|
|
Conrad and Surveyor on the S
…
| Title |
Conrad and Surveyor on the Slope of a Crater |
| Full Description |
Charles Conrad Jr., Apollo 12 Commander, examines the unmanned Surveyor III spacecraft during the second extravehicular activity (EVA-2). The Lunar Module (LM) "Intrepid" is in the right background. This picture was taken by astronaut Alan L. Bean, Lunar Module pilot. The "Intrepid" landed on the Moon's Ocean of Storms only 600 feet from Surveyor III. The television camera and several other components were taken from Surveyor III and brought back to earth for scientific analysis. Surveyor III soft-landed on the Moon on April 19, 1967. |
| Date |
11/20/1969 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
The Apollo 12 Prime Crew
| Title |
The Apollo 12 Prime Crew |
| Full Description |
Portrait of the prime crew of the Apollo 12 lunar landing mission. From left to right they are: Commander, Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. Command Module pilot, Richard F. Gordon Jr. and Lunar Module pilot, Alan L.Bean. The Apollo 12 mission was the second lunar landing mission in which the third and fourth American astronauts set foot upon the Moon. This mission was highlighted by the Lunar Module nicknamed "Intrepid" landing within a few hundred yards of a Surveyor probe which was sent to the Moon in April of 1967 on a mapping mission as a precursor to landing. |
| Date |
09/22/1969 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Surveyor Hops
| Title |
Surveyor Hops |
| Explanation |
This panorama of the cratered lunar surface was constructed from images returned by the US Surveyor [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html ] 6 lander. Surveyor 6 [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/surveyor/Surveyor6.html ] was not the first spacecraft to accomplish a soft landing [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970907.html ] on the Moon ... but it was the first to land and then lift off [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960609.html ] again! After the spacecraft touched down near the center of the Moon's nearside [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990730.html ] in November of 1967, NASA controllers commanded it to "hop". Briefly firing its rocket engine and lifting itself some 4 meters above the surface, the Surveyor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981114.html ] moved about 2.5 meters to one side before setting down again. The hopping success of Surveyor 6 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961103.html ] essentially marked the completion of the Surveyor series main mission [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/TM-3487/ch2-1.htm ] - to determine if the lunar terrain was safe for the planned Apollo landings [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ ]. |
|
Newton Crater: Evidence for
…
| Title |
Newton Crater: Evidence for Recent Water on Mars |
| Explanation |
What could have formed these unusual channels? Inside a small crater [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo/education/plansurf/plansurfii.html ] that lies inside large Newton Crater [ http://ic.arc.nasa.gov/ic/projects/bayes-group/Atlas/Mars/features/n/newton.html ] on Mars [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mars.html ], numerous narrow channels run from the top down to the crater floor. The above picture [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/june2000/newton/index.html ] covers a region spanning about 3000 meters across. These and other gullies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000623.html ] have been found on Mars in recent high-resolution pictures [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/june2000/index.html ] taken by the orbiting Mars Global Surveyor [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/overvu/overview.html ] robot spacecraft. Similar channels on Earth [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/june2000/labeled/index.html ] are formed by flowing water, but on Mars the temperature is normally too cold and the atmosphere [ http://windows.ivv.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/tour_def/mars/lower_atmosphere.html ] too thin to sustain liquid water [ http://www.es.mq.edu.au/courses/GEOS112/mod2/worsho/06/6_2.html ]. Nevertheless, many scientists now hypothesize that liquid water did burst out here from underground Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/mars.html ], eroded the gullies, and pooled at the bottom as it froze and evaporated. If so, life-sustaining ice and water [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980530.html ] might exist even today below the Martian surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000514.html ] -- water that could potentially support a human mission to Mars [ http://www-sn.jsc.nasa.gov/marsref/contents.html ]. Research into this exciting possibility [ http://www.sciencemag.org/feature/data/hottopics/index.html ] is sure to continue! |
|
Apollo 12 Visits Surveyor 3
| Title |
Apollo 12 Visits Surveyor 3 |
| Explanation |
Apollo 12 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo12info.html ] was the second mission to land humans [ http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html ] on the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/moon.html ]. The landing site was picked to be near the location of Surveyor [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html ] 3, a robot spacecraft that had landed on the Moon [ http://www.nineplanets.org/luna.html ] three years earlier. In the above photograph [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/ images12.html#HiRes ], taken by lunar module pilot Alan Bean [ http://www.nasm.edu/apollo/AS12/a12crew.htm ], mission commander Pete Conrad [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990715.html ] retrieves parts from the Surveyor. The lunar module [ http://www.moonlander.com/lmdata/ ] is visible [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951007.html ] in the distance. Apollo 12 [ http://www.nasm.edu/apollo/AS12/a12.htm ] brought back many photographs and moon rocks. Among the milestones achieved by Apollo 12 was the deployment [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951210.html ] of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010303.html http://www-sn.jsc.nasa.gov/PlanetaryMissions/EXLibrary/ docs/ApolloCat/Part1/ALSEP.htm ], which carried out many experiments including one that measured the solar wind [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000318.html ]. |
|
Ancient Volcanos of Mars
| Title |
Ancient Volcanos of Mars |
| Explanation |
Findings of ancient martian microbial fossils [ http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/astrobiology/biomarkers/ recentnews.html ] in meteorites and liquid water related [ http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ ast29jun_1m.htm ] features on Mars' surface [ http://unisci.com/stories/20012/0402013.htm ] are currently controversial issues. But one thing long established by space-based observations of the Red Planet [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] is the presence of volcanos, as Mars supports some of the largest volcanos [ http://www.msss.com/http/ps/volcanoes.html ] in the solar system. This synthetic color picture recorded in March [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/news2002/ceraunius/ index.html ] by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft shows two of them, Ceraunius Tholus (leftmost) and Uranius Tholus. Found north of the Tharsis [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990618.html ] region of truly large martian volcanos [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000529.html ], these are actually two relatively small volcanos, Ceraunius Tholus being only about the size of the Big Island of Hawaii [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020425.html ] on planet Earth. Impact craters which overlay the volcanic martian terrain [ http://themis.la.asu.edu/latest.html ] indicate that these volcanos are [ http://www.solarviews.com/eng/marsvolc.htm ] themselves ancient and inactive. North is to the right and the scene is illuminated by sunlight from the top left. A light region of dust deposited by recent global dust storms [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap011017.html ] lies on the lower left flank of Ceraunius Tholus, whose summit crater is about 25 kilometers across. |
|
Surveyor Hops
| Title |
Surveyor Hops |
| Explanation |
This panorama of the cratered lunar surface was constructed from images returned by the US Surveyor [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html ] 6 lander. Surveyor 6 [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/surveyor/ Surveyor6.html ] was not the first spacecraft to accomplish a soft landing [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970907.html ] on the Moon ... but it was the first to land and then lift off [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960609.html ] again! After the spacecraft touched down near the center of the Moon's nearside [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ moon_landing_map.jpg ] in November of 1967, NASA controllers commanded it to "hop". Briefly firing its rocket engine and lifting itself some 4 meters above the surface, the Surveyor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981114.html ] moved about 2.5 meters to one side before setting down again. The hopping success of Surveyor 6 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961103.html ] essentially marked the completion of the Surveyor series main mission [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/TM-3487/ ch2-1.htm ] - to determine if the lunar terrain was safe for the planned Apollo landings [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ ]. |
|
Pictured: An Ancient Martian
…
| Title |
Pictured: An Ancient Martian? |
| Explanation |
Alien! Alien? Is this what an ancient Martian looked like? [ http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/marslife/ ] The tube-like form on the above highly magnified image [ http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/marslife/photos.htm ] is now believed by many to be a fossil of a simple Martian organism [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960807.html ] that lived over 3.6 billion years ago [ http://xalph.ast.cam.ac.uk/niel/geohist1.ascii ]. If this extraordinary claim is true, this alien [ http://www.hrgiger.com/roman/roman.htm ] could hardly have been less intimidating as its fossil measures less than 1/100th the width of a human hair. A reconstruction of events indicates that the meteorite that housed this potential fossil was catapulted from Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950716.html ] during a huge impact [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960203.html ] 16 million years ago and fell to Earth's Antarctica [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951222.html ] only 13,000 years ago. Evidence supporting this claim of early Martian life [ http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/marslife/marslif6.htm ] includes organic molecules and mineral features characteristic of biological activity found in the meteorite. NASA missions [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mars/index.html ] to Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/mars.html ] in the next few years include Mars Global Surveyor [ http://mgs-www.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] and Mars Pathfinder [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/ ], which may uncover data that help confirm or refute this exciting claim. |
|
Apollo 12 Visits Surveyor 3
| Title |
Apollo 12 Visits Surveyor 3 |
| Explanation |
Apollo 12 [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo12info.html ] was the second mission to land humans [ http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html ] on the Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/moon.html ]. The landing site was picked to be near the location of Surveyor [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html ] 3, a robot spacecraft that had landed on the Moon [ http://www.nineplanets.org/luna.html ] three years earlier. In the above photograph [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/images12.html#7134h ], taken by lunar module pilot Alan Bean [ http://www.nasm.edu/apollo/AS12/a12crew.htm ], mission commander Pete Conrad [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990715.html ] jiggles [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/images12.html#7134h ] the Surveyor spacecraft to see how firmly it is situated. The lunar module [ http://www.nasm.edu/galleries/attm/nojs/a11.am.lm.1.html ] is visible [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951007.html ] in the distance. Apollo 12 [ http://www.nasm.edu/apollo/AS12/a12.htm ] brought back many photographs and moon rocks. Among the milestones achieved by Apollo 12 was the deployment [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951210.html ] of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package [ http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/HumanExplore/Exploration/EXLibrary/docs/ApolloCat/Part1/ALSEP.htm ], which carried out many experiments including one that measured the solar wind [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000318.html ]. |
|
Pictured: An Ancient Martian
…
| Title |
Pictured: An Ancient Martian? |
| Explanation |
Alien! Alien? Is this what an ancient Martian looked like? [ http://www.fas.org/mars/marslife.htm ] The tube-like form on the above highly magnified image [ http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/marslife/photos.htm ] is now believed by many to be a fossil [ http://www.cs.uwindsor.ca/meta-index/mcat/html-docs/woop.html ] of a simple Martian organism [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960807.html ] that lived over 3.6 billion years ago [ http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/help/timeform.html ]. If this extraordinary claim [ http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/marslife/ ] is true, this alien could hardly have been less intimidating as its fossil measures less than 1/100th the width of a human hair. A reconstruction of events indicates that the meteorite [ http://www-curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/antmet/mmc/mmc.htm ] that housed this potential fossil was catapulted from Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970627.html ] during a huge impact [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960203.html ] 16 million years ago and fell to Earth's Antarctica [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951222.html ] only 13,000 years ago. Evidence supporting this claim of early Martian life [ http://rsd.gsfc.nasa.gov/marslife/marslif6.htm ] includes organic molecules and mineral features characteristic of biological activity [ http://www.fas.org/mars/dickbook.htm ] found in the meteorite. NASA's current missions [ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mars/index.html ] to Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970814.html ] are Mars Global Surveyor [ http://mgs-www.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] and Mars Pathfinder [ http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/ ]. Though not designed to look for martian fossils, these missions may reveal information about conditions on early Mars [ http://www.sciam.com/1196issue/1196kargel.html ] which might have been more favorable for life [ http://www.execulink.com/~louisew/Origins.htm ]. |
|
An Apollo 12 Panorama
| Title |
An Apollo 12 Panorama |
| Explanation |
The Apollo 12 mission [ http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/imagery/apollo/AS12/a12.htm ] was the second [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980503.html ] ever to land humans on the Moon. The mission was dedicated [ http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/imagery/apollo/AS12/a12mo.htm ] to studying the Moon [ http://www.nineplanets.org/luna.html ], developing techniques, and developing instruments that could be used in future lunar landings [ http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/imagery/apollo/apollo.htm ]. Astronauts Charles (Pete) Conrad and Alan Bean [ http://www.lpi.usra.edu/expmoon/Apollo12/A12_Overview_crew.html ] spent just under two days on the lunar surface in November 1969, while Richard Gordon [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/gordon-rf.html ] orbited above in the Command Module [ http://www.msichicago.org/exhibit/apollo/ ]. Pictured above [ http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/Projects/LunarAtlas/panoramas/ ] in this digitally stitched panorama, Alan Bean works near the Lunar Module [ http://www.nasm.edu/galleries/attm/nojs/a11.am.lm.1.html ]. Scrolling to the right will reveal a dark color panorama [ http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/Projects/LunarAtlas/panoramas/ ] where flat lunar terrain and a tall video camera are visible. Apollo 12 mission [ http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/imagery/apollo/AS12/a12.htm ] astronauts visited the site [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020713.html ] of the nearby Surveyor 3 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031005.html ] robot spacecraft that had landed on the moon three years earlier. |
|
Destination: Moon
| Title |
Destination: Moon |
| Explanation |
Tuesday, January 6, at 9:28 p.m. EST, NASA's Lunar Prospector [ http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/ ] spacecraft climbed into the sky [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/payload/missions/prospector/movies/ athena2.mpg ] above Cape Canaveral Air Station riding an Athena II rocket [ http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/schedule/mixfleet.htm ]. Representing NASA's first Moon mission since the 1972 flight of Apollo 17 [ http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/pao/apollo17/ ], this launch also occurred on the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Surveyor 7 lunar lander [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html ]. The three stage launch vehicle's [ http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/project/launchp.html ] fiery trail is in the foreground of this time exposure [ http://www.ksc.nasa.gov/payload/missions/prospector/images/ captions/KSC-98EC-0107.html ] while the Moon [ http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/education/tg/teach1.html ], near first quarter phase [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960919.html ], is shown in the background some 250,000 miles from the Cape. Prospector will cover that distance [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960727.html ] in about 5 days, entering lunar orbit on Sunday. Prospector carries no cameras to image the well-photographed [ http://www.nrl.navy.mil/clementine/clib/ ] lunar surface. Instead, its array of instruments [ http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/science/instrumentss.html ] will map the lunar gravity, magnetic field, internal structure, and surface composition. The result, a detailed global view of current lunar properties [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980107.html ], is expected to dramatically impact [ http://www.njin.net/~dmollica/index.html ] humanity's understanding of the origins [ http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov/science/overview.html ] of the Moon and the Solar System. From its vantage point [ http://www.moonlink.com/ ] in polar orbit, only 63 miles above the lunar surface, Prospector will also conduct a sensitive search for water ice which may be preserved [ http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/PSRdiscoveries/Dec96/IceonMoon.html ] in permanent shadow at the Moon's South Pole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961204.html ]. |
|
Surveyor Hops
| Title |
Surveyor Hops |
| Explanation |
This panorama of the cratered lunar surface was constructed from images returned by the US Surveyor [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html ] 6 lander. Surveyor 6 [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/surveyor/Surveyor6.html ] was not the first spacecraft to accomplish a soft landing [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970907.html ] on the Moon ... but it was the first to land and then lift off [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960609.html ] again! After touching down near the center of the Moon's nearside [ http://aa.usno.navy.mil/AA/data/ ] in November of 1967, NASA controllers commanded the spacecraft to "hop". Briefly firing its rocket engine and lifting itself some 4 meters above the surface, the Surveyor [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981114.html ] moved about 2.5 meters to one side before setting down again. The hopping success of Surveyor 6 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961103.html ] essentially marked the completion of the Surveyor series main mission [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/TM-3487/ch2-1.htm ] - to determine if the lunar terrain was safe for the planned Apollo landings [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/ ]. |
|
Apollo 12: Surveyor 3 and In
…
| Title |
Apollo 12: Surveyor 3 and Intrepid |
| Explanation |
On April 20, 1967, NASA's robot spacecraft Surveyor 3 landed [ http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/surveyor.html ] on the moon, touching down on the inside slope of a small lunar crater in the Ocean of Storms. Over 2 1/2 years later, on November 19, 1969, the lunar module Intrepid, piloted by Apollo 12 [ http://www.nasm.edu/APOLLO/AS12/ ] astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean, flew overhead and landed nearby [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/Apollo12/A12_lsite.html ] in the second visit by humans to the lunar surface [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4214/cover.html ]. Intrepid touched down about 600 feet away and the moon walking astronauts [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/a12j.html ] were easily able to reach the Surveyor [ http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/surveyor/Surveyor3.html ] and examine the remote explorer that had preceded them. Intrepid is seen in the background of this striking high resolution [ http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a12/images12.html#HiRes ] picture of Surveyor 3. Surveyor's leftmost foot pad appears dug in while its foreground foot pad has made two distinct imprints in the powdery lunar soil [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980327.html ] - clear indications that the Surveyor slid and bounced on landing. Using bolt cutters, the astronauts [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961124.html ] removed Surveyor's TV camera (the cylinder shape at the right of the tall solar panel mast) and its sampling scoop (on the arm extended to the right), returning them to Earth for study. |
|
Four Faces of Mars
| Title |
Four Faces of Mars |
| Explanation |
As Mars rotates, most of its surface becomes visible. During Earth [ http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/categories.html ]'s recent pass between Mars [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/mars.html ] and the Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990705.html http://www.astro.uva.nl/~michielb/sun/kaft.htm ], the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://www.stsci.edu/hst/ ] was able to capture the most detailed time-lapse pictures ever from the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980204.html ]. Dark and light sand [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970704.html ] and gravel create an unusual blotted appearance for the red planet [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990424.html ]. Winds [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990112.html ] cause sand-tinted features on the Martian surface [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970722.html ] to shift over time. Visible in the above pictures [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/1999/27/index.html ] are the north polar cap [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980924.html ], made of water ice [ http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/tharsis/agu_f98.html ] and dry ice [ http://www.halloween-online.com/dryice1-1.html ], clouds [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971013.html ] including an unusual cyclone [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990520.html ], and huge volcanoes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970915.html ] leftover from ancient times. The Mars Global Surveyor [ http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/overvu/overview.html ] satellite orbiting Mars [ http://www-ssi.colorado.edu/Outreach/TravSciExhibits/MarsQuest/1.html ] continues to scan the surface for good places to land future robot explorers [ http://www.msss.com/mars/global_surveyor/camera/images/6_25_99_landingsites/index.html ]. |
|
Estimated Radiation on Mars,
…
PIA03479
Sol (our sun)
Mars Radiation Experiment
| Title |
Estimated Radiation on Mars, Hits per Cell Nucleus |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This global map of Mars shows estimates for amounts of high-energy-particle cosmic radiation reaching the surface, a serious health concern for any future human exploration of the planet. The estimates are based on cosmic-radiation measurements made on the way to Mars by the Mars radiation environment experiment, an instrument on NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft, plus information about Mars' surface elevations from the laser altimeter instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. The areas of Mars expected to have least radiation are where elevation is lowest, because those areas have more atmosphere above them to block out some of the radiation. Earth's thick atmosphere shields us from most cosmic radiation, but Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than Earth does. Colors in the map refer to the estimated average number of times per year each cell nucleus in a human there would be hit by a high-energy cosmic ray particle. The range is generally from two hits (color-coded green), a moderate risk level, to eight hits (coded red), a high risk level. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor missions for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington D.C. The Mars radiation environment experiment was developed by NASA's Johnson Space Center. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for Odyssey, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
|
Estimated Radiation Dosage o
…
PIA03480
Sol (our sun)
Mars Radiation Experiment
| Title |
Estimated Radiation Dosage on Mars |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This global map of Mars shows the estimated radiation dosages from cosmic rays reaching the surface, a serious health concern for any future human exploration of the planet. The estimates are based on cosmic-radiation measurements by the Mars radiation environment experiment, an instrument on NASA's Mars 2000 Odyssey spacecraft, plus information about Mars' surface elevations from the laser altimeter instrument on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. The areas of Mars expected to have the lowest levels of cosmic radiation are where the elevation is lowest, because those areas have more atmosphere above them to block out some of the radiation. Earth's thick atmosphere shields us from most cosmic radiation, but Mars has a much thinner atmosphere than we have on Earth. The colors in the map refer to the estimated annual dose equivalent in rems, a unit of radiation dose. The range is generally from 10 rems(color-coded dark blue) to 20 rems (color coded dark red). Radiation exposure for astronauts on the International Space Station in Earth orbit is typically equivalent to an annualized rate of 20 to 40 rems. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor missions for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington D.C. The Mars radiation environment experiment was developed by NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for Odyssey, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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| General Description |
Exploration Imagery |
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View of two U.S. spacecraft
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| Title |
View of two U.S. spacecraft on the surface of the moon |
| Description |
View of two U.S. spacecraft on the surface of the moon, taken during the second Apollo 12 extravehicular activity (EVA-2). The Apollo 12 Lunar Module is in the background. The unmanned Surveyor III spacecraft is in the foreground. |
| Date Taken |
1969-11-20 |
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View of Surveyor III in its
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| Title |
View of Surveyor III in its crater |
| Description |
An excellent view of the unmanned Surveyor III spacecraft which was photographed during the Apollo 12 second extravehicular activity (EVA-2) on the surface of the Moon. The Apollo 12 Lunar Module, landed within 600 feet of Surveyor III in the Ocean of Storms. The television camera and several other pieces were taken from Surveyor III and brought back to Earth for scientific examination. |
| Date Taken |
1969-11-20 |
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View of Surveyor III in its
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| Title |
View of Surveyor III in its crater |
| Description |
View of the Surveyor III in its crater. In the far left the Apollo 12 Lunar Module can be seen. |
| Date Taken |
1969-11-19 |
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Astronauts Stafford and Cern
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| Title |
Astronauts Stafford and Cernan look over pictures of lunar surface |
| Description |
Astronauts Thomas P. Stafford (right) and Eugene A. Cernan look over pictures of the lunar surface taken by Surveyor I. |
| Date Taken |
1966-06-02 |
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Photograph of surface of moo
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| Title |
Photograph of surface of moon showing western Mare Tranquillitatis |
| Description |
Ellipse II-P-6, located in western Mare Tranquillitatis. The center coordinates for the ellipse are 00 degrees 45 minutes north longitude and 23 degrees 37 minutes east latitude. It was the sixth primary site photographed by Lunar Orbiter II. Surveyor V landed approximately 26 kilometers to the north-northwest from the center of the ellipse. |
| Date Taken |
1966-05-01 |
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Photograph of surface of moo
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| Title |
Photograph of surface of moon showing Sinus Medii near center of the moon |
| Description |
Ellipse II-P-8, located in Sinus Medii near the center of the moon. The center coordinates for the ellipse are 0 degrees 25 minutes north longitude and 1 degree 20 minutes west latitude. It was the eighth primary site photographed by Lunar Orbiter II. Surveyor VI landed approximately five kilometers to the northwest from the center of the ellipse. |
| Date Taken |
1966-05-01 |
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Photograph of prime Apollo 1
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| Title |
Photograph of prime Apollo 12 lunar landing site |
| Description |
This photograph taken by Lunar Orbiter III shows the prime Apollo 12 lunar landing site, which is located 1000 feet east and 500 feet north of Surveyor III. The landing ellipse is 7.2 nautical miles by 2.6 nautical miles. The coordinates of the ellipse center are 2 degrees 56 minutes 33 seconds (2.943 degrees) south latitude and 23 degrees 26 minutes 36 secondes (23.443 degrees) west longitude, and the elevation is 1,735,900 meters. |
| Date Taken |
1969-11-05 |
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Apollo 12 crewmembers partic
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| Title |
Apollo 12 crewmembers participate in lunar surface extravehicular simulations |
| Description |
Apollo 12 lunar landing mission crew participates in lunar surface extravehicular activity simulations in the Kennedy Space Center's Flight Crew Training Building. Here, Astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., (on right), commander, and Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot, simulate a photographic inspection of the unmanned Surveyor III spacecraft (55367), Conrad (facing camera), simulates picking up samples. Bean simulates photographic lunar rock sample documentation (55368). |
| Date Taken |
1969-10-06 |
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Apollo 12 crewmembers partic
…
| Title |
Apollo 12 crewmembers participate in lunar surface extravehicular simulations |
| Description |
Apollo 12 lunar landing mission crew participates in lunar surface extravehicular activity simulations in the Kennedy Space Center's Flight Crew Training Building. Here, Astronaut Charles Conrad Jr., (on right), commander, and Alan L. Bean, lunar module pilot, simulate a photographic inspection of the unmanned Surveyor III spacecraft (55367), Conrad (facing camera), simulates picking up samples. Bean simulates photographic lunar rock sample documentation (55368). |
| Date Taken |
1969-10-06 |
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Artist's concept of Surveyor
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| Title |
Artist's concept of Surveyor III resting in the Ocean of Storms |
| Description |
Ryan Aeronautical Company artist's concept depicting a close-up view of Surveyor III resting in the Ocean of Storms on the lunar nearside. Two Apollo 12 astronauts are seen approaching in the background. The Apollo 12 Lunar Module is in the the left background. The Earth is in the right background. |
| Date Taken |
1969-10-23 |
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Apollo 12 EVA 2 traverse ove
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| Title |
Apollo 12 EVA 2 traverse overlay |
| Description |
Apollo 12 extravehicular activity (EVA) 2 traverse overlay showing the locations of the Apoll 12 landing sites for the lunar module, the location of the Surveyor III, locations of several craters and placement area for the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP). |
| Date Taken |
1969-11-12 |
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