On December 24, 1968, Apollo 8 astronauts Bill Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell first saw Earth while orbiting the Moon – it was an astounding view! Astronauts documented this event with several photographs; Earthrise became a timeless icon of 20th-century technological endeavor and environmental awareness. Earthrise On a few days after Apollo 8 had…
Apollo 12 set sail on November 14, 1969 – less than four months after Armstrong and Aldrin first set foot on the moon. Commander Pete Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Al Bean had one task in mind for Apollo 12: landing within walking distance of Surveyor III probe in Ocean of Storms. Landing on the…
Six such vehicles carried astronauts from and to the Moon as part of the Apollo program for scientific investigation, collapsing into an adapter on the back of S-IVB third stage rocket. After visual inspection of its landing gear, the LM’s descent engine conducted a 30-second Descent Orbit Insertion burn to reduce speed and gradually approach…
The Saturn V rocket consisted of three sections, which included: (1) The command module (CM), which contained astronaut quarters and flight control systems; (2) the service module, for propulsion and spacecraft support; and (3) Eagle, its lunar module – together these comprised the CSM. On its 27th orbit around the Moon, Columbia docked with the…
All but four astronauts who ever set foot on the Moon have now passed on, yet that was only part of Apollo’s unfortunate legacy. First was a tragic fire on the launch pad that claimed three lives: Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee – an event which fundamentally altered NASA’s moon program. The Fire…
Computer control of spacecraft systems assisted Armstrong during descent. At certain altitudes, an abort was no longer an option and an abort procedure could only be carried out with clearance from NASA. On 20 July, Armstrong detached Eagle from Collins and began its powered descent towards the lunar surface, eventually conducting his inaugural two and…
Mars has long been of interest to scientists and astronomers. As one of our nearest neighbors, this planet holds many mysteries to reveal. Mars is an extremely cold planet located much further from the sun than Earth. Mars, known for its fiery hue, stands as a powerful and brave symbol. Astronomy Mars, located fourth from…
Dreier used official NASA budget submissions to Congress and internal documentation describing appropriations for facilities and overhead expenses during FY 1961 to 1973 as the basis of his reconstruction of Apollo costs, then adjusted them for inflation using two inflation indices tailored specifically for aerospace projects. Exploring the costs involved in beating Soviet spacecraft to…
Apollo 9 was intended to perform an Earth-orbiting engineering test of the first crewed lunar module, known as LM. Other key objectives were checking of launch vehicle systems, procedures, crewing issues and crew. Mission goal was the first docking of two spacecraft carrying astronauts into space, known as Spider and Gumdrop respectively by astronauts themselves;…
