Appendix 9

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Apollo Experiments


Part I: Lunar Surface Experiments

The lunar surface experiments were of two kinds:

  1. The Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) systems, which were left on the lunar surface by the astronauts and which continued sending telemetry data until turned off Sept. 30, 1977, and
  2. experiments conducted on the lunar surface by the astronauts and returned to earth in the command module.
The dates and lunar coordinates are given in the following listing. The ALSEP-related experiments are listed next, by experiment number, with Apollo mission numbers.

Apollo 12:
The Apollo 12 ALSEP was deployed on November 19, 1969, at latitude 3 degrees 11' S, longitude 23 degrees 23' W in Oceanus Procellarum.
Apollo 13:
Because of service module problems, a lunar landing was not accomplished during the Apollo 13 mission.
Apollo 14:
The ALSEP was deployed on February 5, 1971, at latitude 3 degrees 40' S, longitude 17 degrees 27' W in the Fra Mauro formation.
Apollo 15:
The ALSEP was deployed July 31, 1971, at latitude 26 degrees 06' N, longitude 3 degrees 39' E in the Hadley-Apennine region.
Apollo 16:
The ALSEP was deployed April 21, 1972, at latitude 8 degrees 59' 34" S, longitude 15 degrees 30' 47" E in the Descartes Highlands.
Apollo 17:
The ALSEP was deployed on December 12, 1972, at latitude 20 degrees 09' 55" N, longitude 30 degrees 45' 57" E in the Taurus-Littrow region.

Apollo ALSEP Experiments

                                                    Apollo Mission
Number & Experiment                             12   14   15   16   17
===================                             ===  ===  ===  ===  ===
S 031 Passive Seismic                            X    X    X    X
S 033 Active Seismic                                  X         X
S 034 Lunar Surface Magnetometer                 X         X    X
S 035 Solar-wind Spectrometer                    X         X
S 036 Suprathermal Ion Detector                  X    X    X
S 037 Heat flow                                             X   (1)   X
S 038 Charged Particle                                X
S 058 Cold Cathode Gage                          X    X    X
S 059 Lunar Geology                              X    X    X    X    X
S 078 Laser Ranging Retroreflector               X    X    X
S 152 Cosmic Ray Detector                                       X
S 198 Portable Magnetometer                           X         X
S 199 Traverse Gravimeter                                            X
S 200 Soil Mechanics                             X    X    X    X    X
S 201 Far UV Camera/Spectrograph                                X
S 202 Lunar Ejecta and Meteorites                                    X
S 203 Lunar Seismic Profiling                                        X
S 204 Surface Electrical Properties                                  X
S 205 Lunar Atmospheric Composition                                  X
S 207 Lunar Surface Gravimeter                                       X
S 229 Neutron Probe                              X    X    X    X    X
M 515 Dust Detector                              X    X    X

(1) Cable broken during deployment. 

Part II: Lunar Orbital Experiments

Most of the lunar orbital experiments were added to the Apollo program during missions 15, 16, and 17. The objectives of these experiments were to determine and understand regional variations in the chemical composition of the lunar surface, to study the gravitational field of the moon, to determine the induced and permanent magnetic fields of the moon, and to make a detailed study of the morphology and albedo of the lunar surface. These experiments and the missions during which they were performed are listed in the following table.

Apollo Orbital Experiments

                                                    Apollo Mission
Number & Experiment                             12   14   15   16   17
===================                             ===  ===  ===  ===  ===
S 160 Gamma-Ray Spectrometer                               X    X
S 161 X-Ray Fluorescence                                   X    X
S 162 Alpha-Particle Spectrometer                          X    X
S 164 S-Band Transponder (subsatellite)                    X    X
S 164 S-Band Transponder (CSM/LM)                X    X    X    X    X
S 165 Mass Spectrometer                                    X    X
S 169 Far UV Spectrometer                                            X
S 170 Bistatic Radar                                  X    X    X
S 171 Infrared Scanning Radiometer                                   X
S 173 Particle Shadow/Boundary Layer (subsatellite)        X    X
S 174 Magnetometer (subsatellite)                          X    X
S 175 Laser Altimeter                                      X    X    X
S 209 Lunar Sounder                                                  X

Part III: Apollo Experiment Principal Investigators

The principal investigators for the lunar surface and lunar orbital experiments are listed by experiment numbers. The lunar surface group is listed first.

Lunar Surface Experiment Investigators

S 031 Passive Seismic
G. V. Latham, Marine Biomedical Institute, Galveston, Texas
S 033 Active Seismic
Robert L. Kovach, Stanford University
S 203 Lunar Seismic Profiling
Robert L. Kovach, Stanford University
S 034 Lunar Surface Magnetometer
Palmer Dyal, Ames Research Center;

Charles P. Sonett, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona

S 035 Solar-wind Spectrometer
Conway W. Snyder, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
S 036 Suprathermal Ion Detector
John W. Freeman, Rice University
S 037 Heat Flow
Marcus E. Langseth, Columbia University
S 038 Charged-Particle Lunar Environment Experiment
D. L. Reasoner, Rice University
S 058 Cold Cathode Gage
Francis S. Johnson, University of Texas at Dallas
S 059 Lunar Geology
Gordon A. Swann, Center of Astrogeology, U.S. Geological Survey.;

William R. Muehlberger, University of Texas

S 078 Laser Ranging Retroreflector
James E. Faller, Wesleyan University
S 152 Cosmic Ray Detector
R. L. Fleischer, General Electric Research and Development Laboratory, Schenectady, N.Y.;

Buford Price, University of California at Berkeley.;

Robert M. Walker, Washington University St. Louis, Mo.

S 198 Lunar Portable Magnetometer
Palmer Dyal, Ames Research Center
S 199 Traverse Gravimeter
Manik Talwani, Columbia University
S 200 Soil Mechanics
J. Mitchell, University of California at Berkeley
S 201 Far UV Camera/Spectrograph
G. R. Carruthers, E. O. Hurlburt Center for Space Research, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.;

Thornton Page, Johnson Space Center

S 202 Lunar Ejecta and Meteorites
Otto E. Berg, Goddard Space Flight Center
S 204 Surface Electrical Properties
M. Gene Simmons, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.;

David W. Strangway, University of Toronto

S 205 Lunar Atmospheric Composition
J. R. Hoffman, University of Texas at Dallas
S 207 Lunar Surface Gravimeter
Joseph Weber, University of Maryland
S 229 Lunar Neutron Probe
D. S. Burnett, California Institute of Technology
M 515 Dust Thermal Radiation Engineering Measurement
James R. Bates, Johnson Space Center

Lunar Orbital Experiment Investigators

S 160 Gamma-Ray Spectrometer
James R. Arnold, University of California at San Diego
S 161 X-Ray Fluorescence
Isidore Adler, University of Maryland
S 162 Alpha-Particle Spectrometer
Paul Gorenstein, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Mass.
S 164 S-Band Transponder
William L. Sjogren, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
S 165 Lunar Orbital Mass Spectrometer
J. H. Hoffman, University of Texas at Dallas
S 169 Ultraviolet Spectrometer
William E. Fastie, Johns Hopkins University
S 170 Bistatic Radar
H. Taylor Howard, Stanford University
S 171 Infrared Scanning Radiometer
Frank J. Low, University of Arizona.;

W. W. Mendell, Johnson Space Center

S 173 Subsatellite Particles and Shadows
Kinsey A. Anderson University of California at Berkeley
S 174 Particles and Fields Subsatellite Magnetometer
P. J. Coleman, University of California at Los Angeles.
S 175 Laser Altimeter
William M. Kaula, University of California at Los Angeles.;

William L. Sjogren, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

S 209 Lunar Sounder
Roger J. Phillips, Jet Propulsion Laboratory.;

Stanley Ward, University of Utah.;

Walter E. Brown, Jr., Jet Propulsion Laboratory


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