26
votes
Accepted
What was this Ziploc bag used for on an Apollo 14 moonwalk?
That's not a Ziploc bag, but the retroreflector's dust cover. Here is a larger image of it removed:
And here's an image with the cover still attached to the retroreflector:
...
- 76k
24
votes
Accepted
What is this unlikely-looking contraption ("plutonium battery and scientific equipment") they're making Jim Lovell carry around a parking lot?
The black thing on the right is a SNAP-27 RTG. and the box on the left is an ALSEP (Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package) that it powers.
Here's a picture of the ALSEP for Apollo 12:
And here is ...
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18
votes
Accepted
Are there any videos of onboard the Apollo Lunar Module while landed on the Moon?
While not on the lunar surface, it turns out that in-flight footage of donning and removing suits inside the LM during the Apollo 16 mission does exist.
One source is https://www.sciencephoto.com/...
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15
votes
Accepted
What did walking on lunar regolith feel like?
According to Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal,
Armstrong made his first description of the regolith as soon as he stepped out from the ladder and pronounced his famous "giant leap" phrase:
...
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15
votes
Accepted
What was the colour of the shoes used by the Apollo astronauts in moon landing?
The shoes of the A7L suit were white with partly-blue "lunar boots" worn over them, but soon were covered in grey-ish dust once on the moon. Have a look at this image on Wikipedia:
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13
votes
Accepted
What was the temperature of the Apollo 11 moon landing zone?
Apollo 11 deployed the Early Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (EASEP), a set of scientific instruments that measured various parameters on the moon and transmitted them back to the earth, this ...
- 5,301
12
votes
What was this Ziploc bag used for on an Apollo 14 moonwalk?
To answer the last part of your question: yes, it was normal to throw away stuff that was no longer needed. On Apollo 11 alone, the astronauts left behind more than 100 items, including
four urine ...
- 128k
10
votes
Accepted
Did an astronaut on the Moon ever fall on his back?
On Apollo 16 Charlie Duke jumped up and fell on his backpack.
Duke said he rolled right to break his fall but still bounced onto his backpack, also called a portable life-support system, or PLSS.
...
- 182k
9
votes
Are there any videos of onboard the Apollo Lunar Module while landed on the Moon?
The Lunar module had a habitable volume of 160 cubic foot (4.5 cubic metre). The crew compartment floor was about 36 by 55 inches (3 by 4.6 foot or 0.91 by 1.4 metre)
There was a circuit breaker ...
- 49k
9
votes
Accepted
Could "Asteroid Redirect" make the moon more dangerous for astronauts for a long time?
The Asteroid Redirect Mission concept shows two strategies that should minimize problems:
the asteroid will be transported inside a bag.
the asteroid will be placed in a 'distant retrograde orbit',...
- 128k
8
votes
Accepted
Riding a bike on the moon
Yes, but it would be tricky.
First, I will assume from your question that this bike riding will happen indoors, in a shirt-sleeves environment that does not yet exist, such as a lunar station. Riding ...
- 411
7
votes
Why did the Apollo lunar missions not let all astronauts at least set foot on the Moon's surface?
Well for starters the 3rd guy was orbiting the moon, not on the moon so it would be impossible for him to set foot on the moon, But the real reason was they needed someone to make sure everything in ...
- 893
7
votes
Accepted
How close did Apollo 16 astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr. get to the edge of Plum crater?
It looks like he was about 2-3 feet away judging by his height. The chance of him tripping and falling is very small. If he did happen to though it appears the crater had about a 50% grade at the ...
- 106
6
votes
What was the temperature of the Apollo 11 moon landing zone?
The landing time was selected to avoid the extreme temperatures. That's why there are huge shadows, the Sun's declination is low (I don't remember if it was early morning or late afternoon). During ...
- 330
6
votes
How would you move in low gravity without a suit?
My answers to very similar quesions, " What would the human gait look like on Mars?" and "How would humans with appropriate equipment travel the surface of Saturn's moon Titan on foot?" are cogent ...
- 18.3k
5
votes
How far can you fall on the Moon without injury?
Although this question has many answers already, I thought I'd add a more general answer
How far could a human fall in a pressurised environment on various solar system bodies?
I'm imagining that ...
- 6,458
4
votes
Accepted
What was Apollo "Moon rope" made out of? Was it ever used?
I'm very sure that this is the Lunar Equipment Conveyor.
The Lunar Equipment Conveyor (LEC) is a device which the astronauts will use during the EVA to transfer equipment to or from the ascent stage. ...
- 48k
3
votes
Do moon rovers need two headlights?
It makes sense to have more than one headlight. If you have a single headlight, you create hard shadows behind obstacles. With two or more lights placed in different locations on the rover, the amount ...
- 128k
3
votes
What did walking on lunar regolith feel like?
Since the bulk of regolith has a density of 1.5 g/cm3, and "talc, broken" has a density of 1.746 g/cm³ I wonder if comparing the two has validity.
Density is not the only factor in how a substance ...
- 128k
3
votes
How far can you fall on the Moon without injury?
I would like to add that there is no real definite "fatal" velocity at the point of impact.
It is much easier to suffer a fatal fall resulting from damaged life-support equipment in a spacesuit on ...
- 131
3
votes
Why is there no exosphere demonstrating moon dust and particles in the Apollo footage?
This study explores the mechanisms behind dust levitation. Itputs the levitation altitude at 10 cm. The study also shows why the Surveyor landers recorded a glow that can be attributed to levitating ...
- 128k
2
votes
How would you move in low gravity without a suit?
@KimHolder's moonwards video explains several aspects nicely...
(if you have time, also watch Virtual Moon Colony at Lalande Crater - the Whole Thing)
above: Steps in ...
- 149k
2
votes
Accepted
Would it be possible to use a modern Orlan-MKS space suit for a moon walk?
It would certainly be possible, the environment of the moon's surface is not that different from orbit, you have the same temperature differences, so an astronaut (more likely cosmonaut) could survive....
- 20.3k
2
votes
Which planets and moons can you walk on?
Other than on the four gas giants you cannot walk in present-day-like spacesuits on Venus (due to the extreme heat) and Jovian moon Io (due to the extreme radiation and also some heat) either. But ...
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2
votes
Which planets and moons can you walk on?
Well, let's start with the minimum size of an object. The formula for escape velocity is:
$V_{escape} = \sqrt{2 G M/R}$
Okay, let's say that you don't want to accidentally jump off. Let's say that ...
- 121k
2
votes
Which planets and moons can you walk on?
Let's split the question into parts.
where can you walk
The celestial body has to have enough mass, so you can walk/stand on it, without drifting away after the slightest movement. Should have ...
- 81
2
votes
How far can you fall on the Moon without injury?
Earths gravity is 6 times stronger than the moon.
You can jump from a height 6 times higher on the moon.
Most people would not want to jump from a height of more than 2 metres on earth.
Therefore you ...
- 21
2
votes
Riding a bike on the moon
Physics "would not have a problem" with someone riding a bike on the moon.
If it is technically possible with this chunky "costumes", that's another matter... (maybe mechanical ...
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2
votes
What was Apollo "Moon rope" made out of? Was it ever used?
To answer question 4 (this is mostly reformulating my comments on the question):
Was it ever used on any Apollo mission, either to haul someone out of a crater or for something else?
No
The Lunar ...
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2
votes
What was the temperature of the Apollo 11 moon landing zone?
Any time there is a question about temperature in space I think it's worth saying a little about what that measurement even means. The temperature always has to be the temperature of something. Here ...
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