MSC-07230

·NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

APOLLO 16 MISSION REPORT

1
"'

DISTRIBUTION AND REFERENCING

.
;
• This paper is not suitable for general di.stribution or referencing. It may be referenced
only in other working correspondence and documents by participating organixations.

MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER

HOUSTON,TEXAS
AUGUST 1 972
 APOLLO SPACECRAFT FLIGHT HIS'NRY

Mission report
Mission number S;Qacecraf't DescriE:tion Latmch date Latmch site

PA-l Postlaunch BP-6 First pad abort Nov. 7, 1963 White Sands
memorandum Missile Range,
N. Mex.

A-001 !>flC-A-R-64-1 BP-12 Transonic abort May 13, 1964 White Sands
Missile Range,
N. Mex.
------;·
I
.AS-101 !>flC-A-R-64-2 BP-13 Nominal lal.Ulch and Mey 28, 1964 Cape Kennedy,
exit environment Fla.

.AS-102 !>flC-A-R-64-3 BP-15 Nominal. lal.Ulch and Sept. 18, 1964 Cape Kennedy,
eXit environment Fla.

A-002 !>flC-A-R-65-1 BP-23 Maximwn dynamic Dec. 8, 1964 White Sands

pressure abort Missile Range,
N. Mex.

AS-103 MPR-SAT-FE-66-4 BP-16 Micrometeoroid Feb. 16, 1965 Cape Kennedy,

(MSFC) experiment Fla.

A-003 MJC-A-R-65-2 BP-22 Low-altitude abort May 19, 1965 White Sands
(planned high- Missile Range,
altitude abort) N. Mex.

AS-104 Not published BP-26 Micrometeoroid May 25, 1965 Cape Kennedy,
experiment and Fla.
service module
re action control
system launch
environment

PA-2 !>flC-A-R-65-3 BP-23A Second pad abort June 29, 1965 White Sands
Missile Range,
N. Mex.

AS-105 Not published BP-9A Micrometeoroid July 30, 1965 Cape Kennedy,
experiment and Fla.
service module
reaction control
system launch
environment

A-004 Ms C-A-R-66-3 SC-002 Power-on tumbling Jan. 20, 1966 White Sands
boundary abort Missile Range,
N. Mex.

AS-201 MSC-A-R-66-4 SC-009 Supercircular Feb. 26, 1966 Cape Kennedy,

entry with high Fla.
heat r ate

AS-202 MJC-A-R-66-5 SC-Oll Supercircular Aug. 25, 1966 Cape Kennedy,

entry with high Fla.
heat load

(Continued inside back cover)

 MSC-07230

APOLLO 16 MISSION REPOR'r

\
\

PREPARED BY

Mission Evaluation Team

APPROVED BY

� ,� 7/J�vv:C
·

Owen G . Morris
Manager, Apollo Spacecraft Program

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

MANNED SPACECRAFr CENTER

HOUSTON, TEXAS

August 1972
Apollo 16 lift-off,
 iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section Page

1.0 SUMMARY 1-1

2.0 INTRODUCTION 2-1

3.0 TRAJECTORY 3-1

3.1 LAUNCH AND TRANSLUNAR TRAJECTORIES 3-1
3.2 S-IVB STAGE • • • • 3-1
3.3 LUNAR ORBIT , , • . • I I I I I 3-1
3.4 TRANE:EARTH AND ENTRY TRAJECTORY 3-9

4.0 LUNAR SURFACE SCIENCE . • • . . . • • . 4-1

4.1 SUMMARY OF LUNAR SURFACE ACTIVITIES 4-1
4 .2 APOLI,O LUNAR SURFACE EXPERIMENTS PACKAGE
CENTRAJ, STATION • • • • . 4-1
4.3 PASSIVE SEISMIC EXPERIMENT 4 -10
4.4 ACTIVE SEISMIC EXPERIMENT • 4 -13
4.5 LUNAR SURFACE MAGNETOMETER EXPERIMENT 4-14
4 .6 HEAT FLOW EXPERIMENT 4-14
4.7 LUNAR PORTABLE MAGNETOMETER EXPERIMENT 4-16
4 .8 FAR ULTRAVIOLET CAMERA/SPECTROSCOPE EXPERIMENT. 4-16
4.9 COSMIC RAY DETECTOR EXPERIMENT 4-17
4 . 10 SOLAR WIND COMPOSITION EXPERIMENT 4-21
4 . 11 LUNAR GEOLOGY . • • • • • 4-21
4 . 12 SOIL MECHANICS EXPERIMENT . 4-24

5.0 INFLIGHT SCIENCE AND PHOTOGRAPHY 5 -1

5 .1 GAMMA-RAY SPECTROMETER EXPERIMENT 5-1
5.2 X-RAY FLUORESCENCE EXPERIMENT 5-2
5.3 ALPHA-PARTICLE EXPERIMENT • • • • 5-3
5.4 MASS SPECTROMETER EXPERIMENT 5-4
5.5 PARTICLES AND FIELDS SUBSATELLITE EXPERIMENTS 5-4
5.6 S-BAND TRANSPONDER EXPERIMENT • • • , • • • • 5-6
iv

Section Page

5.7 DOWN-LI NK BISTATIC RADAR OBSERVATIONS

OF THE MOON . .
. . . . .
• • • . 5-6
5.8 SERVICE MODULE O RBITAL PHOTOGRAPHY 5 -7
5 .9 CO MMAND MODULE O RBITAL PHOTOGRAPHY 5 -12
5 . 10 VI SUAL OBSERVATIONS F RO M LUNA R O RBIT 5 -14
5 . 11 ULT RA VIOLET PHOTOGRAPHY - E ARTH AND MOON 5-14
5 . 12 GEGENS CHEIN F RO M LUNA R O RBIT 5-1 5
5 . 13 SKYLAB CONTA MINATION STUDY 5-15
5 . 14 APOLLO WINDOW METEO ROID E XPE RI MENT 5 -16
5 .15 VI SUAL LI GHT FLASH PH ENO MENON . • . 5 -18
5 . 16 MIC ROBIAL RESPONSE IN SPACE ENVI RON MENT 5 -18
5 . 17 BIOSTACK EXPERI MENT . 5 -19
5 . 18 BO NE MINERAL MEASURE MENT 5-19
5 . 19 FLUID ELECT R\)PHO RESIS IN SPACE DEMONST RATION 5-20

6.0 CO MMAND AND SERV ICE MODULE PE RFO RMANCE . . . . . 6-1

6.1 THE RMAL , ST RUCTU RES AND MECHANICAL SYSTE MS 6-1
6.2 ELECT RICAL POWE R AND FUEL CELLS 6-2
6.3 C RYOGENIC STO RAGE 6-3
6.4 CO MMUNICATIONS 6-3
6.5 INSTRUME NTATION 6-4
6.6 GUID ANCE , NAVIGATION AND CONT ROL 6-5
P ROPULSION 6-10
6.8 E NVI RON MENTAL CONTROL SYSTE M AND C RE W
STATION EQUIP MENT . 6�11
6.9 CO NT ROLS AND DISPL AYS 6-14
6 . 10 EXTRAVEHICUL AR ACT I VITY EQUIP MENT 6-14
6 . 11 CONS UMABLES • . • . 6-15

7.0 LUNA R MODULE PERFO RMANCE 7 -1

7.1 THER MAL , ST RUCTU RAL AND MECHANICAL SYSTE MS 7-1
7.2 ELECT RI CAL POWE R 7-2
7.3 CO MMUN ICATIONS 7-2
 v

Sect ion Page

7 .4 RADAR • 7--3
7.5 GUIDANCE , NAVIGATION AND CONTROL 7 -4
7.6 PROPULSION 7-1 0
7 .7 ENVJ�ONMENTAL CONTROL 7 - 11
7.8 CONBUMABLES . 7 - 13

8.0 LUNAR SURFACE EQUIPMENT PERFORMANCE 8-1

8.1 LUNJffi ROVING VEHICLE 8-1
8.2 LUNJffi COMMUNICATIONS RELAY UNIT AND GROUND
COMMANDED TELEVISION ASSEMBLY 8-2
8.3 EXTHA VEHICULAR MOBILITY UNIT 8-3

9.0 PILOT ' S REPORT 9 -1

9.1 TRAINING 9-1
9. 2 LAUNCH 9-3
9.3 EAR'rH ORBITAL FLIGHT 9-4
9. 4 TRANSLUNAR INJECTION 9-5
9. 5 TRANSLUNAR FLIGHT • . 9-5
9.6 LUNAR ORBITAL OPERATIONS PRIOR TO DESCENT 9-12
9.7 POW:I!.:RED DESCENT AND LANDING 9-17
9.8 LUNAR SURFACE OPERATIONS 9-19
9.9 LUNAR ORBITAL SOLO OPERATIONS 9-43
9.10 ASC:�NT RENDEZVOUS AND DOCKING 9-47
9 . 11 LUN.I\R ORBITAL OPERATIONS - DOCKING TO
TRANSEARTH INJECTION 9-49
9 . 12 TRANSEARTH FLIGHT • . . . . 9-5 2
9 . 13 ENTRY, LANDING AND RECOVERY 9-56
9 . 14 GENE:RAL OBSER VATIONS AND RECOMME:NDATIONS 9-57
9 . 15 CREW E VALUATION OF THE MISSION 9-77

10 . 0 BIOMEDICAL EVALUATION . • • • . • • . 10-1

10 . 1 BIO�ICAL INSTRUMENTATION AND
PHYSIOLOGICAL DATA 10-1
10 . 2 MEDICAL OBSERVATIONS 10-4
vi

Section Page
10 . 3 PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS . • . . . . 10-14
10 . 4 IMPROVED GAS /WATER SEPARATOR AND
FECAL COLLECTION BAG 10-14
10 . 5 APOLLO TIME AND MOTION STUDY 10-15
10 . 6 STEREOMETRIC BODY VOLUME MEASUREMENT 10-15
10 . 7 VESTIBULAR FUNCTION TESTS 10-16

11 . 0 MISSION SUPPORT PERFORMANCE 11-1

11 . 1 FLIGHT CONTROL 11-1
11 . 2 NETWORK . . . . 11-2
11 . 3 RECOVERY OPERATIONS 11-2

12 . 0 ASSESSMENT OF MISSION OBJECTIVES 12-1

13.0 LAUNCH PHASE SUMMARY 13-1
13.1 WEATHER CONDITIONS 13-1
13 . 2 ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY 13-1
13.3 LAUNCH VEHICLE PERFORMANCE 13-1

14 . 0 ANOMALY SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . 14-1

14 . 1 COMMAND AND SERVICE MODULE ANOMALIES 14-1
14 . 2 LUNAR MODULE ANOMALIES 14-4 1
14 . 3 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED EQUIPMENT ANOMALIES 14-66
14 . 4 LUNAR SURFACE EXPERIMENTS EQUI PMENT ANOMALIES 14-Bo
14 . 5 ORBITAL EXPERIMENT EQUIPMENT ANOMALIES 14-100
14 . 6 LUNAR ROVING VEHICLE ANOMALIES 14-115

15 . 0 CONCLUSIONS • . . . • • . • 1 5 -1

APPENDIX A - VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT DESCRIPTION A-1

A.1 COMMAND AND SERVICE MODULES A-1
A. 2 LUNAR MODULE A-4
A.3 LUNAR SURFACE MOBILITY SYSTEMS A-5
A.4 EXPERIMENT EQUIPMENT A-7
A. 5 MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS A-18
A.6 MASS PROPERTIES . . A-22
 vii

Section Page

APPENDIX B - SPACECRAFT HISTORIES B-1

APPENDIX C - POSTii'LIGHT TESTING C-1

APPENDIX D - DATA AVAILABILITY . D-1

APPENDIX E - MISSION REPORT SUPPLEMENTS E-1

APPENDIX F - GLOS:3ARY F-1

----

REFERENCES . . . R-1
 1-1

1.0 SUMMARY

The Apollo 16 space vehi cle was launched from the Kennedy Space Cen­
ter ( Launch Complex 39A ) at 12 : 54 : 00 p . m . e . s . t . ( 17 : 54 : 00 G . m . t . ) on
April 16 , 1972 . The crew for this mission were Captain John W . Young ,
Commander; Lt . Commander Thomas K . Mattingly II , Command Module Pilot ;
and Lt . Colonel Charles M . Duke , Jr . , Lunar Module Pilot .

The spacecraft/S-IVB combinat ion was inserted into an earth parking

orbit for spacecraft systems checkout and preparation for trans lunar in­
j ection . Follmring the trans lunar inj ection maneuver , the command and
servi ce modules were separated from the S-IV:B for lunar module docking
and ej ection . One midcourse correction was required during the trans­
lunar phase to achieve the des ired lunar orbit ins ertion maneuver condi­
tions . The S-IVB impact point was not accurat e becaus e a leak in the
auxili ary propulsion system produced an unpredi ct able thrust and also
prevented the final t argeting maneuver from being performed .

During translunar coast , a signi fic ant command and servi ce module
systems problem was encountered in that an indi c ation of inert i al meas­
urement unit gi1nb al lock was received by the space craft computer when no
gimbal lock condition existed . Subs equently, a software program was used
to inhibit the computer from responding to such indi c ations during crit­
i c al operations . Activities during translunar coast included a cislunar
navigation exercise , ultraviolet photography of the earth and moon , a
flui d electrophores is demonstration , and investigation of the visual light
flash phenomenon that has been experienced on previous flights . The docked
spacecraft were inserted into a lunar orbit of 170 by 58 miles following
a service propulsion firing of 374.9 seconds.

Preparations for lunar descent proceeded on s chedule; however , whi le

activating the lunar module systems , the S-band steerable antenna was not
movable in the yaw plane . As a result , the two omni directi onal antennas
were used for most of the remaining lunar operations . The powered des cent
to the lunar surface was delayed approximat ely 5 3/4 hours because of os­
cillat ions detecte d in a secondary yaw gimb al actuator on the servi ce pro­
pulsion system engine during systems checks :for the circulari zation maneu­
ver . A command·-and-servi ce-module-active rendezvous was performed to place
the vehicles in close proximity while the problem was being evaluated .
Tests and analy:3es showed that the redundant system was still usable and
s afe , had it been required. Therefore , the vehi cles were separated agair
and the mis s ion continued on a revi s ed timeline .

The lunar module was landed approximately 276 meters northwest of tl::.e
planne d landing site at about 104 1/2 hours . About 100 seconds of hover
time remained a:t touchdown. The landing coordinates were 8 degrees 59 mi.n­
utes 29 se conds south latitude and 15 degrees 30 minutes 52 seconds east
1-2

longitude based on the Lunar Topographic Photomap of Descartes, First

Edition, January 1972 .

The first extravehicular activity was initiated at 119 hours after

an 8-hour rest period. Television coverage of surface activity was de­
layed until the lunar roving vehicle systems were activated because the
steerable antenna on the lunar module could not be used. The lunar sur­
face experiments packages were deployed, but accidental breakage of the
electronics cable rendered the heat flow experiment inoperable. After
completing their activities at the experiments site, the crew drove the
lunar roving vehicle west to Flag Crater where they performed the planned
tasks. The inbound traverse route was just slightly south of the outbound
route, and the next stop was Spook Crater. The crew then returned, via
the experiment station, to the lunar module at which time they deployed
the solar wind composition experiment. The duration of the extravehicu­
lar activity was approximately 7 hours 11 minutes and the distance trav­
eled by the lunar roving vehicl e1ia6iapproximately 4 . 2 kilometers.

The second extravehicular traverse was south-southeast to a mare

sampling area near the Cinco Craters on Stone Mountain. The crew then
drove in a northwesterly direction, making stops near Stubby and Wreck
Craters. The last leg of the traverse was north to the experiments sta­
tion and the lunar module. The duration of the second extravehicular ac­
tivity was approximately 7 hours 23 minute_s_ and the distance traveled by
the lunar roving vehicle was 11 . 1 kilometers.

Four stations were deleted from the third extravehicular traverse

because of.time limitations. The first stop was North Ray Crater and
"House Rock", on the rim of North Ray Crater, was sampled. The crew then
drove southeast to "Shadow Rock". The return route to the lunar module
nearly retraced the outbound route. The duration of the third extrave­
hicular activity was approximately 5 h_QUX�_)j..Q �nutes and the distance
traveled by the lunar roving vehicle-was 11 . 4 kilometers.

The lunar surface activities lasted gQ_hol.l:t's and 14 minutes and about
9 5 kilograms of samples were collected. The total distance traveled in
the lunar roving vehicle was 26 . 7 kilometers. The crew remained on the
lunar surface approximately 71 hours.

While the lunar module crew was on the surface, the Command Module
Pilot was obtaining photographs, measuring physical properties of the moon
and deep space, and making visual observations. Essentially the same com­
pliment of instruments was used to gather data as was used on the Apollo
15 mission; however, different areas of the lunar surface were flown over,
and more comprehensive deep space measurements were made, providing scien­
tific data that can be used to validate findings from Apollo 15 as well
as add to the total store of knowledge of the moon and its atmosphere,
the solar system, and galactic space.
 1- 3

Lunar ascent was initi ated at 175 1/2 hours and was followed by a
normal rendezvous and docking . Attitude control of the lunar modul e was
lost at j ett ison; cons equently , a deorbit maneuver was not possible . The
estimated orbital life of the lunar module i s about 1 year .

The part i cles and fields sub s atellite was launched into lunar orbit
and normal systems operat i on was note d . However, the spacecraft orbital
shaping maneuver was not performed prior to ej ection and the sub s atellite
was plac ed in a non-optimum orbit that resulted in a much short er li fe­
time than the planned year . Los s of all sub s atelli te tracking and telem­
etry data on the 425th revolut ion (May 29, 197 2 ) indi c ated that the sub­
satellite had impacted the lunar surface .

The mass spect rometer deployment boom stalled during a retract cycle
and was, there fore, j ettisoned prior to transearth i njection . The second
plane change maneuver and some orbital s cience photography were deleted
so that trans earth inj e ct ion could be performed ab out 2 4 hours earlier
than originally planned .

Activities during the transearth coast phase o f the mi ssion included

photography for a Skylab contamination study, and completion of the vi s­
ual light flash phenomenon inves tigation whi ch had been parti ally accomp­
lished during translunar coas t . A 1-hour and 23-minute trans earth extra­
vehicular activity was conducted by the Command Module Pilot to retrieve
the film cassettes from the scient i fi c instrument module cameras , vi su­
ally inspect the equipment, and expose a microbial respons e experiment
to the space environment . Two midcourse corrections were made on the re­
turn flight to achieve the des ired entry interface conditions .

Entry and landing were normal . The command module was vi ewed on
televi s i on while on the drogue parachutes and conti nuous coverage was
provided through crew recovery . The space craft landed at 0 degrees 42
minutes 0 seconds south latitude and 156 degrees 12 minutes 48 seconds
west longitude , as determined by the onboard computer . Total time for
the Apollo 16 mis s ion was 26 5 hours, 51 minute:s , and 5 seconds .
 2-1

2.0 INTRODUCTION

The Apollo 16 mis s ion was the s econd in the s ci ence-ori ented J s er i es
of mi s s i ons , and the vehicle configuration and science payload were Slml­
lar to thos e o f Apollo 15. The di fferences are des cribed in Appendix A .
A major obj ective o f the mi s s ion was t o investi gate the lunar surface in
the Des c artes highlands area b ec ause it was cons idered to be repres enta­
tive of much of the moon ' s surfac e , and an area of this type had not been
previously visited. A detailed asses sment of the degree to which this
and other mis s ion obj ectives were accomplished i s given in s ection 12.0.

This report primarily provides information on the operational and

engineering aspects of the mis s ion . Preliminary s c i entific results and
launch vehicle performance are reported in references 1 and 2, respec­
tively. A complete analysis of all applicable data is not pos s ible with­
in the time frame of the preparation of this report . Therefore , report
supplements will be published as neces sary. Appendix E lists the reports
and gives their status , e ither publi shed or in preparation .

Customary units of measurement are used in tho s e s ections of the re­

port pertaining to spacecraft syst ems and traj ectories. The International
System of Units ( IS ) is used in s ections pertaining to science activit i e s .
Unless otherwis e speci fi ed , time is expres s ed as elaps ed time from r ange
zero ( establi shed. as the integral s econd before lift-off) , and does not
reflect the two time update s shown in table 3-I . Mileage is given in nau­
tical miles and -w·eight i s r e ferenced to earth gravity .
 3-1

3.0 TRAJECTORY

The traj ect ory profile of this mis s i on was s imilar to that of Apollo
15 . The maj or d:�fferences , asi de from the traj e ctory differences ne ces­
sary to reach another landing s ite , were the eliminat i on of the command
and s ervi ce module orbi t-shaping maneuver and a plane change maneuver , and
the inability to deorbit the lunar module ascent stage . The s e�uence and
definition of events for the Apollo 16 mis s i on are shown in t ables 3-I
and 3-II . Table�; 3-III and 3-IV contain the listing and definition of
traj ectory parameters , and table 3-V cont ains a summary of the maneuvers .

3 .. 1 LAUNCH AND TRANSLUNAR TRAJ"ECTORIES

The launch traj e ctory is given in reference 3 . The trans lunar inj e c ­
tion was normal 1md e j e ction of the command and servi ce module/lunar mod­
ule from the S-IVB stage after the trans lunar inj e ction firing were normal .
One trans lunar midcourse correction was re�uired.

3.2 S-IVB STAGE

The S-IVB stage evas ive maneuver and first lunar impact maneuver were
performed. However , as a result of an auxi li ary propuls ion system leakage
problem , the se cond lunar impact maneuver was cancelle d . Therefore , the
impact poi nt of the S-IVB on the lunar surface was inaccurate . Further ,
tracking was lost at about 29 hours and thi s prevented an accurate deter­
minat i on of the impact point and time . Two determinat i ons of the impact
point have been made - one on the bas i s of tracking dat a and the other
from lunar surface s ei smi c dat a . The point determine d from the s ei smi c
dat a was 1 . 3 degrees n� rth latitude and 2 3 . 8 degrees west longitude; where­
as , the point determi ned from tracking data was 2 . 1 degrees north lati tude
and 22 . 1 degrees west longitude . The final impact point will be published
by the Marshall :3pace Flight Center after revi ew of existing dat a .

3. 3 LUNAR ORBIT

3.3.1 Orbital Phas e

The lunar orbit insertion maneuver placed the spacecraft into an or­
bit having a 170·-mile apocynthion and a 58-mile peri cynthion. Four hours
later, a des cent orbit insertion maneuver was performed which lowered the
3-2

TABLE 3-I . - SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

a Elapsed time
Events
Hr:min:sec

Lift-off (Range zero =17: 54: 00 G.m.t., April 16, 1972) 00:00:00. 6
Earth orbit insertion 00:11:56
Translunar injection maneuver 02: 3 3: 3 7
S-IVB/command and service module separation 03:04:59
Translunar docking 03: 21:5 3
Spacecraft ejection 03: 59:15
First midcourse correction 3 0: 39:0 1
Scientific instrument module door jettison 69: 59:01
Lunar orbit insertion 74: 2 8: 2 8
S-IVB lunar impact 75:08:0 4
Descent orbit insertion 78: 3 3:4 5
Lunar module undocking and separation 96:14:00
Circularization maneuver 103:21:4 3
Powered descent initiation "104:l 7:25
Lunar landing · 10 4: 29: 3 5

"\',.,
Mission Control Center time update (+00:11: 4 8) 118: 06: 3 1
Start first extravehicular activity ' 118: 5 3: 3 8
Apollo lunar surface experiment package first data 121:44:00
End first extravehicular activity ·126: 0 4:40
Start second extravehicular activity ·1 42: 39: 3 5
End second extravehicular activity ·150:02: 44
Start third extravehicular activity ·165: 3 1: 2 8
Plane change 169: 05:5 2
End third extravehicular activity · 1 71: 11: 31
Lunar ascent 175: 3 1:4 8
Vernier adjustment maneuver 175: 42:18
Terminal phase initiation 176:26:0 5
Terminal phase finalization 177: 0 8:42
Docking 177:41:18
Lunar module jettison 195:00:12
Separation maneuver 19 5: 03:13
Mass spectrometer experiment and boom jettison 19 5: 23:12
Subsatellite launch 196:02:0 9
Transearth injection 200:21: 3 3
Mission Control Center time update (+24: 46: 00) 202:18:12
Second midcourse correction 214: 3 5: 0 3
Start transearth extravehicular activity 218: 39:4 6
End transearth extravehicular activity 220:03:28
Third midcourse correction 262: 3 7:21
Command module/service module separation 265:22: 3 3
Entry interface ( 400 000 feet) 265: 37: 31
Begin blackout 265: 3 7: 47
End blackout 265: 41: 01
Forward heat shield jettison 265:45:25
Drogue deployment 265:45:26
Main parachute deployment 265: 46:16
Landing 265: 51: 05

a
See Table 3-II for identification of events shown in this table.
 3-3

TABLE 3 -II . - DEFINITION OF' EVENTS

Definition

Range zero Final integral second before lift-off

Lift-off' Time of instrumentation unit umbilical disconnect

10
as indicated by launch vehicle telemetry

Earth orbit insertion S-IVB engine cuto� time plus seconds as indi­
indicated by launch vehicle telemetry

Translunar injection maaeuver Start tank discharge valve opening, allowing fuel
to be pumped to the S-IVB engine

S-IVB/connnand modul.e separation, translnnar The time of the event based on analysis of space­
docking, spacecraft ejection, scientific in­ craft rate and accelerometer data
strmnent module door jettison, hmar module
undocking and separation, docking, lunar mod­
ule jettison, and subsatellite lailllch

First midcourse correct:ion, lunar orbit inser­ The time the spacecraft computer commanded the
tion, descent orbit insertion, circularization engine on as indicated in the computer word tele­
maneuver, powered desce::1t initiation, plane metry data
change, lunar ascent, and transearth injection

Second and third midcourse corrections Engine ignition as indicated by the appropriate
engine bilevel telemetry measurement or other
telemetry data

S-IVB lnnar impact The time determined from Apollo lnnar surface
experiment package seismic data.

Lunar landing The time of first contact of lunar module foot­

pads with the lunar surface as derived from

3
spacecraft rate data

Beginning o'f extravehicular activity The time cabin pressure reaches psia during

3
depressurization as indicated by telemetry data

End of' extravehicular aetivity The time cabin pressure reaches psia during
repressurization as indicated by telemetry data

Apollo lunar surf'ace e;{:�eriment package first The receipt of first data considered valid from
data the Apollo lunar surface experiments package
telemetry

Terminal phase initiation The time of start of the terminal phase initiation
maneuver during the rendezvous sequence as cal­
culated by the computer

Terminal phase finaliza·�ion The time during the rendezvous sequence when the
first braking maneuver is performed as calculated
by the computer

Connna nd module/service module separation The time of separation by command module/service

module separation relays via the telemetry system

Entry interface The time the command module reaches 400 000 feet
geodetic altitude as indicated by the best esti­
mate of trajectory

Begin blackout The time of S-band commnnication loss due to air

ionization during entry

End blackout The time of aquisition of S-band commnnications

following blackout

Forward heat shield jettison, drogue deploy­ The time of deployment as indicated by the relay
ment, and main parachute deployment actuations via the telemetry system

Earth landing The time the spacecraft was visually observed to

touch the water

Time update The Mission Control Center time vas updated twice
during the mission to conform to the time in the
onboard flight plan.
NOTE: These time updates are not reflected in
this report.
3 -4

a
TABLE 3 -III . - TRAJECTORY PARAMETERS

I
Spacewfixed Space-fix:ed Space-fixed
Reference Time L&t! tudo Long! tudo Altitude
Event veloci t:y flight-path heading angle,
body hr:min:eec deg:min deg:min n. mi.
ft/sec angle, deg degE ofN

TranelunEU' phase

Tranelunar injection E&rth 02:39:28 11:59·5 162:29 E 171.0 35 565.7 7.47 59.5

Command and service module/lunar E&rth 03:59:15 32:38 N 111:13 w 12 492.7 16 533.5 61.07 88.39
module ejection from S-IVB

Firat midcourse correction

Ignition E&rth 30:39:01 25:13 N 106:29 w 119 343.8 4 514.8 76.86 111.56
Cutoff Earth 30:39:03 25:13 N 106:30 w 119 345.3 4 508.1 ']'6.']'2 111,50

Scientific instrument noduli!! Moon 69:59:01 02:45 s 54:56 w 11 135.4 3 896.5 -79.85 -82.39
door jettison

Lunar orbit phase

Lunar orbit insertion

Ignition Moon 74:28:28 08:09 N 166:38 w 93-9 8 105.4 -9.51 -89.95
Cutoff Moon 74•34•43 07:07 N 169�19 E 75.3 5 399,2 2.22 -95.5

Doacent orbit insertion

Isnition Moon 78•33•�5 08:35 N 136:01 E 58.5 5 486.3 -0 .�0 -87.16
Cutoff Moon 78•34•09 oa�37 N 137:16 w 58.� 5 281.9 0.10 -87.31

Command and service modulo/lunar Moon 96:13:31 02:22 � 121:55 E 33.8 5 �17.2 -1.�3 -98.83
rnodule separation

Command and service module

c:ircule.riution
I6nition Moon 103:21:�3 08:53 N 151:59 w 59.2 5 277.8 -o.o6 -87.75
Cutoff Moon 103:21:�8 08:5� N 151:57 w 59.1 5 3�8. 7 0.42 -87.75

Povered descent initiation Moon 10�:17:25 08t�O S 32:�� E 10.5 5 548.8 -0.07 -93.0�

Command and service module

plane change
Isnit:l.on Moon 169:05:52 05:36 N 108:50 E 58.6 5 3�9.8 0.26 -97.57
Cutoff Moon 169:05:59 05:34 N 108:30 E 58.6 5 3�9.9 0.28 -98.93

Ascent insertion Moon 175•38,56 09:46 s 05:26 E 9·9 5 523.3 0.34 -93.88

10:20" s 05t50 w
Vernier adjustment Moon 175:42:18 11.2 5 515.2 0.59 -91.89

Terminal phase initiation Moon 176:26:05 06:53 N 1�7:22 w 40.2 5 351.6 -0.00 -82.07

Dockins Moon 177:41:18 10:32 s 55:"39 w 65.6 5 313.7 -o.o4 -90.33

L'llllar module jettison Moon 195�00:12 01:08 N 70:28 E 59.2 5 347.9 0.39 -100.50

Subsatell:l.te launch Moon 196:02:09 00:01 6 115:59 w 58.4 5 349.4 -0.41 -79.43

Trani!eart.h injection 200:21:33 09:43 N 175:16 E

Ignition Moon 52.2 5 383.6 -0.15 -85.80
Cutoff Moon 200:24:15 lOt 58 N 164:21 E 59·7 8 663.0 5.12 -82.37

Translunar coast

Second midcourae correetion

Ignition Earth 214:35:03 03:46 s 74:32E 183 668.0 3 806.8 -75.08 165.08
Cutoff Earth 214:35:25 03�46 s 74:30 E 183 664,8 3 807.9 -80.35 164.99

Third midcourse correction

Ignition Earth 262:37:21 29:38 s 82:11 E 25 312.9 12,256.5 -69,02 157.11
Cuto!'f Earth 262:37:27 29:38 s 82:10E 25 305.2 12 258. 3 -69.02 157.10

Entry and 1e.ndimt "Phases

Entrt interface Earth 265:37:31 19:52 s 162�08 w 65.8 36 1$16.1 -6.55 21.08

265:51:05 00:42 s 156:13 w

- -
Landing Earth - -

8
See Table 3-IV for trajectory parameter defini tiona.
 3-5

TABLE 3-IV . - DEFINITION OF TRAJECTORY AND ORBITAL PARAMETERS

Tra.l ectoey parameters Definition

Geodetic latitude The spherical coordinate measured along a meridian on

the earth from the equator to the point directly be­
neath the spacecraft, deg:min

Selenographic latitude The det'inition is the same as that of the geodetic lati­
tude except that the reference body is the moon rather
than the earth, deg:min

Longitude The spherical coordinate, as measured in the equatorial

plane, between the plane of the reference body's prime
meridian and the plane of the spacecraft meridian, deg

Altitude The distance measured between the spacecraft and the ref­
erence radius of the earth along a line from the center of
the earth to the spacecraft. When the reference body is
the moon, it is the distance measured from the spacecraft
along the local vertical to the surface of a sphere having
a radius equal to the distance from the center of the moon
to the landing site, ft or miles

Space-fixed velocity Magnitude of the inertial velocity vector referenced to

the body-centered, inertial reference coordinate system,
ft/sec

Space-t'ixed flight-path angle Flight-path angle measured positive upward from the body­
centered local horizontal plane to the inertial velocity
vector, deg

Space-fixed heading angle Angle of the projection of the inertial velocity vector
onto the body-centered local horizontal plane, measured
positive eastward from north, deg

Apogee The point of maximum orbital altitude of the spacecraft

above the center of the eaeth, miles

Perigee The point of minimum orbital altitude of the spacecraft

above the center of the eaeth, miles

Apocynthion The point of maximum orbital altitude above the moon as

measured from the radius of the lunar landing site, miles

Pericynthion The point of minimum orbital altitude above the moon as

measured from the radius of the lunar landing site, miles

Period Time required for spacecraft to complete 360 degrees of

orbit rotation, min

Inclination The true angle between the spacecraft orbit plane and
the reference body's equatorial plane, deg

Longitude of the ascending node The longitude at which the orbit plane crosses the ref­
erence body's equatorial �Lane going from the Southern
to the Northern Hemisphere, deg
3-6

TABLE 3-V . - MANEUVER SUMMARY

(a) TranslWlar

v�:�: f----r-- ---,:_-----r----'--. ------l

�i�:
Resultant perilune conditions
Ignition time, Firing time,
Maneuver System
hr:min:sec Al e, Velocity, Latitude, Longitude, Arrival time
ft/sec
ft/sec deg:min deg:min llr:min:sec

'fra.nsluna.r injection S-IVB 2:33:37 341.9 10 389.6 146.7 7941.1 7:48 N 178:06 E 74:32:22

First midcourse correc­ Service propulsion 30:39:01 2.0 12.5 71.7 8180.0 7:47 N 176:117 E 74:32:07
tion

(b) Lunar orbit

Resultant orbit
Velocity
Ignition time, Firing time,
Maneuver System change,
hr:min: sec Apocynthion, Pericynthion,
ft/sec
miles miles

Lun� orbit insertion Service propulsion 74:28:28 374.9 2Bo2.0 170.3 58.1

Descent orbit insertion Service propulsion 78:33:45 24.4 209.5 sa. s 10.9

Circularization Service propulsion 103:21:43 4. 7 81.6 68.0 53.1

Powered descent initiation Descent propulsion 104:17:25 734.0 6703.0

Lunar orbit p1ane change Service propulsion 169:05:52 7.1 124.0 64,6 55.0

Ascent Ascent propulsion 175:31:48 427-7 6054.2 l.io.2 7.9

Terminal phase ini a

ti tion Ascent propulsion 176:26:05 2.5 78.0 64.2 40.1

(c) Transearth

Resultant entry interface condition

Ignition time, Firing time,
Event System
hr:min:sec Velocity, Latitude, Longitude, Arrival time
ft/sec deg:min deg:min hr:min:sec

Transearth injection Service propulsion 200:21:33 162.3 3370.9 -7 .41> 36 196.9 21:30 s 162: lt3 w 265:36:52

Second midcourse Reaction control 214:35:03 8.0 3.4 -6.5 36 196.4 19:48 s 162:05 w 265:47:34
correction

Third miclcourse Reaction control_ 262:37:21 3.2 1.4 -6.48 36 196.2 19:44 s 162:06 w 265:47:32
correction

apocynthion to 58 miles and the pericynthion to ll miles . After lunar

module separation and while preparing the command and servic e module for
the lunar orbit circularization maneuver , a s ervic e propuls ion system con­
t rol problem was detected ( s ection 14 . 1 . 10 ) which caused a 5 3/4-hour de­
lay in the circular ization maneuver and the lunar module descent .

3.3.2 Desc ent

At powered desc ent initi ation , the lunar module was at an altitude
of 66 500 feet and the target was 3. 56 miles out of the orbital plane .
 3-7

A landing sit e update of 800 feet downrange was entered into the onboard
computer about 2 minutes after powered desc ent initiation . Landing oc ­
curred 12 minutes and 10 s econds after engine ignition at 8 degrees 59
minutes 29 seconds south latitude and 15 degrees 30 minutes 52 seconds
east longitude as [>hown on the NAS A Lunar Topographic Photomap of Des­
c artes , First Edit ion , January , 1972 ( fi g . 3-1 ) . This point is 270 me­
ters ( 886 ft ) north and 60 meters ( 197 ft ) west of the prelaunch tar get
point .

3.3.3 Ascent and Rendezvous

The lunar module asc ent stage l i ft ed off from the lunar surface at
175 : 31 : 48 and was ins erted int o a 40-mile by 8-mile lunar orb it about 7
minutes later . Insertion was approximately 3 3 000 feet further downrange
than desired , and a vernier adj ustment maneuver of 10 ft / s ec was neces ­
sary to change the orbit to the de sired conditions . The requir ed ren­
dezvous maneuvers ><ere performed and the lunar module was docked with
the co =and and service module about 2 hours and 10 minut es after lunar
lift-off .

3.3 . 4 Lunar Module Deorbit Maneuver

It was planned to deorbit the lunar module ascent stage to impact the
lunar surfac e at a predetermined target point . However , i =ediately after
the lunar module was j etti soned , attitude control of the lunar module was
lost ( s ee sec . 14 . :�. 6 ) . As a result , the asc ent stage remained in lunar
orbit with an expected orbital lifetime of about one year.

3 . 3. 5 Orb :Lt-Shaping Maneuver and Subsatelli te Launch

An orbit-shaping maneuver was to have been accompli shed in order to

position t he co=and and s ervice module properly for launching the parti­
cles and fields SW)satellite int o an orb it that would provide a minimum
lifetime of one year . However , because of the s ervice propulsion system
control problem mentioned previously , the maneuver was canc elled . As a
result , the sub satellite was launched into an orbit that provided a life­
time cons iderably less than planned .
3-8

East longitude
15°24' 15°28' 15°32' 15'36'

9°00' 9°00 '

"'
.2 "'
=

:;;; :E
=

-"' :;;;
"5 -"'
"5
0
0/l
0
0/l

90041 0
9 041

15°24' 15°28' 15°32' 15°36'

East longitude
SCALE 1 ,25,000

Figure 3 -1 . - Lunar module landing site on photomap of Descartes.

 3-9

3.4 TRANSEARTH AND ENTRY TRAJECTORY

The transearth inj e cti on maneuver was performed after 6 4 revoluti ons .
Two mi dc ourse correcti ons were made during trans earth flight t o achieve
the desired entry interface c onditi ons. The c ommand and servi ce modules
were separated 1�5 minut es pri or t o entry interface . Ent ry was nomi nal
with the c ommand module landing ab out 3 miles fr om the target p oint . The
landing coordinates , determined from the spacecraft c omputer , were 0 de­
gree 42 minutes 0 seconds s outh latitude and 156 degrees 12 minutes 48 sec­
onds west l ongitude .
 4-1

4.0 LUNAR SURFACE SCIENCE

The experiments whi ch compris ed the Apollo lunar surface experiments

package for this mis s i on cons isted of a pass ive sei smometer , an active
seismometer , a lunar surface magnetometer , and a heat flow experiment .
Other lunar surface experiments consisted of a portable magnetometer ex­
periment , a far ult raviolet camera/spectroscope experiment , a cosmi c ray
detector experiment , a solar wind compos ition e xperiment , geologi cal in­
vestigation , and a soil mechanics e xperiment. Des criptions of the experi-·
ment equipment or references to other documents in whi ch descriptions may
be found are contained in appendi x A . A comprehensive di s cus s i on of the
preliminary scientific results of the mis s i on are cont ained in reference J..

4.1 SUMMARY OF LUNAR S URFACE ACTIVITIES

The Commander landed the lunar module on an undulating cratered sur­

face about 270 meters north and 60 meters west of the preplanned target
point . It was landed on the west side of a 5·-meter-deep crat er and with
the minus-Y footpad adj acent to a 50-centimeter block , one of many blocks
of varying si zes that dot the lands cape . Figure 4-1 shows the pro ximity
of the lunar module to the edge of the crater .

The topographic characteristics of the Des cart es highlands landing

site provided the opportunity for exploration and sampling of a kind of
terrain never before vis ited on the lunar surface . During the approxi­
mat ely 71 hours on the surface , the crew completed three periods of ex­
travehicular activity. The events of each of the three periods are s um­
marized in t able 4-I and the routes traversed are shown in figure 4-2 .
The arrangement of the experiment equipment is shown i n figure 4 -3 . More
detailed des criptions of the lunar surface activiti es are given in sections
4 11 and 9 . 8.
.

4.2 APOLLO LUNAR SURFACE EXPERIMENTS PAC KAGE CE NTRAL STATION

The site selected for emplacement of the Apollo lunar s urface exper­
iments package was approximately 95 meters s outhwest of the lunar module.
As shown in figure 4-4 , the deployment site is highly crat ered and rock
strewn but this ·was unavoidable becaus e this is the general character of
the terrain . While the Lunar Module Pilot was carrying the experiments
package to the deployment site, subpackage 2 fell off the carry bar . The
s ubpackage became detached because the lat ch pin had not locked. Lunar
dirt in the subpackage socket had prevented the flanged end of the carry
4-2

TABLE 4 -I . - LUNAR SURFACE EXTRAVEHICULAR ACTIVITY EVENTS

Elapsed time ,
hr : m i n : s ec Event

First Ext ravehicular Activi ty

118 : 5 3 : 38 Lunar module cab i n depres suri zed .

119 : 25 : 29 Lunar roving vehic le offloaded.
119 : 32 : 44 Lunar roving vehi cle deployed .
119 : 54 : 01 Far ultravi ol et camera/ spectros cope deployed .
120 : 0 5 : 40 Televis i on activat ed .
120 : 21 : 35 Apollo lunar surface experiments package off­
loaded.
122 : 5 5 : 23 Apollo lunar surface experi ments package deployed ,
deep c ore sample gathered , and lunar roving ve­
hicle configured for t ravers e .
122 : 58 : 02 Depart ed for stat ion 1 .
123 : 23 : 54 Arrived at stat i on 1 . Performed radial sampling,
gathered rake and documented samples , and per­
formed panoramic and stereographi c photography.
124 : 14 : 32 Depart ed for stat i on 2 .
124 : 21 : 10 Arrived at station 2 . Performed a lunar portable
magnetometer me as urement , gathered s amples and
performed panorami c and 500-mm photography .
124 : 48 : 07 Depart ed for Apollo lunar surfac e experiments
package site ( stat ion 3/10 ) .
124 : 54 : 14 Arrived at stat i on 3/10 . Performed "Grand Pri x "
with lunar roving vehicle, retrieved core s am­
ple , and armed the acti ve s eismi c experiment
mortar package .
125 : 05 : 08 Depart ed for lunar module .
125 : 0 5 : 09 Arrived at lunar module . Deployed solar wind
c ompos i t ion experiment , gathered s amples , per­
formed photography , and commenced with extra­
vehicular act ivities clos eout .

I
125 : 07 : 00 S olar wind compos it ion experiment deployed .
126 : 04 : 40 Lunar module cabin repressurized .
I
Second Extravehicular Act i vi ty

142 : 39 : 35 Lunar module cabin depressuri zed .

14 2 : 49 : 29 Prepared lunar roving vehicle for travers e .
14 3 : 31 : 40 Depart ed for stat i on 4.
 4-3

TABLE 4-I . -· LUNAR SURFACE EXTRAVEHIC ULAR ACTIVITY EVENTS

Elapsed time ,
Event
hr:mi n : sec

144 : 07 : 26 Arrived at station 4 . Performe d penetrometer

me asurements , gathered samples , obt ained a dou­
b le core tube s ample,, gathered a soil trench
s ample , and-performed 500-mm and panoramic pho­
tography .
145 : 0 5 : 16 Depart ed for station 5.
14 5 : 10 : 05 Arrived at station 5 . Gathered s amples , performed
lunar portable magnetometer meas urement , and per­
formed panorami c photography .
145 : 58 : 40 Depart ed for station 6.
146 : 06; 37 Arrived at station 6 . Gathered s amples and per­
forme d panorami c phot ography .
146 : 29 : 18 Departed for station 8 ( station 7 deleted ) .
146 : 40 : 19 Arrived at station 8. Gathered s amples , obt ai ned
a double core tube s ample , and performe d pano­
rami c photograph y .
147 : 48 : 15 Departe d for stat i on 9,
147 : 53 : 12 Arrived at stat i on 9 . Gathered s amples , obtained
single core tube s ample , and performed panorami c
photography .
148 : 29 : 45 Departe d for stat i on 10 .
148 : 54 : 16 Arrive d at station 10 . Gathered samples , performe d
penetrometer measurements , obtained a double core

I
tube s ample , and performed panorami c photography .
149 : 21 : 17 I Departe d for lunar module .
149 : 23 : 24 Arrived at lunar module an d began extravehi cular
activity closeout .
150 : 02 : 44 Lunar module cabin repressuri z e d .

Third Extravehi cular Activi ty

165 : 31 : 28 Lunar module cabin depressuri zed .

165 : 43 : 29 Prepared lunar roving vehi cle for travers e .
166 : 09 : 13 Departed for stat i on 11 .
166 : 44 : 50 Arrived at stat i on 11 . Gathered samples , per­
formed 500-mm and panorami c photography .
168 : 09 : 46 Departed for station 13 .
168 : 17 : 39 Arrived at station 13 . Gathered s amples , per­
formed lunar portable magnetometer measurement
and performed panorrunic photography .
4-4

T ABLE 4-I . - LUNAR SURFACE EXTRAVEHIC ULAR ACTIVITY EVENT S ( Concluded )

Elaps ed t ime,
h r : min : s ec Event

168 : 46 : 33 Depart ed for stat ion 10 prime .

169:15:38 Arrived at stat ion 10 prime. Gather ed samples ,
obtained a doub l e cor e t ube s ample , and p er­
formed 500-mm and panorami c photography .
169:0 1 : 48 Drove lunar roving vehi cle t o lunar modul e .
Gathered s ampl es and commenced extravehi cular
act ivity clos eout.
1 70:12 : 00 Solar wind composition experiment ret rieved.
170 : 2 3 : 06 Depart ed for lunar roving vehicle fi nal parking
ar ea .
170:27:09 Arrived at final park ing area. Performed two lu­
nar portab le magn etomet er measurements , gath ered
s ampl es , and continued with extravehi cular ac­
tivity clos eout .
1 71 : 01 : 42 Retri eved film from far ultraviolet camera/sp ec­
t ros cop e .
171 : 11:31 Lunar module cabin repressuri z ed.
 4-9

Fi gure 4-4 . - Apollo lunar surface experiments

package central stat ion

bar from sliding 1:tll the wa;y into place s o that the pin could lock . As
a result , the pacltage was free t o rotate and vert i cal os cillations caused
the detachment . �rhe Lunar Module Pilot knocked the dirt out of the s ocket
and re-attached the package . Dropping of the package caus ed no operational
degradat i on
•
4-10

Initial dat a were received in the Mis s i on Control Center at 1938

G . m. t . on April 21 and the received s i gnal strength ( -139 ±2 dBm) was in
the range of values me asured on other packages operat i ng on the moon .
Withi n 68 minutes o f emplacement of the central stat i on , all instruments
were turned on and their operati onal checkout showed normal performance
e xcept the heat flow experiment whi ch was inoperative becaus e of a broken
cable , as dis cuss ed in s ecti on 4 . 6 . The radioi s otope thermoelectric pow­
er s ource is providing 70 . 4 watts , approximately 15 watts higher than the
b as i c system requirement . The s oli d-stat e timer has generat ed all s ched­
uled 18-hour pulses whi ch provi de a backup means of initiat i ng cert ain
funct i onal changes .

The temperature of the central station electroni cs , as indi cated by

sensors on the thermal plate , has varied from a maximum of 42 . 8° C during
lunar day to a minimum of 2 . 8° C during lunar night .

4.3 PASSIVE SEISMIC EXPERIMENT

The passive seismi c e xperiment ( S-031 ) was deployed as planned . All

elements of the experiment have funct i oned normally with the exception of
the thermal control system. Two days after activati on , the te mperature
increas ed marke dly beyond the controller s et point and eventually exceeded
the range of the s ensor , 6 1 . 4° C . The temperature stab i li zed at night to
5 2 . 2° C . Photographs of the instrument show the shroud skirt to be rai s e d
at several places ( fi g . 4-5 ) ; further , dust was inadvertently ki cked onto
the ski rt after the photographs were taken . These factors are believed
to be res ponsible for the abnormal temperatures . The temperatures are not
expected to affect i nstrument life or s eismi c data , but will degrade the
t i dal dat a .

Seismic s i gnals were detected from surface activities by the crew

and movements of the lunar roving vehicle at all points along the t rav­
erses {maximum range of 4 . 4 km). Abrupt changes in the signals detect ed
from the rover appear t o b e correlated in s ome cas es with the blockiness
of the terrain being travers ed. Other changes remai n to be explained .

Sei smi c s i gnals from the S-IVB impact , whi ch preceded de ployment of
the Apollo 16 stat i on , were recorded at all three s eismi c stations (Apollo
stations 12 , 14 , and 15) ( fi g . 4-6 ) . The first detectab le s i gnals arrived
at stat i on 12 in approximately 30 seconds , at stat i on 14 in approximately
46 s econds , and at stat i on 15 i n approximately 148 seconds . The los s of
normal S-IVB tracki ng data ( see s e c . 13 . 3 ) prevented accurate determina­
tion of the t ime and locat ion of the impact . This uncertainty will great­
ly reduce the l unar structural interpretati on bas e d upon these dat a . As
 4-13

dat a from the fou:r stat ions will expand the knowledge of the lunar struc­
ture much beyond that previously poss ible .

Three grenades were fired on . May 23 from the active s eismi c experi­
ment mort ar package ( s ee s ec . 4 . 4 ) . The large st and th e one having the
longest range t ilted the pass ive s eismi c experiment s ensor 3 arc s econds
southward. This t ilt is within the capabi lity of the pas sive s eismi c ex­
periment leveling system and the experiment was re-leveled . The two smal­
ler grenades showed no effect .

4 .4 ACTIVE SEISMIC EXPERTI�NT

The act i ve s ei smic experiment ( S-033 ) mortar package was deployed

about 17 meters northeast of the cent ral stat i on with the geophone line
ext ending 90 meters northwest of the mortar package ( fi g . 4-4 ) . The cen­
t ral s tation was eommanded to high-b i t-rat e mode at 19 : 54 : 30 G . m .t . on
April 21 to record the act ive s eismi c experiment/thumper mode o f opera­
t i on . Thumping operations began ab out 7 minutes later at geophone 3 ( fur­
thest from the central s tation ) and proceeded at 4 . 5-me ter intervals ( ex­
cept between pos itions 11 and 1 2 and pos itions 18 and 19 whi ch are 9-meter
intervals ) toward geophone 1 ( nearest to the ce ntral s tat ion ) . The final
thumper charge was fired ab out 14 mi nut e s after the first fi ring . The
central stat ion was commanded to normal bit rate at 20 : 16 : 32 G . m . t . The
thumper was fired at the 19 scheduled cab le posi ti ons . Two attempts were
needed to fire the thumper at pos ition 2 becaus e the thumper was not arme d
for the nec e s sary 5 seconds prior to firing . Seismi c si gnals were re corded
at all three geophones for all 19 thumper firi ngs . A calibrat i on puls e
was sent after the last thumper firing veri fying that all three geophones
were s till operati onal .

Minor difficulty was experience d in the deployment o f the mortar

package pallet when one of the four s takes that support the mortar pack­
age could not be deploy e d . This anomaly is di scus s ed in s ection 14 . 4 . 2 .
The mort ar package was leveled and arme d to fi re four grenades on command
to di stances of 15 0 , 30 0 , 9 0 0 , and 1 500 meters . Near the clos e o f the
third ext ravehicular activi ty , the mortar package rol l angle s ensor re ad­
ing was o ff s c ale ( s ee s ec . 14 . 4 . 3 ) ; however , a televi s i on panorama taken
near the clo s e of the third ext ravehi cular act ivity veri fi ed that the mor­
tar package was properly pos itioned and ali gned .

The central station was c ommanded to high b i t rate at 010 6 G . m . t . on

April 24 to record the impuls e produced by the lunar module as cent . A
strong s eismi c si gnal was rec orded by the geophone array . The central
stat ion i s s cheduled for periodic operat i on in the hi gh-b i t-rate mode for
listening to detect natural s eismic s ignals and t o verify experiment op­
erati onal c apability .
4 -14

On M� 23 , the Apollo lunar surface experiment package was c ommanded

to high bit rate between 0520 and 0644 G .m . t . for the active sei smi c ex­
periment /mortar mode of operat i on . Three of the four high-explos ive gren­
ades in the mortar package were suc c e s s fully launched . Grenade 2 ( 1024
grams ) was launche d a distance of 900 meters; grenade 4 ( 69 5 grams ) was
launched a di stance of 150 meters; and grenade 3 ( 77 5 grams ) was launched
a distance of 300 meters; in the s equence given . Grenade 1 ( 1261 grams
and planned to be launched a di stance of 1500 meters ) was not launched
be cause the mortar package pit ch angle sensor went off- s c ale high aft er
firing grenade 3 . ( See section 14 , 4 , 12 for a di s cussion of this anomaly , )
The off-s c ale indi cat ion makes the pit ch position of the launch as s embly
uncertain . Sei smic signals were noted by all three geophones for each
grenade launched . The data from the mortar firings combined with the dat a
from the thumper mode of operat i on indicates that the regolith has a depth
of about 12 meters in the Des cartes are a .

4.5 LUNAR SURFACE MAGNETOMETER EXPERIMENT

The lunar surface magnetometer (S-0 34 ) was success fully deployed ap­
proximately 15 meters west of the central st ation ( fig . 4-7 ) . The experi ­
ment was initi ally commanded· on duri ng the first extravehi cular activity .
All operat ions of the experiment have been normal . A one-time site survey
was succes s fully completed on April 28 . The remanent magneti c field meas­
ured at the lunar surface magnetometer site i s 230 ±15 gammas . The in­
strument is also continuously measuring magneti c fields induced in the
lunar interior by changing solar magnetic fields .

4.6 HEAT FLOW EXPERIMENT

Deployment of the heat flow experiment ( S -0 37 ) was initiated on s ched­

ule . The experiment instrument package was move d to the selected site and
the electroni cs cable was connected to the cent ral station . A hole was
drilled to the depth of the first bore stem secti on in 51 seconds at an
average penetrat ion rate of 2 . 3 centimeters per second . The second bore
stem section was added and the hole drilled to the depth of the two sec­
tions in 39 seconds at an average rate of 1 . 8 centimeters per se cond . Up­
on adding the final section , the hole was drilled to the planned depth in
54 seconds at a rate of 1. 3 centimeters per second . Tot al penetrat ion was
approximately 250 centimeters . The lunar surface wrench was used suc c e s s­
fully t o restrain the bore stems during power head removal ,

Heat flow prob e number 1 was inserted into bore hole number 1 to the
full depth and both radiat i on shields were properly emplac e d . While the
Commander was working near the central stati on , he became entangled in the
 4- 15

Fi gure 4-7 . - Ltmar surface magnet ometer experiment and

Commander performing active seismi c experiment ,

heat flow experiment ele ctroni cs cable and broke it loos e at the connector
to the central station . Further deployment was ab andoned and the experi­
ment is inoperable . · The details of this failure are given in section 1 4 . 4 . 1 .
4-16

4. 7 LUNAR PORTABLE MAGNETOMETER EXPERIMENT

The deployment and operation of the lunar portab le magnetometer ex­

periment ( S-19 8 ) was normal i n all respect s ; leveli ng , orientation , pos it­
i oning , switching , and cable winding operations were accomplished without
difficulty. The instrument was operated at four different sites . Digital
readings relayed over the voi ce link indi c ated tot al magneti c fi eld mag­
nitudes of 180 ±15 gammas at stat i on 2 , 125 ±15 ga mmas at station 5 , 310
±15 gammas at stat i on 13 , and 120 ±15 gammas at the lunar roving vehi cle
final parking s ite. After completion of the first measurement at the fi­
nal site , a lunar rock s ample was plac e d on top of the magnetometer s ensor
block , and a second field measurement was made to study the magneti zation
of the s ample .

4.8 FAR ULTRAVIOLET CAMERA/SPECTROSCOPE EXPERIMENT

The far ultraviolet camera/spectros cope (S-20 1 ) was deployed approx­

imately 2 meters s outhwest of the down-sun footpad of the lunar module
with the camera in the shade and the battery in s unlight ( fig. 4-8) Be­
•

cause of the landing delay and the cons equently high s un angle , it was
necess ary to move the camera into the shade during the second and third
extravehi cular activities . Difficulty was experienced in adjustment of
the azimuth ring. The condition degraded with each adjus tment . Section
14 . 4. 9 contains a di s cus s ion of this anomaly .

The camera was turne d on at the beginning of the first extravehi cu­
lar activity and operated until closeout of the third extravehicular ac­
tivity for a span of approximately 51 hours. The film was retrieved for
post flight analys i s . The camera was pointed at 11 t argets by the crew as
planned. No dat a were recorded for the eleventh target becaus e the cam­
era had run out of film , as expect ed.

Imagery of the e arth i n the 1216 -angstrom wavelength of hydrogen

( Lyman-alpha ) revealed that the geocorona is nearly spherical and extends
out more than 10 earth radii ( fi g . 4-9 ) . Imagery of the earth ' s atmos­
phere in the 1230 - to 1550 -angstrom range showe d two auroral belts - one
on either side of the magnetic equator and inclined ab out 15 degrees to
the equator ( fig. 4-10 ) . Spectros copic data without the lithium fluori de
( Li F ) transmi s s i on optics shows the 584-angstrom line of helium in the
solar wind plasma. The photographs and spectra contain a great deal of
astrophys i c al detail.
 4-17

Figure 4-8 . - Far ultraviolet camera/spectros cope e xperiment,

4 .9 C OSMIC RAY DETECTOR EXPERIMENT

The panel array of the cosmi c ray detector e xperiment ( S-152 ) was
e xposed in its initi al configurati on upon j etti s oning of the spacecraft­
launch vehi cle adapter panels . The hi dden s urface of panel 4 was partly
e xposed by the Commander early i n the first extravehi cular activity ( fi g ,
4-11 ) . The planned area of e xposure for detecting part i cles at the lunar
s urface could not be obt ained because the e xperiment me chanism j ammed as
des cribed in section 1 4. 4 . 4. The detector panel array was retrieved at
 •

Figure 4-9 . - Lyman-alpha imagery of hydrogen

cloud surrounding e arth,

the end of the third extravehi cul ar acti vity, folded in the proper config­
urat ion for t rans earth coast data collecti on, and returned for analysi s .
It was di ffi cult t o separate the panel ass embly from the main frame at
the end of the third extravehi cular activity becaus e of thermal expans ion
of the Teflon slides .
 4-19

The plasti c in all panels of' the experiment was degraded by heating
above the des i gn limit of' 54° C , at which temperature degradation begins .
The high temperature was most likely c aused by a film accumulating on the
thermal control surfac e , in addition to lunar dust . Analysis of the film
has not been completed.

Analys is of the data received on the lunar surface and during trans ­
lunar and trans earth coast will be degraded because of the minor solar
flare which occurred during translunar flight . This flare blanketed the
detector panels with low energy tracks which interfere with the analys i s
o f the higher energy tracks received during the previously di scussed per­
iods . Also , the resolution will be reduced becaus e of the high tempera­
ture which the experiment hardware experienc ed on the lunar surface .

Auroral
be lts

- 20

-40

M ag neti c
d i p equator -J

Figure 4-10 . - Newly dis covered auroral belts .

4-20

Figure 4-11 . - Cosmi c ray detector experiment.

As a result of the i ncomplete exposure of panel 4 , the porti on of the

experiment des i gned to measure neutron flux was degrade d , as were thos e
des i gned t o measure s olar wind gas , and s earch for radon ( Rn 2 2 2 ) and argon
( Ar 4 0 ) .

The plasti c s should b e suitab le for a s tudy of solar wind parti cles .
In addition , both s olar and galact i c cosmi c ray tracks have been obs erve d
i n the plasti c s an d s ome of the glas s es of the panels . The plas t i cs that
were pre-irradiat e d with neon ( Ne 2 0 ) showed annealing effects from over­
heat i ng , but neutrons from the fuel cask will be measurable .
 4- 21

4 . 10 SOLAR WIND COMPOSITION EXPERIMENT

The solar wind compos ition experiment ( S-080 ) for this mi s s i on dif­
fered from those of previ ous mi s s i ons in that pieces of platinum foil were
attached to the specially prepared aluminum foil used t o entrap noble gas
part i cles . This was done t o determine whether or not the platinum foil
pieces could be cleaned with fluoridic acid to remove lunar-dust contami­
nat ion without destroying rare gas is otopes of solar wind origin up to the
mas s of krypton .

The experiment was deployed ab out 18 meters northwes t of the lunar

module at the end of the first extravehi cular activity peri od and re­
trieved near the end of the third extravehi cular period . The total foil
exposure time was 4 5 hours and 5 minutes , s ome 3 hours longer than that
of any previous mis s i on .

4 . 11 LUNAR GEOLOGY

4 . 11 . 1 Sample Colle cti on

Areas visited and s ampled for the lunar geology i nvestigati on ( S-0 59 )
during the extravehi cular activities included the northwes t flank of Stone
Mountain ( Des cartes Mountains ) , Flag and Spook Craters west of the lunar
module landing site on the Cayley Plains , North Ray Crater , an d South Ray
Crater ej ecta on the plains between the lunar module and Stone Mountai n .
The s ampling stat i ons and traverses are shown i n figure 4 -2 .

On the fi rst travers e , the t asks at stat i ons 1 and 2 were performed
as planned except for s ampling the rim of Spook Crater , A 2 . 6-meter deep
core s ample was obtained at the Apollo lunar sur face experiments package
site .

Station 7 was deleted from the second extravehi cular activity to al­
low more time for s ampling in the lunar module/Apollo lunar surface exper­
iments package area . Double cores were collected at stati ons 4 , 8 , and 10 .
Documented and rake/soil s amples were collected at all travers e stops ex­
cept for stat ion 9 whi ch was devoted t o obtaining undis turbed surface ma­
terial with the lunar surface s amplers , sampling the top and bottom of a
large boulder , and s ampling the soil beneath the boulder after it was over­
turned .
4-22

The third extravehi cular activity , limited to 5 hours , p ermitted only

North Ray Crater to b e studi ed . Stops were made at stat i ons 11 and 13 ,
and document ed and rake/soi l samples were collected. The preplanned sta­
tions 14 ( flank of Smoky Mountai n ) , 15 , 16 , and 17 ( C ayley formati on and
Palmetto Crater ) were deleted. At stat i on 13 , a soil sample that had prob ­
ably been i n permanent shadow was obtained from th e bas e of a large over­
hang on a 2-meter-high boulder ( fi g . 4-12 ) . Additi onal sampling at the
lunar module/ experiments site included: a s econd double core ( originally
assigned to station 14 ) , two rak e/soi l s amples across a probable ray con­
t act , s even bags of documented rock s amples , and three large rocks .

4 . 11 . 2 Summary of Geology

Samples were coll ect ed that are typi cal of the Cayley Plains in th e
landing area from station 1 ( Flag and Plum Craters ) and station 2 (Buster
Crat er ) as well as s ome s amples from the lunar module/Apollo lunar s urface

Fig ure 4-12 . - "Shadow Rock",

experiments packae� s ite ( stat i on 3/10 ) ; South Ray Crater ej ecta was col­
lected at stations: 4 , 8 , 9 , and station 3/10 ; North Ray Crater ej ecta were
collected at stations 11 and 13. Des cartes materi als were collected from
the flank of Stone Mountain at stations 4 , 5 , and 6 .

The Cayley formation appears to cons ist of light- and dark-colored

breccias , pos s ibly in interstrat i fi e d layers. It does not cons ist , at
least in this area , of lava flows , as had been widely supposed. The
Des cartes highland materials of Stone Mountain cons ist of light-colored
breccias and cryst alline fragments of , as yet , unknown origin.

No bedrock was s ampled by the crew although they tentatively iden­

t i fi e d bedrock layers in North Ray Crater and in a large crater high on
Stone Mount ain . Els ewhere , all large craters were heavi ly mantled with
deep regolith that completely masks any pos s ible strat a . Boulders of
varying sizes were sampled by the crew , the larges t being the 20-meter
"House Rock " on the rim of North Ray Crater ( fig. 4-13 ) .

About 95 kilograms of documented rock and soil samples were obtained .

The materi al collected from widely di stributed s ampling stations , includ­
ing samples of ej ecta from deep craters , should provi de for the study of
the Cayley Plains region down to depths of 200 meters .

4.11. 3 Equi pment

The equi pment used during the geology portion of the extravehi cular
act ivities perfonned well with the following exceptions :

a. One of the retract able tethers ( yo-yo ·r s ) would not fully retract.
Postflight ins pect i on showed that the tether was operat ing , but that the
friction increased during the retraction cycle ( see sec. 14 . 3. 7 ) .

b . The verti cal staff of the gnomon was pulled off at station 6 .
When the gnomon was being unstowed , the leg as s embly stayed in the bag
and the verti cal staff came out by itself ( see sec . 14. 4. 5 ) .

c. The Velcro hook patch whi ch provides the attachment point for a
Velcro wrapping strap on each of the two padded sample bags came off be­
fore use ( see sec. 14 . 4 . 10 ) .

d . The res ea.u plate on the Lunar Module Pilot ' s 70-mm electric data
camera was smeared during a magazine change between extravehi cular acti v­
ities 2 and 3.

e. Sample return container 1 di d not seal properly becaus e part of

a sample collection bag was caught in the seal area between the knife edge
and the indiurn seal .
4-24

f . The sample collection bags fell off the portable life support
system mounts ( see sec. 14 . 4 . 8 ) .

g . The documented sample b ag dispensers repeatedly fell off the

attachment brackets on the 70-mm camera ( see sec . 14 . 4 . 6 ) .

h . The screws came loos e on one of the documented sample bag di s ­

penser as semblies ( s ee sec. 14 . 4 . 7) .

i . The lanyard loop came off the penetrometer stowage release pin
( s ee sec. 14 . 4 . 11 ) .

4 . 11 . 4 Phot ography

A total of 1774 photographs were taken on the lunar surface with the
70-mm electric data cameras using the 60-mm and 500-mm focal-length lens es ,
and 4 1/2 magazines of 16-mm lunar surface dat a acquis ition camera fi lm
were expos e d . At least one 360-degree 60-mm panorama was taken at each
station . The first success ful use of a polarimetric filter on the lunar
surface was an 80-meter stereob as e polarimetri c panorama of the interior
of North Ray Crater .

4 . 12 SOIL MECHANICS EXPERIMENT

The soil mechani cs experiment (S-200 ) provi ded a greater amount of

qualitative data on the properties of the lunar surface and subsurface
soils than has been previously obtained. All parts of the soil mechanics
experiment were completed with the exception of the soil ·me chanics trench
at station 10 which was omitted becaus e of time limitations .

Preliminary analysis has indicated that the self-recording penetrom­

eter performed normally with a los s of dat a for only one of eleven tests .
Four cone penetration tests were accomplished at station 4 . Five cone
penetration tests were performed between the experiments station and the
lunar module . Of thes e, four were on a line between the deep dri ll core
site and the station 10 doub le-core tube site . Cone penetration depths
range between 20 and 75 centimeters . Additionally, two plate-load tests
were performed at station 10 .

Preliminary analysis of the self-re cording penetrometer data has in­

dicated that the soil density and strength characteristics are hi ghly var­
iable, both laterally and verti cally . Definite evidence of layering is
vis ib le in some of the load-versus-penetrat i on tracks indicated on the
penetromete r .
 5-l

�5. 0 INFLIGHT SCIENCE AND PHm:OGRAPHY

Thi s secti on contains a di s cuss i on o f experiments and science-ori­

ented det ailed ob;j ectives which were performed in lunar orbit , and dur­
ing trans lunar and trans earth flight . Preliminary s ci entifi c findings
are not given in detail in the dis cuss i on since this information will be
included in reference l , whi ch is in preparation . The experiment equip­
ment was similar . to that of the Apollo 15 mi s s i on . Appendix A provi des
informat ion on minor changes from the Apollo 1�5 configuration .

Experiments located in the sci entifi c instrument module cons isted of

a gamma-ray spectrometer , an X-ray spect rometer , an alpha-parti cle spe c­
trometer , a mass spect rometer , and a subs atell:Lte whi ch was the vehi cle
for three experiments that were to obtain dat a on parti cles and fields .
The scientifi c instrument module equipment als o included a mapping camera ,
a panorami c camera , and a laser altimete r .

The other experiments and detailed obj e ct:l ves performed during flight ,
and whi ch required active crew parti cipation , cons isted of: an S-band
transponder experiment ; a down-link bis tatic radar experiment ; ultravio­
let photography o:f the earth and moon ; photography of the Gegens chein ,
other astronomi cal sub j e cts , and the lunar surface ; visual ob servati ons
:from lunar orbit ; an experiment to determine mL crobial response to the
space environment ; investi gation of the visual light flash phenomenon ;
and a demonstration of fluid elect rophoresis in space . Experiments th at
did not require aeti ve crew parti cipation cons isted of meas urement of
meteoroid impacts on the spacecraft windows , a biostack experiment to de­
termine the effects of hi gh-energy heavy ions on biological systems , and
measurement of bone mineral loss in the crew .

5 .1 GAMMA-RAY SPECTROMETER EXPERIMENT

Over 80 hours of prime dat a were obtained in lunar orbit and during
transearth coast from the gamma ray spect rometer experiment ( S-160 ) . Some
planned dat a measurements were not made in lunar orbit because of the early
termination of luo.ar orbit operations . However , the large amount of dat a
reduced and analyzed indicates that all maj or obj e ctives were ac compli she d .

The instrument performed satis factorily throughout the mi ss ion . Gain

stab ility was signi fi c antly improved over that of Apollo 1 5 . At initial
turn-on , the spectrometer calibration was the nominal prefli ght value .
Thereafter , a small downward gain dri ft occurred , after whi ch the gain
calibration was stab le . Energy resoluti on of the instrument b as e d upon
5-2

measurements of the· clas s i c al mono energetic line of 0 . 511 Mev in the spec­
trum was i mproved approximately 15 perc ent over Apollo 15. The extraneous
shield event c ounts that had been noted in preflight calibration were ex­
perienced during fli ght. However , the rat e stabi li zed and was not detri­
mental to the dat a . As a result of the problem with the mapping c amera
deployment mechanis m , the mapping c amera door remained op en during the
entire period in which the gamma ray spectrometer was active in lunar or­
bit . This resulted i n s ome loss in s ens itivity due to the i ncreased back­
ground radiat ion contributed by the thorium lens o f the mapping camera.
The deployment boom failed t o fully retract on three occas ions but the
condition had no effect on the dat a . Details of the boom failure are no­
ted in s ection 1 4 . 1 . 9 .

Maps prepared from over 50 hours of dat a c onfirm earlier c onclus ions
pertaining to the geochemistry of the lunar surface , that the · regions of
highest radioactivity are the western maria - Oceanus Procellarum and Mare
Imbrium . Data obtained during transearth c oast i ndicate that the space­
craft background radiat ion and the total cosmi c gamma-ray spectrum are i n
essential agreement w ith Apollo 15 results . Prelimi nary analysi s of data
c ollected from a scan of the s upergalact i c equator along four planes i ndi­
cat e s that galactic gamm a rays exhibit anis otropic properti es .

5.2 X-RAY FLUORESCENCE EXPERIMENT

Over 60 hours of prime data were obtained with the X-ray fluore scence
experiment ( S-161 ) and nearly 12 hours were s pent with the s pectrometer
point ed at two celes tial X-ray sources , Scorpius X-1 and Cygnus X-1 . The
fli ght plan changes had an effect upon the s chedule for ground-bas ed astro­
nomic al obs ervat ions ; however , s ome coverage was obt ained. The following
t able give s the t ime s of the obs ervations and indicates th e coverage by the
ground-bas ed obs ervat ories .

Durati on of Ground-bas ed
Start ing t ime , G . m . t . ,
Observat ion Ob ject obs ervation , observat ory
April 1972 , day : hr : min
hr : mi n Coverage

1 S c o X-1 25 : 03 : 25 00 : 40 -

2 Cyg X-1 25 : 22 : 5 5 03 : 00 -

a
3 Sco X-1 2 6 : 0 2 : 15 02 : 30 Algonquin
4 b
Sco X-1 26 : 20 : 1 5 0 3 : 20 Leyden,
c
Wi se

5 Cyg X-1 27 : 0 2 : 4 5 02:55 -

 5-3

a
Algonquin Rad.i o Observatory , Canada
b
Leyden ( optical ) Observatory , South Africa
0
Wise ( optical ) Obs ervat ory , Israel

The overall P'orformance of the inst rument w·as s atis fact ory . Nominal
operat i on of the f<Jur detectors was evidenced by calibration data from the
built-in sources . A high count rate in channel 1 of detector 1 was ob ­
serve d , but a similar high count was observed during the Apollo 15 mis ­
sion . Detectors 2 and 3 incorporate filters to enhance the det ection of
X-rays from aluminum and magnes ium s ources , but detector 1 is unfiltere d .
Detector 4 is part of the solar monitor and doeEl not view the lunar sur­
face . The orienta·don required t o vi ew Cygnus X-1 subj ected the spect rom­
eter to an undesirable cold soak and necess itated a special maneuver t o
allevi at e the condition . The maneuver caus ed the loss o f X-ray pointing
and may result in i3ome loss of dat a . The X-ray detect ors survived the
cold soak condition quite well .

The region of overlap between the Apollo 1�) and Apollo 16 coverage
shows excellent agreement . The Des cartes regi on shows the high aluminum
and low magnes ium <�ontent that is characteristic of the highlands on the
far s i de . The mare areas to the west of Des cartes show a substant ial de­
crease in the ratio of aluminum to sili con .

Dat a monitored in real time indi cate that E!corpi us X-1 , the bright­
est obj ect in the X-ray sky , may have been rather act ive during one of
the viewing sessions .

5 .3 ALPHA-PARTICLE SPECTROMETER

Approximately 70 hours of prime dat a were collected in lunar orbit

with the alpha-parti cle spect rometer experiment ( S-162 ) . Deletion of the
second lunar orbit plane change prevent ed an ob e1ervation of the highly
interesting Alphomms area,

The spect rometer operated satis fact orily during all s cheduled orbi­
tal and trans earth observations . All t en detectors performed within the
expected energy res olution . There were no periods of noisy operat i on as
experienced on Apollo 15 . The alpha-parti cle spect rometer was subjected
to the s ame cold soaks as the X-ray spect rometer and lowered temperatures
an undetermined amount below the red-line limit . No detrimental effects
on dete ctor perfo�1ance resulted .

From a preliminary analys is of real-time de�ta , a locali zed concentra­

t i on of polonium ( Po2 1 0 ) in the general vi ci nity of Mare Fecunditatus was
detected. This is shown in the calculat i on of poloni urn count rate versus
5-4

lunar latitude . It appears that the increase of polonium i s statisti cally

signi fi cant .

Deep-space observat i ons to determine non-radon-related b ackground re ­

vealed significant s olar alpha part i cle activity . The deep-space counting
rates exceeded the lunar rates by a factor of 2 or 3 , indi cating that a
s olar alpha-parti cle b ackground will have to be cons i dered in the analy­
sis of the dat a.

5.4 MASS SPECTROMETER EXPERIMENT

The mass spectrometer experiment ( S-16 5 ) instrument operated very well

in lunar orbit collecting approximate ly 84 hours of dat a , three-fourths of
this being in the minus-X direct i on of flight of the command and service
module , the prime data mode , wherein the gas entrance s coop points in the
ram direct i on and s coops up nat ive lunar gas es . The remainder was b ack­
ground dat a taken primarily i n the plus-X direct i on .

Telemetry dat a ab out 1 5 hours prior to lunar module undocking indi ­

cated that the plus 12-volt power supply voltage had dropped from 11. 9
to 9 . 4 volt s , although the instrument operated nominally. After s everal
os cillat i ons between these values , the voltage stab ili zed at 12 volts for
the remainder of the flight . Postflight analysis showed that the 12-volt
sensor had a s low rise time and was s ampled before reaching its full value.
The power supply itself di d n ot malfunct i on .

As on Apollo 1 5 , the boom would not fUlly retract . On the init i al

occurrence , the boom retracted to within 12 inches of fUll retract i on ,
sufficient for a s afe servi ce propuls ion system firing. The number of
boom retractions was minimi zed following this prob lem. During the final
retract i on for the t ransearth injection maneuver , the b oom stalled at ap­
proximately 2/3 of fUll extens i on necess i t ating j etti s oning of the boom
and instrument . The transearth coast dat a were to have been used t o sup­
plement analysis of the lunar orbit dat a . However, Apollo 15 dat a can
be used for this purpose.

The Apollo 16 dat a res embles that of Apollo 1 5 on the distribution

of gasses in the lunar atmosphere. Preliminary analys i s indi cates that
lunar atmospheric neon i s lower than pre dicte d .

5.5 PARTICLES AND FIELDS SUBSATELLITE EXPERIMENTS

The subsatellite was launched on the dark s i de of the moon about one
hour after lunar module j e ttison during the 62nd revoluti on (Apri l 24,
 5-5

21 : 56 : 09 G.m. t . ) . An orbit-shaping maneuver was to have been performed

prior to launching of the subs atelli te to obtain the des ired li fetime of
one year. However , the maneuver was not performed because of the decis­
ion to limit the use of the servi ce propuls i on .system to the trans earth
inj ection maneuver as a result of the engine gimbal actuator control prob­
lem ( dis cussed in .section 6 . 6 ) . Consequently , the planned orbit was not
obt ained . The initial orbital parameters , as compared t o the Apollo 1 5
parameters , were a.s follows :

Mission Peri lune , km (mi ) Apolune , km (mi ) Inclination

Apollo 15 10 5 ( 5 5 ) 144 ( 76 )
Apollo 16 97 ( 52 ) 120 ( 66 )

It was not pos sible to activate the subs atelli te for about 20 hours
after launch be cause of communi cations frequency interference resulting
from the failure of the lunar module as cent stage to deorbit . At the time
of launch , the sub s atellite was in the magnetosheath heading toward the
magnetopause and geomagneti c tail . The delay in activation had no detri­
mental effect on the subsatelli te systems .

The subsatellite is calculat ed to have impacted the far side of the

moon ( 110 degrees east longitude ) during revoluti on 425 on May 29 , 1972 .
The last telemetry data were received at 2031 G . m . t . , coinciding with
loss of signal . The signal should have been reacqui red at 2200 G . m . t . ,
but was not .

The physi cal cause for the short orbital li fe appears to be the lu­
nar mass concentrat i ons on the front and far sides located relatively near
the subsatellite ground track .

5 . 5 .1 Parti cle Shadows /Boundary Layer

All charged-part icle teles copes and electrostat i c analyzer detectors

operated normally during the li fetime of the parti cle shadows /boundary
layer experiment ( S-173 ) portion of the subsatellite . On two passes ,
usable data were obtained in the geomagnet i c tail of the magnetosphere .

Particle tracing was improved by a better shadow structure than on

Apollo 15 . This resulted from the teles copes operating at a lower tem­
perature .

5 . 5 .2 Magnetometer

The biaxial fluxgate magnetometer experiment ( S -174 ) performe d s atis­

factorily . Measur·ementP are in agreement with Apollo 15 results that the
5-6

lunar magnetic field i s more vari e d on the far side than the near s i de .
Howeve r , individual features overflown during the first geomagnetic t ail
pass are not as clearly defined as those measured on Apollo 15 . While in
the s olar wind , the magnetomet er mapped the diamagneti c cavity , examined
limb compressions over the terminat or , and measured lunar inducti on fields
produced by transients in the interplanetary field . While the size of the
magneti c enhancement in the di amagneti c cavity ( approximat ely 1/2 gamma )
is similar to that seen on Explorer 35 , the limb compres s i on exterior to
this cavity is signi fi cantly stronger at the low sub s atellite altitudes
( up to 6 gammas ) .

5 . 5. 3 S-band Transponder

The subsatelli te S-band t ransponder experiment (S-16 4 ) system func­

tioned s atis factorily . Better-than-planned coverage was obtained from
May 8 through May 16 when the altitude of the sub s atellite was between
11 and 20 ki lometers . Several orbits j ust prior to impact are expected
to reveal new gravity dat a , but since the impact was on the far side , much
of the extremely low-altitude port i on of the traj e ctory occurred during
occult ati on . Therefore , only that port i on of the traj ectory near the
eastern limb will supply new information . A good gravity profile is e x­
pected over Coperni cus .

5 .6 S-BAND TRANSPONDER EXPERIMENT ( CSM/LM)

The S-band transponder e xperiment ( S-164 ) systems on the command and

servi ce module and the lunar module performed satis factorily . Gravita­
ti onal profile data were obtained while the docked spacecraft were in el­
lipti cal orbit and whi le the command and service module was in circular
orbit ( e xcept for revolut i ons 12 through 16 when firing of thrusters dur­
ing stationkeeping degraded the dat a ) . No S-band doppler me asurements
from the lunar module ascent stage after undocking were obtained because
of the inability to control its attitude. Dat a reduced in real-time were
of e xcellent quality and definite gravity variat i ons were observed . Grav­
ity anomalies in the Ptolemaeus , Des cartes , Fecunditatus , and Procellarum
regions were identified.

5.7 DOWN-LI NK BISTATIC RADAR OBSERVATIONS OF THE MOON

Dual S-band/VHF obs ervat i ons were conducted for the down-link bistat i c
radar observations of the moon experiment ( S-170 ) during revolution 40 .
Strong direct and reflected S-band signals were received by the Jet Pro­
pulsion Laboratory 210-foot dish antenn a , and weak VHF reflected signals
 5-7

were received by the 150-foot dish antenna at Stanford University . Inter­

ference was exper ienced with th e VHF s i gnals duri ng one-s eve nth of the
pas s from the Apollo tes t and trai ni ng sat ellite ( TETR-D s at elli t e 5 49 2
launched September 29 , 1971 , for test ing o f NASA tracking stati ons and
training of groun d network pers onnel ) trans mitter operating on the s ame
frequency . The t ransmi tter could not b e c ommanded off prior to the
Apollo 16 mi s s ion b e c aus e o f a satellite systems failure .

The VHF-only t e s t was i ni t i at ed on revolut ion 42 . The other omni­

direct i onal antenna was us ed to improve s ignal strength , but this was not
suc c e s s ful becaus e of poor antenna ori entat ion and the transmitter was
switched back to the o ri ginal ant enna and good s i gnals were receive d .
Data obt ained during revolut i ons 42 , 43 , and l.�4 were clear o f the inter­
ference from the trai ni ng s atellite . The reaE:on for the weak re flect i ons
i s unknown .

The S -band dat a appear to b e o f high quality and mos t o f the s ci en­
t i fic goals dependent upon dual S-band and VHF' data can be me t even though
the VHF dat a on revolut i on 40 were of poor quality . The VHF data taken on
revolut ions 42 and 4 3 have enough s imilarity that i t may b e s ub s titut ed .

�5 . 8 SERVICE MODULE ORBITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

5 . 8 .1 Panorami c Camera

The panoramic camera was c arried on Apollo 16 to obtain high-res olu­

t ion photography of the lunar surface . The priority o f the c overage was
the Apollo 16 landing s ite area b oth pri or to and af't er .the extravehi cu­
lar act ivi t i es , areas near the terminators , and other areas o f the ground
track . The coverage duri ng lunar orb i t operat ions i s shown i n figure 5-l .
In addition t o that shown i n th e fi gure , s ome coverage was obtained af'ter
trans earth i nj ect ion .

Concurrent vii th c amera activat ion for revolut i on 3 photography , an

abnormal bus voltage c ondition was noted . Cons equent ly , the c amera was
turned off af't er expos i ng only four frames , thereby resulting i n the loss
o f coverage b etween 170 degrees west and 168 degrees east longi tude . An­
alys is showed that th e under -voltage condition was c aused by the space­
craft configurat i on , and that camera operat i on was normal . Res cheduling
of subsequent panorami c c amera pas s es recovered a port ion of thi s los s as
well as other losses i nc urred as a cons equence of the delay in the circu­
lari zat ion maneuver , c ancellat i on of the plane change maneuver , and the
one-day-early return t o earth .
5-8

From the b eginning of camera operat i on , the exposure sens or cons i s ­

t ently read lower l i gh t levels than were pres ent ( s ec . 1 4 . 5 . 4 ) . Post­
flight analys is o f dat a shows that frames t aken over approximately 2 5 de­
grees away from the t erminator were over-exposed by 1 to 2 f-stops . A
development process us ing a lower gamma c omp ens ated for the overexposure
i n t he subsolar area without compromi s ing the resolution of the near­
termi nat or photographs . A s ect i on of film, t ak en aft er transearth in­
j ection , was cut from the roll and processed s eparately t o t est the change
in the chemical process ing . Examinat ion of th e mai n roll aft er develop­
ment showed excellent quality photographs . Revolut ion 47 t elemetry dat a
indicated s everal unusual trans ients i n the lens motor current . Thi s con­
dition persisted for s everal s uc ce s s i ve frames . A review of the film di s ­
closed no corresponding degradat ion i n the photography .

A phot ograph of the Des c artes area obtained with the panorami c c amera
on revoluti on 28 ( fi g . 5-l ) was used i n the preparation of figure 4-2 .
The lunar module can b e i de nt i fi ed i n th e photograph .

5 .8 . 2 Mapping C amera System

The mappi ng c amera provi ded c artograph i c -qual i ty photographs from

whi ch selenodeti c dat a were derived fo r us e i n mapping at a s c ale of
1 : 250 000 . Complete mapping came ra coverage was obtained o f all areas
overflown by the s pacecraft i n dayli ght . Simultaneous vert i c al operation
of the mapping camera was performed wi th the panorami c camera to provide
geometric support for photographic reduct ion . The mapping c amera was als o
operated vert i c ally during revolut i ons 4 , 29 , 46 , 5 9 , 60 , and after trans­
earth i nj ect ion .

Obli que photography was t ak en 25 degree s forward of the spacecraft

on the 2 5th revolut ion , 40 degrees s outh of the lunar ground track on the
26th and 4 8th revolut ions , and 40 degrees north of the lunar ground track
on the 27th and 37th revolut ions . Approximately 90 percent of the planned
coverage was obtai ne d . Fi gure 5-2 shows the dayli ght coverage obtained
during lunar orb i t . Th e obtained coverage is less than 5 percent of the
lunar surface and about 80 percent of the coverage is new , i . e . , not pho­
t o graphed during Apollo 1 5 . The c overage lost b e c ause o f flight plan
changes was along th e nort heast and s outhwes t edges of the ground track ,
and 8 degrees of longitude at th e western dayli ght limi t . This c overage
loss i s di scuss e d i n th e panorami c camera s ect ion ( 5 . 8 . 1 ) .

The mapping c amera system cons i s ts of a mapping (metri c ) c amera and

a s tellar camera ; the fUnct ion of the s t ellar camera i s to obt ai n syn chro­
nized star field photographs for each frame o f metric photography whi le
on the i lluminat ed s ide of the moon and for each las er altimeter firing
on the dark s ide of the moon . Measurements and comput ati ons from thes e
photographs provide an i ndependent determination o f attitude . S atis fac­
tory s tellar photography was obtained on all mapping camera pas s es , and
 5-ll

camera operat ion was normal ; however , during the transearth ext ravehi cu­
lar act ivity , the glare shield for the s t ellar camera was found j amme d
against the handrail paralleling th e s c i enti fi c i nstrument module b ay .
Thi s anomaly i s dis cussed furth er i n s ection 1 4 . 5 . 2 .

The mapping c amera deployment mechanism exhibi ted anomalous perform­

ance similar to the Apollo 1 5 prob lem. The fi rst ext ens i on was normal ,
but the retract t ime was exce s s ive by a facto r of two . ( This anomaly i s
dis cussed further i n s ecti on 14 . 5 . 1 . ) In order to reduce the pos s ib ility
of total failure of the mechanism, the camera remai ned i n the ext ended
pos ition after the s econd extension ( on revolut i on 1 7 ) until retraction
( on revolut ion 48 ) for the plane change maneuver . The remaining nine
planned deployment cycles were reduced to three - two during lunar orbi t ,
and one betwe en t ransearth inj ect ion and the transearth extravehi cular
act ivity . As a result , the mapp ing camera and las er altimeter were left
ext ended for long periods of time . This pres ented no app arent prob lems
for these instrume nts .

Upon opening the c ass ettes for film development , the film was found
t o b e contaminated. with metal chips ( s ee sec . 14 . 5 . 7 ) . A s cheme was de­
vi s ed us ing air j ets and t acky rollers to clean both the mapp ing and
stellar film b efore proc es s ing . Examinat ion of the developed film shows
the image quality of the mapping photography to b e exc ellent . Nine or
more frame s , however , are overexpos ed ( s ee s ec . 14 . 5 . 6 ) . In mos t c as e s ,
this condition o ccurred when the shut ter speed change d from 1 2 5 0 to 800
rpm.

It is conceivable that s ome o f the metal chips found in the c as s e tt e

may have been b etween the emuls i on and the res eau plate at the focal plane .
This would not s eri ous ly degrade the i mage quaJ_i ty , but may i ntroduce geo­
metric distort i ons wh i ch wi ll advers ely affect the measurements on s ome
frame s . The photography will s at i s fy all bas i c: requi rements .

5.8.3 Las er Altimeter

The funct i ons of the laser altimeter are to provide a di stance meas­
ure from the s pac:ec raft to the lunar s urface in synchronism with e ach map­
ping camera exposure , and to provide t opographi c profiles for correlat i on
with gravity anomalies obtained from tracking dat a .

Altimeter dat a were obtained on all mapp ing came ra pas s es on the il­
luminated s i de o f the moon . Ini tial ope rati on was normal but the percent­
age of vali d me asureme nts gradually de creased as the mi s s i on progres s ed
bec aus e the laser output power decreas ed . Thi B anomaly i s diB cus s e d i n
s ec t i on 14 . 5 . 3 . About 6 5 percent of the obs ervat i ons were val i d through
revoluti on 60 , but on the last pass ( revolut i on 6 3 ) , only 1 0 percent of
the measurements were valid . ( See s ect ion 14 . �5 . 5 for a dis cus s ion of
5-12

thi s anomaly . ) The loss of alti tude dat a on the illuminated side of the
moon will have little effect on the i nterpretat i on of mapping phot ography
s ince there i s redundancy in determi ning altitude . However , some i nter­
pol at ion will be required in correlating t opographic profiles wi th gravity
anomalies .

Altimeter data on the dark si de was not affected as s everely be cause

less l aser output power i s required when ranging against non-i lluminated
surface s . Approxime.t ely 82 percent of thes e data was good.

5 .9 COMMAND MODULE ORBITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

5 . 9 .1 Astronomi cal Photography

As tronomi cal l i ght s ources ranging from the relat ively bright s ol ar
c orona to extremely faint galact ic regi ons were photographed with the
16-mm dat a acqui s i ti on camera ( T-1 18-mm lens ) , the 35-mm camera ( f/1 . 2 ,
5 5-mm lens ) , the 70-mm camera ( f/2 . 8 , 80 -mm lens ) , and hi gh-speed film with
an Ameri c an St andards Ass ociat i on speed rat ing of 24 85 .

S ol ar corona photogr aphy . - Th e obj ective o f the photographi c ob ser­

vat ions i ncluded two lunar sunri s e s equences and two lunar sunset s e­
quences , but revis ions t o th e fli ght plan caus ed by the early return t o
earth would not permit th e sunset s equences . Two s equences o f the east­
ern hal f ( sunrise ) o f the solar corona were obtained , each o f whi ch re­
quired seven exposures s tart i ng 75 seconds pri or to sunri s e and ending
10 sec onds prior to sunri s e . Exposures o f 10 , 4 , 1 , 1 / 2 , 1/ 3 , 1/ 30 and
1/60 s econds were made on high-s peed recording film us ing th e 70-mm c am­
era with 80-mm lens s et at f/2 . 8 . However , the 1-s econd and 1/2-sec­
ond exposures were not ob tained becaus e of a procedural error . The t ri g­
ger was released too quickly for the 1-s ec ond expos ure , s o the shutter
remained open , and th e film was t ransport ed for the next exposure . Pro­
per actuat i on o f the trigger for th e 1/2-s econd exposure returned the
camera to normal stat us . The result of the action was an exposure o f
less than 1 second and another o f more than 10 s ec onds . Neither were us­
able becaus e the exact durat ions of the exposures were unknown .

The 16-mm camera was run as a s ec ondary dat a s ource . Howeve r , the
maximum available exposure time o f 1 /60-s econd (1 ft /s ec ) was not long
enough for the low li ght levels pres ent , and no images were cbs erved on
the film .

Faint galact i c regi ons . - Two 5-minute exposures to study the out er
regions of galaxi es were t aken , one each adj acent in t ime to the Gegen­
s che in/Moulton region sequences . Thes e are among the first attempts to
 5-13

p er form deep-s pace photography ab ove the ·earth 1 s airglow . The results
will aid in planning the trade-off 1 s between expos ure time and smear for
Apollo 17 . The 5-mi nut e exposures do exhibit greater ins tabili ty than is
ult imat ely desi red . In an e ffort to reduce the problems assoc i ated with
long exposures , an intens ive effort wi 11 be made during the analysi s to
enhance the already high s ensi ti vi ty of the f / 1 . 2 ap ert ure-2485 fi 1m
system .

Ground-b as ed photography . - Ground-b as ed photography i n support of

the infli ght photography was planned for Haleakala Ob s ervatory , Maui ,
Hawai i . Unfavorable cloud conditions prevented photography there . How­
ever , good quality support i ng photography was obtained i n the Moj ave
Desert during the mi ss ion and at Mt . Palomar aft er the mi s s i on .

5.9.2 Command Module Lunar Surface Photography

Color photography with 70 -mm camera . - Because of insuffi ci ent time ,

photographs of two of th e planned fi fte en targets were not taken usi ng the
70 -mm camera with the 250-mm lens and color ext erior film . Mos t of the
756 frame s obt ained are adequate , although ove:r 50 frames show detect able
smear , and a few are exces sively underexpos ed .

Bl ack-and-white photography with 70-mm camera . - Two of the s chedule d

eleven t argets for near terminator photography us ing the 70-mm camera with
the 2 50-mm lens and the very-high-s peed black and wh ite film were del ete d
bec aus e o f i nsuffi ci ent t ime . However , a few unscheduled t argets were ob ­
t aine d which compensates for the los s . A total of 103 frames was expose d
and most are goo d . Only a few frames are sli ghtly overexpos ed .

Earthshine Photography . - Earthshine photography was s cheduled on

revolut ions 1 5 and 16 using the 35 -mm came ra w:l th black-and-white fi lm
( 2485 ) , Due to the delay i n the lunar module landing , the s cheduled earth-·
shine photography could not b e obtai ned . The Command Module Pilot di d , at
his option , t ake a few earthshine photographs . These very dark exposures
were t aken much farth er west and later in the mi s s i on , However , two of
the exposures are us able in that features have been i denti fied as being
near the crat er Ri ccioli , wh ich is only ab out 15 degre es east of the earth-·
shine t erminator . This is in an area not prev:lously photographed on any
Apollo mi ss ion . :Surface features were readily di s ti nguis hed by the eyes
of the Command Module Pilot at the time the phQtographs were t aken . The
shutter speed of 1/8""second was fas t for the l:L ghting conditions , but was
chos en as a compromis e between li ghting and sm1�ar .

These result:s indi c at e that it may b e pos :sible to obtain us able earth-·
sh ine photography on Apollo 17 , wi th more o f the earth b eing illuminat ed at
the time of the lunar landing .
5-14

5 . 10 VISUAL OBSERVATIONS FROM LUNAR ORBIT

Visual obs e rvations were succ essfully performed on 9 of the 10 s ched­

uled targets , One target ( Goddard are a ) was deleted b ecause of the flight
plan changes and returning to earth one day early .

The visual ob servation s i te graph i c s were adequate and the 10-power

binoculars were very useful in the investigations of small s cale features .
The s i gnificant results of the task are the following :

a. A thorough des cr i ption of the landing site area was obtained

that helped with real-time traverse planning .

b. Formations whi ch appeared as l ava flows were ob served coming from

a small crater on the western wall of the crater Lobachevsky .

c. The distribution of small li neaments on the lunar surface were

noted.

d. Numerous l ava-like marks were detected along highland hills in

Mare Nub ium, Mare Cogni tum, and Oceanus Procellarum.

5 . 11 ULTRAVIOLET PHOTOGRAPHY - EARTH AND MOON

The ultraviolet photography - earth and moon experiment ( S-17 7 ) was

a continuati on of an e ffort begun on Apollo 15 to record the appearance
of the earth and the moon at ultravi olet wavelengths . A 70-mm camera
equi pped with a 105-mm ultravi olet transmitting lens was used with I Ia-0
film to obtain images through the right side window of the command module.
The regular glass panes were replaced wi th annealed-fused sili ca to pre­
vent blockage of ultraviolet radi ati on . Plexiglass and c ardboard shields
were provided to prote ct the crew . A filter wheel containing four filters
permitted the passing of spe c i fi c ul traviolet bands for photography :

Filter designati on BandJ2ass 1 angs trom

UV cutoff 4 ooo
3750 3150 - 3900

3050 2700 - 3300

2650 2 5 50 - 2700

Sixty-six high-qual i ty images were recorded wi th the three satis fac­

tory filters . ( Filter 2650 did not perform satis factori ly. ) Two sequen­
ces ( 16 frames ) of trans lunar coast photogr aphy of the lunar crescent were
 5-15

blank because of incorrect pointing of the spacecraft . There i s no expla­

nat i on for the loss of photography . Flight plan changes requi red deleti on
of three other s equences - one of lunar mari a , and two of the e arth seen
from lunar orbit .

A preliminary s tudy o f the images has led to the following impre s ­

s i ons :

l . The contrast between mari a and terrae on the moon is not dramat i­
cally reduced in the 2700-3300 angstrom band as predi ct e d .

2 . A s expect e d , surface detail of earth imagery is greatly reduced

when taken through the 3050-angstrom fi lt e r . Cloud patterns are clear ,
but land-sea boundari es are b arely dis cernible near the terrestrial cen­
ter and dis appear completely at the limb .

3 . Refraction by i ce cryst als in cirrus clouds seems to be the likely

cause of a flare obs erved at the limb of the cres cent e arth . It is invi s ­
ible at 3050 angstrom and most apparent for wavelengths greater than 4000
angstrom.

5 . 12 GEGENSCHEIN FROM LUNAR ORBIT

The photographi c observations of the Gegens chein and Moulton regions

from lunar orbit experiment ( S-178 ) were performed s at i s factorily using
the 35-mm camera with the aperature s et to f /1 . 2 and the focus set to in­
finity .

The des ired 10 exposures - half of them l minute in durati on , and the
other half , 3 minutes in durat i on - were obtained. The pointing was accu­
rate and the quality of photography was good .

The spacecraft stab i lity during the longer exposures was better than
0 . 3 degree .

Solar radiation c ause d les s degradati on of' the fi lm than on previ ous
mis s i ons . The dat a reduction plan requires careful isodensitometry of
all the observational frames including the vignetting dat a .

5 . 13 SKYLAB CONTAMINATION BTUDY

The tendency of a contaminat i on cloud to eollect around a spacecraft

has been of concern to Skylab planners . The obj ectives of the Sky lab
5-16

contamination photography were to determine i f a cloud of particles ex­

i s t around the spacecraft , to obtain the dynami c s of the cloud through
a s tudy of individual part icles , and to determine the effects of water
dump s on the background brightness .

All lunar orbit photography and the early trans earth coast photo­
graphs were deleted as an i ndirect res ult of the problem encountered with
the service propuls ion system thrust ve ctor control . The phas e funct ion ,
the dump , and pos t-dump photographs were obtai ned . However , because of
the one-day-early return , all photographs were plagued by s c attered moon­
light . It appears that mos t of the phase functi on and all th e post-dump
photographs are unus able . During the phas e function photography , moon­
li ght was on the wi ndow ( command module window 4 ) openi ng , but not on the
window its elf. There was als o a cons iderab le amount of li ght s c attered
from the window edge and the opening. There are s ome re stri cted areas
on the photographs where data fre e of s c att ered light can be obtai ned .

Photographs of the re sidual contaminati on cloud were tak en with the

35-mm camera late in trans earth coast and res ulted in 16 frames . Shortly
aft erward , a waste wat er dump using th e auxi li ary hat ch dump no zzle was
performed . Photographs of condi tions during this dump have cons i derably
fewer tracks than were ant i c i pated from s imilar studies of Apollo 1 5 .
Photographs of the dump plume s how a narrow cone and a varying density dis ­
tribut i on i n the cone . The post-dump photograph s equence was short ened by
15 minute s becaus e o f thermal cons i derat ions resulting from changes in at ­
titude . Six frames of 70 -mm film were t ak en through the command module
window 3 , and approximately 80 0 frames o f 16-mm photographs of the dump
and pos t-dump conditions were taken through command module wi ndows 2 and
4.

5 . 14 APOLLO WINDOW METEOROID EXPERIMENT

This Apollo window meteoroid experiment ( S-176 ) is pass i ve in that

approximat ely 0 . 4 s quare meter of th e external surface of the command
module s ide and hatch windows are used for detecting meteoroi ds having
a mas s of lo-9 grams or les s . The wi ndows are made of 9 9-perc ent-pure
s ili ca glas s and are mounted almost flush with the external s urface of
the heat shi eld contours .

The windows were returned to the Manned Spacecraft Center and are
being s canned at a magn i fi c at ion of 20X ( 200X magn i fi c at i on for areas o f
int erest ) t o map all vis ible defect s . Pos s ible met e oroi d craters will be
ident ified to determi ne the met eoroid crat ering flux on glass surfaces
and to dis cover pos s ible correlat ion with lunar rock crat ering studi es .
Table 5 -II contains a t abulat ion o f meteoroid impacts from previous mis­
s ions .
 TABLE 5-I . - METEOROID CRATERS AND RELATED INFORMATION

Window 9 5 percent Minimum

Number of Meteoroid flux
Mission exposure confidence limits meteoroid mass
impacts number/m2 -sec
m2 -sec number/m2 -sec g

2 . 21 X 10 2 . 26 X 10 - 5 .29 X 10- 1 . 31 X 10- O

5 5 5 l

LM)
5
7 - 2 3 X 10-
Apollo 7
6
(Earth orbital without

1 . 8 X 10 1 . 07 X 10 - 5 . 9 6 X 10_ 7 . 86 X 10 -
5 5 -5 ll
.1 . 0 7 X 10
Apollo 8 l
6
( lunar orbital without LM)

1 , 87 X 10 5 · 36 X 10 -6 3 . 0 X 10- 5 37 X 10- lO
5 5

( Earth orbital with LM) 5 . 36 X 10-

Apollo 9 1 .
7

7 . 86 X 10-
1 . 99 X 10 1. 86 X 10 -
5 5 ll

LM)
Apollo 10 0 --
( lunar orbital with --

2 . 4 3 X 10 1. 5 2 X 10- 7 . 86 X 10-
5 5 ll
Apollo 12 0 --
( lunar landing ) --

1 . 42 X 10 1 . 36 X 10- 7 . 6 X 10- 5 , 91 X 10-

5 5 5 9

1 . 37 X 10-
Apollo 13 l
6
( circumlunar abort with LM)

2 . 3 5 X 10 1 . 64 X 10- 5 . 9 X 10- 1 . 64 X 10 -
5 5 5 ll

1 , 64 X 10 -6
Apollo 14 2
( lunar landing)

2 . 88 X 10 1 , 2 8 X 10 - 5 . 37 X 10-
5 5 lO
Apollo 15 0
--
( lunar landing)

V1
I
I-'
--'l
5-18

5 .15 VISUAL LIGHT FLASH PHENOMENON

Two light flash observation periods were s cheduled during Apollo 16

and these were success fully completed. The first test peri od began at
about 49 hours and continued for 66 minutes . The Lunar Module Pilot wore
the Apollo light flash moving emuls ion det ector to provi de a direct phys ­
ical measurement o f the cosmi c rays that caus e the light flashes . The de­
vice is worn on the head s omewhat like a helmet and contains cosmi c-ray­
sensitive emuls i on plates that surround the eyes . The Commander wore eye
shields during this test peri od. The Command Module Pi lot parti cipated
i n the tests as a recorde r . H e was to have worn the moving emulsion de­
tector , but , for an unknown reas on , he was not obs ervi ng any light flashes .
This is the first crewman s ince Apollo ll that has not experienced light
flashes . A tot al of 70 light flash events were reported during the 66-
minute period by the Commander and Lunar Module Pilot . The frequency of
light flashes reported by the Commander averaged one event every 3 . 6 min­
utes and for the Lunar Module Pilot , one event every 1 . 3 minutes .

During transearth coast , a test us ing only eyeshields was initiated

at about 238 hours and was t erminated one hour later . For a 32-minute
period of voice reporting , the Commander reporte d 7 flashes and the Lunar
Module Pilot 15 flashes . The Command Module Pilot parti cipat e d , but did
not obs e rve any flashes . The average frequency during this period was
one event every 4 . 5 minutes for the Commander and one every 2 . 1 minutes
for the Lunar Module Pilot . The number and characteristi cs of the light
flash events imprinted on the Apollo light moving emulsion detector will
be analyzed and correlated with the visual ob servat i ons reporte d by the
two crewmen .

5 . 16 MICROBIAL RESPONSE IN SPACE ENVIRONMENT

The mi crobial response i n space environment experiment ( M-19 1 ) was

conducted to quantitatively measure the combined effects of certain space
flight environmental parameters on selected microbi al organisms and to
evaluate alterations in mutati on rates and adaptive patterns . The effects
of the following space flight parameters were measure d :

a. Changes i n oxygen parti al pressure

b. Changes in b arometri c pressure from sea level to hard vacuum

c. Changes from l-g environment to extended weightlessness

d. Exposure t o a known flux of ult ravi olet radiation

 5-19

e. Exposure to galacti c radiat i on .

The exposure of the test microbi al systems to ultravi olet and cosmi c
radi ati on was accomplished by use of the microb i al ecology evaluati on de­
vice ( appendix A ) . The devi ce was attached to the end of the televis ion
camera boom near the end of the transearth extravehi cular activity . It
was oriented towards the sun and opened for a 10-minute period while the
space craft was maintained in the preselected attitude .

The dosimetry film was developed after recovery and showed that the
experiment system functi oned properly . Preliminary analysis shows that
good usable data were obtaine d . The results o f the experiment will be
published in a separate report ( Appendix E ) .

5 . 17 BIOSTACK EXPERIMENT

The biostack experiment ( M-211 ) was conducted t o determine the bio­

logical effects of high-atomi c-number high-energy heavy ions on selected
biological systems . The information derived from the experiment will be
important in assess ing the nature and extent of radiat i on hazards to fu­
ture long-durat i on space mis sions .

The experiment was unique in that it was the first medical experiment
des igned , developed , fabricat e d , finance d , and analyzed by a foreign gov­
ernment ( West Germany ) . No crew parti cipat i on was requi red . The hermet­
ically sealed aluminum canister containing biologi cal systems was stowed
in the conunand module . A description of the experiment apparatus is given
in appendix A .

The biostack cani ster was returned t o the principal investigator where
it was first opened for post flight analys i s . The results of the experiment
will be published in a separate report .

5 . 18 BONE MINERAL MEASUREMENT

The bone mineral measurement experiment ( M-0 78 ) was again conducted

to determine the degree of bone mineral changes in Apollo crewmen that
result from exposure to weightlessnes s . This study employs an X-ray tech­
nique that utilizes an iodine is otope monoenergetic beam possessing pre­
di ct able photon abs orption characteristics to ass es s bone mineral changes .

No signi fi cant loss of bone mineral from the central os calcus ( heel )
occurred in any of' the crewmen on this mis s i on . However , during the first
3 days after return to e arth , there was a progress ive decrease in the os
5-20

calcis mineral in the Command Module Pilot . An additi onal meas urement was
t aken on this crewman 7 days after return t o earth and ess enti ally the
s ame value was obtained as on the first day following landing . This indi­
cated that the expected reversal of the t rend had occurred. The results
obt ained were similar to thos e of Apollo 1 4 , but different from thos e of
Apollo 15 when the crew experienced bone mineral los s es during the flight .
There is no explanati on for the variati ons in bone mineral los s .

5 . 19 FLUID ELECTROPHORESIS IN SPACE DEMONSTRATION

Electrophoresi s was fi rst demonstrated in space on Apollo 14 when

red and blue dyes were separated. Photographs showed that the boundary
dividing the dyes was sharper and better defined than on earth . The
apparatus also contained s amples of hemoglobin and DNA whi ch were not
observed to separate . Subsequent examinat i on of the apparatus indi c ated
that these specimens were destroyed by bact eri a , probab ly duri ng the
long storage time before the demonstrat i on i n space actually took place .
As a result of what was learned from Apollo 1 4 , the design and operati on
of the apparatus was improved for a se cond demons trat ion on the Apollo
16 mi s s i on .

The Apollo 16 apparatus demonstrated the elect rophores i s of large ,

dense non-bi ologi cal part i cles in order t o evaluat e the potential for
separat ion of biologi cal part i cles such as living cells . The apparatus
contained three separat i on columns ; one column containing a mixture of
monodispersed polystyrene latex parti cles of 0 . 2- and 0 . 8-mi cron diameter
and , in the other two columns , parti cles of each diameter were run sep­
arately to provide comparative .data. The demonstration apparatus had the
s ame dimens ions and comparable weight as the Apollo 1 4 unit , but several
modificat i ons were made t o obtain more dat a . Photographs were taken every
20 seconds during the separati on run .

A careful examinat i on of enlarge d phot ographs and color contour den­

sitometer traces shows that the shape of the part i cle bands and sharpness
of the parti cle flui d boundary at the band front were extremely stable
during the first electrophoreti c run down the columns . An unexplained
parti cle circulat i on in a corkscrew pattern was ob served in the upper and
mi ddle column ( but not the lower column ) near the end of the run .

Electrophores i s in space was shown t o be less subj ect t o the disturb­

ing effects of thermal convect i on and sedimentat i on than when conduct ed
under 1-g conditi ons . However , the behavi or of the polystyrene lat ex par­
t i cles during electropho res is in space was different than expected in that
more electroosmosis ac compani ed the electrophoreti c migrat i on of parti cles
than was anticipated; i . e . , the elect roosmot i c interacti on i ncreas ed par­
t icle velocity in the center of flow and retarded parti cle velocity near
 5-21

the wall . Postflight ground tests are being conducted to unders tand the
relationship of thes e electrokinetic proces s es . Although the two s i zes
of polystyrene latex in the s ame tube di d not separate , di stinct differ­
ences in migrating velocities di d oc cur . A final report will be issued
explaining the observat i ons in detail (Appendix E ) .
 6-l

6.0 COMMAND AND SERVICE MODULE PERFORMANCE

This section contains an evaluat i on of the command and s ervi ce module

systems performance with emphas is on problems encountere d during the mi s ­
sion. The consumables usage is presented in section 6 . 11 .

6.1 �cHERMAL , STRUCTURES AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

Command and s ervi ce module t emperatures remained within acceptab le

limits . Scienti fic i nstrument module temperatures were normal for most
of the mis s i on . However , the X-ray spectrometer and alpha-part icle spec­
trometer temperatures fell below the minimum established limits during
trans earth coast becaus e the spacecraft was held in att itudes such that
the instruments were shaded for prolonged periods .

Command module accelerometer dat a indicat e d that the launch-vehicle­

induced os cillat i ons were s imilar to those measured in previ ous flights .
The amplitude of these osci llat i ons and the structural loads encountered
during all phas es of the mi ss i on were within the des ign limits of the
spacecraft structure .

Separat i on from the S-IVB was normal and docking transients were
les s than 0 . 5 degree per second in all axes . Low-rate dis turbances dur­
ing the rigi di zing sequence reflect good alignment ( less than 0 . 5 degree
in all axes ) of the spacecraft before the probe retract sequence was in­
iti at e d . Extracti on of the lunar module from the S-IVB was normal .

Rat e disturb ances experienced during the scient i fi c instrument mod­

ule b ay door j ett ison were les s than 0 . 1 degree per second in all axes
and velocity changes to the command and servi ce module were not percept­
ible .

Command module window contaminat i on , simi lar to that report ed on pre­

vious flights , was observed shortly after orbital insertion and :remained
throughout the mis s i on . A fine mist condens ed on the inner surface of the
exterior ( heat shield ) panes of the two s i de windows ( l and 5 ) and the
hatch window ( 3 ) . The outer surface of the exterior pane on window 3 was
also contaminat e d . This contaminat i on was des cribed as a res i due from a
liqui d droplet whi ch produced a streak across the window and an addi ti onal
res i due whi ch appeared t o have resulted from the evaporat i on of a liqui d
droplet . The contaminat ion on the :inner surfaces of the heat shield win­
dows i s attributed to outgass ing of nonmetalli c materials in the immediate
window area . On window 5 , the cont amination appeared to terminate along
a straight line . Remedial acti on was i nitiated to reduce the outgas s ing
6-2

problem on all spacecraft following Apollo 10 ; however , a small amount

of interior contamination was ant ic ipated . The out er surface contamina­
tion was most likely caused by a liquid deposit on the window prior to
boost prot ective c over j ettisoning .

Docking ring latch no . 10 did not preload during translunar do cking .

All latc hes operated properly during undocking and during lunar orbit
docking . From pos t flight inspection and the inflight description o f the
latch , it was concluded that the latch no . 10 was not properly cocked
pr ior to launch .

Problems s imilar to thos e o f Apollo 15 were encountered with the re­

traction of the mass spectrometer boom. The boom retracted past the " safe
servi c e propulsion system firing" pos it i on on all occas ions until prior t o
transearth injection when it finally stalled b eyond the "safe " position ,
and was therefore j ettisoned prior to the transearth injection maneuver
( s ee sec . 14 . 1 . 8 ) .

Full retraction o f the gamma -ray spectrometer boom was not attained
on three o f five att empts . The mechanism is s imilar in de s i gn to the ma ss
spectrometer boom. Details o f this anomaly are di scussed in section 14 . 1 . 9 .

The earth landing system per formance was normal . All three main
parachutes were recovered and postflight inspections were made . Numer­
ous pinhole burns were found in the canopy o f one parachute and smaller
numb ers of burn holes were found in the other two parachute canopies ( see
sec . 14 . 1 . 18 ) . Micros c opic examination confirmed that the damage was
ident i c al to that produced by reaction control system oxidi z er on labora­
tory samples o f parachute mat erial and also identical to that shown on
enlarged photographs of a recovered Apollo 14 main parachute which sus­
tained oxidi zer burns . Postflight inspection o f the recovered parachut es
revealed that t he dome nut s were loos e on two o f the three fabric riser/
steel riser pilot parachute connector link s . The cause has been attri­
buted to the use of nut s with nylon inserts which did not provide a pos i ­
tive locking c apab ility . Future spacecr aft will be inspected to insure
that proper nut s are used and that . the installed nut s are secure .

6.2 ELECTRICAL POWER AND FUEL CELIS

The electrical power system batteries and fuel cells performed sat i s ­
factorily through t h e mi s s ion .

Entry batteri e s A and B were charged 10 times duri ng flight - battery

A, 4 time s and battery B , 6 time s . Load sharing and voltage delivery were
sat i sfactory during each of the service propul sion system firings , during
the service propul sion system troubleshooting pro�edure , and during ent ry .
 6-3

An apparent deviation from previ ous mi s s i ons occurred i n the pre s s ure
indi cat i on from the entry b attery vent mani fold . The pre s s ure was induced
by the normal gas s i ng of the b at teri es , and was relieved by venting the
mani fold. The maximum pres sure was approximately 14 ps i a . Mani fold pre s ­
sures had followed the cab i n pressure on previous mi s s ions . Post flight
testing veri fied that the Apollo 16 command module had an unusually good
le ak-ti ght mani fold. system.

An odor ( like burned insulat i on ) was not i ced during one of the b at ­
tery charges . Beneh tests previ ously performe d on battery chargers had
shown that a s imilar odor could be produced from the chargers .

The fuel cells were activat e d 61 hours prior t o launch . Following

cryogeni c loading ( 48 hours pri or to laun ch ) , fuel cell 2 was placed on
main bus A at 25 to 30 amperes . Three and one-half hours pri or t o li ft ­
off , fuel cells 1 and 3 were placed on main buses A and B , respectively .
Load sharing was as expect e d throughout the flight , with a nominal spread
of 2 to 7 amperes . The fuel cells s uppl i ed 596 killowatt h ours of energy
at an average current of 78 amperes and bus voltage of 28 . 8 volt s .

6.3 CRYOGENIC STORAGE

The cryogeni c storage system s at i s factorily supplied reactants to

the fuel cells and met ab olic oxygen to the envi ronmental control system
throughout the mis s i on . Quantit i es cons umed during the mi s s i on showed
excellent agreement with preflight predi cti ons .

Hydrogen t ank 3 i n s e ct or I of the service module experi enced a high

ini t i al heat leak of 15 to 20 Btu/hr whi ch gradually dimi ni shed t o a nor­
mal value of 4 to 6 Btu/hr by 70 hours elapsed time . Analys is indi cates
the most likely cause to be degradat i on and sub s equent recovery of the in­
sulating annulus vacuum ( se e s e c . 14 . 1 . 5 ) .

6.4 COMMUNICATIONS

The command and s ervi ce module communi cat i ons equipment functi oned
s at i s factori ly except as di s cus s ed in the following p aragraphs .

On two occas i ons , the up-dat a link would not accept commands . Each
time the problem was cleared by the crew cycling the up-telemetry swit ch
from "normal" to " off" to "normal" whi ch res ets the up-dat a link logi c .
A s imilar problem 1o�as experi enced on Apollo 9 ( see sec . 14 . 1 . 6 ) .
 6-4

At approximately 234 hours , the high-gai n antenna would not operat e

properly in the reacquis ition-narrow-beamwi dth mode . Normal performance
was restored after the crew selected the manual mode momentarily and then
returned to the reacquisition mode . This anomaly is di s cus s ed in secti on
14 . 1 . 1 6 .

Intermittent operation of a communi cations carrier headset earphone

circuit was experi enced during t ransearth coast . The condition was cleared
by flexing the constant wear garment harnes s near a 21-pin connector ( see
sec . 14 . 3 . 6 ) .

At various times during the mi s s i on , the network s ites report ed that

there was high background noise on the crew voi ce dumped from the dat a re­
corder-reproducer . Evaluati on revealed that background noi s e was present ,
but was not suffi cient t o impai r the voi ce intelligibi lity . The nois e was
of three types : ( 1 ) normal RF nois e , ( 2 ) a 400-hert z tone , and ( 3 ) a tone
of approximately 3 ki lohert z beli eved to be electromagneti c interference
in the spacecraft . The noi s e was present during other Apollo mis s i ons but
was higher for Apollo 16 . Normal bandpas s fi lt ering improved the voice
quality .

Video received from all command module telecasts was good . Non-uni­
formity of the lighting in the cabin caus ed some degradation . Since the
camera ' s sensitivity adjusts itsel f to average li ghting , the video from
all scenes , especi ally those rapi dly changing , is not optimi zed in accord­
ance with the capabi lity of the camera. Als o , focusing is not optimum
since the lens is set for dist ances greater than cabin dimensions . On
two occas i ons , the onb oard moni tor malfunctioned but had no effect on the
video signal to earth ( see sec . 14 . 3 . 1 ) .

6.5 INSTRUMENTATION

The instrumentat i on system sati s factorily support ed the mi ssion with

all 501 operati onal measurements providing usable dat a . Two measurements
devi ated. from the expected performance . Readings of 0 . 2 to 1 . 5 percent
( on one occasion , 5 . 0 percent ) were experi enced on the oxidi zer tank 2
quantity measurement when the servi ce propuls i on system was not firing .
During such periods , the quantity gage is not electri cally energi zed , and
i t should read zero . Errat i c re adings were also ob served prior to launch .
The most probable cause of the unexpect e d quantity indi cat i on was noi s e
pi ckup on the t rans ducer elect ri cal wiring .

There was a 15 ps ia upshi ft in the service propuls i on system oxi di zer

tank pressure measurement after the spacecraft reached a vacuum environ­
ment . The bias was constant throughout the mi s s i on and dat a were ob tained
 6-5

by subtracting 15 psi from the indicated pressure measurement . This anom­

aly is discus s e d in great er detail in sect i on 14 . 1 . 2 .

6.6 GUIDANCE , NAVIGATION AND CONTROL

Performanc e of the gui dance , navi gation , and the primary and backup
control systems was good throughout the flight with the exception of four
anomalous conditions . No systems capability was lost ; however , i tern b in
the following listing of the four anomalies had a signi fic ant impact upon
the subsequent mis :s ion operat ions .

a . The computer i s sued a gimbal lock warning when no gimbal lock

condition existed. This is dis cuss e d in this s ection and in great er de­
tail in section 14 . 1 . 3 .

b . An oscillation was detected in the secondary yaw axis s ervo sys­

tem for the s ervic e propulsion engine gimbal during pre-ignition checkout
for the lunar orbit circulari zat i on maneuver . 'rhis condition is dis cus s ed
in this section and in greater detail in section 14 . 1 . 10 .

c . Uneven drive rates were experienced when positioning the s canning

teles cope shaft axi s . This anomaly is dis cus s ed in section 14 . 1 . 14 .

d . Inert i al subsystem warnings and inert i al coupling data unit fail

indi cations were re ceived on six occas i ons during the trans earth coast
phas e of the mis sion . Thes e anomalous conditions are dis cus sed in sec­
tion 14 . 1 . 4 .

The primary guidance system provi ded good boost t raj e ctory monitor­
ing during launch and the translunar inj ection maneuver . At earth orbit
insert i on , the differences between the primary guidance velocity vector
and the Saturn guidance velocity vector were minus 5 . 8 , plus 18 . 0 , and
minus 7 . 1 feet per second in the primary guidance X , Y , and Z axes , re­
spect ively . The magnitudes of the X and Z errors are typical of previous
Apollo miss ions and represent 1 . 2- and 0 . 8-s igma plat form errors . The Y­
axis velocity error , which is primarily sens itive to gyrocompas s ing error ,
reflects a 0 . 3-sigm.a ( minus 0 . 0046 deg ) azimuth misalignment . The small
error is a s i gni fi e ant improvement over previous Apollo flights and rep­
resents an optimi zed X-gyro bias drift compensation . This technique was
used for the first time on this mis sion to minimi ze anti cipated gyro­
compassing error .

/
6-6

A history of primary guidance error coeffi ci ents is presented in

table 6-I . The preflight performan ce values were obt ai ne d from sys tem
calibrati ons performed after the inertial measurement unit was installed
in the command module . The flight performance values are from platform
ali gnment dat a and accelerometer bias meas urements made during the mi s­
sion .

Table 6-II is a summary of inert i al measurement unit reali gnments

performed during the mi s s i on . Tab le 6-III summari zes signi fi cant con­
t rol parameters during servi ce propuls i on system maneuvers and the mid­
course correction maneuvers .

The previously ment i oned gimb al lock warning indi cat i on occurred
during translunar coast j ust after the inert i al meas urement unit was be­
ing realigned. The computer downmoded the inertial subsystem to the
coarse align mode whi ch caged the plat form to the existing atti tude ref­
erence . In order to prevent the plat form from being cage d during time­
criti cal periods of fli ght , an eras able program was manually loade d into
the computer. The program prevented the comput er from changing the stat­
us of the coarse-align di s crete . During non-criti cal time periods , the
program was removed to preserve the coarse-align mode in the event of a
true gimbal lock condition .

After a normal undocking and separat i on maneuver from the lunar mod­
ule , the circularizat i on maneuver was cancelled be cause an osci llat i on
was detected in the se condary yaw servo system for the servi ce propulsion
system engine gimbal while performing the pre-ignition checklist . Analy­
sis of the flight data by ground pers onnel indicated that the cause of
the problem was an open ci rcuit in the rate feedback loop . A review of
existing s imulat i on data i ndicated that the system was s afe to us e . The
mi s s i on proceeded after a delay of three lunar revoluti ons , which repre­
sente.d the time required for the problem evaluat i on , traj ectory consi dera­
t i ons , and preliminary changes t o the fli ght plan . The circulari zat i on
maneuver was performed succes s fully on the primary servo system and the
secondary system was never requi red for control of the space craft . Re­
vi s i on of the flight plan for all subsequent mi s s i on activities was neces­
sary because of this anomaly . Two command and service module service pro­
puls ion system maneuvers were ultimately eliminated from the prelaunch
plan .

Attitude control dat a t aken during lunar orbital operations was ex­
amined by ground support pers onnel in an effort to minimi ze reacti on con­
trol thruster activity during sleep peri ods and to improve spacecraft
pointing accuracy . During the Apollo 15 mi s s i on , gravity gradient torques
had a tendency to hold the vehicle against one s i de of the deadband. The
state ve ctor integrat i on routines in the comput er would interrupt the dig­
ital aut opilot orbital rate maneuver routines and allow the vehi cle t o
 TABLE 6-I . - COMMAND AND SERVICE MODULE INERTIAL COMPONENT SUMMARY

Number Sample
Sample Countdown Flight Infligb.t
o:f standard
mean value load performance
samples deviation

J•
Accelerometers

X - Scale factor error , ppm . . . . . 6 19 -255 -252 -310 --

2
.

Bias , em/sec 6 O o 07 -O o lO -0 . 0 3 -0 . 04 o . oo

. . . . . 6 32 -1294 -1337 -1330

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

y - Scale factor error , ppm -

2
. . . . . . . . . . 6 0 . 03 1 . 15 1 . 20 1 . 14 1 . 13
0

Bias , em/sec .

z - Scale factor error , ppm . . . . 6 49 -403 -348 -310 --

2
. . . . . . . . 6 0 .19 -0 .23 -0.08 -0.13 -Oo 36
0 0

Bias , em/sec 0 0 .

Gyroscopes

X - Null bias drift • meru . . . 6 0 . 37 -1 . 87 -1 . 8 -0.89 ±0 . 25

a
0 0 0 . l.l
( l sigma)

. . . . . . 6 0 . 53 -11 .05 -10 . 6

Accelerometer drift , spin reference
axis • meru/g 0 0 0 0 0 -ll -

. . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1 . 66 8 . 58 10.1 8 --
Accelerometer drift , input axis ,
meru/g .

. . . . . . 0 .95 -0.15 -0 . 4 -0.09 ±0 . 22

0

y - Null bias drift -O .l

,
• meru 0 0

( l sigma)

. . . . . . . 6 1 . 40 -13 . 53 -13 . 4 -14 --

Accelerometer drift , spin reference
axi s , meru/g 0 0 . 0

. . . . . . . . . . . . 12 2 . 46 -6.41 -5 . 5 -7 --
Accelerometer drift . input axis ,
meru/g .

. . . . . 6 0 . 66 -1 .98 -2 . 8 -1 . 7 -1 . 17 ±0 . 19
0

z - Null bias drift • meru . .

( l sigma)

. . . . . 6 0 . 29 -5 . 20 -5 . 0 -5 . 0
Accelerometer drift , spin reference
axis • meru/g . 0 . . 0 0
-

. . . . . . . . . 6 2 . 43 14.90 18 . 3 14 --
Accelerometer drift , input axis ,
meru/g . . . . 0

a
Adjusted to minimize lift-off gyrocompassing azimuth error .
 0\
I
TABLE 6-II . - COMMAND AND SERVICE MODULE PLATFORM ALIGNMENT SUMMARY
(!)

"Frogra>n
Gyro torquing angle ,
Star angle
Time , deg Gyro dri f t , meru

X y z X y z
Star used difference , Comments
hr:min option
deg

0 0 : 38 3 23 Denebola, 30 Menkent 0 . 040 0 . 031 0 . 045 0 . 00 - - - Launch orientation

0 6 : 32 3 30 Menkent , 31 Arctarus 0 . 188 -0.035 -0.076 0 . 01 - - - Launch orientation
06 : 39 1 24 Gienah, 31 Arctarus - - - 0 . 01 - - - Passive thermal control orientation
11:14 3 42 Peacock , 34 Atria 0 . 164 -0 . 0 22 -0.052 0 . 00 -2.37 0 . 32 -0.7 5 Passive thermal control orientation
29:40 3 27 Alkaid , 3l. Arcturus 0 . 631 -0.063 -0.197 0 . 01 -2.30 0 . 23 -0.72 Passive thermal control orientation
29:42 3 23 Denebola, 32 Alphecca 0 . 000 -0.005 -0 .002 0 . 01 - - - Passive thermal control orientation

-
39 : 0 3 3 Earth, SWl - 0 . 463 0 . 861 11. 48o 0 . 07 - - - Aft er gimbal dump

- -
39 : 09 3 06 Acama.r , 07 Menkar -0. 010 -0.088 -0.109 - - - After gimbal dump
39 : 1 3 3 12 Rigel , 21 Alphard 0 . 015 0 . 006 -0.004 0 . 01 - Passive thermal control orientation
51:18 3 17 Regor, 22 Regulus -0.062 0 . 029 0 . 000 0 . 00 0 . 34 -0.16 0 . 00 Pass ive thermal control orientation
68:39 3 06 Acamar , 34 Atria -0 . 068 o . oo4 0 . 054 o . oo 0 . 61 -0 . 04 0 . 49 Passive thermal control orientation
71 : 2 3 3 35 Rasalllague , 41 Dabih -0.032 0 . 017 0 . 006 o . oo 0 . 78 0 . 41 0 . 15 Passive thermal control orientation
71:28 1 35 Rasalhague , 41 Dabih 0 . 002 0 . 000 -0. 001 0 . 00 - - - Lunar orbit insertion orientation

-
75 : 51 3 24 Gienah, 33 Antares -0.044 o . oo6 0 . 019 0 . 01 0 . 68 -0.09 0 . 29 Lunar orbit insertion orientation
75 : 59 1 23 Denebola, 30 Menkent -0.027 -0 . 151 0 . 034 0 . 01 - - Landing site orientation
76:01 3 23 Denebola, 30 Menkent -0.001 0 . 004 -0.001 0 . 02 - - - Landing site orientation
77 : 53 3 30 Menkent , 37 Nunki 0 . 011 0 . 015 0 . 009 0 . 01 -0 . 39 -0 . 53 0 . 32 Landing site orientation
81 :41 3 41 Dabih, 44 Enif -0. 029 0 . 00 5 0 . 012 0 . 01 0 . 51 -0.09 0 . 21 Landing site orientation
93 : 18 3 35 Rasalhague , 44 Enif - 0 . 066 0 . 002 0 .050 0 . 00 0 . 38 -0.01 0 . 29 Landing site orientation
102 :44 3 42 Peacock , 44 Enif -0.013 -0. 011 0 . 020 0 . 00 0 . 09 0 . 07 0 . 14 Landing site orientation
118 : 38 3 35 Rasalhague , 44 Enif -0.077 0 . 006 0 . 075 0 . 00 0 . 32 -0.02 0 . 31 Landing site orientation

Ac rux , 24 Gieneh
130 : 3 0 3 -- -- -0.054 -0. 016 0 . 067 0 . 01 0 . 30 0 . 09 0 . 38 Landing site orientation
146 :21 3 25 - 0 . 075 0 . 004 0 . 076 0 . 01 0 . 31 -0.02 0 . 32 Landing site orientation
164 : 3 5 3 22 Regulus , 24 Gienah -0.103 -0. 001 0 . 097 - 0 . 38 0 . 00 0 . 35 Landing site orientation

-
168 :06 3 30 Menkent , 37 Nunki o . ooo -0. 001 o . ooo 0 . 01 0 . 00 0 . 02 0.00 Landing site orientation
168 : 10 1 -- -- 0 . 087 0 . 776 0 . 324 o . oo - - Plane change orientation
168:12 3 30 Menkent , 37 Nunki 0 . 010 -0.007 0 . 003 0 . 01 - - - Plane change orientation
169 : 38 1 -- -- 0 . 108 0 . 061 0 . 001 0 . 01 - - - Lift-off orientation
170 : 50 3 27 Alkaid, 31 Arctarus 0 . 005 -0.009 -0.004 - - - - Lift-off orientation
174 : 0 0 3 37 Nunk.i , 45 Foma.lhaut -0. 019 -0. 019 0 . 020 0 . 01 0 . 39 0 . 39 0 . 42 Lift-off orientation
190:09 3 21 Alphard, 30 Menkent -0.100 0 . 002 0 . 095 - -0.41 -0.01 0 . 39 Lift -off orientation

-
198:12 3 20 Dnoces , 27 Alkaid -0.032 0 . 001 0 . 0 34 o . oo 0 . 27 0 . 01 0 . 28 Lift-off orientation
198 :16 1 20 Dnoces , 27 Alkaid - 0 . 375 -0. 485 -0 . 868 o .oo - - Transearth inj ection orientation

-
201:50 3 3 Navi , 20 Dnoces -0.009 -0 . 014 0 . 047 0 . 01 0 . 17 0 . 26 0 . 86 Transearth injection orientation
201 : 56 1 3 Navi , 20 Dnoces 0 . 811 -1 . 535 1 . 172 0 . 01 - - Passive thermal control orientation
201 : 58 3 3 Navi , 20 Dnoces -0.007 0 . 006 0 . 007 0 . 01 - - - Passive thermal control orientation
213:09 3 1.5 Sirius , 22 Regulus - 0 . 040 0 . 030 0 . 0 58 0 . 00 0 . 24 -0.18 0 . 34 Pass ive thermal control orientation
225 : 50 3 14 Canopus , 16 Procyon -0.039 -0. 012 0 . 084 0 . 01 0 . 2J. o . o6 0 . 44 Passive thermal control orientation
241 : 18 3 21 Alphard, 26 Spica -0.035 0 . 002 0 . 125 0 . 01 0 . 15 -0 . 01 0 . 54 Passive thermal control orientation

- -
261 :07 3 10 Mirfak , 12 Rigel -0.103 -0. 029 0 . 141 0 . 01 0 . 35 0 . 10 0 . 47 Passive thermal control orientation
261:13 1 10 Mirfak, 12 Rigel 0 . 127 -0 . 089 -0. 436 0 . 01 - Entry orientation
264:05 3 15 Sirius , 21 Alphard -0.014 -0 . 014 0.015 0 . 01 0 . 33 0 . 33 0 . 35 Entry orientation

�he numbers used in this column represent the following: 1 - Preferred; 3 - REFSMMAT .
 TABLE 6�III , � GUIDANCE AND CONTROL MANEUVER SUMMARY

�
Maneuver

Parameter
1rst
mac curse
l9.r,une.r orbit 9.nes cent Ol"bit Br.unA.l" nrh� t. aT,,_l_l'lB_r
orbit-
s..
rr8!'.9earth
Second Third
midcourse
midcourse
insertion insertion circularization plane change injection
correction correction correction

Time
Ignition, hr:min:sec 30:39:00.66 7 4 : 2 8 : 27 . 87 78:33:45.04 103 : 2 1 : 4 3 . 0 8 169 : 0 5 : 52 . 1 4 200 :21 : 33.07 214 : 3 5 : 02 , 8 262 : 37 : 20 . 7
Cutoff, hr:min :sec 30:39:02.67 7 4 : 34 : 42.77 78 : 34 : 09 . 39 103 :21 : 4'1 . 74 169 : 05 : 5 9 . 2 8 2 0 0 : 2 4 : 1 5 . 36 214 : 3 5 : 2 5 . 4 262 : 37 : 2 7 . 1
Duration, min :sec 0 : 02 . 0 1 6 : 14.90 24.35 4.66 7.14 2 : 4 2 . 29 8.o 3.2

b
Velocity gained , ft/sec
(actual/desired)
X 5 . 88/6.04 2786.35/2786.63 142.99/143.62 +0.25/-0.43 1 9 .63/19 .63 -894.13/-894.11 -0.20/-0.11 0 . 62/0.66
y 9.01/9.42 265 .06/265 .D7 141. 32/141 . 8 5 -70 . 26/-71 .17 -59. 37/-59 .68 -2466 .65/-2467 . 5 8 0.78/+0.90 -0. 38/-0 .50
z 5 . 58/5.75 125.67/125.69 58. H/5 8.93 -39 .56/-3 9.99 107.02/107 - 1 1 -2116 .06/-2115.36 2.98/+3.30 - 1 . 08/-1.19

c
Velocity residual s , fi/sec
X +0.1 +0 . 2 +0.9 +0 . 3 +0 ,8 +0.2 Not e.pplicable Not applicable
y o.o ...Q .l ..Q . 1 +0 . 2 -0 . 4 +1.4 Not applicable Not applicable
z +0.1 o.o +0 . 1 o.o -0.6 0.0 Not applicable Not applicable

Engine gimbal position, deg

Initial
Pitch +1.22 +1.18 +1.88 +0,53 +0.48 +0.66 Not applicable Not applicable
Yaw -0.12 -0.12 -0.63 +1.15 +0.98 +0.90 Not applicable Not applicable
Maximum excursion
Pitch +0.34 +0.35 +0 . 31 -2 , 10 �2.13 -1 . 80 Not applicable Not applicable

I
Yaw -0 . 5 1 -0.42 .-0.34 +2,04 +2.06 +1.95 Not applicable Not app1ioable
Steady-state
Not applicable +1.13 +1.66 +0 . 57 Not applicable Not applicable
Pitch +0.44 +0.53

J
Yaw Not applicable -0.04 -0.50 +1.02 +1.11 +1.24 Not applicable Not applicable
Cutoff
Pitch Not applicable 1.87 +1.70 +0,57 +0.48 +0.61 Not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable -0.71 -0.38 +1.02 Not applicable Not applicable
Yaw +1.11 -0.42

Maximum rate excursion, deg/sec

Pitch +0.15 -0.09 -0,14 +1.04 +1.00 +0.90 Not applicable Not applicable
Yaw +0.22 +0.14 +0.19 -1.01 -1 . 00 >±1.00 Not applicable Not applicable
Roll -0.26 -0.21 -O.ll -0 . 73 -1.00 >±1.00 Not applicable Not applicable

0'\
I
\0
6-10

drift sli ghtly out s ide the deadband. This resulted in longer than de ­
s ired thruster firings as well as an unneces sary numb er of firings . Pro­
cedural changes were made for Apollo 16 to reduce the state vector inte­
gration routine computation time and to b ias the pointing vector such that
gravity gradient torque s would hold the vehicle against the positive dead­
band only. Result s indicate that the procedural changes halved the num­
b er of thruster firings and the pointing accuracy was improved by a fac ­
tor of two .

The crew reported that the Teflon locking rings did not prevent the
optical eyeguards on th e scanning telescope from unscrewing in zero g and
it was annoying to have to refocus the telescope each time it was us e d .
The cause of both problems was the nonavailab ility of flight hardware for
crew training . Fli ght hardware has been provided in training simulator s .

The entry sequence , beginning with command module/service module

separat i on , was normal through landing . The guidance system controlled
the spacecraft attitude and li ft vector during entry and gui de d the ve­
h icle to landing coordinat es of 0 degrees 42 minutes 0 seconds s outh lat­
itude , 156 degrees 12 minutes 48 s econds west longitude , as determined
from the spacecraft comput er .

6.7 PROPULSION

6.7.1 Reaction Control Systems

Performance o f the servi c e module reaction control system was normal

throughout the mi s s ion . Planned propellant consumption was exceeded by
about 90 pounds b ecaus e of the unanticipated rendezvous maneuver with the
lunar module . Approximately 28 pounds of the propellant de ficiency was re­
covered by subsequent systems management and by the deletion of two planned
maneuvers .

No preheat ing of the command module reaction control system was re­
quired prior to activiat i on . Checkout firings and syst ems performance
were sat i sfactory. Both systems were active during entry . The filters
and screens were found to be de formed when the regulators were disas s em­
bled during postflight t e st ing ( s ee sec . 14 . 1 . 21 ) . The propellant deple­
tion firing and system purge was not per formed on this mi ss ion . However ,
a "burp " firing from two engines in each system was initiated at an alti ­
tude of about 3 5 0 feet t o reli eve the propellant man i fold pres sure . As
a re sult , pin-hole burns were detected in the recovered parachutes ( s ee
sec . 14 . 1 . 18 ) . The propellant isolation valves were in the closed posi­
t ion for these firings .
 6-n

An explosive failure of a ground support equipment decontaminati on

unit tank occurred during the post flight deactivation o f the oxidizer ( ni ­
trogen tetroxide ) portion o f the Apollo 16 co=and module reaction control
syst em ( see sec . 14 . 1 . 20 ) .

6.7.2 Servi c e Propul sion System

Service propuls ion system per formance was sati s factory during each
of the s ix maneuvers . Total firing time was 575 . 35 s econds . For t ime s
o f igni t:i.on and durations o f fir ings , refer t o table 6-II I .

There were three deviat ions from expected conditions :

a . The onboard oxidi zer and fuel t ank pres sure indic ati ons were
known to be b iased plus 8 and minus 7 psi , respectively .

b . The oxidizer t ank pre ssure indicat ion became 1 5 ps i h i gher at

zero-g than actual on both telemetry and onboard di splay ( s ee sec . 14 . 1 . 2 ) .

c . The propellant utili zation valve was left in the normal posit ion
throughout the fli ght becaus e of an electrical problem in the system noted
during prelaunch checkout .

Figure 6-1 shows the propellant unbalance for the lunar orbit in ­
s ertion and transearth inj e ction firings as indicated by the t elemetry
data . The auxiliary gaging system was activiated for the t rans earth in­
j ect ion firing; therefore , the fi gure shows the point s ensor uncoverings
during firing as indicated by the auxiliary gaging dat a . The pre fl i ght ­
expected unbalance i s also shown in the fi gure .

6.8 ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL SYSTEM AND CREW STATION EQUIPMENT

6 . 8 .1 Environment al Control System

The environmental control system performed sat i s factorily. Several

anomal ie s occ urr ed , but none affected the mi s s i on s i gni fi cantly .

Shortly after orb it al insertion , as the water/glycol res ervoir was

bein g i s olat e d , the system valves were inadvertently pos itioned to com­
pletely block the primary coolant loop . The system was supplying no add­
itional heat load in this confi gurati on; there fore , the evaporator started
to freeze and the indicated backpres sure reached the lower limit o f 0 . 05
p s ia . The res ervoir valves were repos itioned , flow was restore d , and the
evaporator recovered smoothly with no advers e e ffects .
 0'
I
I-'
1\)

� �
200

--- U nbalance from primary

- - - E pected unb lance
f\_ - - - - - - -
100
gaging system data
II
rt'��
j
.. _ _ _ --- -
0
-- - r- - - - ......
E
-
·
-
r- - - -!1 �
==

u -100
<:::
�-

�I'-..
.0!
·-

!
.l!!
<:::
=>
�
�
'0 "'-..
N -200

·;:
0

�
Tank
crossover
-300

�
Point sensors uncovered

lf li
_I
-400
!
No. 12 No. l3 No. 14 No. 15

II IW
O�idizer o idizer o :dizer O izer
Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel
-500
0 40 80 120 160 200 240 280 320 360 400 0 40 80 120 160 200
Firing time, sec

lal Lunar orbit i nsertion maneuver. (b) Transearth injection maneuver.

Figure 6-1 . - Indicat ed oxidizer propellant unbalance .

 6- 13

Af'ter translunar inj ection , the water/glycol temperature control cir­

cuit malfUnctioned in the automat i c mode . The temperature control valve
was pos it ioned manually to maintain acceptable coolant loop temperatures .
The mean system temperature was slightly cooler than normal during lunar
orb it operations . For a discussion of this anomaly , s ee section 14 . 1 . 1 .

The Command Module Pilot reported having to use more than the usual
force in performing the third daily wat er chlorinat ion . Also , some fluid
leakage was not e d . A detailed discuss ion of this anomaly is contained in
section 14 . 1 . 7 .

Two of the lithium hydroxide cani sters used during solo lunar orb it
operations were di fficult t o remove . One was e speci ally tight and con­
siderable effort was required in the removal . Section 14 . 1 . 1 5 gives fur ­
ther details of th is anomaly.

Following cabin depressuri zation for the t rans earth extravehicular

activity , the water/glycol in the cab in decreased in t emperature . The de­
crease was over an 8 -minute period. The primary water/ glycol radi ator out­
let t emperature decreased from 30° F to 21° F , the evaporator water/glycol
outlet t emperature decreased from 4 5 ° F to 32° F , and the suit inlet tem­
perature decreased_ from 48° F to 36 . 6 ° F . The water/ glycol t emperature
control valve was then adj usted and the evaporator outlet temperature sta­
bilized at approximately 57° F during the remainder of the extravehicular
activity.

A s imilar but less severe temperature decreas e was observed at the

beginning of the Apollo 15 mi ss ion extravehicul_ar activity . Temperatures
decreas ed and returned to normal about 10 minutes af'ter the cabin had b een
depres surized . Slight temperature fluctuations have also been obs erved
during depressuriz.-ed cabin operations in the manned altitude test s . These
t emperature changes are caused by the freezing o f water that bad condensed
earlier on the water/glycol line s . An evaluation o f the Apollo 16 mi s sion
cabin environment indicated a higher-than-normal humidity . This would
account for an inereased amount of condensation and , therefore , greater
t emperature excursions than were experienced during the chaniber runs and
the Apollo 15 mi s s ion . Based on a 13° F decreas e o f the evaporator out ­
let t emperature , less than 173 Btu ' s were removed from the primary cool­
ant loop . This would require the sublimation of approximately 2 . 6 ounces
of wat er .

The vacuum cleaner failed af'ter becoming elogged with dust . The vac­
uum cleaner was cleaned postflight and it operated properly . The des i gn
of the vacuum c leaner is such that lunar dust can clog the impeller .
6 14
-

The cabin fans began to "moan " shortly after trans earth inj ection
and the fans were turned off for the remainder of the mi s s i on . In post­
flight tests , the fans operated properly . This anomaly is di s cussed in
sect i on 14 . 1 . 11 .

The residue from approximately 1 teaspoon of water/glycol was dis­

covered on the command module floor during the postflight activi ti es .
Traces of water/glycol were also found on the lower front edge of the
suit heat exchanger and on the coolant control side of the environmental
control unit ( see sec . 14 . 1 . 19 ) .

6 .8.2 Crew Stat i on/Equipment

Crew equipment performance was sat i s factory . However , the extrave­

hi cular mobility unit maintenance kit was swollen t o about three t imes the
thickness of a similar kit whi ch was stowed i n the lunar module . The cause
of this anomaly is di s cuss ed in sect i on 14 . 3 . 9 .

The Command Module Pilot ' s Y-Y couch strut was diffi cult to extend
and lock during entry preparat i ons . The Command Module Pilot commented
that there was no di s cernable clearance between the strut pad and the
command module wall . Post flight inspection indicated a clearance , but
did show wear and galling of the strut barrel ( see sec . 14 . 1 . 17 ) .

6.9 CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS

Performance of the controls and displ�s was normal , with the follow­
ing two exceptions :

Errors were pres ent in the oxidi zer and fuel tank pressure readings
and are di s cussed further in the instrumentat ion and propulsion sect i ons .

The digital event time r , on panel 1 , began to malfuncti on about half­

w� through the flight . A similar problem occurred during the Apollo 10
mi s s i on . Thi s anomaly is di s cussed in secti on 14 . 1 . 13.

6 . 10 EXTRAVEHICULAR ACTIVITY EQUIPMENT

The environmental control system and crew equipment performed suc­

ces s fully throughout the trans earth extravehi cular activity .
 6-15

The envi ronmental control system suit loop pressure trans ducers , the
Commander ' s cuff gage , and the Lunar Module Pilot ' s cuff gage were in di s ­
agreement during the time that the cab in was depres s uri zed. See secti ons
14 . 1 . 12 and 1 4 . 3 . 8 for a di s cus s i on of these anomalies .

6 . 11 CONSUMABLES

All command &ld servi ce module consumab les remai ned well within red­
line limits .

6 . 11 . 1 Servi ce Propulsion Propellant

Service propuls i on propellant and heli um loadings and consumpti on

values are listed ).n the following table . The loadings were calculated
from gaging system readings and meas ured dens ities prior to li ft-off ,

Propellant , lb
Condition
Fuel Oxi d:l. zer Total
Loaded 15 676 . 2 25 070 . 3 40 7 46 . 5

Consumed 14 491 . 6 2 3 6 35 . 1 38 126 . 7

Remaining at emd
of transearth
inj ection 1184 . 6 14 3 5 . 2 2619 . 8

Usable at end of
trans earth in-
a
j e ct i on 699 . 1 11 40 . 2 1839 . 3
a
Based on 1140 . 2 lb oxidi zer and the propellant ut ili zati on valve in
normal pos ition .

Heli um , lb
Condition
Storage Bottles Propellant Tanks

Loaded 86 . 6 5 .4
Consumed 62 .6 -
Remaining at end of
trans earth inject i on 24 . 0 68 . 0
 6-16

6 . 11 . 2 React i on Control System Propellant

Servi ce Module . - The propellant uti li z at i on an d loading data for the

service module reacti on control system we re as shown in the following
t able . Consumption was calculated from telemetered helium t ank pres sure
histories and was b as e d on pressure , volume , and temperature relation­
ships .

Propellant , lb
Condition
Fuel Oxi di zer Total

Loaded
Quad A 110 227 337
Quad B 110 225 335
Quad c 110 226 336
Quad D 110 225 335

Total 440 903 1343

�s able loaded 1252

C onsumed 806

Remaining at
command module/
service module
separation 446

� sable loaded propellant i s the amount loaded minus the amount

trappe d with corrections made for gaging system errors .
 6 - 17

Command Module . - The loading and ut ili zat:i. on of' command module reac­
tion control system propellant were as f'ollows . Cons umption was calcu­
lat e d from pre s s ure , volume , and temperature relationships .

Propellant , lb
Condition
Fuel Oxi di zer Total

Loaded
System 1 38 . 6 78 . 1 116 . 7
System 2 38 . 5 78.2 116 . 7

Total 77 . 1 156 . 3 233 . 4

�sable loaded 196 . 6

C onsumed prior t o
loss o f s i gn al
during entry
System 1 28

System 2 28

Total 56

� sable loaded propellant is the amount loade d minus the amount

trappe d .
6 - 18

6 . 11 . 3 Cryogeni cs

The total cryogeni c hydrogen and oxygen �uantities availab le at li ft­

off and consumed were as follows . Consumpti on values were b as ed on �uan­
tity dat a t ransmitted by telemet ry .

Hydrogen , lb Oxygen , lb
Conditi on
Actual Planned Actual Planne d

Avai lable at li ft-off

Tank 1 25 . 9 318
Tank 2 25 . 8 323
Tank 3 26 . 7 315

Total 78 . 4 78 . 4 956 9 56

Consumed
Tank 1 18 . 7 188
Tank 2 18 . 6 152
Tank 3 16 . 7 186

Total 54.0 57. 7 526 561

Remaining at command
module / s e rvice mod-
ule separat i on
Tank 1 7.2 5.5 130 119
Tank 2 7.2 6.7 171 171
Tank 3 10 . 0 8.5 129 105

Total 24 . 4 20 . 7 430 39 5
 6-19

6.n.4 Wat e r

The water quantities loade d , produc e d , and expelled during the mi s ­

s i on are shown i n the following table .

Condit i on Quanti ty , lb

Loaded ( at lift-off )
Potable t ank 24 . 5
Waste tank: 35 . 2

Produced inflight
Fuel cells 4 76
Lithium hydroxide 22 . 7
Metaboli c 22 . 1

Dumped overboard
Waste tank
Potable t ank
Skylab contaminat i on
expe riment
Urine and flushing

Evaporator usage 9 .9

Remaining at c ommand module /

service module s eparat i on
Potable t ank 36 . 3
Waste t an:k: 49 . 2

s.rhis i s the quantity required t o complete the balance . St andard

Operat i ons Dat a Book values b as e d on an average metaboli c rate of
467 Btu/hr indi cat e a uri ne and feces product i on of 77 . 0 lb . It
is estimat e d that less than 4 lb of wat e r was us ed for flushing .
The di fference between the Standard Operat i ons Dat a Book values
( plus estimated flushing ) and the quantity requi red to complete
the balance is approximately 4 . 7 lb and is negligible cons i dering
the inaccuracy and uncert ainty of the dat a used to obtain this bal­
ance .
 ·r- 1

7.0 LUNAR MODULE PERFORMANCE

This section contains an evaluation of lunar module systems perform­

ance with emphasi s on problems encountered during the mi s s i on . The con-
sumables usage is presented in s e ct i on 7 . 8 .

7.1 THERMAL , STRUCTURAL AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

Thermal performance was s atis factory . All temperatures remained with­

in acceptable limits ; however , the modular equipment stowage area tempera­
tures did not follow the prefli ght pre di ct i ons . Analysis and photographs
indi c at e that the thermal blankets were not completely clos e d . Als o , the
televi s ion and 16-mm cmnera brackets were not remove d . The presence of
these brackets along with the lunar communi cati ons relay unit anc i llary
bracket , whi ch may not have been remove d, would prevent proper closure of
the blankets and c aus e the temperature increas e .

The crew had diffi culty in adj usting the modular equipment stowage
assembly to the proper height following deployment . This was not a hard­
ware problem ; therefore , installat i on and training procedures will be re­
vis e d .

Structural loads were within des i gn values bas ed on gui dance and con­
trol dat a , acceleration dat a , onboard pre s s ure measurement s , phot ographs ,
and crew comments . Little or no gear stroking oc curred during the lunar
landing as evidenced from approximately 6 inches of clearance between the
lunar surface and the undamaged des cent engine ski rt . The lande d atti tude
was estimated to be 2 . 3 degrees pitch up and 0 . 4 degree roll left .

A large number of long , thi n , white parti cles were seen coming from
the left s i de ( minus-Y s i de ) of the ascent stage at transpos ition and dock­
ing . Infli ght ex�®ination and ground analysi s veri fi ed that the thermal
paint on the mi cromete oroi d shi elds had flaked and peeled . No adverse
temperature e ffects were experienced from this anomaly , whi ch is dis cuss e d
in detail in s e ct i on 14 . 2 . l .

The lunar surface televi s i on camera showed loos e material on the as­
cent stage during the lunar li ft -off . This materi al was later i denti fi ed
as four thermal/mi crometeoroi d shields whi ch were part i ally torn loos e from
the bas e of the aft equipment rack . Temperature control was maintained by
the thermal blankets located under the panels . Additi onal detai ls of this
anomaly are given in section 14 . 2 . 2 .
7-2

7.2 ELECTRICAL POWER

The performance of the batteries and the elect ri cal power distribu­
tion system was s atis factory . The lunar landing delay caus ed an unplanned
energy consumpti on of 200 ampere hours prior to des cent . Be caus e of power
load re ducti ons while on the lunar surface , approximately 100 ampere-hours
were recovered in the planned-versus-actual electrical power budget . The
d-e bus voltage was maint ained above 28 . 2 volt s and the maximum ob served
current was 72 amperes , during powered des cent . Because the lunar module
di d not deorbit , data were obtained unti l batteries 5 and 6 had dropped
to 21 . 7 and 21 . 5 volts , respectively .

After final egres s from the lunar module , a master alarm was noted
on PCM data. Review of the clos eout swi tch pos ition checkli s t revealed
that the i nverter select switch was le ft in the "invert er 2" posit i on ,
whi ch resulted in the nui s ance alarm. The swit ch should have been left
in the "off" position whi ch inhibits the alarm.

7. 3 COMMUNICATIONS

With the exceptions dis cussed in the following paragraphs , all func­
tions , including voi ce , dat a , and ranging of both the S-band and VHF equip­
ment operated satis factorily during all phas es of the mi s s i on .

The steerable antenna would not move in the yaw axis during i nitial
activation . Several unsucce s s ful activation attempts were made i n both
the manual slew and auto track modes ( see sec . 14 . 2 . 3 ) . Except for a
short period of time when the vehi cle attitude was changed to point the
steerable antenna . at the earth , all S-b and communi cat i ons were maintained
using the omni di rectional antennas . As expe cted , the voi ce and dat a qual­
ity were degraded by the resulting low signal strength . During lunar rev­
oluti ons 12 , 13 , and 1 4 , variati ons in s ignal strength of 10 to 15 dB were
experienced while using the forward omni directional antenna . An example
of this variation i s shown in the ground-station-received signal plot in
figure 7-1 . This condition occurred at both the Madrid and Goldstone
ground stat i ons . An analysis of the dat a indicates that the reducti on in
s i gnal always occurred within small areas of the antenna pattern . The
most probable cause of thi s is multipath reflecti ons from porti ons of the
vehi cle st ructure such as the rende zvous radar antenna dish . A detailed
antenna gain pattern will be plotted of this criti cal area to better de­
fine what can be anti cipated for Apollo 17 in the event that the omni­
directional antennas ·are required .
 7-3

� :�86
�
�
-110
� - 1 .3 0
-150
100:25:.30
--------�--�---L--�
100:26:.30
100:26:00 100:27:00
,
-------------------------- �
�
-------

100:27:.30 100:28:00

Figure 7-1. - Madrid ground stat ion received signal .

At times during the miss ion , it was nec essary to change the system
confi guration from "normal voi c e" to "down voi c e backup" . At the time
of switching , the ciown-link s i gnal strength dropped abruptly for a short
period. This was eaus ed by a trans ient in the S-band trans ceiver output
which caused the power ampli fier to recycle . During this time , the sys­
tem operates in the low-power mode which is reflected in s ignal strength
reduction . This condition was di scovered prior t o the flight of Apollo
11. No change was warranted due to its random occurrence and the rela­
tively small effect that it has on a mi s sion .

The lunar mod1.Ue c rewmen reported voice quality of the VHF B channel
was degraded during ranging operation . The ranging switch was left on in
the command and s ervice module at all t imes even when ranging data were
not being monitored.. This degradati on is inherEmt in the ranging system
des ign .

During the coiDmunications check prior to the first extravehicular

activity , the mi crophone audio s i gnal from the Lunar Module Pilot ' s head­
s et was too weak to operate the voice-operat ed keying circuitry in his
extravehicular co�nunications system. This was attributed to a loos e tip
on one of the comm1mications carrier heads et microphone booms plus orange
j ui c e blockage of the other microphone boom . This anomaly i s di scussed
in section 1 4 . 3 . 5 .

7.4 RADAR

Landing radar performance was satis factory. Two suc c ess ive landing
radar s elf-tests produced erroneous data , but a third self-t est , performed
approximately 30 mj.nutes later , was normal in all respects . Analysis in­
dicates the two umiUccessful s el f-test s resulted. from lockup to s i gnal re­
turns from the luneLr surface rather than the s elf-test stimulus . During
7-4

des cent , velocity and range acquisition occurred at a slant range of ap­
proximately 48 700 feet . There was no evidence of dropout in signal track­
ing between acquis i tion and touchdown .

The rendezvous radar performance during separat i on and during the

rendezvous sequence was normal . The rendezvous radar acquired the com­
mand and servi ce module t ransponder during as c ent at a range of approxi­
mately 150 miles . Data indi c ates good correlat i on between the rende zvous
radar and VHF ranging sys tem .

During the platform alignment prior to powered des cent , the rendez­
vous radar antenna dri fted into vi ew of the alignment opti cal teles cope .
Thi s is normal since , in the unpowered stat e , the antenna holds its ori­
entation only by inherent fri ctional resistance , but this is not great
enough to resist the inertial loading on the antenna.

7.5 GUIDANCE , NAVIGATION , AND CONTROL

The guidance , navigation , and control system performance was normal

throughout the manned lunar module activit i es . The unmanned deorbit maneu­
ver to impact the as cent stage on the lunar surface was not accomplished
be cause of the los s of attitude control c apability . This anomaly is dis ­
cussed in greater detail later in this section and i n section 14 . 2 . 6 .

The primary guidance system was activated at 9 4 hours 33 minut es ;

the comput er timing was then synchroni zed to the command module computer ,
and the platform was aligned to the command module gui dance system . A
manual update to the state vector in the computer was required because
of the S-b and steerable antenna problem. A summary of all primary guid­
ance system plat form alignments is shown in table 7-I . Table 7-II con­
tains a summary of mis s ion and preflight inertial component histori es .
The inert i al instruments performed well ; only one update was required ,
for an accelerometer b i as term.

The abort guidance system was activat e d following a normal undocking

and separation from the command module . A summary of preflight and in­
flight performance of the abort guidance system ac celerometers and gyros
is shown in table 7-III . The first lunar surface calibration indicated
that the X-gyro bias drift had shifted from the previous calibration by
1 . 1 degrees per hour . Although great er than expect e d , this shift was
within acceptable limits .

Following a three-orbit delay , the powered des cent was initiated and
was normal with two minor exceptions :
 \

TABLE 7-I . - LUNAR MODULE PLATFORM ALIGNMENT SUMMARY

Alignment mode Star angle Gyro torq,uing angle , deg

Time Type

X
difference ,
hr:min alignment a b 0 0
Option Technique Detent Star Detent Star deg y z

96:58 52 3 - - 2 26-Spica 2 33-Antares -0.05 -0.060 0 . 139 -0.018

102:42 52 1 - - 2 26-Spica 2 33-Antares -0.01 -0. 067 0 . 108 0 . 050

105 : 0 3 57 3 3 3 40-Altair - -- -0 . 01 -0 . 019 0 . 038 -0.021

173:49 57 4 3 1 04-Achernar - -- 0 . 03 -0 . 540 o . o46 -0.056

174 : 58 57 3 3 1 04-Achernar - -- 0 . 04 -0 . 019 0 . 017 -0. 012

� - Preferred; 2 - Nominal ; 3 - REFSMMAT ; 4 - Landing site .

bo - Stored attitude ; 1 - REFSMMAT + g; 2 - Two bodies ; 3 - 1 ody + g .

b

01 - Left front ; 2 - Center; 3 - Right front ; 4 - Right rear; 5 - Rear; 6 - Left rear .

--.J
I
\.n
r- 6

a
TABLE 7 -I I . - LUNAR MODULE INERTIAL COMPONENT HISTORY

Inflight performance

Countdown Flight
Parameter PQ'W'er.,..up Surface Lift-off
value load
to power-up to through
surface l i ft -oU rendezvous

(a) Accelerometers

X - Axis

Scale factor error , ppm -816 -890 - - -

2
Bias, em/sec 1 . 83 1 . 84 1 , 83 1 . 84 1 . 81

y - Axis

Scale factor error , ppm -403 -400 - - -

2
Bias , em/sec 1 . 57 1 . 60 1 . 62 1 . 66 1 . 65

z - Axis

Scale factor error , ppm -526 -4 . 70 - - -

2
Bias , em/sec 1 . 23 1 . 16 1 . 24 1 . 23 1 . 25

(b) Gyroscopes

X - Axis

Null bias drift , meru 0.3 -0 , 3 0 . 78 1.15 -

Acceleration drift along spin

reference axis , m:ru/g -0 . 3 -1.0 - - -

Acceleration dri:ft about input

axi s , meru/g 13.1 13 . 0 - - -

y - Axis

Null bias drift , meru -0.9 0.6 -1 . 26 -1 . 0 3 -

-6 . 7 -
Acceleration drift along spin
reference axis , meru/g -4 . 0 - -

-6 .0
Acceleration drift about input
axi s , meru/g -3.0 - - -

z - Axis

Null bias drift , meru -2 . 3 -2 . 6 0 . 58 -0.73 -

3.6
Acceleration drift along spin
reference axis , meru/g 3.0 - - -

-
Acceleration drift about input
axis , meru/g 17 . 7 14 . 0 - -

�e pre- countdown samples , means , and standard deviations normally given in this table are not
available because the inertial measurement unit was changed in the spacecraft just before lunar
module closeout .
 7 -7

TABLE 7 -III . - ABORT GUIDANCE SYSTEM CALIBRATION HISTORY

Accelerometers

Preflight performance Inflight performance

Standard
static bias, ""
Nuniber of Mean of deviation Flight System Pre- Post-
calibrations calibrations of load activation descent ascent
calibrations

0 . 0003
21 -.009 0 , 001 +0.010 +0. 008 +0.0072 +0.0066

y 21 -0.001 -0. 001 -0.001 -0.0023 -0. 0024

z 21 -0.002 0 . 0002 -0.002 -0. 002 0 . 0025

- -0. 0027

Gyros

Preflight performance Inflight performance

Gyro drif't,
Standard
deg/hr SUrface Surface
Nuniber of Means of deviation Flight System Post-
calibration calibration
calibrations calibrations o< load activation ascent
no. 1 oo. 2
calibrations

X 0 .03 0.05 -0.10 -0.06 -1 . 16

-0.45 -0 . 52 -0.6o
21 -1.13 Varying

z 0 . 59 0 . 29 0 . 68 o.64 -0.64
21 -0.29 0 . 02 -0,27 -0,60

21 0.55 0 . 03

a. An out-of--plane velocity component di ff'erence became apparent be­

tween the abort ancl primary gui dance systems . �'h is increased to a maximum
of 28 feet per second near lunar touchdown .

b. The abort guidance system indicated a roll axi s misali gnment of

0 . 47 degree from the primary guidance system following the lunar landing.

Thes e problems are discus s ed in section 14 . 2 . 7 .

A time hi story· of altitude during descent and several significant

event s pertaining to landing radar per formance are shown in figure 7-2 .
Table 7 -IV contaim; the sequence of events during powered descent , The
total e ffect of the landing point redesignat ions was to move the landing
site coordinates lE19 meters ( 620 ft ) uprange and. 194 meters ( 635 ft ) south .
Data b ecame noisy as the lunar module approached.. the lunar surface and thi s
precluded a detailed analys is o f the landing dynami cs .

Performance dlrring asc ent was normal . Velocity residuals were low
and no trim maneuver was requir ed ; however , a vernier adj ustment maneuver
was performe d . Table 7-V contains a s ummary of insertion conditions as
indicated by the primary and abort guidance syst ems and by the powered
flight proces sor ( ground comput ation ) . Table 7-.VI i s a summary of ren­
dezvous maneuvers obtained from s everal sources .
 -'1
I
co
7 0 X 10
3

.......

60
"
'
�
....

"'
"'
50

"
""
40
""

;
.,:2
""
�

<t

""
30

"'
Ignition

"'
20
Landing radar velocity
data - good

, ,
Begin pitchover

!
1 Enable landing
10

1 radar update )
1\.
'...._ i Landing
:1 1-
0
104:17 104:19 1 04 : 2 1 104:23 1 04:25 104:27 104:29 1 04:31
Time hr:min
I

Figure 7-2 . - Time history of altitude and landing radar events during de scent .
 7 -9

TABLE 1'-IV . - SEQUENCE OF EVENTS DURING POWERED DESCENT

Time from
Elaps ed time ,
igni ti on , Event
hr : min : see
min : s e e

104 : 17 : 18 -00 : 07 Ullage on

104 : 17 : 25 00 : 00 I gniti on
104 : 17 : 5 3 00 : 28 Throttle to full-throttle pos ition
104 : 19 : 16 01 : 51 Manual target ( landing site ) update-
Noun 69
104 : 20 : 38 0 3 : 13 Landing radar velocity data good
104 : 21 : 24 0 3 : 59 Landing radar range data good
104 : 21 : 54 0 4 : 29 Enab le landing radar updates - Verb 57
104 : 24 : 14 06 : 49 Enter landing point redes ignation ph ase
104 : 24 : 54 07 : 29 Throttle down
104 : 26 : 50 09 : 25 Landing radar antenna to pos ition 2
104 : 26 : 52 09 : 27 Approach phas e program selected
Program 6!1 , and pi tchover
104 : 27 : 20 09 : 55 First landing point re de s i gnat i on
104 : 27 : 32 10 : 07 Landing radar to low s cale
104 : 28 : 37 11 : 12 Select attitude hold mode
104 : 28 : 42 11 : 17 Select landing phas e program -
Program 66
104 : 29 : 35 12 : 10 Lunar landing ( approximate )

T.IIBLE 7-V . - LUNAR ASCENT INSER'riON SUMMARY

Velocity in inertial
Altitude , coordinates , ft/ s ec
Source
ft
X y z

Primary guidance system 59 9 5 7 -95 8 . 82 o.n 5441 . 84

Abort guidance system 59 6 6 5 -959 . 83 -2 . 81 5441 . 77
Powered flight processor 59 750 -959 . 94 2 . 19 5442 . 52
7 -10

TABLE 7-VI . - RENDEZVOUS SOLUTIONS

Computed velocity change , ft/sec

Local

Lunar module
Maneuver vert i c al Command
Abort guidance
coordinates module
guidance computer system
computer

78 . 4 78 . 0 78 . 3
!::.Vy 2.4 2.7 2.9
Terminal !::.Vx

-3 . 8 0,7 -3 . 7
phase
initiation AVz

Total 78 . 5 78 . 0 78 . 4
-0 , 2 -0 . 3 o.o
-0 .1 -0 .1 0.9
First AVx

-0 . 4 +0 , 9 0.8
midcourse AVy
correction AVz

Total 0,5 1.0 1.2

0.5 0.5 0.6
-0. 5 0,2 0.9
Second AVx

2.2 0.7 1.0

midcourse AVy
correction AVz

Total 2. 3 0 .9 1.5

After docking , the lunar module was powered-down and the crew re­
turned to the command module overni ght . Power was reappli ed to the pri ­
mary guidance and control system the next day , but the 28-volt-dc enabl­
ing voltage did not reach the primary preampli fi ers . Consequently , the
control system c ould not issue engine firing commands , There was no
thrust er firing activity following j etti son and the deorb it maneuver was
not performed.

7.6 PROPULSION

7.6.1 Reaction Control System

Performa.nce of system B was normal throughout the mi s sion; however ,

an anomalous condition developed when system A was activated. The regu­
lated outlet pressure increased beyond the speci fication lockup pre s sure
of' the system. This was attributed to regulator leakage . The condition
pers i st ed throughout the mi s sion causing intermittent operati on of the
helium relief valves and overboard venting of the pres surant gas . The
leakage o f helium thr.ough the regulator and sub s equent venting overboard
was not high enough , however , to require a blowdown operation . To re­
li eve this condition , the ullage volume in system A was increased by
 7-11

tran s ferring a portion of the propellants to the asc ent propulsion tanks .
The ullage volume in syst em A tanks was thereby increas ed, providing suf­
fi cient blowdown capab ility so that thi s system. could be used as a back­
up in cas e of a me.lfunction in system B . The problem i s dis cus sed further
in sect ion 14 . 2 . 4 .

7.6.2 Desc ent Propulsion System

The descent propulsion system per formed well during powered de scent
with one exception . The gaging system fuel probes indicated a lower-than­
expe cted fuel quant ity . This condition exi sted throughout the firing and
i s beli eved to have been caus ed by a difference in the conductivity o f
the fuel i n the reference conductor and the measuring conductor . Previ­
ous test ing of these probes has shown s imilar errors when such differ­
ences exist . Tota.l firing time was about 731 seconds . The usable pro­
pellant quantity remaining ( 1128 pounds ) would have provided approximate­
ly 102 seconds of hover time .

7.6 . 3 Asc ent Propuls ion System

System performance was satisfactory during the lunar ascent and the
terminal phas e initiat i on maneuver . Ascent firing duration was 4 27 . 7 sec­
onds . Terminal phase initiation firing durati on was est imated to be 2 . 5
s econd s , making the total firing t ime approximately 4 30 . 2 seconds .

Two upward sh i fts in the engine chamber pres sure were recorded dur­
ing the asc ent maneuver , as shown in fi gure 7-3 . A review of all other
avai lable engine and acc elerat ion data failed to sub st antiate the increased
chamber pressure indicat ion . The crew did not rec all feeling additional
acc eleration or suxges during the maneuver . This anomaly is di s c us s ed
further in section 14 . 2 . 8 .

7.7 ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

The performance of the system was sat i s factory . Two anomali es which
occurred are di scus s ed in the following paragraphs .

One off-nominal condition was experienced approximat ely 2 hours after

system activation when the suit c ircuit valves were confi gured to the cabin
mode of operat ion . The crew reported hearing a chattering noi s e and exper­
ienced pressure pulsati on s in suit circuit flow . The problem was traced
7 -12

140

"'"'"- " .......

� ["..r--.....
130

"'
�

"-
�

"'
iii
_o
120

.,"'
E
-'=
u

<=

<= 110
w
Engine ignition occurred
at 1 7 5 : 3 1 : 4 7 . 9

100
175:34:07 1 7 5:34: 2 7 1 7 5:34:47 1 75 : 3 5 : 07 175:35:27
Time, hr:min:sec

F igure 7-3 . - Ascent propu lsion system pressure fluctuations .

Figure 7-3 . - Ascent propulsion system pres sure �luctuat ions .

to the c ab in gas return valve which apparently �ailed to open in the auto­
mati c mode . Manual control was used �or the remainder o� the mi s s ion al­
though the automati c mode was checked sub s e quently and �ound to be opera­
ble . See section 14 . 2 . 5 �or �urther dis c us s i on o� thi s anomaly .

Fluctuations in the water/glycol pump di ��erential pres sur e were noted

�allowing the c ab in depres suri zations �or each extravehi c ul ar activity.
Pressure �luctuat ions occurred in the s ame manner a�er two o� �our extra­
vehicular activiti es on Apollo 15 . The heat trans �er per�ormanc e o� the
system was sat i s �actory. An analys i s o� thi s anomaly is given in re�er­
ence 4 .
 7 -13

7.8 CONSUMABLES

All lunar module consumables remained well within red-line limits .

7.8.1 Des cent Propuls i on Sy-stem

Propellant . - The des cent propulsion system propellant load quanti ties
shown in the following t ab le were calculated from known volumes and weightn
of offloaded propellants , t emperatures , and dens iti es prior to li ft-off .

Quantity , lb
Condition
Fuel Oxi di zer Total

Loaded 7530 . 4 12 028 . 9 19 5 59 . 3

Consumed 710 5 . 4 11 221 .9 18 327 . 3

Remaining at engine cutoff :

Total 425 807 1232
Usable 396 732 1128

Supercri t i c al helium . - The quanti t i es of supercriti cal heli um were

determined by computat i ons using pressure measurements and the known vol­
ume of the t ank .

Quantity , lb
Condition
Actual Pre di cted

Loaded 51 . 2 51 . 2
Consumed 41 . 8 42 . 7
Remaining at landing 9 .4 8.5
7 -14

7.8.2 Ascent Propul s i on System

Propellant . - The ascent propuls ion system total propellant usage was
approximately as pre di ct e d . The loadings shmm in the following t able
were determined from measured dens ities prior to launch and from weights
of off-loaded propellants .

Propellant mass , lb
8.p redi cte d
Condition quantity ,
Fuel Oxi di zer Total

Loaded 20 17 . 8 3224 . 7 5242 . 5 5242 . 5

Transferred from
react i on con-
trol system 16 . 0 44 . 0

Total on board at
lunar lift-off 203 3 . 8 326 8 . 7

Consumed 1869 . 8 3011 . 0 4 880 . 8 490 3 . 6

Remaining at ascent
st age j etti s on 16 4 . 0 25 7 . 7 421 . 7 338 . 9

� ropellant required for as cent was reduce d by 80 . 0 lbm to account

for reaction control system consumpti on .

Helium . - The quantities of ascent propuls i on system helium were de­

termined by pressure measurements and the known volume of the t ank .
:
Actual Quantity ,
C ondition
lb
Loaded 13 . 2

Consumed 8.4

Remaining at ascent st age

j etti s on 4.8
 7-15

7 . il . 3 Reaction Control System Propellant

The reacti on control system propellant consumption was calculat e d

from telemetered helium t ank pressure hi stori es using the relati onships
between pressure , volume , and temperature .

Actual quantity , lb Predi ct ed

C ondition quanti ty ,
Fuel Oxi di zer Total lb

Loaded
System A 107 . 4 20 8 . 2 315 . 6
System B 107 . 4 208 . 2 315 . 6

Total 6 31 . 2 6 31 . 2

Trans ferred to
ascent propul-
sion system 16 . 0 44 . 0 6o . o

Consumed to :
Lunar landing 125 142
Docking 212 266

Remaining at ascent
stage j etti s on 359 . 2 36 5 . 2
7 -16

7.8.4 Oxygen

The actual quantities of oxygen loaded and consumed are shown in the
following t able :

Actual Predi cted

Condi t i on
quanti ty , lb quantity , lb

Loaded ( at lift-off )
Des cent st age
Tank l 46 . 7
Tank 2 46 . 6

Ascent stage
Tank l 2.4
Tank 2 2.4

Total 98.1

Consumed
Descent st age
Tank l 21 . 9 25 . 7
Tank 2 21 . 5 25 . 6

Ascent st age
Tank l 0 0
Tank 2 0 0

Total 43 . 4 51 . 3

Remaining in des cent stage

at lunar li ft-off
Tank l 24 . 8 21 . 0
Tank 2 25 . 1 21 . 0

Remaining at docking
( as cent stage )
Tank l 2.4 2.4
Tank 2 2.4 2.4

Total 4.8 4.8

 7-17

7.8.5 Water

The actual water quantities loade d and consume d , shown in the follow­
ing t able are b a�; e d on telemetered dat a .

Actual �re dicted

Condition
quantity , lb quanti ty , lb

Loaded ( at :Li :ft-off )

Des cent stage
Tank l 19 3 . 9
Tank 2 199 . !�
As cent stage
Tank l 42 . �)
Tank 2 42 . �)
Total 478 . 3

Consumed
Des cent stage ( lunar li ft-
off )
Tank l 19 3 . 9 19 2 . 4
Tank 2 199 . !+ 19 7 . 9
Ascent stage ( docking )
Tank l 7.2 7.5
Tank 2 6 .9 7. 5
Total 40 7 . )+ 405 . 3

Remaining in des cent stage

at lunar li ft-off
b
Tank l o 1.5
b
Tank 2 o 1.5

Remaining in as cent stage

at docking
Tank l 35 . 3 35 . 0
Tank 2 35 . 6 35 . 0
Total 70 . 9 70 . 0
a
Adj usted t o compens ate for the additi onal 5 hours i n lunar orbit
prior to des c ent .
b
Because of the extended lunar module act i vi ty , the des cent stage
water t ankB reached depleti on at the B arne time the crew B e le cted
ascent Btage conBumableB .
7 -18

7.8.6 Ele ctrical Power

The total battery energy usage is given in the following t able .

Power con s ume d , ampere hours

Avai lable power ,
Battery
ampere hours Actual Predi cted

Des cent 2025 1746 1646

a
As cent 592 285 285

�atteries 5 and 6 provided a total of 285 ampere hours through crew

t ransfer . The total energy provided by batteries 5 and 6 unti l dat a
los s was 35 8 . 9 and 377 . 8 ampere hours , respectively .
 8-1

8.0 LUNAR SURFACE EQUIPMENT PERFORMANCE

8 .1 LUNAR ROVING VEHICLE

The lunar · rov:i.ng vehicle performance was good; however , s everal sys­
tem problems occurred. These problems are :

a. Higher-th�m-expected battery temperatures

b. Mult iple failures o f inst rument at i on he.rdware

c. Los s of rear fender extension

d. Temporary loss of rear steering .

Procedural errors resulted in the temporary loss of rear drive power and
a t emporary los s of all navigation displays except heading and speed .

The approximat e distances driven during the three extravehi cular ac ­

tivities were 4 . 2 , 11 . 1 and 11 . 4 kilometers for a total of 26 . 7 kilome­
ters . Speeds up to 14 kilometers per hour were achieved on the level sur­
face . Slopes estimated to be as steep as 20 degrees were negot iated with­
out difficulty.

The lunar roving vehicle provided electrical power for voi ce , telem­
etry , and television communications throughout the first two extravehic ­
ular activiti es , and also provided power for televi sion operat ions after
the third extravehicular activity . A total of 98 , 2 amp�re-hours was con­
sumed from the 242 ampere-hours available in the two batteri es .

Several minor problems , which sub sequently disappeared , were experi­

enced during the aetivat ion of the lunar rover . The rear steering was
inoperative , the battery 2 ampere-hours remaining and voltage readings
were off-scale low , and both batt ery temperatures were off-scale low ( see
sec . 14 . 6 . 1 and 14 .. 6 . 2 ) .

After returning to the lunar module near the end of the fi rst trav­
ers e , the Commander performed a lunar roving vehicle evaluation while the
Lunar Module Pilot took 16-mm documentary moti on pictures ,

At the concluE!ion o f the first extravehi cular activity , the vehi cle
was parked with the front of the vehicle pointing t owards the north . The
battery temperatures were 104° F and 105° F with 108 and 10 5 ampere-hours
rema1n1ng . The battery c overs were brushed and opened , the radiator sur­
faces were dusted , and the power-down was complet ed, The battery c overs
did not close between the first and second extravehicular activit ies and
temperatures at povrer-up for the second extravehicular activity were
70° F and 82° F .
8-2

On the second travers e, the attitude indicator pitch scale fell off,
but the needle was still used to estimate pitch attitudes ( s ee sec . 14 . 6 . 4 ) .
Incorrect matching of switches caused a loss of rear-wheel drive . Corre ct
s witch configuration returned the vehicle operation to normal . The crew
noted that the forward wheels tended to dig in when attempting to climb
slopes without rear-wheel power . The right rear fender extension was
knocked off and, thereaft er, dust was thrown up from the right rear wheel
and covered the crew, the console, and the communic ations equipment. Mid­
way through the second extravehicular traverse, the ampere -hour integrator
for battery 1 began indicating about four time s the normal b attery usage .
Because of higher-than-desired temperatures on battery 1 , a series of pro­
cedures were initiated to lower the load. These procedures probably
caused the inadvertent removal of drive power from a pair of wheels,
thereby losing two odometer inputs and the as soc iated static range, b ear­
ing, and di stanc e displays ( see sec . 14 . 6 . 3 ) . The prob l em cleared when
the normal switch and circuit breaker configuration was restored.

At power-up for the third travers e, the b attery covers were closed
manually and the lunar communic ations relay unit was switched to its own
power . The lunar roving vehicle b attery temperatures were 102 ° F and
120° F . About 2 hours after power-up, the caution and warning flag was
activated b ecaus e the b attery 2 temp erature exc eeded 125° F . Rear-wheel
drive power and steering were switched to battery 1 bus B . Later, the
b attery 1 temperature indicator went off-scale low, indicating a meter
failure . Both batteries were functional at the end of the third extrave­
hicular ac tivity when the lunar roving vehicle was confi gured to provide
power for television . The clos eout reading of the b attery 2 temperature
was 143° F .

8.2 LUNAR COMMUNICATIONS RELAY UNIT AND

GROUND COMMANDED TELEVI SION ASSEMBLY

The lunar communications relay unit and ground commanded televi s ion
as s embly operated for 12 hours 44 minutes during the lunar surface extra­
vehicular activitie s . The relay unit in conjunction with the television
camera was energized by up-link command for lunar module ascent televis ion
coverage and for six days of scientific lunar surface ob s ervations on a
once-per-day basis until April 30 , 1972 . At that time, the system could
not be energized by up-link command . Down-link data from the relay unit
on the preceding day showed the expected temperatures, internal voltages,
and RF signal strength. Pos sible caus es of the problem include : ( 1 ) mal­
function o f the televi s ion control unit up-link decoder due to its pre­
launch predicted high temperature condition ( above qual ification level ) ,
and ( 2 ) l oss of input power b ecause o f incorrect circuit breaker config­
uration on the lunar roving vehic l e that would have placed only one of
the two b atter i es on the line .
 8-3

8.3 EXTRAVEHICULAR MOBILITY UNIT

Throughout the thr ee extravehicular activit i es , the performance o f

the extravehicular mob il ity units was satisfactory and the crew were able
to perform their functions in an effective manner . Telemetry data were
not available until after crew egress from the lunar module because o f the
steerable antenna. malfunction ( s ee sec . 1 4 . 2 . 3 ) , therefor e , consumables
were computed bas ed on previous experience with these unit s as well as
t elemetry data .

The crew had some difficulty in closing the restraint zippers during
donning of the suits . The suits are custom fitted and , by neces s ity , must
be t i ght to achieve good mob ility. Particular attention will be given to
the self-donning o f suit s during training and a. restraint zipper hook has
been provided on Apollo 17 as a donning aid.

The checkout o f the portable li fe support system was normal on each

extravehicular activity. Higher-than-predicted heat loads were experi enced
on the first and third extravehicular activities ; however , thermal e quilib·­
rium was maintained well within acceptable limits even when the crew oper­
ated for a considerable length of time in an area of sun reflection from
boulders . The heat was so intense that the crew commented that they could
feel it . Pri�· feedwat er supply depletion tones occurred during the
first extravehict�ar activity. A warning tone was received for depletion
of the Lunar Modt�e Pilot ' s auxiliary feedwater supply near the end of the
first extravehictuar activity when his water sapply was depleted.

The purge v�uve pin on the Commander ' s suit was accidentally pulled
out twice during the first extravehicular activity while ingres sing the
lunar roving vehicle . Both time s , the pin was found and reinserted with­
out any adverse effect . To prevent a recurrence during s ubsequent trav­
erses , both crewmen rotated their purge valves to prevent the pins from
b eing accidentalJ_y removed ( see sec . 14 . 3 . 10 ) .

During ingress after the second extravehicular activity , the Commander

broke the tip off o f his antenna . The two crewmen exchanged units to pre­
clude a pos s ible limitation on range . Section 14 . 3 . 2 contains a discus sio n
o n this anomaly.

After exposure t o a dusty lunar environment , the both crewmen ' s suit
wri st-ring disconnects were hard to rotate to the locked and unlocked
pos it i on . This anomaly i s explained in section 14 . 3 . 4 .

Oxygen , power , and feedwater consumption of the extravehicular mo ­

bility units during the three extravehicular periods i s shown in t able 8-I .
 TABLE 8-I . - EXTRAVEHICULAR MOBILITY UNIT CONSUMABLES

Commander Lunar Module Pilot

Condition
Actual �redi cted Actual �redicted

First extravehicular activity

Time , min 431 420 431 420

b
Oxygen , lb
Loaded 1 . 93 1 . 86 1 . 93 1 . 86
Consumed 1 . 24 1.36 1. 51 1.36
Remaining 0 . 69 0 . 50 0 . 42 0. 50
Redline limit 0 . 37 0 . 37

b
Feedwat er , lb
Loaded 12 . 16 12 . 16 12.11 12 . 16
Consumed 9 . 08 9 . 04 11 . 6 2 9 . 04
Remaining 3 . 08 3 . 12 0 . 49 3 . 12
Redline limit 0 . 87 0 . 87

Battery , amp-hr
Init i al charge 25 . 4 25 . 4 25 . 4 25.4
Consumed 20 . 7 19 . 4 21 . 0 19 . 3 5
Remaining 4.7 6.0 4.4 6.05
Redline limit 3 . 28 3 . 28

Second extravehi cular activity

Time , min 444 420 444 420

b
Oxygen , lb
Loaded 1 . 81 1 . 81 1 . 81 1. 81
Consumed 1 . 22 1.31 1 . 26 1. 3 1
Remaining 0 . 59 0 . 50 0 . 55 0 . 50
Redline limit 0 . 37 0 . 37

b
Feedwat e r , lb
Loaded 12 . 46 12 . 46 12 . 41 12 . 46
Consumed 9 . 48 9 . 21 10. 28 9 . 21
Remaining 2 . 98 3 .25 2.13 3 . 25
Redline limit 0 . 87 0 . 87

Battery, amp-hr
Initial charge 25.4 25.4 25.4 25.4
Consumed 21 . 4 19 . 4 21 . 0 19 . 4
Remaining 4.0 6.0 4.4 6.0
Redline limit 3 . 28 3 . 28

NOTE : Refer to following pages for note s a and b .

 8- 5

TABLE 8 , 1 . - E��RAVEHICULAR MOBI LITY UNIT CONSUMABLES - Concluded

Lunar Module Pilot

"'Fredicted "'Fre di ct e d
Commander
Condition
Actual Actual

Third extravehicular activity

Time , min 341 420 341 420

b
1 . 81 1 . 81 1 . 81 1 . 81
O:xygen , lb

1 .04 1 . 34 1 . 02 1 . 34
Loaded

0 . 77 0 . 47 0 . 79 0 . 47
Consumed

0 . 37 0 . 37
Remaining
Redline lirrlit
b
12.46 12 . 46 12 . 41 12 . 46
Feedwater , lb

8 . 21 9 . 34 8 . 38 9 . 34
Loaded

4 . 25 3 . 12 4 . 03 3 . 12
Consumed

0 . 87 0 . 87
Remaining
Redline litoit

25 . 4 25.4 25 . 4 25.4
Battery , amp··hr

16 .7 19 . 4 16 . 4
Loaded

8.7 6 .0 9 -0
Consumed

3 . 28 3 . 28
Remaining
Redline limit

NOTES

�e follo1dng values were used in the preflight predi ction calculations for
both crewmen .

O:xygen leak rate , Heat leak rate ,

Period
lb/hr Btu/hr

First extravehi c:ular activity 0 .0 2 0

Second extravehicular activity 0 . 028 215

Third extravehi cular activity 0 .035 225

b
The following values were used for postflight calculations .

Commander Lunar Module Pilot

Period O:xygen leak Heat leak

O:xygen leak Heat leak
rat e , lb/hr rat e , Btu/hr rat e , lb/hr rate , Btu/hr

First extravehi cular activity 0 .019 135 0 . 013 135

Second extravehicular activity 0 . 021 220 0 . 0210 220

Third extravehicular activity 0 . 020 290 0 . 0210 290

\

Apollo 16 fl ight crew

C ommander John w. Young, Comma nd Module Pilot Thomas K. Ma tt ingly II,
and Lunar Module Pilot Charles M. Duke, Jr .
 9- 1

9.0 PILOT ' S REPORT

This section contains a de scription of the Apollo 16 mi s s ion as per­

formed by the cre·w. Spe cifi c mi s sion features and equipment operati ons
which were di ffer ent than Apollo 15 are covere d . Some mi s s ion acti vi t i es
were modified becaus e of the delay in performing the circularization ma ­
neuver , and the effects of tho s e change s ar e addr e s s ed . The fli ght plan ,
as exe cut e d , i s summarized in figure 9-1 at the end of thi s s e ct i on .

9.1 TRAINING

The Apollo 16 crew was fortunate in that they had been as s i gned t o
J-mi s s ion spac ecraft from the beginning of their training. From April of
1970 , they part ic ipated in Apollo 15 spacecraft te s ts as well a s tho s e of
their own vehicles . The Commander and Lunar Module Pilot participated in
early reviews of the J-mis s ion surface hardware , of the extende d-stay lu­
nar module , and of the lunar roving vehicle . 'The maj ority of the proced­
ure development time for the Commander and Lunar Module Pilot was spent on
lunar surface operat ions , and, 40 percent of the total training of these
two crewmen was in lunar surface science .

The Command :'.iodule Pilot training can be broken into the following
di screte phas es :

Phas e I . Bas ic Apollo background

a. Hardware
b. Software
c. Mi s s ion techni ques
d. Lunar s cience

Phase I I . Mission-dependent procedures

a. Experiment procedures
b. Flight plan development
c. Ground track and speci fi c lunar sci ence study

Phase II I . Pilot profici ency

a. Flight plan study

b. Contingency training
9-2

c. Operati onal techniques

d. Experiments practice
e. Personal
l. Physical conditioning
2. Aircraft profic iency

Becaus e of the sophisti cat ion and complexity of the Apollo J mis sions ,
several years of intensive training are required to properly support the
obj ecti ve s . Phase-I training was essent ially completed during the Command
Module Pilot ' s preparat i on for previous mi ss ions . Hardware for the sci­
ent i fi c instrument module and the command module extravehicular activity
hardware were the only Phase-I training items required during the two years
immediately preceding the flight of Apollo 16 . The last two months prior
to flight should have b een devote d to Phas e-III proficiency training ; how­
ever , a 30-day delay in the launch o f Apollo 16 was announced in January
1972 . The delay occurred after the preliminary flight plan had been i s ­
sued and resulted in a great deal o f Phas e-III training being postponed
unti l March.

Visual observat i ons o f the lunar surface were emphasized throughout

the trainin g , and during the final 12 months , nine aircraft flyovers were
made over s elected terrestrial feature s , and many briefing ses sions were
include d . Mission experience indicates that training of thi s type and in­
tensity is essential to take full advantage of the orbiting obs erver ' s
vantage point .

C ommand module experiment s were tailored to take advantage of the

moon as an occultlng disk while executing low-light -level photography o f
celesti al targets . This e ffort required a considerable amount of the Com­
mand Module Pilot ' s time in developing procedures whi ch were compatible
with orb ital operations of the command and servi ce module .

The pacing items during the Apollo 16 training period were the de­
velopment of the fli ght plan and the experiments checkli st .

The increas e d emphas i s on orb ital science requires that the Command
Module Pilot receive detailed real-t i me training in flight -plan execut ion
that i s analogous to the sur face crew ' s extravehicular activity training .
However , unlike lunar module crews undergoing concurrent training, where
the lunar module mis sion s imulator and extravehicular activity facilit ies
can be scheduled interchange ably , the command module pilot s must use the
same trainer for all their activities . This means that verification o f
a 290-hour flight pl'an , proficiency training , and network simulat ion ex­
ercises must be accomplished for two crews in one facility . The command
and service module mi ssion simulator was us ed in the evenings for stowage
exerc i s es and this proved to b e a worthwhile us e o f the Command Module
Pilot ' s time .
 9-3

To optimize usage of the command and s ervi c e module mi s s ion s imul a­

t o r , most Command Module Pilot extravehicular activity training was con­
ducted in the Manned Spac ecraft C enter mockup , while rendezvous training
was conduct e d primar i ly in the command module proc e dures simulator .

The Command Module Pilot ' s training , as r e fl e c t e d in the formal train-·

ing summary , is somewhat misl eading in that the time s shown reflect , pri­
marily, time spent in actual training activi t i es and do not include t ime
spent formulat ing and int e grating the orb ital timelines . In support of
the surface extravehicular activit i es , the formulation and integrat ion
activity is executed by a mi s s ion s c i ent i st and an extravehi c ular activ­
ity training staff ; whereas , the fli ght planners and the Command Module
Pilot must add the s e tasks to their normal activiti e s .

9.2 LAUNCH

In general , the crew workload was easy during launch operat i ons and
the crew was 15 to 20 minut e s ahead of the launch count .

The Lunar Module Pilot not e d prior to launch that the readings on the
s ervi c e propulsion system fuel and oxi d i z e r gages were such that they ap­
p e are d , in combinat i on , to violate the differential pre s sure limit s of the
m i s s ion rule for service propul s ion syst em thrust ing. Clarifi cation by
the ground indicated that the gage readings reflected an inst rumentation
b ias .

The S -IC engine i gnit i on and Saturn V li ft-off were positively s en s e d ..

Vehicle vibrat ion on the first stage was as report e d on previous mi s sions
and is probably b e st charact eri z e d as b eing s imilar to a fre i ght train
bouncing on a loos e track . In-suit no i s e leve ls at maximum dynami c pre s ­
sure were similar to the Apollo 10 levels recalled by the Commande r . Com­
muni cations were excellent throughout powered fli ght . Inboard engine cut ­
off on the S-IC stage was abrupt and was characteri z e d by approximat ely
four cycles of the S-II stage unloading . At S-IC outboard engine cutoff ,
the major four-cycle unloading of the S-II stage was again exhib it e d .
S-IC outboard engine cutoff i s the most impre s s ive phys iological experi ­
ence of the Saturn-V boost phas e . During the first 2 to 3 minut e s o f S-II
engine firing, powered fl ight was extremely smooth and qui et . After that ,
a h i gh-fr equency vibrat ion or buzz was sens ed whi ch abruptly disappeared
approximat ely 9 minut es after l i ft -o ff . The vibrat i on was also not e d dur­
ing S-IVB powered. flight . Saturn -V guidance and control of all thr ee
stage s , as monitored from crew onboard di s plays , was normal .
9- 4

9.3 EARTH ORBITAL FLIGHT

Post-insertion activities we