![]() Some of those workers' names are inscribed on the moon's surface. The incredible feat was made possible by the hard work of the entire Apollo staff, from the well-prepared Apollo 11 astronauts, who spent 30% to 40% of their preparation time in the lunar module trainer, to the many engineers who created life-support systems and communications networks to assist the astronauts' journey. (Image credit: NASA) Celebrating successĭespite the challenges it faced, the lunar module ultimately touched down safely, and the Apollo 11 mission was a success for NASA. Modern missions like the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and NASA's GRAIL project have led to "an unprecedented understanding" of the lunar gravity field, Petro said.Īpollo 11 astronauts, from left, Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stand in recognition of astronaut John Glenn during the U.S House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology tribute to the Apollo 11 astronauts at the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 21, 2009, in Washington. Petro said that areas where the crust is thicker, like under the Himalayan Mountains, have stronger gravity than areas with a thinner crust, like regions found under an ocean.īut the lunar topography is not as extreme as Earth's, and the mascons on the moon appear relatively flat on the surface. "And so that lumpiness … means that something in orbit, particularly at low orbit like the Apollo command module or lunar module, is perturbed nudged by those changes in the gravity field."Įven on Earth, gravity isn't entirely even. "Underneath some of the very large basins, there are these concentrations of mass, called a mascon," he said. The mission also faced uncertainties regarding the gravitational field of the moon, which Petro described as "lumpy" and irregular. (Image credit: Petro family/NASA Goddard) "Lumpy" lunar gravity Denis Petro later had the photo signed by Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin. In a photo taken by his father, NASA lunar scientist Noah Petro stands in front of an Apollo-era Saturn V rocket on display at NASA's Johnson Space Center. "Armstrong had to take control and land downrange, and that was exacerbated because they were landing long from where they had planned in the middle of their landing ellipse," Petro said. Unfortunately, the center of the landing ellipse turned out to be a football-field-size crater full of boulders, according to Petro. NASA had selected several landing sites that were located near the moon's equator and seemingly free of large objects that could imperil the Apollo 11 landing. Related: New Apollo 11 Book Shows Incredible, Forgotten Photos of the Apollo Program Bumpy up ahead "Fortunately for them, their landing didn't really require them to do to a particular location." The Apollo 12 mission that followed proved that NASA could land in a set place. "It wasn't like they were just wildly off course," he said. Petro emphasized that they weren't lost, but rather, were going long in the ellipse. So when Aldrin and Armstrong undocked, the remaining pressure put a little bit of extra velocity into the lunar module, and that, coupled with other errors, nudged the astronauts a bit off target. The mission staff had planned everything down to the second they knew what changes in velocity to expect in three different dimensions and how to reach the center of a landing ellipse, the curved swath of lunar surface within which the lunar module was supposed to land.īut a depressurizing procedure between the command and lunar modules wasn't completely effective, Petro said. (Image credit: Petro family/NASA Goddard) This newspaper article from 1972 commends Petro for his research on measuring pain thresholds. Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series reflecting on Apollo 11, 50 years later.Denis Petro is a doctor and biomedical engineer who helped NASA ensure that the Apollo astronauts stayed alive, healthy and comfortable while exploring the moon. Below, 50 photos of the historic Apollo 11 mission, on the 50th anniversary of that giant leap. After their safe return home, the crew were celebrated by politicians and the public as they embarked on a 45-day goodwill tour, visiting a total of 27 cities in 24 countries. ![]() While Command Module Pilot Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit, Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin descended to the surface and spent two and a half hours on the moon, setting up experiments, taking photos, and gathering samples. ![]() On July 20, 1969, the astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human being to walk on another world, famously marking the moment with the phrase: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” After months of preparation, preceded by years of development and testing, the crew of NASA’s Apollo 11 lifted off from Florida on July 16, arriving at the moon on July 19.
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