Word: lunar
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NEXT to their precious cargo of rocks and lunar samples, the most important souvenir brought home from the moon by the Apollo 15 astronauts was nearly two miles of film. Eagerly developed by NASA technicians in Houston last week, the first photographs from man's fourth lunar landing added extra luster to the achievements of Dave Scott and Jim Irwin. During their lunar visit, the astronauts demonstrated that they were remarkably sensitive-and even artistic-photographers...
...surprisingly, the layers slant in one direction in some places and take a sharply different course in others. Since the layers were probably laid down by the same lava flows, why did they veer off in different directions? The most likely explanation, according to Paul Gast, chief of lunar and planetary science at Houston's Manned Spacecraft Center, is that these flows probably preceded the cataclysmic event (presumably a large meteor impact) that created the Sea of Rains and uplifted the mountains around...
While some scientists pored over the photographs, others examined the 171 lbs. of moon rocks in Houston's Lunar Receiving Laboratory...
...next two days, the reunited crew continued circling the moon-performing more experiments, photographing parts of the lunar surface never before seen by man, and in the case of Scott and Irwin, catching up on some badly needed sleep. On the last day in orbit, activities perked up. The astronauts were awakened by the theme from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey and later launched a 78.5-lb. scientific sub-satellite into orbit around the moon. Almost immediately, earthbound controllers detected radio signals from the $1.7 million instrument package. The satellite's sensors will provide new information about...
Good Burn. Just before Endeavour disappeared behind the moon on its 74th revolution, ground controllers gave it a "go" for one more important maneuver: firing the command ship's big 20,500-lb.-thrust engine to kick it out of lunar orbit. "Set your sails for home," said Mission Control. "We're predicting good weather, a strong tailwind, and we'll be waiting on the docks." Thirty-five minutes later, as Endeavour re-emerged and regained radio contact, Scott gave the happy word. The 2 min. 21 sec. burn had been flawless. Said Scott: "Endeavour...