Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in ... - The Black Vault

Exploring the Unknown
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Sonnett’s group completed its work in early July 1962. Its recommendations
were then reviewed during a “Summer Study” of the National Academy’s Space
Science Board, which was already underway at the University of Iowa. The study
report endorsed most of the recommendations of Sonnett’s report, and as
modified by the Board’s review they then became the basis for NASA’s planning
regarding the scientific aspects of Apollo missions. (II-41 and Volume V, I-22,
II-12, II-13)
Another pressing issue as the Apollo missions were being designed was
how to obtain the needed information about the lunar environment, such as
the radiation environment astronauts would experience on the journeys to and
from the Moon, the physical properties of the lunar soil, and the topography of
the Moon. Brainerd Holmes and his associates turned to previously approved
robotic lunar science programs, Ranger and Surveyor, which were managed by
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in hopes that they could provide much of this
information. Ranger missions would make hard landings on the Moon, sending
back images as the spacecraft approached the lunar surface; Surveyor missions
would land softly on the lunar surface and send back detailed images and other
information about the area surrounding their landing site.
Tensions between the original scientific objectives of these missions and
NASA’s need for engineering information were inevitable. (II-22, Volume V, II­
11) Later Ranger and Surveyor missions were indeed modified to meet Apollo’s
needs, creating lasting resentment among some members of the scientific
community with respect to the intervention of engineering concerns into the
setting of scientific priorities for robotic missions. NASA also decided to add a
third robotic lunar program, Lunar Orbiter, to obtain high-resolution imagery of
the lunar surface. That program was managed by the Langley Research Center,
which was less closely linked to the scientific community than was JPL; the
program used a camera modified from its original highly classified intelligence
satellite mission to obtain the images needed.
Even with all of this information, there was continuing controversy about
the character of the lunar surface. One prominent astronomer, Thomas Gold of
Cornell University, suggested that the smooth areas of the Moon were likely to be
covered with a layer of fine dust several meters deep, raising the possibility that a
lunar lander might sink into the dust or topple over after landing. Even after the
first Surveyor spacecraft landed on the Moon without problems on 2 June 1966,
Gold suggested that his views might still be valid. (II-46)
An early planning issue for NASA was the selection of the locations on the
Moon where Apollo would land. NASA did not want to restrict itself to a single
location for even the first lunar landing attempt, and of course was planning more
than one Apollo mission to the Moon. Engineering and trajectory considerations
entered into play, making the choice of landing sites complex. Because of the
weight limitations associated with the Apollo spacecraft and lunar module, only a
landing at a location on the near side of the Moon and near the lunar equator was
feasible; this meant that Apollo could not visit approximately 80 percent of the
overall lunar surface. (II-24) Ultimately NASA identified a number of potential