Dec 17 1972
From The Space Library
Apollo 17 orbital science briefing was held at Manned Spacecraft Center while astronauts continued flight homeward from moon. Data from laser altimeter and 5-band gravity experiments were described by Dr. Wilbur R. Wollenhaupt, Chief of MSC Experiments Support Section and S-band transponder coinvestigator. Profiles of near-side lunar basins appeared to be flat and depressed with surrounding terrain. Far side appeared mountainous. Copernicus Crater was deficiency region; Sinus Aestuum, Mare Serenitatis, and Mare Crisium were high regions; and Littrow landing site was low. Harold Masursky of U.S. Geological Survey, member of Apollo Orbital Science Photographic Team, said panoramic camera aboard Apollo 17 had "acted better than on the two previous flights (Apollo 15 and 16), and we essentially accomplished the tasks assigned to it."
During Apollo 17 mission "we saw the successful rectification of the 15 and 16 panoramic photographs, and they looked very good indeed. So, hopefully, we will have the rectification of 17 done shortly and put out a series of photomosaics, putting the high-resolution panoramic frames together into what we think will be the best series of maps that we have developed for the Moon." Correlation of photography with gravity tracking and laser altimetry had produced "a great deal of data" to confirm earlier interpretations from Apollo 15 that lunar front side was low and that "largest area of mare material on the front side is an ocean basin floor, .. not a result of the impact as the large gravity anomalies indicate in the impact basin." Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist Walter E. Brown reported lunar sounder experiment had "behaved about as we expected except that there were a couple of surprises." Experimenters had expected that "over the Mare, the smooth areas, ... we'd have a reasonably smooth, well-behaved echo, and over the mountainous area it might bounce around a little bit." Sounder data had shown "it was fairly smooth over the mountains and it bounced around over the Mare." Until mission film was returned, "we won't know . . . just exactly what is going on, but it's . . . extremely interesting."
Dr. Frank J. Low of Univ. of Arizona and Rice Univ. said scanning radiometer experiment performance "was essentially perfect." It produced coverage of about one third of the surface area of the moon and made some 100 million independent temperature measurements. With "beautiful Atlas of thermal measurements generated by this magnificent flight," scientists had "foundation of a new technique for exploration of planetary surfaces without atmospheres." Johns Hopkins Univ. scientist William E. Fastie said far- ultraviolet spectrometer had "performed perfectly . . . and all of the observations that were intended were accomplished." Experiment had detected neither major nor minor constituents of atmosphere. "And, pending further analysis, we have . . identified only one trace constituent of the lunar atmosphere. The immediate conclusion . is, that the Moon is not outgassing, because the only other possible gases that could be in the lunar atmosphere are neon and argon, and neither of them are the primordial atmosphere of the Moon." Mood of briefing was conveyed by Apollo orbital science program scientist Floyd I. Roberson; "I think we've got a lot of tools in our hands now and we sit up here and we're all tired and we talk about the results of our experiments and maybe we don't convey the excitement that's upon us. But, we really feel that this is a beginning as far as lunar science is concerned, as far as the Apollo data is concerned, and we're really going to get there now." (Transcript)
New York Times editorial praised Apollo program in which U.S. had "attained one of its finest hours." Astronauts had gone to moon in "spirit of peace and selflessness." They had been "seeking knowledge, not gold or slaves or other wealth. They went there consciously as representatives of all mankind, not as imperialists seeking to bring the moon under the Stars and Stripes. What they learned has been made available to all peoples and all nations without any request for a quid pro quo. In the atmosphere created by Project Apollo-with its constant reminder that what united men is stronger than what divides them-it was easier to reduce cold war tensions, to end the original space race, and to begin genuine international collaboration in cosmic exploration. Project Apollo has helped consecrate the moon and space to the cause of peace and cooperation among all men. This has been a glorious adventure in whose successful outcome the people of America and of the world can properly take pride." (NYT, 12/17/72)
Sixty-ninth anniversary of first flight by Wright brothers was celebrated in Kitty Hawk, N.C., as Apollo 17 astronauts headed home from sixth manned landing on the moon. (AP, NYT, 12/17/72, 42)
Dr. Robert C. Cameron-first director of NASA'S Johannesburg, South Africa, tracking station from 1958 to 1959-died in Washington, D.C., at age 47. He had resigned earlier in year as astronomer at Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Cameron had made first successful photos of U.S. satellite (Explorer 1, launched Jan. 31, 1958) and had received special award from GSFC in 1966 for writings on astronomy. Before joining NASA, he had worked for Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. In 1952 he had discovered asteroid Winifred, named after his wife. (W Post, 12/17/72, D12)
December 17-19: Spacecraft left moon's sphere of influence at 250:40 GET, traveling at 1173 m per sec (3851 fps). Evans left CSM at 257:34 GET (3:27 pm EST Dec. 17) for 1-hr 7-min inflight EVA to retrieve lunar sounder film and panoramic and mapping camera cassettes in three trips to SIM bay. TV pictures relayed to Mission Control showed him cavorting in weightlessness in stiff white pressure suit and attached to 7.6-m (25-ft) line. Following space walk, astronauts settled down for final two days of mission.
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Click here to listen to Apollo 17 Mission Audio T+242.42 through T+245.25 Dec 17 1972
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Click here to listen to Apollo 17 Mission Audio T+252.59through T+256.11 Dec 17 1972
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CM separated from SM at 304:04 GET, 15 min before entry interface at 121 920 m (400 000 ft). Drogue and main parachutes deployed normally and CM splashed down in mid-Pacific 6.4 km (4.0 mi) from prime recovery ship U.S.S. Ticonderoga at 304:31 GET (2:25 pm EST Dec. 19).
Recovery helicopter dropped swimmers, who installed flotation collar and attached life raft. Astronauts were transported to recovery ship for postflight examination. They would be flown to Houston via Samoa the following day. CSM was retrieved by recovery ship for transport to San Diego, Calif.
Apollo 17 achieved primary objectives-to make selenological survey and sampling of materials and surface features in preselected area of Taurus-Littrow region, emplace and activate surface experiments, and conduct inflight experiments and photography. Launch vehicle and spacecraft system performances were near nominal throughout mission. Only minor discrepancies occurred, with no effect on safety or mission objectives. Flight crew performance was good. Mission was judged officially to be "a great success."
Accomplishments included sixth manned lunar landing and return, first geologist-astronaut on lunar surface, longest lunar surface stay time (74 hrs 59 min 38 sec), longest single lunar surface EVA (7 hrs 37 min 22 sec), longest total lunar surface EVA time (22 hrs 5 min 4 sec), longest total lunar distance traversed with LRV (35 km; 22 mi), longest Apollo mission (12 days 13 hrs 51 min) , most samples returned (115 kg; 250 lb) and longest time in lunar orbit (147 hrs 48 min).
Apollo 17 was 14th and last scheduled mission in Apollo series and 11th manned Apollo mission. Apollo 16 had flown April 16-27. Highlights of Apollo program had been first manned orbit of moon by Apollo 8 (Dec. 21-27, 1968), first landing of men on moon during Apollo 11 (July 16-24, 1969), and first use of Lunar Roving Vehicle on moon during Apollo 15 (July 26-Aug 7, 1971). Apollo program was directed by NASA Office of Manned Space Flight. Manned Space-craft Center was responsible for Apollo spacecraft development, Marshall Space Flight Center for Saturn V launch vehicle, and Kennedy Space Center for launch operations. Tracking and data acquisition was managed by Goddard Space Flight Center under overall direction of Office of Tracking and Data Acquisition. (NASA proj off; NASA Release 72-220K; MSC Transcript 07629; NYT, 12/8-20/72; W Post, 12/8-20/72; NASA PIO)
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