Apollo Lunar Surface Journal
(1969–72)

URL: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj (click Apollo logo patch link)

SITE SUMMARY: Using transcripts and audio recordings of the air-to-ground transmissions of the Apollo lunar missions 11, 12, and 14 through 17, Eric Jones, an astronomer who works at the Los Alamos New Mexico National Research Laboratory, has provided a document of the activities of each Apollo lunar mission. The astronauts' words of their experiences as they did these activities are featured, as are their follow up comments provided later. The Apollo 17 Journal was done in conjunction with geologist astronaut Harrison Jack Schmitt. Each mission's Journal features background information, plus links to particular word-for-word parts of the mission. See links in the left column that lead to summaries, overviews, preliminary science reports, tech debriefs, mission reports, and more. Note also a Bibliography and WWW Link, plus links to a prologue, a foreword, and astronaut information. Some pages are accessible only in PDF format, and video entries are available with special software.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

1. Find information on Apollo 15 as suggested in the hints that follow. What was the unusual rock that was discovered on the moon? What are its features? Why is it important? What Biblical name has it been given? Who are the astronauts discovered it? Is the rock really what it appears to be or what some people think it is? Support your claim either way with astronauts' and/or scientists' statements. (Hints: Look for information on Apollo 15 at the Apollo Missions Science Experiments Web site [whose url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section below]. Next, find excerpts from Apollo 15 with quotations in the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal by clicking the link for this particular mission's summary, then by clicking the link for this particular mission's journal, and then browsing the links of the daily day to day activities. Also note the Apollo 15 preliminary science briefs at the Journal's Web site.)
2. Find information on Apollo 17 as suggested just below. What was the soil with the unusual color that was found on the moon? Who discovered it, and how? What is important about the soil? (Hints: Look for information on Apollo 17 at the Web sites with Apollo Missions Science Experiments and an Interview with Harrison Schmitt. See the Related Internet Sites section below for these Web sites' urls.)
3. Find information on the Apollo 12 mission, following the suggestions in the hints in Question/Activity no. 1 above, but applying them to Apollo 12. What is a lunar KREEP rock? How are some Apollo 12 and Apollo 11 rocks similar to, yet different from, rocks in Hawaii? Which two geological things are different about the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 lunar landing sites, and what did these things seem to indicate? What types of lunar material did Apollo 12 bring back to Earth, and what did the material indicate with reference to pre-mission expectations? What did the Copernicus Crater have to do with Apollo 12?
4. Keeping Question/Activity no. 3 above in mind, see the Web site for the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility (with online tour), found as cited in the Related Internet Sites section below, then identify two new methods of analysis which have been developed to study lunar geological samples.
5. Visit the Apollo Missions Science Experiments Web site (whose url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section below). Choose any Apollo mission. Describe its science related mission. Select and describe a surface experiment, and an orbital one, conducted during this mission. Add details from the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. (Tip: Browse through the Journal as suggested in the Hints for Question/Activity no. 1 above, but apply it to your chosen Apollo mission.)

1. Often the Apollo astronauts used special phrases to describe vividly (e.g., poetically, metaphorically) something they saw or did, or they used special words (i.e., acronyms, initialisms) to refer to a piece of equipment, an instrument, or scientific activity. Select an example in Hint no. 1, then explain how the special words, types of words, or phrases made the experience uniquely interesting. In the Journal, find the Apollo 17 mission, and another Apollo mission, or a mission chosen for Question/Activity no. 5 above, and give an example, with description, of each of the types of special phrases or special types of words noted above, in the missions referred to just above; then tell how these special words made the experiences interesting. (Hint no. 1: See example words and phrases in the Station Eight entries of the Apollo 17 part of the Journal, with numbered journal locations noted, e.g., "instant rock" no. 166:43:34; "kangaroo hop" no. 167:10:01; "a hundred million years of play" no. 167:27:00; "I'm looking at the Sculptured Hills, and …" no. 166:35:02; "Tracy's Rock" in the Station Six areas; and LM and EVA, no. 166:36:05.) (Hint no. 2: See definitions for the special types of words and special types of phrases referred to above at the Web sites for Glossary of Rhetorical Terms With Examples, and the ISO Glossary of Terms and Definitions. [Their urls are cited in this book's Appendix F.])
2. Keeping Question/Activity no. 6 above in mind, think of an experience that you have had, or imagine having, in a natural place, describe it using a special type of phrase and a special type of word indicated above, and tell how this phrase and this word made the experience extra interesting. (Hint: For information, go to any Web site cited in the Related Internet Sites section below, or to any Web site on the subject cited anywhere in this book.)
3. Imagine you are a geologist exploring the moon. What would be interesting to find, and important to find? Consider importance with relation to the Earth, the moon, and space exploration. Include what would have been known during the time the Apollo missions occurred; what was known at the time of the 1994 document "Toward A World Strategy and Utilization of Our Natural Satellite: A Report," and what is known today. (For information, see the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, Exploring the Moon [found via links at the Exploring the Moon: Apollo Missions Web site pages cited in the Related Internet Sites section below], and go to the Web site of "Toward A World Strategy and Utilization of Our Natural Satellite: A Report" that is featured in another part of this book.)
4. Find and read the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal's entry for Apollo 17, no. 140:45:08. What did Gene Cernan, the last Apollo astronaut to walk on the lunar surface, say about his experience on the first day, then the second day, of the mission? Give or suggest specific examples that illustrate what he referred to in his comment. (Hint: For information, read the parts of the Journal involving his experiences, and see Web sites in the Related Internet Sites section below that refer to the Apollo 17 mission.)
5. Keeping Question/Activity no. 9 above in mind, write a two hundred word essay applying Cernan's comments to an experience that you imagine having, either on the moon or some place on the earth. Be sure to feature a science subject (e.g., something geological, or something about another earth or lunar science). (Hint: Adapt and apply the hint in Question/Activity no. 7 above to this Question/Activity.)

RELATED INTERNET SITE(S)

Top Ten Scientific Discoveries from Apollo

http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/science/lunar10.html

Apollo Missions Science Experiments

http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/Apollo_Experiments.html

Note the Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 surface experiments, and the Apollo 14 through 17 surface and orbital experiments. See also the link to Lunar Science Results.

Exploring the Moon: Apollo Missions

http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/pub/expmoon/apollo_landings.html

This site, from the NASA funded Lunar and Planetary Institute, provides links to data on and analyses of lunar science experiments conducted by the Apollo 8, the Apollo 10, and the Apollo 11 through Apollo 17 missions, including orbital experiments and surface experiments. Click on an Apollo mission number link, then note especially links to Science Experiments and Lunar Samples. See also the links to each mission's overview, landing site, surface operations, and mission photography, plus links to more information on all Apollo missions (e.g., index, appendix, and additional resources). The overview page has information on experiments involving the lunar surface, craters, basin, interior structure, gamma-rays, and x-rays. The Additional Resources page includes a link to the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility (with tour) Web page (whose url is http://www.curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/lunar/lun-fac.htm). The Index page includes a link to other Exploring the Moon Web pages that feature information on unmanned lunar probes.

Interview with Harrison Schmitt at the Exploration Network

http://.exn.ca/Stories/1999/07/07/54.asp

The Web site of Discovery Channel Canada features this transcript of a July 7, 1999 interview with geologist astronaut Schmitt. This interview included Schmitt's comments on how he got into the Space Program, helped Apollo 11 astronauts discover geological specimens on the first moon landing, helped plan science activities for other Apollo moon missions, then what he as a geologist did himself on the moon during the Apollo 17 mission. His unusual geological discovery and the features of the landing site he helped to select for the mission are featured, as are his scientific reasons for why there should be a return to the moon.