
Dr. Kiyoshi Kuramoto said: “When a large satellite is orbiting a planet, as with the Moon and Earth, there is a strong gravitational interaction. The Moon’s gravitational pull affects the Earth and vice versa. In that sense, they have been inseparable. They wouldn’t exist as they do today without having each other”.
While Earth’s gravity keeps the Moon in orbit, the Moon’s gravity drives our oceans’ tides and helps keep our climate stable and relatively mild. But our neatest neighbor is also a realm of secrets. Apollo astronauts were the first to probe this alien world. Today’s technology will dare to go even further. Japan’s Kaguya satellite’s mission is giving scientists new insights into the Moon. It also brings us back to places we haven’t seen is nearly 40 years, like this hallowed ground, the Sea of Tranquility, where man took his first steps on the Moon in July 1969. Apollo 11’s mission: To perform a manned lunar landing and return safely to Earth.
Buzz Aldrin said: “I think that we stood a 60 percent chance of successfully carrying out the Apollo 11 mission. Apollo 11 was a much more challenging landing than any of the later flights. Neil did not like where the computer was taking us. We heard 60 seconds of fuel left at about 100 feet above the ground. I was getting a little concerned, but I didn’t want to disturb the guy next to me. Neil says we grabbed hands and I remember sort of patting him on the shoulder. Then we got into the preparations for going outside. When we got there, nothing could be more descriptive than the word desolation. When I was walking around on the surface and happened to gaze up, it caused me to realize that two people are further away from home than two people have ever been”.
The astronauts have only two-and-a-half hours explore this strange and daunting new world.
Buzz Aldrin said: “There’s no color, just no color whatsoever. It’s all just gray, shades of gray. The dust itself was just like talcum powder. What was amazing was the cohesiveness of the dust as the boot prints made an imprint. As you put your foot down and it all went out, with no dust, no billowing. It doesn’t do that here on Earth”.
Their heavy spacesuits protect them against intense radiation and minus 280 degree Fahrenheit temperatures, but the spacesuits make some of the simplest maneuvers difficult. The Apollo 12 mission lands in the Ocean of Storms region in November 1969. This time, astronauts spend nearly 8 hours on the Moon, exploring the landscape and collecting samples. In April 1970, Apollo 13 sets out to explore the Fra Mauro region of the Moon. But an oxygen tank explosion cripples the spacecraft before it can land. The crew barely makes it back to Earth, a grim reminder of how dangerous lunar exploration can be. America alone seems to have conquered the Moon. But a few months later, another world power crashes the party. The Soviet Union, America’s space rival, manages to build, test, and launch a remote controlled lunar rover called the Lunokhod in total secrecy. This unmanned craft explores the lunar surface in the Sea of Rains for 11 months. It transmits thousands of images of the Moon’s surface and completes some 500 scientific tests before dying a natural death. Its successor, Lunakhod 2, lands in the Sea of Serenity. It uses its new laser reflector to measure the distance to Earth with incredible accuracy, and tries to predict volcanic activity and continental drift back home. The Lunokhod rovers are a huge success, but nothing matches the manned Apollo missions when it comes to exploring the Moon’s secrets.
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