How much did we know about lunar soil conditions prior to Apollo 11?
$begingroup$
Hell everyone who have answered / commented on my question. Thanks for showing interest. What I was looking for is whether NASA or any other agency attempting to land something (any object) on moon, had anticipated that the object can "sink" into moon soil and knowingly took the risk and invested Time and money, Or they had crash landed objects on moon, and studied lunar soil in detail before deciding to go in for soft landing.
By the way, can anyone recommend any site (or many sites) which would give "absolutely in depth" knowledge about all lunar missions? (Knowledge pertaining to design aspects of equipments on board).
mission-design lunar
asked Nov 22 '18 at 4:13
NiranjanNiranjan
327112
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Hell everyone who have answered / commented on my question. Thanks for showing interest. What I was looking for is whether NASA or any other agency attempting to land something (any object) on moon, had anticipated that the object can "sink" into moon soil and knowingly took the risk and invested Time and money, Or they had crash landed objects on moon, and studied lunar soil in detail before deciding to go in for soft landing.
By the way, can anyone recommend any site (or many sites) which would give "absolutely in depth" knowledge about all lunar missions? (Knowledge pertaining to design aspects of equipments on board).
mission-design lunar
asked Nov 22 '18 at 4:13
NiranjanNiranjan
327112
$endgroup$
3
$begingroup$
Possible duplicate of Is there any evidence that NASA was worried about deep lunar dust?
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– Nathan Tuggy
Nov 22 '18 at 4:46
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Hard Scifi considered the possibility that lunar seas were filled with dust and were able to flow like a liquid because of the vaccuum. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Fall_of_Moondust was first published in 1961.
$endgroup$
– Criggie
Nov 22 '18 at 9:02
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Hell everyone who have answered / commented on my question. Thanks for showing interest. What I was looking for is whether NASA or any other agency attempting to land something (any object) on moon, had anticipated that the object can "sink" into moon soil and knowingly took the risk and invested Time and money, Or they had crash landed objects on moon, and studied lunar soil in detail before deciding to go in for soft landing.
By the way, can anyone recommend any site (or many sites) which would give "absolutely in depth" knowledge about all lunar missions? (Knowledge pertaining to design aspects of equipments on board).
mission-design lunar
asked Nov 22 '18 at 4:13
NiranjanNiranjan
327112
$endgroup$
Hell everyone who have answered / commented on my question. Thanks for showing interest. What I was looking for is whether NASA or any other agency attempting to land something (any object) on moon, had anticipated that the object can "sink" into moon soil and knowingly took the risk and invested Time and money, Or they had crash landed objects on moon, and studied lunar soil in detail before deciding to go in for soft landing.
By the way, can anyone recommend any site (or many sites) which would give "absolutely in depth" knowledge about all lunar missions? (Knowledge pertaining to design aspects of equipments on board).
mission-design lunar
mission-design lunar
asked Nov 22 '18 at 4:13
NiranjanNiranjan
327112
asked Nov 22 '18 at 4:13
NiranjanNiranjan
327112
edited Nov 26 '18 at 6:07
Niranjan
asked Nov 22 '18 at 4:13
NiranjanNiranjan
327112
asked Nov 22 '18 at 4:13
NiranjanNiranjan
327112
asked Nov 22 '18 at 4:13
NiranjanNiranjan
327112
327112
3
$begingroup$
Possible duplicate of Is there any evidence that NASA was worried about deep lunar dust?
$endgroup$
– Nathan Tuggy
Nov 22 '18 at 4:46
$begingroup$
Hard Scifi considered the possibility that lunar seas were filled with dust and were able to flow like a liquid because of the vaccuum. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Fall_of_Moondust was first published in 1961.
$endgroup$
– Criggie
Nov 22 '18 at 9:02
add a comment |
3
$begingroup$
Possible duplicate of Is there any evidence that NASA was worried about deep lunar dust?
$endgroup$
– Nathan Tuggy
Nov 22 '18 at 4:46
$begingroup$
Hard Scifi considered the possibility that lunar seas were filled with dust and were able to flow like a liquid because of the vaccuum. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Fall_of_Moondust was first published in 1961.
$endgroup$
– Criggie
Nov 22 '18 at 9:02
3
3
$begingroup$
Possible duplicate of Is there any evidence that NASA was worried about deep lunar dust?
$endgroup$
– Nathan Tuggy
Nov 22 '18 at 4:46
$begingroup$
Possible duplicate of Is there any evidence that NASA was worried about deep lunar dust?
$endgroup$
– Nathan Tuggy
Nov 22 '18 at 4:46
$begingroup$
Hard Scifi considered the possibility that lunar seas were filled with dust and were able to flow like a liquid because of the vaccuum. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Fall_of_Moondust was first published in 1961.
$endgroup$
– Criggie
Nov 22 '18 at 9:02
$begingroup$
Hard Scifi considered the possibility that lunar seas were filled with dust and were able to flow like a liquid because of the vaccuum. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Fall_of_Moondust was first published in 1961.
$endgroup$
– Criggie
Nov 22 '18 at 9:02
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
The uncrewed Surveyor probes landed on the moon before Apollo did. They provided visual images of the landscape and pictures of soil samples that were dug up robotically. All the visual indications were that the terrain was fairly firm:
Surveyor also took pictures of its own footpads to see how deep they went into the soil:
The ground pressure of the Apollo LM, with its meter-wide foot pads, was only about 25% more than that of the Surveyor probes, so it would not sink much more deeply.
In particular, a marshy consistency would be very unlikely given the extreme temperatures (the ground alternates baking in bare sunlight for two weeks, then radiating heat away to bare space for two weeks) and lack of atmosphere.
The worst-case plausible scenario was that there would be a deep layer of dust fine enough to act like a fluid, but the Surveyor imagery showed large particles.
answered Nov 22 '18 at 4:47
Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove
84.6k3284367
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
I somehow always forget the existence of the Surveyor missions, but it makes sense, They were racing ahead to get to the moon ahead of the soviets but they didn't cut corners on it. On the other hand, Even assuming fluid-dust was possible, as long as the spacecraft sank reasonably evenly and didn't tip over, they could probably have still returned to orbit in the upper stage as intended.
$endgroup$
– Ruadhan2300
Nov 22 '18 at 9:25
1
$begingroup$
There is a ?Larry Niven? science fiction story about this. The expectation was that moon dust would vacuum weld together, but Mars has enough atmosphere to prevent vacuum welding.
$endgroup$
– Martin Bonner
Nov 22 '18 at 10:29
1
$begingroup$
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
$endgroup$
– Organic Marble
Nov 23 '18 at 0:21
add a comment |
$begingroup$
In addition to Russell Borogrove's answer, it is worth mentioning that the Soviet Luna 9 soft-landed on the moon four months before Surveyor, and transmitted panoramic photographs of the surface back to Earth. According to the Wikipedia article, the mission confirmed that the lunar dust could support a spacecraft.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_9
answered Nov 22 '18 at 19:14
jbayjbay
1711
$endgroup$
add a comment |
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
The uncrewed Surveyor probes landed on the moon before Apollo did. They provided visual images of the landscape and pictures of soil samples that were dug up robotically. All the visual indications were that the terrain was fairly firm:
Surveyor also took pictures of its own footpads to see how deep they went into the soil:
The ground pressure of the Apollo LM, with its meter-wide foot pads, was only about 25% more than that of the Surveyor probes, so it would not sink much more deeply.
In particular, a marshy consistency would be very unlikely given the extreme temperatures (the ground alternates baking in bare sunlight for two weeks, then radiating heat away to bare space for two weeks) and lack of atmosphere.
The worst-case plausible scenario was that there would be a deep layer of dust fine enough to act like a fluid, but the Surveyor imagery showed large particles.
answered Nov 22 '18 at 4:47
Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove
84.6k3284367
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
I somehow always forget the existence of the Surveyor missions, but it makes sense, They were racing ahead to get to the moon ahead of the soviets but they didn't cut corners on it. On the other hand, Even assuming fluid-dust was possible, as long as the spacecraft sank reasonably evenly and didn't tip over, they could probably have still returned to orbit in the upper stage as intended.
$endgroup$
– Ruadhan2300
Nov 22 '18 at 9:25
1
$begingroup$
There is a ?Larry Niven? science fiction story about this. The expectation was that moon dust would vacuum weld together, but Mars has enough atmosphere to prevent vacuum welding.
$endgroup$
– Martin Bonner
Nov 22 '18 at 10:29
1
$begingroup$
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
$endgroup$
– Organic Marble
Nov 23 '18 at 0:21
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The uncrewed Surveyor probes landed on the moon before Apollo did. They provided visual images of the landscape and pictures of soil samples that were dug up robotically. All the visual indications were that the terrain was fairly firm:
Surveyor also took pictures of its own footpads to see how deep they went into the soil:
The ground pressure of the Apollo LM, with its meter-wide foot pads, was only about 25% more than that of the Surveyor probes, so it would not sink much more deeply.
In particular, a marshy consistency would be very unlikely given the extreme temperatures (the ground alternates baking in bare sunlight for two weeks, then radiating heat away to bare space for two weeks) and lack of atmosphere.
The worst-case plausible scenario was that there would be a deep layer of dust fine enough to act like a fluid, but the Surveyor imagery showed large particles.
answered Nov 22 '18 at 4:47
Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove
84.6k3284367
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
I somehow always forget the existence of the Surveyor missions, but it makes sense, They were racing ahead to get to the moon ahead of the soviets but they didn't cut corners on it. On the other hand, Even assuming fluid-dust was possible, as long as the spacecraft sank reasonably evenly and didn't tip over, they could probably have still returned to orbit in the upper stage as intended.
$endgroup$
– Ruadhan2300
Nov 22 '18 at 9:25
1
$begingroup$
There is a ?Larry Niven? science fiction story about this. The expectation was that moon dust would vacuum weld together, but Mars has enough atmosphere to prevent vacuum welding.
$endgroup$
– Martin Bonner
Nov 22 '18 at 10:29
1
$begingroup$
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
$endgroup$
– Organic Marble
Nov 23 '18 at 0:21
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The uncrewed Surveyor probes landed on the moon before Apollo did. They provided visual images of the landscape and pictures of soil samples that were dug up robotically. All the visual indications were that the terrain was fairly firm:
Surveyor also took pictures of its own footpads to see how deep they went into the soil:
The ground pressure of the Apollo LM, with its meter-wide foot pads, was only about 25% more than that of the Surveyor probes, so it would not sink much more deeply.
In particular, a marshy consistency would be very unlikely given the extreme temperatures (the ground alternates baking in bare sunlight for two weeks, then radiating heat away to bare space for two weeks) and lack of atmosphere.
The worst-case plausible scenario was that there would be a deep layer of dust fine enough to act like a fluid, but the Surveyor imagery showed large particles.
answered Nov 22 '18 at 4:47
Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove
84.6k3284367
$endgroup$
The uncrewed Surveyor probes landed on the moon before Apollo did. They provided visual images of the landscape and pictures of soil samples that were dug up robotically. All the visual indications were that the terrain was fairly firm:
Surveyor also took pictures of its own footpads to see how deep they went into the soil:
The ground pressure of the Apollo LM, with its meter-wide foot pads, was only about 25% more than that of the Surveyor probes, so it would not sink much more deeply.
In particular, a marshy consistency would be very unlikely given the extreme temperatures (the ground alternates baking in bare sunlight for two weeks, then radiating heat away to bare space for two weeks) and lack of atmosphere.
The worst-case plausible scenario was that there would be a deep layer of dust fine enough to act like a fluid, but the Surveyor imagery showed large particles.
answered Nov 22 '18 at 4:47
Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove
84.6k3284367
edited Nov 22 '18 at 5:08
answered Nov 22 '18 at 4:47
Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove
84.6k3284367
answered Nov 22 '18 at 4:47
Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove
84.6k3284367
answered Nov 22 '18 at 4:47
Russell BorogoveRussell Borogove
84.6k3284367
84.6k3284367
$begingroup$
I somehow always forget the existence of the Surveyor missions, but it makes sense, They were racing ahead to get to the moon ahead of the soviets but they didn't cut corners on it. On the other hand, Even assuming fluid-dust was possible, as long as the spacecraft sank reasonably evenly and didn't tip over, they could probably have still returned to orbit in the upper stage as intended.
$endgroup$
– Ruadhan2300
Nov 22 '18 at 9:25
1
$begingroup$
There is a ?Larry Niven? science fiction story about this. The expectation was that moon dust would vacuum weld together, but Mars has enough atmosphere to prevent vacuum welding.
$endgroup$
– Martin Bonner
Nov 22 '18 at 10:29
1
$begingroup$
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
$endgroup$
– Organic Marble
Nov 23 '18 at 0:21
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I somehow always forget the existence of the Surveyor missions, but it makes sense, They were racing ahead to get to the moon ahead of the soviets but they didn't cut corners on it. On the other hand, Even assuming fluid-dust was possible, as long as the spacecraft sank reasonably evenly and didn't tip over, they could probably have still returned to orbit in the upper stage as intended.
$endgroup$
– Ruadhan2300
Nov 22 '18 at 9:25
1
$begingroup$
There is a ?Larry Niven? science fiction story about this. The expectation was that moon dust would vacuum weld together, but Mars has enough atmosphere to prevent vacuum welding.
$endgroup$
– Martin Bonner
Nov 22 '18 at 10:29
1
$begingroup$
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
$endgroup$
– Organic Marble
Nov 23 '18 at 0:21
$begingroup$
I somehow always forget the existence of the Surveyor missions, but it makes sense, They were racing ahead to get to the moon ahead of the soviets but they didn't cut corners on it. On the other hand, Even assuming fluid-dust was possible, as long as the spacecraft sank reasonably evenly and didn't tip over, they could probably have still returned to orbit in the upper stage as intended.
$endgroup$
– Ruadhan2300
Nov 22 '18 at 9:25
$begingroup$
I somehow always forget the existence of the Surveyor missions, but it makes sense, They were racing ahead to get to the moon ahead of the soviets but they didn't cut corners on it. On the other hand, Even assuming fluid-dust was possible, as long as the spacecraft sank reasonably evenly and didn't tip over, they could probably have still returned to orbit in the upper stage as intended.
$endgroup$
– Ruadhan2300
Nov 22 '18 at 9:25
1
1
$begingroup$
There is a ?Larry Niven? science fiction story about this. The expectation was that moon dust would vacuum weld together, but Mars has enough atmosphere to prevent vacuum welding.
$endgroup$
– Martin Bonner
Nov 22 '18 at 10:29
$begingroup$
There is a ?Larry Niven? science fiction story about this. The expectation was that moon dust would vacuum weld together, but Mars has enough atmosphere to prevent vacuum welding.
$endgroup$
– Martin Bonner
Nov 22 '18 at 10:29
1
1
$begingroup$
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
$endgroup$
– Organic Marble
Nov 23 '18 at 0:21
$begingroup$
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
$endgroup$
– Organic Marble
Nov 23 '18 at 0:21
add a comment |
$begingroup$
In addition to Russell Borogrove's answer, it is worth mentioning that the Soviet Luna 9 soft-landed on the moon four months before Surveyor, and transmitted panoramic photographs of the surface back to Earth. According to the Wikipedia article, the mission confirmed that the lunar dust could support a spacecraft.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_9
answered Nov 22 '18 at 19:14
jbayjbay
1711
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
In addition to Russell Borogrove's answer, it is worth mentioning that the Soviet Luna 9 soft-landed on the moon four months before Surveyor, and transmitted panoramic photographs of the surface back to Earth. According to the Wikipedia article, the mission confirmed that the lunar dust could support a spacecraft.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_9
answered Nov 22 '18 at 19:14
jbayjbay
1711
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
In addition to Russell Borogrove's answer, it is worth mentioning that the Soviet Luna 9 soft-landed on the moon four months before Surveyor, and transmitted panoramic photographs of the surface back to Earth. According to the Wikipedia article, the mission confirmed that the lunar dust could support a spacecraft.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_9
answered Nov 22 '18 at 19:14
jbayjbay
1711
$endgroup$
In addition to Russell Borogrove's answer, it is worth mentioning that the Soviet Luna 9 soft-landed on the moon four months before Surveyor, and transmitted panoramic photographs of the surface back to Earth. According to the Wikipedia article, the mission confirmed that the lunar dust could support a spacecraft.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_9
answered Nov 22 '18 at 19:14
jbayjbay
1711
answered Nov 22 '18 at 19:14
jbayjbay
1711
answered Nov 22 '18 at 19:14
jbayjbay
1711
answered Nov 22 '18 at 19:14
jbayjbay
1711
1711
add a comment |
add a comment |
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$begingroup$
Possible duplicate of Is there any evidence that NASA was worried about deep lunar dust?
$endgroup$
– Nathan Tuggy
Nov 22 '18 at 4:46
$begingroup$
Hard Scifi considered the possibility that lunar seas were filled with dust and were able to flow like a liquid because of the vaccuum. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Fall_of_Moondust was first published in 1961.
$endgroup$
– Criggie
Nov 22 '18 at 9:02