On July 20.1969.....

In article ,
Ian Stirling wrote:
Is the LM light enough that it could be manhandled to a flat spot, if
(for example) a leg broke, it it landed intact on a large rock.

No. Even with the descent-stage tanks empty, the mass is several tons.

How vertical did the ascent stage need to be?

A quick look doesn't find a specific number. Dim memory says 15-20deg was
the limit. The Apollo 15 was tilted about 10deg because its rear foot was
in a small crater.
--
"Think outside the box -- the box isn't our friend." | Henry Spencer
-- George Herbert |

In sci.space.policy Henry Spencer wrote:
In article ,
Ian Stirling wrote:
Is the LM light enough that it could be manhandled to a flat spot, if
(for example) a leg broke, it it landed intact on a large rock.

No. Even with the descent-stage tanks empty, the mass is several tons.

I should have looked it up.
"
The lunar module was a two-stage vehicle designed for space operations
near and on the Moon. The spacecraft mass of 15,116 kg was the mass of
the LM including astronauts, propellants and expendables. The dry mass
of the ascent stage was 2159 kg and it held 2615 kg of propellant. The
descent stage dry mass was 2211 kg and 8131 kg of propellant were
onboard initially. The ascent and descent stages of the LM operated as
a unit until staging, when the ascent stage functioned as a single
spacecraft for rendezvous and docking with the command and service
module (CSM). The descent stage comprised the lower part of the
spacecraft and was an octagonal prism 4.2 meters across and 1.7 m
"

Now that I can get access to the web easily.

So, dry descent stage + wet ascent stage = 6985Kg.
Say 700Kg of that was easily dismountable (astronaut, surface experiments,
....) that's 6000Kg.


Equivalent to 1000Kg.
Probably barely movable, but not exactly easily.



How vertical did the ascent stage need to be?

A quick look doesn't find a specific number. Dim memory says 15-20deg was
the limit. The Apollo 15 was tilted about 10deg because its rear foot was
in a small crater.

In sci.space.policy Alain Fournier wrote:


Ian Stirling wrote:

In sci.space.policy Henry Spencer wrote:

In article ,
Ian Stirling wrote:

Is the LM light enough that it could be manhandled to a flat spot, if
(for example) a leg broke, it it landed intact on a large rock.

No. Even with the descent-stage tanks empty, the mass is several tons.


I should have looked it up.
snip
So, dry descent stage + wet ascent stage = 6985Kg.
Say 700Kg of that was easily dismountable (astronaut, surface experiments,
...) that's 6000Kg.


Equivalent to 1000Kg.
Probably barely movable, but not exactly easily.

1000 kg is moveable on Earth by two men but is not moveable
directly by two humans in space suits. It would probably be
possible to save the astronauts using parts of the broken leg
as a lever. That so even if one of the astronauts is injured
and unable to help.

I was idly wondering about the case where you might get down substantially
intact, but at an attitude that was not safe to takeoff.
It seems that it may be possible to shift it around a bit, prop rocks under
legs, ..., not utterly out of the question due to the weight.

Ian Stirling wrote:

In sci.space.policy Henry Spencer wrote:

In article ,
Ian Stirling wrote:

Is the LM light enough that it could be manhandled to a flat spot, if
(for example) a leg broke, it it landed intact on a large rock.

No. Even with the descent-stage tanks empty, the mass is several tons.


I should have looked it up.
"
The lunar module was a two-stage vehicle designed for space operations
near and on the Moon. The spacecraft mass of 15,116 kg was the mass of
the LM including astronauts, propellants and expendables. The dry mass
of the ascent stage was 2159 kg and it held 2615 kg of propellant. The
descent stage dry mass was 2211 kg and 8131 kg of propellant were
onboard initially. The ascent and descent stages of the LM operated as
a unit until staging, when the ascent stage functioned as a single
spacecraft for rendezvous and docking with the command and service
module (CSM). The descent stage comprised the lower part of the
spacecraft and was an octagonal prism 4.2 meters across and 1.7 m
"

Now that I can get access to the web easily.

So, dry descent stage + wet ascent stage = 6985Kg.
Say 700Kg of that was easily dismountable (astronaut, surface experiments,
...) that's 6000Kg.


Equivalent to 1000Kg.
Probably barely movable, but not exactly easily.

1000 kg is moveable on Earth by two men but is not moveable
directly by two humans in space suits. It would probably be
possible to save the astronauts using parts of the broken leg
as a lever. That so even if one of the astronauts is injured
and unable to help.

Alain Fournier

Alain Fournier wrote:
Ian Stirling wrote:
So, dry descent stage + wet ascent stage = 6985Kg.
Say 700Kg of that was easily dismountable (astronaut, surface
experiments,
...) that's 6000Kg.

Equivalent to 1000Kg.
Probably barely movable, but not exactly easily.

1000 kg is moveable on Earth by two men but is not moveable
directly by two humans in space suits. It would probably be
possible to save the astronauts using parts of the broken leg
as a lever. That so even if one of the astronauts is injured
and unable to help.

Also, that may be 1000 kgf of weight but it still has
the inertia of 6000 kg of mass, and that makes a
difference.