Missions to the Moon
T
he Russians took the lead in exploring the Moon with
spacecraft. Their Luniks contacted the Moon in 1959,
and they were also the first to make a controlled landing
with an automatic probe. Luna 9 came gently down in
the Oceanus Procellarum, on 3 February 1966, and finally
disposed of a curious theory according to which the lunar
seas were coated with deep layers of soft dust. Later, the
Russians were also able to send vehicles to the Moon,
collect samples of lunar material, and bring them back to
Earth. It is now known that they had planned a manned
landing there in the late 1960s, but had to abandon the idea
when it became painfully clear that their rockets were not
sufficiently reliable. By 1970 the ‘Race to the Moon’ was
definitely over.
American progress had been smoother. The Ranger
vehicles crash-landed on the Moon, sending back data and
pictures before being destroyed; the Surveyors made soft
landings, obtaining a tremendous amount of information;
and between 1966 and 1968 the five Orbiters went round
and round the Moon, providing very detailed and accurate
maps of virtually the entire surface. Meanwhile, the Apollo
programme was gathering momentum.ATLAS OF THE UNIVERSE
Apollo 16.The Lunar
Module ascends from the
Moon’s surface towards the
Command Module. Mare
Fecunditatis can be seen in
the background. The Rover
performed faultlessly.
Astronauts Duke and Young
explored a wide area, and
set up a number of scientific
experiments in the Apollo
Lunar Surface Experimental
Package (ALSEP). The Lunar
Module was designed to
make a landing on the Moon
and return the astronauts to
orbit. The upper section has
one ascent engine only, and
there can be no second
chance. The photograph was
taken from the orbiting
Command Module.By Christmas 1968 the crew of Apollo 8 were able
to go round the Moon, paving the way for a landing.
Apollo 9 was an Earth-orbiter, used to test the lunar
module which would go down on to the Moon’s surface.
Apollo 10, the final rehearsal, was another lunar orbiter;
and then, in July 1969, first Neil Armstrong, then Edwin
‘Buzz’ Aldrin, stepped out on to the bleak rocks of the
Mare Tranquillitatis from the Eagle,the lunar module
of Apollo 11. Millions of people on Earth watched
Armstrong make his immortal ‘one small step’ on to the
surface of the Moon. The gap between our world and
another had at last been bridged.
Apollo 11 was a preliminary mission. The two astro-
nauts spent more than two hours outside their module,
setting up the first ALSEP (Apollo Lunar Surface
Experimental Package), which included various instru-
ments – for example a seismometer, to detect possible
‘moon-quakes’; a device for making a final search for any
trace of lunar atmosphere, and an instrument designed to
collect particles from the solar wind. Once their work was
completed (interrupted only briefly by a telephone call
from President Nixon) the astronauts went back into the
lunar module; subsequently they lifted off, and rejoined
Michael Collins, the third member of the expedition, who
had remained in lunar orbit. The lower part of the lunar
module was used as a launching pad, and was left behind,
where it will remain until it is collected and removed to a
lunar museum. The return journey to Earth was flawless.
Apollo 12 (November 1969) was also a success; astro-
nauts Conrad and Bean were even able to walk over to
an old Surveyor probe, which had been on the Moon
ever since 1967, and bring parts of it home. Apollo 13
(April 1970) was a near-disaster; there was an explosion
during the outward journey, and the lunar landing had to
be abandoned. With Apollo 14 (January 1971) astronauts
Shepard and Mitchell took a ‘lunar cart’ to carry their
equipment, and with the three final missions, Apollo 15
(July 1971), 16 (April 1972) and 17 (December 1972) a
Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) was used, which increased
the range of exploration very considerably. One of the
Apollo 17 astronauts, Dr Harrison Schmitt, was a pro-
fessional geologist who had been given training specially
for the mission.
The Apollo programme has increased our knowledge
of the Moon beyond all recognition – and yet in a way it▼ Apollo 15.The first
mission in which a ‘Moon
Car’, or Lunar Roving
Vehicle, was taken to
the Moon, enabling the
astronauts to explore much
greater areas. Astronaut
Irwin stands by the Rover,
with one of the peaks
of the Apennines in the
background. The electrically
powered Rovers performed
faultlessly. The peak is much
further from the Rover than
may be thought; distances
on the Moon are notoriously
difficult to estimate.B Atl of Univ Phil'03stp 31/3/03 4:06 pm Page 50