How much did we know about lunar soil conditions prior to Apollo 11?
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What information (if any) did we have about the load-bearing capacity of the lunar soil (for instance, to make sure that it wasn't soft or marshy, which could have posed a danger of the LM sinking into the ground) prior to landing astronauts on the moon?
lunar-landing
edited 23 hours ago
Sean
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up vote
12
down vote
favorite
What information (if any) did we have about the load-bearing capacity of the lunar soil (for instance, to make sure that it wasn't soft or marshy, which could have posed a danger of the LM sinking into the ground) prior to landing astronauts on the moon?
lunar-landing
edited 23 hours ago
Sean
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3
Possible duplicate of Is there any evidence that NASA was worried about deep lunar dust?
– Nathan Tuggy
23 hours ago
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.
– Criggie
19 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
12
down vote
favorite
up vote
12
down vote
favorite
What information (if any) did we have about the load-bearing capacity of the lunar soil (for instance, to make sure that it wasn't soft or marshy, which could have posed a danger of the LM sinking into the ground) prior to landing astronauts on the moon?
lunar-landing
edited 23 hours ago
Sean
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asked yesterday
Niranjan
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What information (if any) did we have about the load-bearing capacity of the lunar soil (for instance, to make sure that it wasn't soft or marshy, which could have posed a danger of the LM sinking into the ground) prior to landing astronauts on the moon?
lunar-landing
lunar-landing
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Sean
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Niranjan
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edited 23 hours ago
Sean
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edited 23 hours ago
Sean
5121422
edited 23 hours ago
Sean
5121422
edited 23 hours ago
Sean
5121422
5121422
asked yesterday
Niranjan
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asked yesterday
Niranjan
613
asked yesterday
Niranjan
613
613
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3
Possible duplicate of Is there any evidence that NASA was worried about deep lunar dust?
– Nathan Tuggy
23 hours ago
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.
– Criggie
19 hours ago
add a comment |
3
Possible duplicate of Is there any evidence that NASA was worried about deep lunar dust?
– Nathan Tuggy
23 hours ago
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.
– Criggie
19 hours ago
3
3
Possible duplicate of Is there any evidence that NASA was worried about deep lunar dust?
– Nathan Tuggy
23 hours ago
Possible duplicate of Is there any evidence that NASA was worried about deep lunar dust?
– Nathan Tuggy
23 hours ago
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.
– Criggie
19 hours ago
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.
– Criggie
19 hours ago
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
up vote
21
down vote
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 23 hours ago
Russell Borogove
77.1k2245335
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.
– Ruadhan2300
19 hours ago
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.
– Martin Bonner
17 hours ago
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
– Organic Marble
4 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
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 9 hours ago
jbay
1411
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
21
down vote
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 23 hours ago
Russell Borogove
77.1k2245335
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.
– Ruadhan2300
19 hours ago
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.
– Martin Bonner
17 hours ago
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
– Organic Marble
4 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
21
down vote
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 23 hours ago
Russell Borogove
77.1k2245335
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.
– Ruadhan2300
19 hours ago
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.
– Martin Bonner
17 hours ago
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
– Organic Marble
4 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
21
down vote
up vote
21
down vote
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 23 hours ago
Russell Borogove
77.1k2245335
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 23 hours ago
Russell Borogove
77.1k2245335
edited 23 hours ago
answered 23 hours ago
Russell Borogove
77.1k2245335
answered 23 hours ago
Russell Borogove
77.1k2245335
answered 23 hours ago
Russell Borogove
77.1k2245335
77.1k2245335
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.
– Ruadhan2300
19 hours ago
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.
– Martin Bonner
17 hours ago
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
– Organic Marble
4 hours ago
add a comment |
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.
– Ruadhan2300
19 hours ago
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.
– Martin Bonner
17 hours ago
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
– Organic Marble
4 hours ago
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.
– Ruadhan2300
19 hours ago
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.
– Ruadhan2300
19 hours ago
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.
– Martin Bonner
17 hours ago
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.
– Martin Bonner
17 hours ago
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
– Organic Marble
4 hours ago
Martin Bonner are you thinking of the Clarke novel "A Fall of Moondust?"
– Organic Marble
4 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
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 9 hours ago
jbay
1411
New contributor
jbay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
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 9 hours ago
jbay
1411
New contributor
jbay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
up vote
4
down vote
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 9 hours ago
jbay
1411
New contributor
jbay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
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 9 hours ago
jbay
1411
New contributor
jbay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 9 hours ago
jbay
1411
New contributor
jbay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
answered 9 hours ago
jbay
1411
answered 9 hours ago
jbay
1411
1411
New contributor
jbay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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New contributor
jbay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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jbay is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
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3
Possible duplicate of Is there any evidence that NASA was worried about deep lunar dust?
– Nathan Tuggy
23 hours ago
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.
– Criggie
19 hours ago