On December 11, 1972, Apollo 17 landed on the moon. This was not only our final moon landing, but the last time we left in low Earth orbit. With the successful launch of the Orion capsule, NASA is finally ready to move on again. Therefore, it is important to remember how we got to the moon. - And why did we stop walking
Crewed by commander Yevgeny Alexandrovich Cernan, command module pilot Ronald E. Evans and lunar module pilot Harrison P. Schmitt, the Apollo 17 mission was the first to include a scientist. The main scientific objectives included “Geological research and sampling of materials and surface features in a pre-selected area of the Taurus-Littrow region; deployment and activation of the surface of experiments; and conducting in-flight experiments and photographic tasks during the lunar orbit and transearth coast."
Harrison Jack Schmitt earned his Ph. D. in geology from Harvard University in 1964, and worked at the United States Geological Survey and at Harvard University before completing astronaut training in 1965. Apollo 17 was his first flight into space, and will be the first astronaut-scientist to reach the surface of the moon. With him was Eugene "Gene" Cernan, a veteran astronaut who first flew into space with the Gemini IX mission in 1966 and later served as a lunar module pilot for the Apollo 10 mission in May 1969, where he came to 90 miles of the lunar surface.
04 14 21 43: Schmitt: expectations. 25 feet down 2. Fuel good. 20 feet. Going down 2. 10 feet. 10 foot -
04 14 21 58:. Schmitt: CONTACT
04 14 22 03: Schmitt: *** op, press. Stopping the engine; ARM ENGINE; GO; Correction COMMAND, OFF; CONTROL MODE, ATT HOLD; PGNS, AUTO.
Schmitt landed the Challenger lunar module in the Taurus Littrow lunar valley, just in the southeast of the Sea of Clarity, in an area of geological significance on the Moon. Mission planners hoped the region would provide a wealth of information about the history of the lunar surface. After landing, the pair began their observations of the lunar surface:
Promotional video:
04 14 37 05: Cernan: “You know, I noticed that there is even a big difference in ashy and - and in double shadows. You are ashen on things, and it is difficult to see the stars, even if you do not have the Earth there '
04 14 23 28: Cernan: “. Oh man. Look at the rock there „
Schmitt: “. Absolutely incredible.. Absolutely incredible „
After several hours of preparation, Cernan set foot on the lunar surface:
04 18 31 0: “I am on the ball of the foot. And, Houston, as I get off the surface at Taurus-Littrow, I would like to dedicate the first step of Apollo 17 to all those who made this possible. Jack, I'm here. Oh my damn it. Incredible. Incredible, but it's bright in the sun. Okay. We landed in a very shallow depression. This is why we have a small step up corner. Very shallow, dinner-plate „
The two astronauts unloaded the rover, and began deploying scientific instruments around their landing site: Experiments and Explosives Package (to complete seismic experiments started with other Apollo missions in another Place on the Moon). Their first exclusion in the rover came from numerous lunar rock samples. Over the next several days, the astronauts completed two additional lunar walks, where they continued to ride the lunar surface and collect samples.
Schmitt later described NASA's landing at Oral historian Carol Butler: “It was the most highly diverse site on any Apollo site. He was specially chosen to be. We had three sizes to look at from the mountain to try. You have been basalts of Mare in the floor and high in the mountain walls. We also had this obvious young volcanic material that was seen in the photographs and not immediately obvious, but we ended up finding it in the form of orange soil at Shorty."
Why did we go in space
The scientific efforts of Apollo 17 were the culmination of an ambitious program that began in 1963 following the successes of the mercury program. In the post-World War II period, the United States and the Soviet Union found themselves embroiled in a competitive arms race that saw significant military gains on both sides, eventually leading to the development of missiles capable of striking enemy territory around the world. The next step for superiority over armaments was jumping from atmosphere to low Earth orbit on the moon, final altitude. As it happened, each country is capitalizing on advances in rocketry to experiment with manned missions. The Soviet Union succeeded in taking Yuri Gagarin into space in 1961, just a couple of years after the first satellite was launched into orbit.
In the wake of the US, the space has become an incredibly public display of military and technical power. The development of space travel does not occur in a political vacuum: the drive for the United States to develop rockets and vehicles that could travel higher and faster than their Soviet counterparts has increased alongside us / USSR tensions, especially in geopolitical crises such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the deployment of US missiles in Turkey showed how each country was prepared to destroy the other.
As the space program took off, it was supported by other research and development efforts from the broader military-industrial complex, which President Dwight D. Eisenhower had worried about only a handful of years earlier. (Eisenhower was not a major proponent of space travel, which began under his control, and tried to play down Sputnik.) The red hot environment of the Cold War allowed significant political capital and government spending that supported the first strike infrastructure, and in part, trickled towards scientific aviation fields that are supported by a peaceful and optimistic message.
By 1966, the space race was at its peak: NASA received the highest budget ever, only at less than 4.5% of the total US $ 5.933 billion federal budget (about $ 43 billion today). The United States has taken clear benefits to the space of this point: Project Gemini has completed its final mission, and efforts towards the next phase under Apollo are in full swing. By this point, the social and political infrastructure and support of the space began to weaken, and eventually fell away after Apollo 11 successfully landed on the lunar surface in July 1969. After this point, NASA continued its scheduled missions, and eventually landed five additional Apollo missions. on the moon. (Another, Apollo 13, failed to land after mechanical problems)
Changing priorities
Just a year after Apollo 11 landed, NASA began to change priorities: Plans for the space station were reinstated, and in 1970, they announced that Apollo 20 would be canceled in favor of a new venture: Skylab. On September 2, 1970, the agency announced the last three Apollo Apollo missions: 15, 16, and 17. The agency was forced to fight political pressure as well: In 1971, the White House intends to completely cancel the Apollo Apollo 15 program after, but ultimately, two the remaining Apollo missions were held in place. Harrison Schmitt, who trained Apollo 18, was collided before Apollo 17 NASA collided after pressure from scientists to send one of its own to the moon.
On December 14, 1972, Cernan became the last person to reach the lunar surface:
07 00 00 47: “Bob, this is Jin, and I am on the surface and as I take mens The last steps from the surface, home, for some time to arrive, but we do not believe too long in the future. I would like to simply list what I believe will go down in history, that America's challenge today has forged the man's destiny of tomorrow. And, as we go to the Moon in Taurus Littrow, we leave as we come and, God willing, as we return, with peace and hope for all mankind. Bon voyage, crew of Apollo 17.
At forty-two, since these words were spoken, no one has set foot on the moon. The federal spending levels that NASA received prior to 1966 became unbearable to the public, which became financially cautious, especially as they experienced the severe 1973 oil crisis, which was shifting the nation's priorities. Spending in space is something that could be done, but with much more budgetary constraints than before, constraints on NASA research and scientific missions in the coming years. Such programs included the development of the Skylab program in 1973, and the space shuttle program, as well as a number of robotic probes and satellites.
This shift in priorities deeply influenced the willpower of politicians to carry out new exploration missions to the moon and beyond. The optimistic dreams of reaching Mars were not long gone, and as NASA focused on the Space Shuttle, the physical infrastructure that supports lunar missions disappeared: more Saturn V rockets were manufactured, and unused rockets were turned into museum displays. The entire technical and production apparatus that supports both military and civilian operations, which also began to be phased out. The Strategic Arms Limitation (SALT Negotiations) and its successors began to freeze the number of missiles that could be deployed to both the United States and the Soviet Union in 1972, and each country has largely taken a step down its operations. The urgency that fueled the Cold War arms race started out great, and with it, support the many efforts needed to bring humans into space and to the moon.
Since that time, American presidents have talked about their desire to return to the moon, but often for decades, rather than in single digits. It's easy not to understand why: Until recently, US spaceflight operations focused solely on orbit work in low Earth Earth, as well as wonderful collaborative international programs such as the International Space Station, and major scientific instruments such as Mars Pathfinder, Opportunity / Spirit and curiosity. Other major concerns have redirected US attention away from space flight:. The United States' war on terrorism is expected to cost American taxpayers over $ 5 trillion in the long run.
The launch of Orion on top of the Delta IV Heavy rocket was interesting to watch, as well as new players in space rocket space, SpaceX and the Orbital Sciences Corporation, which suggests a new generation of infrastructure is being built. The reasons for visiting the Moon and potentially other planets and bodies in our solar system are numerous: they can be the greatest scientific endeavors of our existence, allowing us to gain a deeper understanding of the creation of our planet and solar system and the greater world around us. More importantly, though, such missions contribute to the character of a nation by demonstrating the importance of science and technology in our civilization, which will ultimately help us process and address the issues of greatest concern: the health of our planet. I hope words and Cernan hopes that our absence on the moon will be short-lived,and that we will again explore new worlds in our lives.
