Week 1 - Assignment 1:

name: Sarath Reddy konda ID: 1316833

I went to Nasa Space center and found Apollo mission to be interesting one and picked story. It is about first man to land on moon. From there I did Google search on Apollo mission and found several missions that were related to the original one like Apollo- ! Apollo-"! Apollo-#! Apollo-$!Apollo-%! Apollo-&!Apollo'(! Apollo-''!Apollo-')!Apollo-'*!Apollo-' !Apollo-'"!Apollo-'#!Apoll-'$.

Apollo-Exploration of Moon
On July 20, 1969 the first man stepped on the moon. During the next 3 years 6 missions to the moon was made and a total of 12 astronauts wal ed on the moon. One of the missions !pollo"13 failed and they had to return.

Apollo mission is the third spaceflight program carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and United States civilian space agency. The main goal of the mission is landing of the first humans on Earth's oon in !"#".Apollo $as later dedicated to %resident &ohn '. (ennedy's national goal of )landing a man on the oon and returning him safely to the Earth) by the end of the !"#*s. 'inally+ goal $as accomplished on the Apollo !! mission $here astronauts Neil Armstrong and ,u-- Aldrin landed their .unar odule on the +oon on &uly /*+ !"#"+ and $al0ed on its surface $hile ichael 1ollins remained in lunar orbit in the command spacecraft+ and all three landed safely on Earth on &uly /2. 'ive subse3uent Apollo missions also landed astronauts on the oon+ the last in 4ecember !"5/. 6n these si7 spaceflights+ !/ men $al0ed on the oon. 8emini missions developed some of the space travel techni3ues that $ere necessary for the success of the Apollo missions. Apollo used Saturn family roc0ets as launch vehicles. Apollo 9 Saturn vehicles $ere also used for an Apollo Applications %rogram $hich consisted of three S0ylab space station missions in !"5:;52.

Early in the critical planning stages for Apollo+ three different approaches to the oon $ere considered< direct ascent+ rende-vous in Earth orbit+ and rende-vous in lunar orbit. The choice of mission mode $as a 0ey milestone in our development of Apollo. .i0e many other decisions+ it set us in a direction from $hich retreat could come only at e7treme penalty to the schedule and cost of the program. .unar=orbit rende-vous meant considerable payload savings and in turn a reduced propulsion re3uirement> in fact the reduction $as on the order of ?* percent. ,ut in re3uiring less brute force $e needed more s0ill and finesse. A module designed especially for landing on and lifting from the lunar surface had to mate $ith a module orbiting the oon. @ende-vous and doc0ing+ clearly+ $ere of critical importance. The 8emini program $as created to provide greater e7perience than ercury $ould in manned operations in space+ and especially in perfecting procedures on rende-vous and doc0ing. Ahile lunar rende-vous $as the choice for getting to the oon+ many other fundamental technical+ policy+ and management 3uestions had to be ans$ered< Bo$ and $here $ere maCor parts to be developed and madeD Bo$ $ere they to be shippedD Ahere $ere they to be assembledD Ahere $ould $e site the important supporting facilities and the launch comple7D The huge scale of the Apollo operation precluded

conventional ans$ers. 'acilities that $ere in themselves maCor engineering challenges $ere created+ and a separate net$or0 of giant deep=space antennas $as constructed in Spain+ Australia+ and 1alifornia to receive the tremendous volume of data that $ould flo$ bac0 from the oon. Apollo $as an incredible mi7ture of the large and the small+ of huge structures and miniaturi-ed e3uipment. The four orbital flights of the ercury proved man's ability to survive in space+ fly spacecraft+ and perform e7periments. These abilities $ere e7panded in the 8emini program> in particular+ the ability to rende-vous+ doc0+ and conduct e7tra vehicular activity $as demonstrated. The @anger+ Surveyor+ and Erbiter series contributed necessary cartographic+ geologic+ and geophysical data about the oon. All these missions $ere in preparation for the flights $ith the po$erful Saturn F launch vehicle first flo$n unmanned in late !"#5. Source< http<99en.$i0ipedia.org9$i0i9ApolloG!! .unar ission procedure<

The nominal planned lunar landing mission proceeded as follo$s<

Launch The : Saturn F stages burn for about !! minutes to achieve a !**=nautical=mile (!"* 0m) circular par0ing orbit. The third stage burns a small portion of its fuel to achieve orbit.

Translunar injection After one to t$o orbits to verify readiness of spacecraft systems+ the S=6F, third stage reignites for about # minutes to send the spacecraft to the oon.


Transposition and docking (1) TheSpacecraft .unar e7pose the . . The 1ommand odule Adapter (S.A) panels separate to free the 1S out a safe distance+ and turns !H*I. and

odule %ilot (1 %) moves the 1S

Transposition and docking (2)+ The 1 % doc0s $ith the . + and pulls the combined spacecraft a$ay from the S= 6F,+ $hich then is sent into solar orbit. The lunar voyage ta0es bet$een / and : days. made as necessary using the S engine. idcourse corrections are

Lunar orbit insertion The spacecraft passes about #* nautical miles (!!* 0m) behind the oon+ and the S engine

is fired to slo$ the spacecraft and put it into a #*=by=!5*=nautical=mile (!!* by :!* 0m) orbit+ $hich is soon circulari-ed at #* nautical miles by a second burn.


After a rest period+ the 1ommander (14@) and .unar deploy the landing gear. The 1S and . odule %ilot (. %) move to the . + po$er up its systems+ and cre$ move a

separate> the 1 % visually inspects the . + then the .

safe distance a$ay and fire the descent engine for Descent orbit insertion+ $hich ta0es it to a perilune of about ?*+*** feet (!? 0m).

Powered descent At perilune+ the descent engine fires again to start the descent. The 14@ ta0es over manual control after pitchover for a vertical landing.

The 14@ and . % perform one or more EFAs e7ploring the lunar surface and collecting samples+ alternating $ith rest periods.


The ascent stage lifts off+ using the descent stage as a launching pad.

The . rende-vouses and doc0s $ith the 1S .

The 14@ and . % transfer bac0 to the 1 $ith their material samples+ then the . ascent stage is Cettisoned+ to

eventually fall out of orbit and crash on the surface.

Trans-Earth injection The S engine fires to send the 1S bac0 to Earth.


The S is Cettisoned Cust before reentry+ and the 1 turns !H*I to face its blunt end for$ard for reentry.

Atmospheric drag slo$s the 1 . Aerodynamic heating surrounds it $ith an envelope of ioni-ed air $hich causes a communications blac0out for several minutes.

%arachutes are deployed+ slo$ing the 1 brought to an aircraft carrier. for a splashdo$n in the %acific Ecean. The astronauts are recovered and

Source< http<99$$$.h3.nasa.gov9office9pao9Bistory9S%=:?*9ch=!!=!.html Apollo 11 $as the spaceflight that landed the first humans on the oon+ Americans Neil Armstrong and ,u-- Aldrin+ on &uly /*+ !"#"+ at /*<!H. Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface si7 hours later on &uly /! at */<?# UT1. Armstrong spent about t$o and a half hours outside the spacecraft+ Aldrin slightly less+ and together they collected 25.? pounds (/!.? 0g) of lunar material for return to Earth. A third member of the mission+ ichael 1ollins+ piloted the command spacecraft alone in lunar orbit until Armstrong and Aldrin returned to it Cust under a day later for the trip bac0 to Earth.

Samples returned
Main article: Moon rock

The most famous of the

oon roc0s recovered+ the 8enesis @oc0+ returned from Apollo !?.

The Apollo program returned H:H./ pounds (:H*./ 0g) of lunar roc0s and soil to the .unar @eceiving .aboratory in Bouston.J#5K Today+ most of the samples are stored at the .unar Sample .aboratory 'acility built in !"5". The roc0s collected from the oon are e7tremely old compared to roc0s found on Earth+ as measured by radiometric dating techni3ues. They range in age from about :./ billion years for the basaltic samples derived from the lunar mare+ to about 2.# billion years for samples derived from the highlands crust.J#"K As such+ they represent samples from a very early period in the development of the Solar System+ that are largely absent on Earth. Ene important roc0 found during the Apollo %rogram is dubbed the 8enesis @oc0+ retrieved by astronauts 4avid Scott and &ames 6r$in during the Apollo !? mission. This anorthosite roc0 is composed almost e7clusively of the calcium=rich feldspar mineral anorthite+ and is believed to be representative of the highland crust. A geochemical component called (@EE% $as discovered that has no 0no$n terrestrial counterpart. (@EE% and the anorthositic samples have been used to infer that the outer portion of the oon $as once completely molten Almost all the roc0s sho$ evidence of impact process effects. any samples appear to be pitted $ith micrometeoroid impact craters+ $hich is never seen on Earth roc0s+ due to the thic0 atmosphere. any sho$ signs of being subCected to high pressure shoc0 $aves that are generated during impact events. Some of the returned samples are of impact melt (materials melted near an impact crater.) All samples returned from the oon are highly brecciated as a result of being subCected to multiple impact events. Analysis of composition of the lunar samples supports the giant impact hypothesis+ that the created through impact of a large astronomical body $ith the Earth oon $as

onclusions! ,ecause $e live on it+ the Earth is the center of things for us. Around Earth all other bodies circle endlessly+ or so it seemed to our forebears. 'or countless generations men $ho thought about such matters regarded the Earth as the center of the universe. So satisfying $as this vie$+ $hen 1opernicus and (epler challenged the idea+ they stirred up a hornet's nest. The concept of the Sun as the central stillness in the solar system around $hich Earth and all other planets revolve $as considered too unsettling to be tolerated+ and edict and persecution sought to suppress these dangerous ne$ ideas. ,ut in vain+ for the 1opernican revolution in human thought continues to this very day. 6n countless $ays it colors the picture men dra$ of themselves and of man's place in the universe. Apollo's greatest impact $as to impress dramatically upon men's minds+ more clearly than ever before+ the significance of the 1opernican vie$. The spectacle of a spacecraft leaving Earth $ith the incredible speed of almost # miles per second= thirteen times faster than a rifle bullet= traveling through space li0e a

miniature planet+ bearing men for the first time to another $orld+ focused the attention of hundreds of millions of people. Ae sa$ Earth as only one of nine planets in the solar system+ insignificant+ e7cept to us+ among the unreachable stars in the vast e7panse of the heavens. 6n cosmic perspective Earth is but a tiny obCect in a remote corner of space+ companion to a modest star+ one of a hundred billion stars ma0ing up one of billions of gala7ies scattered over unimaginable distances to beyond the farthest reaches to $hich $e have been able to peer $ith the most po$erful telescopes. ,ut $hile helping to convey Earth's insignificance in the cosmic scale+ Apollo dramatically displayed Earth's uni3ueness and over$helming significance on the human scale. Standing in imagination on the roc0y rubble of a lunar plain+ loo0ing through an astronaut's eye and camera out over the vast arid $asteland of our inhospitable satellite+ $e sa$ above the hori-on the beautiful+ blue+ fragile Earth. 6t a$a0ened a heightened appreciation of and sense of responsibility to$ard our home in space. 6n the entire solar system+ # billion miles across+ only Earth so far as $e no$ 0no$ nourishes the vast abundance of life that $e so casually accept. Enly by understanding thoroughly our planet and our place on it can $e hope to learn ho$ to use its resources $isely+ to preserve for future generations our island in space in its pristine vigor and beauty. And that is $here the true significance of Apollo lunar science comes in. To understand fully our o$n planet+ it is essential that $e study many planets+ %hotography and Spacecraft ma0ing comparisons among them. An inevitable myopia interferes $hen $e try to learn about planets from the study of only one. The oon is a planet in its o$n right+ by reason of its substantial si-e and mass+ and $hat $e learn of lunar science also advances Earth science. As our nearest neighbor in space+ the oon has long been an obCect of $onder and study. Through the telescope the astronomer has seen myriads of craters on its surface clear evidence of lava flo$s+ and even some suggestion of current volcanic activity. The oon is decidedly out of round. The sharpness of telescopic images and the suddenness $ith $hich stars disappear behind the oon and later reappear sho$ clearly that the oon has virtually no atmosphere. No mountain systems li0e the @oc0ies or the Bimalayas could be seen. Aithout atmospheric erosion and mountain=building activity+ $e supposed that the oon $ould preserve on its face the record of solar system history to the very earliest days. ,ut vie$ing the oon from /:"+*** miles a$ay left much room for speculation and disagreement. So $hen roc0ets became available+ plans $ere 3uic0ly laid for investigating the oon close at hand+ eventually by man himself.