Where is equipment maintained and stored on the moon

The tanks and other external equipment will be shipped in parts and assembled on the moon. The lunar camp will provide protection from the dangers of space, as there will be an artificial day and night cycle to be able to ensure that plants behave normally and crew members do not have disturbed sleep. In order to make sure that the mental health of the crew is not degraded, contact between families and friends will be maintained, we also will have exercise machines that will ensure that the muscles are not weak due to lack of gravity and lastly the walls will contain stable levels of oxygen so that all organisms have a habitat in conditions to survive.

We thought about building a water tank with the materials that we would have available and we thought about collecting some water from some rocks collected, existing on our natural satellite. We will provide food for astronauts through supplies brought from the earth and plants transported to the moon as seeds, which will grow hydroponics in the base. Meals taken from the earth will have the effect of replenishing water, and can provide services quickly, and light in weight, can be reused for 3D printing.

Algae will provide almost all the necessary vitamins, amino acids and sufficient lipids for the crew and plants potatoes and vegetables in hydroponic agriculture without the use of any dirt or heavy water and nutrient solutions. Another challenge of projects that envisage the creation of a fixed base on the Moon is the production of energy. But since there is no atmosphere on the Moon, this process will be more laborious on our natural satellite.

It would be necessary to divide the water obtained in the lunar ice and, during the night, recombine it to produce electricity.

Thermal energy could also be stored using a process similar to heat pumps. The initial source of oxygen will be imported from Earth. We will electrolyse the water to attain oxygen. This process will also form hydrogen gas which can then be reused in the same process. We will electrolyse the water attained by melting the lunar ice, and a partial quantity of oxygen will be derived from compounds found in lunar ores, these compounds include aluminium oxide, iron oxide, titanium dioxide, sodium oxide etc.

Nitrogen will most likely have to be imported from Earth. Our Moon Camp aims to provide a better exploration capacity for our planet Earth, sending astronauts to the Moon with the certainty that they will be able to survive in it for a good number of days and then be able to advance worldwide with science. The Apollo Unified S-Band Transponder was the only link the Apollo astronauts had with mission control after they reached a point approximately 30, miles from Earth.

This facility was acquired by General Dynamics in General Dynamics engineers in Scottsdale developed a total of 12 pieces of electronics equipment on board the Saturn V.

The major pieces of equipment are listed in this graphic. Image Credit: General Dynamics. Aldrin, Jr. Image Credit: Electronics World Magazine. Download Presentation. We use cookies to enhance your website experience. By continuing to visit this site, you agree to our use of cookies.

Learn More. One giant leap for mankind. Developing The S-Band Transponder For Apollo The Apollo missions were incredibly complex with multiple space vehicles performing intricate maneuvers in deep space which required accurate tracking at extreme distances. The Journey to the Moon The components produced by our Scottsdale employees, pictured left, equipped the Apollo spacecraft with the fundamental communications capabilities to remain in contact with mission control throughout the journey. Satellite Mission Payloads Our satellite mission payloads provide weather information to meteorologists, send new data about our solar system to scientists, and enable actionable intelligence for warfighters.

Before docking with the command module circling in lunar orbit, the two crewmen who had been on the surface would clean the inside of the LM with a vacuum brush to reduce the amount of loose material that might otherwise be carried into the command module.

During the transfer of the crew and the sealed sample return containers full of lunar material, pressure in the command module would be kept higher than the pressure in the lunar module to prevent any airborne particles from drifting into it.

During the three-day trip home, the interior of the spacecraft would be vacuumed several times to remove any lunar dust that had managed to slip into it, and the atmosphere would be constantly circulated through a series of lithium hydroxide filters that studies showed would trap any bacterial-size particles. Slayton was adamant that filtering the exhaust from the command module as it bobbed on the surface would raise the level of carbon dioxide to dangerous levels and make the interior too hot for the crew to tolerate in less than ten to twelve minutes.

The ICBC members agreed to waive the requirement for filters but were still reluctant to allow the crew to leave the spacecraft and potentially spread germs everywhere. Slayton refused to force his astronauts to take the risk of being hoisted aboard ship but did agree to an earlier proposal that they put on biological isolation garments BIGs before they exited the spacecraft.

As an extra precaution, the recovery swimmers helping the crew would wear BIGs designed to filter all incoming air, and the life rafts and the area around the hatch would be sprayed with a strong acid to kill any organisms that might have escaped while the hatch was open. The helicopter recovery procedures were finally approved by the ICBC in a telephone conference on May 19, Phillips to inspect the facility and submit a report of findings.

NASA would then submit a certification to the ICBC that it had made any recommended changes, and the regulatory agency members would sign that certification. John Hodge had suggested testing the ability of the lab to actually contain infectious agents by using Q Fever, a nonlethal agent that incapacitates people for several days.

Johnston notified Gilruth on July 2 that the LRL would be operational in time to support Apollo 11, and six days later the laboratory went on mission status. The area around the facility was roped off, and the only entrance was placed under twenty-four-hour armed guard. Strict biological containment procedures were followed, and only authorized personnel were allowed into the lab. On July 20, the day before Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, the biomedical technicians and doctors entered quarantine to await the return of the crew.

The first lunar landing was accomplished on July 21, and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent almost three hours on the surface. In addition to raising the flag, speaking to President Nixon, and taking hundreds of photographs, they managed to collect approximately thirty-three pounds of material that they sealed in two sample return containers and transferred into the lunar module.

When the two crewmen reentered the lunar modular and removed their helmets, they were exposed directly to lunar material that adhered to their suits and equipment. Armstrong reported that the grayish-black dust had the faint odor of wet gunpowder. Rendezvous with the waiting command module was accomplished on schedule, and Apollo 11 blasted out of lunar orbit just before midnight EDT on July 22, It [the LRL] is well stocked.

The Apollo spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific at p. Within half an hour swimmers had attached a flotation collar around the command module and passed the BIGs inside to the crew. They sprayed betadine around the postlanding vents and the hatch to kill any organisms that might have escaped. When the crew climbed out into the waiting life raft, they were sprayed with sodium hypochlorite before being hoisted aboard the recovery helicopter for the short ride back to the aircraft carrier.

The helicopter crew kept oxygen masks on at all times to prevent them from inhaling any germs the astronauts might exhale, and the helicopter was later disinfected with Formalin. Once on the hanger deck of the Hornet, the astronauts were hustled into the mobile quarantine facility as the crew and a television audience of millions looked on. As a final precaution, the path between the helicopter and the MQF was sprayed with glutaraldehyde while the television commentators assured the viewers that the chances against back contamination were tremendous and NASA was only taking reasonable precautions.

During the transfer, Nixon had been kept far away from the hanger deck, and a helicopter was waiting to rush him off the ship if any leak was detected in the MQF. A second MQF was on the Hornet to isolate any ships crew who might be exposed directly to the astronauts or the spacecraft.

A major break in containment would have required the Hornet to remain at sea for the entire quarantine period. In general, the recovery procedures went according to the detailed plan spelled out in the back contamination mission rules, although they took longer than anticipated.

The ICBC was satisfied that no breaks in containment had occurred. The samples reached the lab on July 25, Fortunately, the contingency plans for isolating the area around any crash site if one of the planes went down over land did not have to be implemented. The LRL was declared an official quarantine area by the medical officer of Harris County, Texas site of MSC , on July 24, and a notice appeared in the Federal Register the next day proclaiming that a state of quarantine would exist from July 21 to at least on August 11, , to prevent contamination of Earth by extraterrestrial life.

If all biological testing proved negative, the crew would be released twenty-one days after their initial exposure to lunar material in the LM. The LRL functioned well as a containment facility, although one story insists that roaches were seen leaving and reentering the building. There were two breaks in containment that required the quarantine of six laboratory personnel, and all operations took considerably longer than anticipated because of the difficulty of working inside vacuum boxes and behind a biobarrier.

No pathogenic material was found in any of the samples, and the ICBC agreed to the release of the crew on August Distribution of samples to the eagerly awaiting principal investigators began on September 12, All crew quarantine requirements were waived after the flight of Apollo Scientists who insisted that the whole quarantine program was a waste of time and money were surprised and perhaps chagrined when they discovered living earthborn bacteria inside the camera housing of the Surveyor III spacecraft, which was brought back by the crew of Apollo 12 and tested in the LRL.

Some technician had breathed on the camera insulation during pre-launch processing, and the bacteria had survived the harsh lunar environment for three years. This not only renewed the debate about the possibility of life in the universe but also raised questions about the effectiveness of the sterilization procedures used on both U. It is still debatable whether the LRL could have really contained deadly moon germs if any had existed.

The lunar samples were moved to a new facility at MSC in , and the old LRL is now used primarily for offices and support laboratoreis. Visitors to Space Center Houston, a nongovernment museum operated on the grounds of what is now the Johnson Space Center, can view exhibits of the equipment used in the LRL and touch a piece of the Moon worn smooth by millions of exploratory touches.

NASA launched the Stardust spacecraft on February 7, , on a mission to intercept the comet Wild 2 in and collect dust from its nucleus. Stardust will return to Earth in and drop the samples it collects in a parachute-equipped capsule that will be snagged by an aircraft high over Nevada. It is a scenario that is eerily similar to the science fiction thriller The Andromeda Strain and is sure to regenerate the debate about protecting Earth. There will likely be numerous environmental protection groups and other parties that will insist on playing a role in the design, construction, and operation of any laboratory that receives samples from comets or Mars.

Getting such a facility ready to protect Earth and do meaningful research on samples will probably make the Lunar Receiving Lab development look simple by comparison. The records from that effort and the lessons learned that they document will certainly improve the chances that NASA can succeed and protect us all. The best account of the entire Apollo science program and the handling of lunar samples is in William D.

An inventory of these records is available at the NASA history office web site www. In the classic film War of the Worlds Paramount, , terrestrial bacteria save Earth by killing Martian invaders who had no immunity to our common colds. See Courtney G. See Donald A. Congress, 88th Cong, 1st sess. Part 1: Scientific and Technical Programs, S. Aleck C. Bond, memo of Apr. Fish and Wildlife Act of , 70 Stat. Orr E. Kemmerer to record, Sept.

Congress, 89th Cong. The committee was headed by Col. John E. Pickering, special assistant to the director of space medicine in OSSA, and issued its report on March 21, Frank A. Bogart memo , APO item Richard J. Allenby to Dr.

Homer E. MSC Instruction Interview by author with R. Operational Readiness Inspection, Sept. Interview by author with John D. Transcript of press conference conducted at MSC, Dec.

Erb interview. Sencer to Dr. Thomas O. Paine, Apr. Gilruth to George Mueller, Apr. Hodge interview. Richard S. Lewis, Appointment on the Moon , p. The movie version of The Andromeda Strain was not in theaters until after quarantine requirements for the Apollo crews had ended.

The mission rules authorized the recovery team leader to take any action necessary to protect the safety of the crew but required him to consult with Dr. Berry on any actions that might affect quarantine. A recovery surgeon was on the Hornet to evaluate all crew illness and injury.