Apollo 17 s Moonship
Credit & Copyright: Apollo 17,
NASA
(Image scanned by Kipp Teague)
Explanation:
Awkward and angular looking, Apollo 17's lunar module
Challenger
was
designed
for flight in the vacuum of space.
This sharp picture from the command module
America,
shows Challenger's ascent stage in lunar orbit.
Small reaction control thrusters are at the sides of
the
moonship with the bell of the
ascent rocket engine itself underneath.
The hatch allowing
access
to the lunar surface is visible in the front
and a round radar antenna appears at the top.
This spaceship performed gracefully, landing on
the
moon and returning
the Apollo astronauts to the orbiting command module in December
of 1972 - but
where is Challenger now?
Its descent stage
remains at the
Apollo 17
landing site,
Taurus-Littrow.
The ascent stage was intentionally crashed nearby
after being jettisoned from the command module prior to
the
astronauts' return to planet Earth.
Apollo 17's mission
was the sixth and last time astronauts
have landed on the moon.
Editor's note:
Eric Jones, Apollo Lunar Surface Journal editor, comments;
"If you look at the [... large, dark] triangular window,
you'll see a bright rectangular area - which is the
rendezvous window - beneath it, a bright arc.
After much discussion, my team of volunteers and I
concluded that the bright arc is the top of
[mission commander] Gene Cernan's bubble helmet
lit by sunlight ..."
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
