moon landing

[Philquad]

guys
i been hooked on space week lately
but when they landed on the moon, they used the lander correct?
did they come back in the lander or does it go back to the other bit (command module)?

[ssrattus]

Yep they used the lander module to get to the moon. To leave the top bit of the lander blasts off the moon, hooks up with the command module, they transfer into the command module and then jettisoned the lander module top section.

[trash]

Yes. If you want a really good look at a lander, aldi have a small model (4D puzzel) of the LEM. It's one of the best simple plastic models I've seen. $2.99 at the moment.

You can pull the model apart and see how the ascent and decent modules fit together.
Even down to the attachment arms.

[eackley]

The above posters are correct. The two-part lander landed on the moon, then the ascent stage basted off to rendezvous with the orbiting command module. The ascent stage was then crashed into the moon.

Just recently, I've seen NASA photos of the landing sites. The detail is amazing. You can see the lander left on the surface, as well as tracks the astronauts made as they worked on the moon's surface.

[Bigfella237]

~ I've seen NASA photos of the landing sites. The detail is amazing. You can see the lander left on the surface, as well as tracks the astronauts made as they worked on the moon's surface.

Hmm... if their footprints have lasted this long, it's lucky no-one wrote "Nixon Sucks" in the moon-dust!

Andrew

[gordon_s1942]

As there is no perceptible atmosphere on the Moon, those marks should last for eternity unless there is a 'Moon' quake or a hit by a meteorite in the near area.
If you watch the launch of the Lunar Module FROM the moon. that camera had to be mounted on the actual lander section and possibly other equipment that wasnt required for the return flight and no doubt lightened the weight of the module on launch was left behind.

[trash]

The remote camera was mounted on it's own assembly separate from the descent module.
The descent module acts as a launch pad for the ascent module. Yes, leaving it behind saves considerable weight.

It's a bit hard to guess how long the footprints will last. You've got all the factors covered, no atmosphere to weather them away or meteor impacts spraying debris covering them.
Moon quakes are the most interesting. I think these are the biggest factor and they're surprisingly common. So it appears that eventually the tracks and footprints will be shaken smooth over thousands of years.
Eternity, not quite. But they're going to be there for a very long time yet.

[gordon_s1942]

Wasnt there two shots of the module launch, the first one was from distance which I wondered was on the Rover showing the actual blast off and then it switched to another from underneath looking at the rockets firing as the module rose into space?

[iwacelect]

wasnt it all filmed at area 51?

[porkop]

52, next door.

[Guiseppe]

Capricorn One springs to mind.

[trash]

If there was, I've never seen the one from the descent module.
Area 51 ... you better ask Bob Lazar.

[gordon_s1942]

Remember the line in the film, Independence Day when the US prez asks about Area 51 and all the facilities there and the reply made was did he really think that those $2000 amounts for toilet seats approved by the Govt Finance Committees were real?
Dont forget Apollo 14 either.............