Apollo 11 mission

Zirconium is found in abundance in S-type stars, and has been identified in the sun and meteorites. Analysis of lunar rock samples obtained during the various Apollo missions to the moon show a surprisingly high zirconium oxide content, compared with terrestrial rocks. 

Titanium is present in meteorites and in the sun. Rocks obtained during the Apollo 17 lunar mission showed presence of 12.1% Ti02 and rocks obtained during earlier Apollo missions show lower percentages. 

A final, somewhat variable outlet for large-scale liquid oxygen is as oxidant in rocket fuels for space exploration, satellite launching and space shuttles. For example, in the Apollo mission to the moon (1979), each Saturn 5 launch rocket used 1270 m (i.e. 1.25 million litres or 1450 tonnes) of liquid oxygen in Stage 1, where it oxidized the kerosene fuel (195 000 1, or about 550 tonnes) in the almost unbelievably short time of 2.5 min. Stages 2 and 3 had 315 and 76.3 m of liquid O2 respectively, and the fuel was liquid FI2. 

Stable isotope analysis of earth, moon and meteorite samples has provided important information concerning the origin of the solar system. Lunar samples returned to earth during the Apollo missions show 8170 and 8lsO enrichment patterns which are virtually identical to those of earth-bound rocks and minerals. On 3-isotope plots like those in Figs. 9.5 and 14.3, a uniform isotope reservoir is represented by a single... 

Finding or producing a clean source of hydrogen is just one of the difficulties fuel cell researchers face. The previous sections of this chapter have discussed why fuel cells are desirable and how they have proven their reliability in the Apollo missions and elsewhere, but numerous problems remain to be solved before this frontier of science can develop cost-effective devices and achieve the promise of a clean, efficient energy source. 

The Apollo missions, the United States manned space missions that explored the Moon, use fuel cells to provide electricity to the spaceship as well as water for the astronauts. 

The Apollo missions attempted to take advantage of the Moon s location outside of the Earth s magnetic field to capture solar wind in aluminum collectors. The collectors were deployed for the duration of each mission (from 10 to 45 hours) and provided information on the helium, neon, and argon isotopic compositions in the solar wind. 

Six maimed American Apollo missions have returned 382 kg of rocks and soils from the nearside of the Moon. Three automated Soviet Luna missions have also returned small amounts of soils. Most missions sampled maria only the Apollo 14, 15, and 16 missions sampled highlands materials and basin ejecta as well as basalts. Descriptions and geologic significances of the various Apollo and Luna landing sites were given by Hiesinger and Head (2006). 

Another important application of this technique has been to determine the elemental composition of the lunar and Martian surfaces. Turkevich et al. (1969) constructed a rugged device to measure the backscattering of a particles from the lunar surface, which flew on three Surveyor missions in 1967-68 and yielded the first complete and accurate analysis of the lunar surface. The a particles came from a radioactive source (242Cm) that was part of the instrument package. The results of these experiments, which showed an unexpected and comparatively high abundance of Ti, were confirmed by laboratory analysis of lunar samples gathered in the Apollo missions. Since then, this technique has been used to study Martian rocks and soil. 

Fuel cells have been reliably providing electricity to spacecraft since the 1960s, including the Gemini and Apollo missions as well as the space shuttle. The leading manufacturer of fuel cells for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (nasa), United Technologies Corporation, has sold commercial units for stationary power since the early 1990s, with more than 200 units in service. 

The Apollo lunar samples have provided the first opportunity for the analysis of material collected from an extraterrestrial body under carefully controlled conditions. No definitive evidence about the concentration and nature of lunar carbon was provided by the a back-scattering experiments carried out by the Sureveyor unmanned landers. However, these remarkably successful experiments did indicate a magmatic origin for the samples analysed1"3. This was confirmed by the Apollo missions, three distinct samples types being collected from the lunar regolith ... 

Fig. 10. Relationship between total carbon and 613C value for a variety of fines, breccias and igneous rocks from all of the Apollo missions...

High density charring ablators such as carbon-phenolic contain high density reinforcements to improve shear resistance. In contrast, lower density charring ablators as a rule are used for low shear environments. Hie Apollo mission reentry conditions are typical of a relatively low shear environment, so low density ablators consisting of epoxy—novolac resin containing phenolic microballoons and silica fiber reinforcement have been used. In order to improve the shear resistance and safety factor of the material for this mission, the ablator was injected into the cavities of a fiberglass -reinforced phenolic honeycomb that was bonded to the substructure of the craft (48). 

The strong oxidizing agent dinitrogen tetroxide is used for many applications. It is employed as a catalyst in oxidation reactions and as an inhibitor in the distillation of acrylates. It is also used in the manufacture of explosives and as bleach. In rocket propellants, it is used in a hypergolic mixture with hydrazine derivatives. The command module of the Apollo mission used a 1 1 mixture of hydrazine and N,N -dimethylhydrazine with N2O4 as the oxidant. 

The origin of the Moon has been the subject of intense scientific interest for over a century but particularly since the Apollo missions provided samples to study. The most widely accepted current theory is the giant impact theory but this idea has evolved from others and alternative hypotheses have been variously considered. Wood (1984) provides a very useful review. The main theories that have been considered are as follows ... 

In outer space, remote from the shielding influence of the earth s magnetic field, the absorbed dose index rate from solar protons emitted during solar flares can be very high. For example, it has been estimated that the absorbed dose indices in outer space from the solar proton event of 10 July 1959 were from protons 3.6, 1.7, and 0.4 Gy behind shielding of 1, 2 and 5 g cm, respectively, and from alpha particles the corresponding values were 1.5,0.3 and 0.05 Gy, respectively (Curtis, 1974). However, the Apollo missions did not experience any measmable solar particle events (English et al., 1975). 

Analysis of lunar rocks returned by the Apollo missions and of data reported by the Surveyor lander now provides a large amount... 

Surveyor and the Apollo missions have provided an unmatched collection of data. These results have augmented knowledge of the Moon s physical and chemical characteristics and will continue, for many years into the future, to add even more to human understanding of Earth s nearest neighbor in space. 

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