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Lunar modules still in orbit?
What ever happened to the Lunar Modules once they were no longer
needed for the apollo missions? Do we have 7 of them in orbit around the moon right now? If not, how were they jettisoned in a way that ensured they would not stay in some lunar orbit? Anyone with thoughts on possibilities? Stan |
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Lunar modules still in orbit?
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Lunar modules still in orbit?
On Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:11:13 -0400, wrote:
What ever happened to the Lunar Modules once they were no longer needed for the apollo missions? Do we have 7 of them in orbit around the moon right now? If not, how were they jettisoned in a way that ensured they would not stay in some lunar orbit? Anyone with thoughts on possibilities? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_...dules_produced ....This Wiki article - obviously free of any tampering by catamite Limey schoolpunks - gives the info you need. OM -- ]=====================================[ ] OMBlog - http://www.io.com/~o_m/omworld [ ] Let's face it: Sometimes you *need* [ ] an obnoxious opinion in your day! [ ]=====================================[ |
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Lunar modules still in orbit?
On Sat, 10 Nov 2007 03:00:58 GMT, Brian Thorn
wrote: Lunar orbits are unstable over long-ish durations. They crashed, some deliberately... to provide seismic data. Thanks to the wikipedia links 2 others provided, it appears Apollo 11 and 16 LM were left in lunar orbit and eventually crashed into the moon. My questions: 1. forgetting mascons for the moment, wouldn't the effects of the earth and sun on a lunar orbit tend, over time, to pull the LM into a higher orbit around the moon? 2. considering mascons as well as outside gravity effects, wouldn't the effect of these be only to alter the orbit, but not cause a crash onto the moon? My limited background suggest to me that the LM would have to lose a lot of energy in order to lower it's orbit enough to crash. What would be the process that causes this? Thanks to all for the help. Stan |
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Lunar modules still in orbit?
wrote in message
... On Sat, 10 Nov 2007 03:00:58 GMT, Brian Thorn wrote: Lunar orbits are unstable over long-ish durations. They crashed, some deliberately... to provide seismic data. Thanks to the wikipedia links 2 others provided, it appears Apollo 11 and 16 LM were left in lunar orbit and eventually crashed into the moon. My questions: 1. forgetting mascons for the moment, wouldn't the effects of the earth and sun on a lunar orbit tend, over time, to pull the LM into a higher orbit around the moon? 2. considering mascons as well as outside gravity effects, wouldn't the effect of these be only to alter the orbit, but not cause a crash onto the moon? My limited background suggest to me that the LM would have to lose a lot of energy in order to lower it's orbit enough to crash. What would be the process that causes this? The orbit becomes eccentric enough until it crashes into the Moon. Note the orbits were fairly low to begin with. On one of the later Apollo missions, the CSM drifter low enough overnight as to cause alarm at Mission Control when they realized they missed a mountain by a lot lower margin than they wanted. (It was still 5 miles or more I believe but still a bit alarming.) Thanks to all for the help. Stan |
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Lunar modules still in orbit?
On Sat, 10 Nov 2007 10:45:48 -0500, Greg D. Moore \(Strider\) wrote:
On one of the later Apollo missions, the CSM drifter low enough overnight as to cause alarm at Mission Control when they realized they missed a mountain by a lot lower margin than they wanted. (It was still 5 miles or more I believe but still a bit alarming.) Any idea which one? -- One way ticket from Mornington Crescent to Tannhauser Gate please. |
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Lunar modules still in orbit?
It doesn't have to lose any energy at all (and in fact doesn't--orbital motion is conservative). All it has to do is increase the eccentricity to the point at which perilune goes below the lunar surface (or just a mountain). But would this **always** happen if a LM were left in orbit? It depends on how low an orbit it is. The LM was sufficiently low that, yes, it would *always* happen over time. What's the lowest orbitting satellite of the moon right now? Are there any that are expected to basically orbit the moon forever? How low can an orbit be around the moon and expect not to crash onto the moon? |
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