The Gang of Five
Beyond the Mysterious Beyond => The Fridge => History Section => Topic started by: The Chronicler on January 26, 2017, 11:30:21 PM
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Over the next six years, we will be observing the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Program, the series of NASA manned missions that ultimately put astronauts on the surface of the Moon.
I'll be posting in this topic as we reach each major milestone and I'll briefly describe them.
Tomorrow, January 27, marks the 50th anniversary of the tragic fire that claimed the lives of all three astronauts on Apollo 1: Gus Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee. The investigation that followed led to a series of adjustments and improvements (such as redesigning the hatch, removing flammable materials, and not having the air inside be pure oxygen), but it would be 20 months before the next crewed mission would attempt to liftoff.
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Wow I can't believe it's fifty years already. I remember hearing about this stuff growing up. Good to know that they made some safety changes about the rocket.
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I've always been hugely inspired by the Apollo Program and the moon landing. If anyone's interested in a great way to delve into this history, I recommend both watching the documentary "In the Shadow of the Moon," and reading "Failure Is Not an Option," by Gene Kranz. These give excellent accounts from the perspectives of both the astronauts involved and mission control. Such an amazing human achievement :smile
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No kidding
Im watching the 1998 Apollo 13 movie tonight
50 years huh? 1967-2017 I guess
Thats one step for man, One giant leap for mankind
Neil Armstrong 1930-2012
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Time to load up some Kerbal Space Program!
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Apollo 13 was a great movie and Tom Hanks did a great job with his character. They had to make scary life saving choices.
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Keep in mind, the last Apollo mission, Apollo 17, was in December 1972, so the 50th anniversary of that won't be until almost six years from now. I pretty much intended for this topic to cover the entire series of missions in real time.
As I mentioned, right now is the anniversary of Apollo 1, which had been scheduled to liftoff about a month after the day of the tragic fire. I did manage to recently find an article that explains in detail what happened on that fateful day and the impact that disaster had on the rest of the Apollo Program.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nasa-honors-ap...e-50-years-ago/ (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nasa-honors-apollo-1-crew-lost-in-pad-fire-50-years-ago/)
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Wow that was horrible that happened to Those astronauts. And it's amazing they still did more apollo missions afterwards.
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Today, November 9, is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 4 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_4) mission. It was an unmanned mission that lasted almost nine hours and successfully tested all components of the Saturn V rocket that would later take astronauts to the Moon, ending with the command module reentering the Earth's atmosphere at the same speed as if it was returning from the Moon to test the heat shield and safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. The mission was designated Apollo 4 because there had already been three unmanned flights using Apollo/Saturn components the previous year in 1966. Also significant about this mission is that it was one of two missions (the other was Apollo 6) on which a camera on the bottom of the second stage filmed that famous footage of the first stage and interstage section falling away as the rocket left Earth. The was even a camera on board the command module that took pictures of the Earth.
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Today, January 22, is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 5 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_5) mission. It was an unmanned mission to test the Lunar Module (identified for this mission only as LM-1) in low Earth orbit, such as the engines on both the descent stage and the ascent stage, most crucial among these was the so-called "fire in the hole" test where, in the event of an aborted landing, the ascent stage engine would ignite right at the exact same moment as the two stages separate. All tests done in orbit were successful, and both stages of the Lunar Module reentered Earth's atmosphere less than a month after launch (since this mission consisted of testing just the Lunar Module, which was incapable of surviving reentry, it's the only Apollo mission in which none of its components were recoverable). Its launch was originally scheduled for April 1967, but numerous delays occurred (among them was LM-5, the very same Lunar Module that would later be used for Apollo 11, failing a pressure test when one of its windows blew out before the interior was fully pressurized). To avoid further delays, by the time it was finally launched by a Saturn IB rocket (smaller than the Saturn V, because this mission didn't need to go beyond low Earth orbit), the ascent stage had it windows covered by aluminum plates and the descent stage didn't have its landing legs.
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Today, April 4, is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 6 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_6) mission. It was an unmanned mission (the last such mission of the program) that lasted about ten hours and was intended to test a "direct-return" abort where the spacecraft on a trajectory towards the Moon would turn around and return directly back to Earth, with all modules (Command-Service and Lunar) included at 80% of what their total weight would be for later missions. Like Apollo 4, this mission was launched atop a Saturn V rocket, but unlike that earlier mission, this one had a few issues during launch. Basically, some unexpected vibrations caused some of the engines to automatically shut off, preventing the spacecraft from reaching the intended trajectory for the mission, so the flight path was redirected to essentially be a repeat of Apollo 4, with successful reentry and splashdown. The cause of the launch problems were soon identified and fixed for all following missions (though it didn't completely eliminate the problem, since Apollo 13 would later have a less serious repeat of that issue during its launch). Since a launch that problematic for a manned mission would have been enough to cause an abort, this mission was later considered an invaluable shakedown of the Saturn V rocket design for the rest of the Apollo Program.
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From October 11 to October 22 (last Thursday to next Monday) is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 7 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_7) mission, the very first manned mission of the Apollo program. The astronauts who flew on this mission were Walter M. Schirra (his last mission in space, previously flew on the fifth Mercury mission (Sigma 7) and on Gemini 6, the only astronaut to have flown in all three of the early space programs), Donn F. Eisele (his only mission in space), and R. Walter Cunningham (also his only mission in space).
Apollo 7's mission was what would've been Apollo 1's mission, and that was to test the Command/Service Module (CSM) in low Earth orbit for the expected duration of later flights to the Moon. It was launched on a Saturn IB rocket, and splashed down on the Atlantic Ocean. Not only was it the first flight of an American spacecraft with a crew of three, it was also the first American spaceflight to include a live TV broadcast. Although there was frequently some tension between the crew and ground control, the technical aspects of this mission were almost completely successful, which allowed the next Apollo mission to be cleared for a flight all the way to the Moon.
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From December 21 to December 27 (this Friday to next Thursday) is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_8) mission, the very first manned flight to reach and orbit the Moon and safely return to Earth. The astronauts who flew on this mission were Frank Borman (his last mission in space, previously flew on Gemini 7), Jim Lovell (previously flew on Gemini 7 and Gemini 12, and would later fly on Apollo 13), and William Anders (his only mission in space). Michael Collins (who would later fly on Apollo 11) was originally scheduled for this mission, but had to drop out due to surgery, so Jim Lovell took his place. In addition, the other two astronauts who would later fly on Apollo 11 (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin) were part of the backup crew for this mission (along with Fred Haise, who would later fly on Apollo 13).
The original plan of the Apollo Program was to have the Command-Service Module (CSM)-only flight (Apollo 7) be followed by a test of the CSM with the Lunar Module (LM) in low earth orbit, followed by a similar mission on a higher orbit, then another similar mission in lunar orbit, followed at last by a lunar landing. However, there were delays in getting the LM ready for space flight, so to keep the other missions on schedule, it was decided to have Apollo 8 be a CSM-only flight that would orbit the moon, which would help make it possible to skip the higher earth orbit mission and keep the first lunar landing mission on schedule.
This was only the second launch with the Saturn V rocket, which had a few issues during its previous flight on Apollo 6, but they were corrected and the flight towards the Moon went smoothly. In order to successfully enter lunar orbit, the engine had to burn for a precise amount of time while they were behind the Moon, cut off from radio contact with mission control, and it worked perfectly. A similar action was later done (on Christmas Day) to push the spacecraft out of lunar orbit and back to Earth. After an uneventful trip back, the Command Module splashed down in the Pacific southwest of Hawaii.
This was the first time that humans got to personally see portions of the farside of the Moon. It was on this mission that the famous "Earthrise" photo was taken (photographed by Anders, with a color video filmed by Lovell), showing the Earth rising over the surface of the Moon during one of their lunar orbits, a photograph that would later come to symbolize environmentalist movements. Another famous moment on this mission was during one of the last lunar orbits on Christmas Eve, when the three crewmen read from the Bible's book of Genesis during a live broadcast. Prior to the lunar landing of Apollo 11, the flight of Apollo 8 was by far the most widely watch manned space mission (supposedly, about a quarter of the world's population had watched the Christmas Eve broadcast).
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From March 3 to March 13 (last Sunday to this Wednesday) is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 9 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_9) mission, which was the first crewed mission to fly both the command-service module (CSM) and the lunar module (LM). The astronauts who flew on this mission were commander James McDivitt (his last mission in space, previously flew on Gemini 4 (with Ed White, who did America's first spacewalk)), CM pilot David Scott (previously flew on Gemini 8 (along with Neil Armstrong), and would later fly on Apollo 15), and LM pilot Rusty Schweickart (his only mission in space). The backup crew for this mission (Pete Conrad, Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean) would later fly on Apollo 12. This was also the first mission in which the modules were named (necessary as callsigns when they would fly seperately), with the CM Gumdrop and the LM spider (both named so because of their shape).
As mentioned previously, there had been delays getting the LM ready for spaceflight, so when the schedule was altered as a result, the crews of Apollo 8 and 9 agreed to switch so both of them could fly the missions they preferred (and as a result, their backup crews were also switched, who would later fly Apollo 11 and 12, which means that Pete Conrad could've been the first man on the Moon if not for this swap).
Despite being launched on a Saturn V rocket, this mission stayed in low Earth orbit (like Apollo 7) for a similar duration as later flights to the Moon would make. Therefore, it was only on the mission's fifth day (March 7) that they tested all the docking and separation flight maneuvers that the different modules would need to complete around the Moon on later flights. The crew even did a spacewalk to test the suits that would later be used for walking on the Moon. At the end of the mission, the CM splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean (the last spacecraft to do so until SpaceX's crewed Dragon capsule test just a few days ago), while the ascent and decent stages of the LM eventually were destroyed when they reentered Earth's atmosphere.
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I just want to say Chronicler that this is absolutely fascinating stuff. As someone who had never read up on this, it is great to indulge myself with this bit of history in such detail. Thanks for your dedicated posts!
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From May 18 to May 26 (last Saturday to next Sunday) is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 10 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_10) mission, which was essentially a rehearsal of the Moon landing that tested everything expect for actually landing on the Moon's surface. The astronauts who flew on this mission were commander Thomas Stafford (previously flew on Gemini 6 and Gemini 9, and would later fly on the Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975), CM pilot John Young (previously flew on Gemini 3 (with Gus Grissom, who later died in the Apollo 1 fire) and Gemini 10 (with Michael Collins, who later flew on Apollo 11), and would later fly on Apollo 16 and two missions on the space shuttle Columbia (STS-1 in April 1981, and STS-9 in November 1983)), and LM pilot Gene Cernan (previously flew on Gemini 9 (with Stafford), and would later fly on Apollo 17). The names of the modules for this mission were Charlie Brown for the Command Module and Snoopy for the Lunar Module, obviously named after the famous characters from the Peanuts comic strips (supposedly intended to get kids more interested in space flight).
The docked spacecraft reached the Moon on May 21, and over the next two days (May 22 and 23), they tested every maneuver that would be done for the Moon landing. In order to discourage the astronauts from trying to actually land on the surface, the LM was deliberately made short of fuel, meaning that they would've not had enough to take off if they had tried to land. They flew over what would be the landing site for Apollo 11, getting as close as 8.4 miles (15.6 km) above the surface before separating the decent stage, which later crashed to the surface in an unknown location. During separation, a faulty command sent the ascent stage tumbling, but the astronauts were able to regain control and flew back to the CSM. After the crew returned to the CSM, the LM ascent stage was separated and then burned the rest of its fuel on a trajectory out into a solar orbit, and to this day remains the only formerly crewed spacecraft still in space (later Apollo ascent stages were sent crashing to the lunar surface for seismic readings). The CSM left lunar orbit on May 24, and its return to Earth remains to this day the fastest return velocity of any crewed spacecraft at 11.08 km/s (39,897 km/h or 24,791 mph).
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Today (July 16) is the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 11 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11) mission, which we all know was the first landing of a crewed spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. The astronauts who flew on this mission were commander Neil Armstrong (his last mission in space, previously flew on Gemini 8 (with David Scott)), CM pilot Michael Collins (his last mission in space, previously flew on Gemini 10 (with John Young)), and LM pilot Buzz Aldrin (his last mission in space, previously flew on Gemini 12 (with Jim Lovell)). (This was actually the second American space flight in which the entire crew had previously flown in space, the first was Apollo 10 and the third was STS-26 (the 26th space shuttle mission, and the first after Challenger was destroyed)) The names of the modules for this mission were Columbia for the Command Module (numerous references relating to America, such as Christopher Columbus) and Eagle for the Lunar Module (for the American symbol of a bald eagle).
Since there's so many details behind this most famous mission, I'll focus on the start of the mission today and save the landing for its anniversary day (on Saturday later this week).
The landing site in the "Sea of Tranquility" was chosen primarily as a relatively flat surface to make the landing as easy as possible, so scientific value was not considered a priority at all for this first ever landing. To ensure the site would be in ideal daylight for the landing, the launch window was only one day per month, and in this case, the launch had to be done in the morning to limit the temperatures extremes for the mission. It's estimated over a million spectators watched the launch of the Saturn V rocket carrying Apollo 11, with liftoff occurring at 9:32 am local time (13:32:00 UTC). Three hours later, after one and a half orbits around the Earth, the CSM separated from the third stage and docked with the LM, then the combined spacecraft began the journey to the Moon...
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Interesting video regarding the subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo3A5QQj5U0
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To continue where I left off, Apollo 11 slowed down into lunar orbit at around 17:22 UTC on July 19. The following day, July 20, Neil and Buzz entered the lunar module at 12:52 UTC, and the two modules separated at 17:44 UTC with Neil saying "The Eagle has wings." Despite computer issues and having to make a manual landing to avoid landing in a boulder field and ending up with less than half a minute of fuel remaining, the LM successfully landed in the Sea of Tranquility at 20:17:40 UTC (3:17 p.m. at Mission Control in Houston). "Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed."
After a few hours making sure they were secure on the lunar surface, the astronauts skipped the planned five-hour nap and prepared to head outside. Neil Armstrong's famous first step occurred at 2:56:15 UTC (9:56 p.m. at Mission Control), and Buzz Aldrin followed about twenty minutes later. Among the things they did while out on the lunar surface was plant the American flag, receive a brief phone call from President Nixon, deploy scientific equipment to measure seismic activity, and collect a total of 47.5 lb (21.5 kg) of lunar rocks and soil. The extra-vehicular activity (EVA) was kept short and close to the LM due to uncertainties of how durable their suits would actually be, lasting a total of just two and a half hours. As the astronauts climbed back inside, Buzz accidentally broke a switch necessary for liftoff, but solved the issue by using a pen in place of the damaged switch.
The next day, July 21, the ascent stage of the LM (which was critical in that it had to work on the first try) successfully lifted off at 17:54 UTC (according to Buzz Aldrin, the flag was blown over by the exhaust from liftoff). The LM ascent stage docked with the CSM module at 21:35 UTC, Neil and Buzz climbed back into the CSM, and the LM was jettisoned soon after (it was said to still be orbiting the moon by the time Apollo 12 arrived, but was never tracked and eventually impacted at an unknown location), then they began the journey back to Earth.
(I'm a little short on available time today, so I'll save the final part of the Apollo 11 mission for the anniversary of splashdown on July 24.)
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To continue where I left off, as Apollo 11 made its way back from the moon, a storm formed over the intended splashdown and recovery site in the Pacific, so an alternate site was chosen a couple hundred miles to the northeast, so both the recovery ship USS Hornet and the Apollo 11 CM changed course for the new site. On July 24, the command module Columbia successfully reentered safely and splashed down at 16:51 UTC (5:51 a.m. local time). As the astronauts were recovered, they were immediately placed into quarantine due to the unknown possibility they might be carrying lunar viruses that could threaten life on earth (this was also done on Apollo 12 and 14 before it was conclusively determined there were no biological threats from the moon). The quarantine was lifted on August 10, after which the three astronauts went on a world tour celebrating their accomplishment of becoming the very first humans to ever set foot on another world.
Apollo 11 achieved the goal set by John F. Kennedy to land American astronauts on the moon before the end of the 1960s, and being the first spaceflight to prove that it was actually possible for humans to walk on the moon and return home safely made this mission by far the most famous one of all. Even though there would be six more Apollo missions to the moon, public interest quickly diminished, with budget cuts even leading to the cancellation of three additional Apollo missions (18, 19, and 20).
But for this topic, I intend to continue following the 50th anniversary of the Apollo program for all the remaining missions, so expect to see me post more highlights of the other Apollo missions as each anniversary comes and goes over the next three years.
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From November 14 to November 24 (last Thursday to next Sunday) is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 12 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_12) mission, the second successful landing of a crewed spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. The astronauts who flew on this mission were commander Pete Conrad (previously flew on Gemini 5 and Gemini 11, and would latter fly on the first crew of the Skylab space station (which involved repairing extensive damage from its launch)), CM pilot Dick Gordon (his last mission in space, previously flew on Gemini 11, was scheduled for Apollo 18 as commander before it was cancelled) and LM pilot Alan Bean (his first mission in space, would later fly on the second crew of the Skylab space station). The names of the modules for this mission were Yankee Clipper for the Command Module and Intrepid for the Lunar Module. The backup crew for this mission would later fly on Apollo 15.
When the Saturn V rocket carrying this mission launched under poor weather conditions on November 14, it encountered the highest winds of any Apollo launch and was struck by lighting twice within the first minute, shutting off many electronics which could have led to the launch being aborted, but some quick thinking by one guy at mission control helped Alan Bean restore power. The LM landed on November 19 in the southeastern part of the Ocean of Storms, only 600ft (less than 200m) away from the Surveyor 3 robotic probe that had landed two and a half years earlier, proving the Apollo lunar lander was capable of precise landings. When Pete Conrad took his first step onto the lunar surface, he said, "Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me." (He claimed it was to settle a bet with a reporter that astronauts aren't given scripted lines written by NASA.) This mission brought the first color TV camera to the Moon, but before it was even fully set up, Alan Bean accidentally pointed it at the sun and destroyed it, resulting in very little video being broadcasted of this landing. In addition to setting up scientific equipment and collecting a total of 75.7lb (34.35kg) of lunar samples, they also recovered parts of the Surveyor 3 probe, which supposedly was later discovered to have microbes from Earth that were still alive after years on the lunar surface. After two EVAs (each lasting less than four hours for a total of 7 hours and 45 minutes), the LM ascent stage lifted off on November 20. On the way back to Earth, the three astronauts were able to witness and photograph an eclipse of the sun by Earth. The CM successfully splashed down on November 24.
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From April 11 to April 17 (last Saturday to this Friday) is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13) mission, which was to be the third attempted landing on the Moon, but an explosion in the Service Module two days into the mission forced them to abort the landing and eventually made a successful return to Earth. The astronauts who flew on this mission were commander Jim Lovell (his last mission in space, previously flew on Gemini 7, Gemini 12, and Apollo 8), CM pilot Jack Swigert (his only mission in space, was part of the backup crew and replaced Ken Mattingly, who had to be pulled after being exposed to rubella), and LM pilot Fred Haise (his only mission in space, was scheduled to fly on Apollo 19 before it was cancelled, later flew the test space shuttle Enterprise). The names of the modules for this mission were Odyssey for the Command Module and Aquarius for the Lunar Module. The backup crew for this mission (with Ken Mattingly in place of Jack Swigert) would later fly on Apollo 16.
During launch, one of the five second-stage engines shut off, but the other engines were enough to keep them on the correct trajectory. On April 13, just a few minutes after the crew finished a TV broadcast (which none of the networks were willing to show due to how seemingly boring the Apollo missions had become by then), a routine maintenance task of stirring the oxygen tanks resulted in some faulty wiring triggering an explosion, causing the loss of much of the oxygen and power supply to the CM.
With a Moon landing definitely aborted, the mission now became simply bringing the astronauts back home alive. With the CM's limited supply necessary for the final moments before reentry, the crew had to shut off its systems and switch on the systems for the LM, essentially using it as a lifeboat. At that point on their flight path, the quickest way to return home with what little fuel they had was to swing around the Moon and use its gravity to slingshot them back to Earth (so, in a way, the explosion occurred at the perfect time to offer the best chance of the astronauts returning home alive). Along the way, with the LM designed to hold two men for two days now required to hold three men for four days, the crew had to carefully manage their resources, at one point forced to improvise a modified carbon-dioxide scrubber by fitting the CM's square canisters into the LM's round filter.
Prior to reentry, after powering up the CM, the SM was jettisoned first, allowing the crew to finally see the full extant of the damage. Then the LM was released, which was destroyed on reentry and impacted the ocean not far from where the CM safely slashed down on April 17. After the investigations identified the cause of the accident, improvements were made, though the next Apollo mission would not launch until almost a year later. The risks shown by this mission also contributed to the budget cuts that cancelled Apollo 19 and 18.
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From January 31 to February 9 (last Sunday to next Tuesday) is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 14 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_14) mission, the third successful landing of a crewed spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. The astronauts who flew on this mission were commander Alan Shepard (his last mission in space, previously flew on Project Mercury's Freedom 7 as the first American in space, also the oldest man to walk on the Moon at the age of 47), CM pilot Stuart Roosa (his only mission in space), and LM pilot Edgar Mitchell (his only mission in space). The names of the modules for this mission were Kitty Hawk for the Command Module and Antares for the Lunar Module. The backup crew for this mission was scheduled to later fly on Apollo 17, though LM pilot Joe Engle would later be replaced with Harrison Schmitt to ensure a geologist would have a chance to walk on the Moon.
This mission was originally scheduled to fly in July of 1970, but the cancellation of Apollo 20 and the investigation from the disaster of Apollo 13 pushed that back. The crew for this mission were originally scheduled for Apollo 13, but 13 and 14 swapped crews to ensure Alan Shepard had more time for training, as he had been unable to fly in space for a while due to a medical issue that was eventually resolved by surgery in 1969. The mission was originally schedule to land near the Littrow crater in the Mare Serenitatis, but was later changed to Apollo 13's intended landing site near the Cone crater in the Fra Mauro formation, as it was considered more scientifically interesting.
The launch occurred on January 31 after a 40 minute weather delay, and had the launch window been missed completely that day, the launch would've been postponed to March. The LM landed on February 5, despite a few technical issues on descent, with Shepard's first words upon setting foot on the Moon being, "And it's been a long way, but we're here." Shepard and Mitchell were unable to reach the Cone crater due to exhaustion from crossing rougher terrain than anticipated, emphasizing the need for the Lunar Roving Vehicle that would be used on all three remaining Apollo landings. Arguably the most memorable moment of this mission was when Shepard used an improvised tool to hit two golf balls across the lunar surface, with one of them going "miles and miles and miles". Throughout the two EVAs (each lasting around 4 hours and 40 minutes for a total of about 9 hours and 20 minutes), scientific equipment was set up and 94.35lb (42.8kg) of lunar samples were collected (including a rock recently determined to have been a meteorite that originated on Earth billions of years ago). The LM ascent stage lifted off on February 6 after being on the lunar surface for over 33 hours, and the CM successfully splashed down on February 9. Roosa had brought hundreds of tree seeds with him during the flight, which were later planted across the nation and the world as "Moon trees", many of which can still be seen today.
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From July 26 to August 7 (last Monday to next Saturday) is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 15 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_15) mission, the fourth successful landing of a crewed spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. The astronauts who flew on this mission were commander David Scott (his last mission in space, previously flew on Gemini 8 and Apollo 9), CM pilot Alfred Worden (his only mission in space), and LM pilot James Irwin (his only mission in space). The names of the modules for this mission were Endeavour for the Command Module and Falcon for the Lunar Module. The backup crew for this mission was scheduled to fly on Apollo 18 until that mission was cancelled due to budget cuts (one of whom, Vance Brand, would later fly on the Apollo-Soyuz mission and three Space Shuttle flights). Also of note, of the twelve men who walked on the lunar surface throughout the Apollo Program, James Irwin was the first to pass away in 1991.
This mission was originally scheduled to land near the Censorinus crater as the last non-extended mission, but due to later missions being cancelled, the landing site was moved to Hadley Rille and it became the first of three extended missions. As a result, this mission became the first one to include the use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle, which was folded up so it could fit within a small compartment of the LM's descent stage, each wheel was made of a metal wire mesh and powered by electric motors, and could travel at 6 to 8 mph (10 to 12 km/h), allowing the astronauts to cover much more ground during their Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs).
The launched occurred on the morning of July 26. The LM landed on July 30, possibly the hardest landing of all the Apollo missions due to Scott shutting off the engine 1.5 ft (0.5 m) from the surface, and it also settled at a slight angle due to landing upon the rim of a small crater. Scott's first words as he set foot upon the Moon were, "As I stand out here in the wonders of the unknown at Hadley, I sort of realize there's a fundamental truth to our nature. Man must explore. And this is exploration at its greatest." In the first EVA (which lasted 6 hours and 32 minutes on July 31), despite some difficulty deploying the lunar rover and the front wheels failing to turn (though fortunately the rear wheels could turn just fine), they were able to drive around and stopped at two different craters to collect samples before returning to the lander. In the second EVA (which lasted 7 hours and 12 minutes on August 1), with the rover's steering issue resolved, they drove to stopped at a few craters and large boulders to collect more samples (including the so-called "Genesis Rock"), finished setting up scientific equipment near the lander, and finally planted the U.S. flag. In the third EVA (which lasted 4 hours and 49 minutes on August 2), despite some difficulty with extracting a core sample, they had time to visit a few more sites and collect more samples (including their largest sample, the 21 lb (9.6 kg) "Great Scott" rock), and upon returning to the lander, Scott performed an experiment in front of a TV camera in which he dropped a hammer and a feather at the same time to demonstrate that all objects without air resistance will fall at the same rate. The lunar rover (which had traveled a total of 17.3 mi (27.9 km)) was parked away from the lander so the TV camera mounted on it could film the take-off of the LM's ascent stage, but before returning to the LM, Scott placed a Bible on the rover and also placed on the ground the "Fallen Astronaut" statuette with a plaque that listed the names of 14 astronauts and cosmonauts who had lost their lives in the pursuit of space exploration. With a total of 170 lbs (77 kg) of lunar samples collected, the LM ascent stage lifted off on August 2 after a total of 66 hours and 55 minutes on the lunar surface. After the astronauts returned to the CSM and the LM was jettisoned, they left lunar orbit on August 4, and on the way back to Earth, Worden did a 39 minute EVA to retrieve film cassettes stored on the outside of the spacecraft, the first ever spacewalk beyond low earth orbit (and to this day is still the most distant spacewalk ever done). The CM safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on August 7, despite one of the three parachutes failing to deploy.
Less than a year after the mission's conclusion, the reputations of the three astronauts were tarnished when it was revealed that, without any authorization from NASA, they had brought a few hundred postal covers (provided by a West German stamp dealer) with them to the lunar surface and back to Earth with the intent to make a small profit to set aside for their kids. As a result of this scandal, the three men were forced to give up the covers they had not sold to the stamp dealer and were not allowed to ever fly in space again.
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From April 16 to April 27 (last Saturday to next Wednesday) is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 16 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_16) mission, the fifth successful landing of a crewed spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. The astronauts who few on this mission were commander John Young (previously flew on Gemini 3, Gemini 10, and Apollo 10, and would later fly twice on the Space Shuttle Columbia, including the very first Space Shuttle mission), CM pilot Ken Mattingly (his first mission in space, originally scheduled for Apollo 13 but was pulled out due to potential illness exposure, would later fly on two Space shuttle missions, first on Columbia and later on Discovery), and LM pilot Charles Duke (his only mission in space). The names of the modules for this mission were Casper for the Command Module and Orion for the Lunar Module. The landing site in the Descartes Highlands was chosen because of the assumption that it consisted of volcanic rock, which turned out to not be the case. Also of note is that at age 36, Charles Duke was the youngest of the Apollo astronauts to have walked on the Moon.
The launch occurred shortly after noon on April 16 and, despite a few minor glitches along they way, successfully reached the trajectory that would take them to the Moon. Despite another glitch after the two modules had separated in lunar orbit that delayed the landing by six hours, the LM landed on April 20.
In the first EVA (which lasted 7 hours and 11 minutes on April 21) they unpacked the lunar rover, set up scientific equipment on the surface, drove the rover to two craters and collected samples (including "Big Muley", the largest single rock collected on any of the Apollo missions), and Young decided to do a "Grand Prix" with the rover while Duke filmed from a distance. In the second EVA (which lasted 7 hours and 23 minutes on April 22) they drove the lunar rover to a nearby mountain (reaching the highest elevation above the LM of any Apollo lunar landing mission) and collected samples from several craters around that mountain. In the third EVA (which lasted 5 hours and 40 minutes on April 23, two hours less than planned due to the delayed landing) they drove the rover to a large crater to the north where they collected samples from some massive boulders, then parked the rover (which had traveled at total of 16.6 mi (26.7 km)) near the lander so its TV camera could film the liftoff, and Duke placed a photo of his family on the lunar surface before he and Young returned to the LM. With a total of 211 lb (95.7 kg) of lunar samples, the LM ascent stage lifted off on April 23 after a total of 71 hours and 2 minutes on the lunar surface.
After the astronauts returned to the CSM and the LM was jettisoned, they left lunar orbit on April 24, and similarly to the previous mission, Mattingly did a spacewalk during the return trip to retrieve film tapes stored outside the spacecraft. The CM safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 27.
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From December 7 to December 19 (last Wednesday to the Monday after next week) is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 17 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17) mission, the sixth and most recent successful landing of a crewed spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. The astronauts who flew on this mission were commander Eugene Cernan (his last mission in space, previously flew on Gemini 9 and Apollo 10), CM pilot Ronald Evans (his only mission in space), and LM pilot Harrison Schmitt (his only mission in space). The names of the modules for this mission were America for the Command Module and Challenger for the Lunar Module. Schmitt had originally been scheduled to fly on Apollo 18, but when that mission was canceled, he was moved to this mission so that his experience as a geologist could be used on a lunar landing.
The launch occurred shortly after midnight on December 7, after a delay of nearly three hours due to technical issues and the only launch of an Apollo spacecraft to have occurred at night. During the flight out to the Moon, the crew took some photographs of the Earth, including the now iconic "Blue Marble" picture. The LM landed on December 11 at a site called Taurus-Littrow.
The first EVA (which lasted 7 hours and 12 minutes) began just four hours after landing, starting with unpacking the lunar rover. While unpacking the rover, a fender over one of the wheels was damaged, so to prevent lunar dust from flying up at the astronauts while riding the rover, a temporary repair was made using a paper map and some duct tape. Due to some difficulty with deploying some other scientific equipment, plans to visit one crater were canceled and they moved on to a different crater of greater interest before returning to the LM. The second EVA (which lasted 7 hours and 37 minutes on December 12) began with making a better repair to the damaged fender, then they drove the rover to a site 4.7 mi (7.6 km) away, which is the furthest that any astronaut to date has traveled from their spacecraft. While later visiting a different site at another crater, they discovered orange soil which was later determined to be of volcanic origin. They then visited one more site to gather some more samples before returning to the LM. The third EVA (which lasted 7 hours and 13 minutes on December 13) visited three more sites, including a house-sized boulder named Tracy's Rock. As the moonwalk came to an end, Cernan took the last steps of the Apollo Program on the Moon as he spoke about his hopes that humanity would one day soon return to the Moon.
With a total of 254 lbs (115 kg) of lunar samples, the LM ascent stage lifted off on December 14 after a total of almost exactly 75 hours on the lunar surface. After the astronauts returned to the CSM and the LM was jettisoned, they left lunar orbit on December 16. On the return trip, Evens did a spacewalk to retrieve film tapes stored outside the spacecraft, making it the third and currently last spacewalk to have occurred in deep space. The CM safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on December 19.
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I want to say that I appreciate you spending the time to write all of this. As the team leader of a space race story, I've been doing a lot of research into Apollo myself. I may post something of my own related to spaceflight in the History section in the near future.