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Apollo
J
5 involved the
most
complex
moon
exploration yet
undertaken by the United States . lt
come
approximately ten
years alter the first
manned space
flight .
by
George
l.
Johnson
I
N THE
w
AKE
of the recent Russian
space tragedy, American astronauts
have completed what President
Nixon described as the most ambitious
exploration yet undertaken in space.
The Apollo 15 mission which began
on July 26 was plagued with irritating
minor problems which almost caused
the $445 million project to be scrubbed.
However, after a brief test firing of the
main rocket engine, the green light was
given for Endeavour and Falcon to
head for the moon.
On Friday, July 30, after another
minor incident with the Falcon moon
taxi, astronauts David Scott and James
lrwin landed on target in the Hadley–
Apennines region of the moon. During
their record 67-hour stay on the surface
of the moon, Scott and Irwin conducted
a total of 16 scientific experiments -
one less than the other three Apollo
landings
combined.
And with the help
of their ingenious moon buggy they
were able to explore much more area
than the previous astronauts.
Scientific Aspects of the Mission
While on the moon David Scott
drilled into the moon's surface and im–
planted heat flow tubes. These gave sci–
entists back on earth the first
temperature readings ever taken beneath
the lunar surface.
During their first motorized ride on
the surface of the moon the astronauts
discovered a fist-sized rock which they
hope will prove to be a chunk of the
original moon. Scientists believe that
the value of this find alone was worth
the millions spent on the mission.
Other experiments gave scieotists in–
dications that the lighter areas of the
moon are rich in aluminum, aod the
darker parts in iron.
NASA l'holo; insel -
Wide World
Apollo 15 findings have also con–
firmed severa! other theories:
- the moon evidently developed
rapidly and grew very rapidly.
- the inside of the moon is cold
and the outside hot, in reverse
of the case of most planets.
- the moon has a different
chemical nature than the earth
and probably did not break
away from the earth, os some
hove postulated.
According to one scientist: "Apollo
15 represents a giant step in our under–
staoding of the solar system. Pieces of
the puzzle are now falling into place."
While his companions were busily
making newspaper headlines on the
moon's surface, Command Module pilot
Al Worden was quietly orbiting the
moon snapping sorne of the best resolu–
tion photographs of the moon to date
- oearly two miles of film - and con–
ducting experiments that may prove to
be of more value than those conducted
on the lunar surface.
According to Dr. James Arnold, a
principal investigator on one of the or–
bital experiments, "The surface geology
is more spectacular, and
I
don't want to
take anything away from it, but the or-