Page 4 - Apollo Moonships

2 On bOard apOllO mOOnships
TO THE MOON: THE APOLLO MISSIONS
Between 1968 and 1972, the United States launched
eight manned missions to the moon as part of the Apollo
Program, conceived by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to put humans on the lunar surface and bring them back to Earth completely safe. Six of those missions (Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17) landed a total of 12 astronauts on the moon, including the first mission in July 1969..
MAN ON THE MOON
The Apollo Program was initiated in 1961 after the former President of the U.S., John F. Kennedy, announced his intention to bring men to the moon before the end of the decade. To reach this goal, NASA built two spacecraft: the Apollo mothership and the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM). The first spacecraft consisted of a Command Module (CM), capable of holding
three astronauts, and a Service Module (SM), containing the main engine, propellant, and support systems. By contrast, the LEM could carry two crew members to the moon’s surface and was designed to support them during their stay and then bring them back to the mother ship, which remained
in lunar orbit. The first moon landing took place on July 20, 1969, when
the astronauts of Apollo 11, Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, descended on the lunar region known as the Sea of Tranquility. After Apollo 11, NASA had planned another nine lunar expeditions, but only six of them were accomplished. The last manned lunar mission was Apollo 17, which landed in the Taurus-Littrow valley on December 11, 1972, remaining 75 hours on the moon’s surface. Of eight manned lunar missions, just one— Apollo 13—did not achieve its aims because an explosion in the SM forced astronauts to return to Earth without landing on the moon.
APOLLO CSM TRANSLUNAR CONFIGURATION
REACTION THRUSTERS
Those small thrusters released gas in different directions to make little adjustments and keep the ship on the right course.
RADAR ANTENNA
The astronauts used this antenna after leaving the moon’s surface and returning to the CSM vehicle in lunar orbit. The radar antenna allowed the lunar module ascent stage to track the CSM spacecraft to calculate its position and speed during the docking maneuver.
THERMAL BLANKET
A heat-reflective blanket designed
to reduce heat loss in the lunar environment and protect the spaceship against particle impacts covered the lunar module descent stage.
SALUTE THE FLAG.
The Apollo 15 Lunar Module pilot, James Irwin,
salutes the United States flag during one of the four extravehicular activities (EVA) conducted by the mission. The Lunar Module Falcon appears in the center of the image beside the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). Apollo 15 landed on the moon on July 30, 1971.