the command module prior to the astronauts' return [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.homeward.html ] to planet Earth. Apollo 17's mission [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970504.html ] was the sixth and last time astronauts have landed on the moon. |
|
Apollo 17's Moonship
| Title |
Apollo 17's Moonship |
| Explanation |
Awkward and angular looking, Apollo 17's lunar module Challenger [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/tmp/1972-096C.html ] was designed for flight in the vacuum of space. This picture from command module America [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/tmp/1972-096A.html ], shows Challenger's ascent stage in lunar orbit. Small reaction control thrusters are at the sides of the moonship [ http://users.specdata.com/home/pullo/lm_mis1.htm ] with the bell of the ascent rocket engine underneath. The hatch allowing access to the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17main.html ] is seen at the front, with a round radar antenna at the top. Mission commander Gene Cernan is just visible through the dark, triangular window. This spaceship performed gracefully, landing on the Moon and returning the Apollo astronauts to the orbiting command module in December of 1972. So where is Challenger now? [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ apolloloc.html ] Its descent stage remains [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/Apollo/ ls_17_5aa.html ] at the Apollo 17 landing site [ http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/Apollo/ landing_sites.html ], Taurus-Littrow. The ascent stage was intentionally crashed nearby after being jettisoned from the command module prior to the astronauts' return [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.homeward.html ] to planet Earth. Apollo 17's mission [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap051210.html ] was the sixth and last time astronauts have landed on the Moon. |
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Apollo 17 Command/Service mo
…
| Title |
Apollo 17 Command/Service modules photographed from lunar module in orbit |
| Description |
A view of the Apollo 17 command and service modules photographed from the lunar module (LM) Challenger during rendezvous and docking maneuvers in lunar orbit. The LM ascent stage, with astronauts Eugene A. Cernan and Harrison H. Schmitt aboard, had just returned from the Taurus-Littrow landing site on the lunar surface. |
| Date Taken |
1972-12-14 |
|
Apollo 17 Command/Service mo
…
| Title |
Apollo 17 Command/Service modules photographed from lunar module in orbit |
| Description |
A view of the Apollo 17 command and service modules photographed from the lunar module (LM) Challenger during rendezvous and docking maneuvers in lunar orbit. The LM ascent stage, with astronauts Eugene A. Cernan and Harrison H. Schmitt aboard, had just returned from the Taurus-Littrow landing site on the lunar surface. Note the exposed Scientific Instrument Module (SIM) bay in sector 1 of the service module. Three experiments are carried in the bay: S-209 lunar sounder, S-171 infrared scanning spectrometer, and the S-169 far-ultraviolet spectrometer. Also mounted in the SIM bay are the panoramic camera, mapping camera and laser altimeter used in service module photographic tasks. A portion of the LM is on the right. |
| Date Taken |
1972-12-14 |
|
Apollo 17 lunar module "Chal
…
| Title |
Apollo 17 lunar module "Challenger" liftoff from Taurus-Littrow landing site |
| Description |
The Apollo 17 lunar module (LM) "Challenger" ascent stage makes its liftoff from the lunar surface, as seen in this reproduction taken from a color television transmission made by the color RCA TV camera mounted on the lunar roving vehicle. The LM liftoff was at 188:01:36 ground elapsed time, 4:54:36 p.m., Thursday, December 14, 1972. The LM descent stage is used as a launching platform and remains behind on the Moon. |
| Date Taken |
1972-12-14 |
|
Apollo 17 lunar module "Chal
…
| Title |
Apollo 17 lunar module "Challenger" liftoff from Taurus-Littrow landing site |
| Description |
The Apollo 17 lunar module (LM) "Challenger" ascent stage leaves the Taurus-Littrow landing site as it makes its spectacular liftoff from the lunar surface, as seen in this reproduction taken from a color television transmission made by the color RCA TV camera mounted on the lunar roving vehicle. The LM liftoff was at 188:01:36 ground elapsed time, 4:54:36 p.m., Thursday, December 14, 1972. The LM descent stage is used as a launching platform and remains behind on the Moon. Here, the two stages have completely separated and the ascent stage is headed skyward. |
| Date Taken |
1972-12-14 |
|
View of the plaque to be lef
…
| Title |
View of the plaque to be left on the moon by the Apollo 17 astronauts |
| Description |
View of the plaque to be left at the Taurus-Littrow lunar landing site by the Apollo 17 astronauts. The commemorative plaque is made of stainless steel measuring nine by seven by five-eighths inches and one-sixteenth inch thick. It is attached to the ladder on the landing gear strut on the descent stage of the Apollo 17 Lunar Module "Challenger". |
| Date Taken |
1972-12-14 |
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