Apollo 15 Hammer Feather Drop

Apollo 15 Mission Patch. Credit: NASA

On 26 July 1971 David Scott, Alfred Worden and James Irwin launched atop a Saturn V rocket for the 4th mission to the One thousand oon , Apollo fifteen . Aslope their usual experiments, they carried the Lunar Roving Vehicle (more than usually referred to every bit a 'Moon Buggy') which allowed them to travel farther than whatever Apollo mission earlier . T he Moon rock they brought back has helped united states of america to develop the origin story of the Moon and paved the way for its futurity exploration.

Mission Overview

Apollo 15. Credit: Smithsonian

The Apollo fifteen mission was unique in many means. The main difference to previous missions being that, where before Apollo astronauts spent a maximum of just over nine hours exploring the Moon's surface in at about 2 extravehicular activities (EVAs), or moonwalks as they're more than usually known , the astronauts of Apollo 15 performed three moonwalks totalling xviii hours and 37 minutes and travelled an impressive 17 miles effectually the landing site. Throughout the three moonwalks, the astronauts performed numerous experiments ranging from investigating the Moon's magnetic field to monitoring the solar wind. Scott fifty-fifty performed a live television demonstration of Galileo'southward gratuitous fall experiment by dropping a hammer and a feather at the aforementioned time to show that they vicious at the aforementioned rate when in a vacuum.

Just, by far the most famous aspect of the mission was the utilize of the Moon Buggy to explore the Moon's surface and bring back 170 pounds (77kg) of lunar samples .

Apollo fifteen Hammer-Feather Driblet

Commander Scott held out a geologic hammer and a plumage and dropped them at the same time. Because they were essentially in a vacuum, there was no air resistance and the feather brutal at the same rate as the hammer, as Galileo had concluded hundreds of years before.

Discoveries in Moon Rock

Apollo 15 Grooming. Credit: NASA

What really set the Apollo 15 mission apart from its predecessors was the intense geological preparation the astronauts received prior to the mission. Although missions 11, 12 and fourteen all receive geological training before lift-off to allow them to learn how to take lunar samples , Apollo 15 was the outset mission to focus on geological fieldwork and determining which lunar samples would be the almost benign to bring dwelling .

The start moonwalk of the mission was along the Elbow crater where astronauts Scott and Irwin nerveless samples from around the crater to see what lunar material would take been ejected when the crater was formed . Information technology was during the second EVA that the near important discovery was fabricated, when Commander Scott spotted a white rock on the Moon'due south surface that reflected the Sun's low-cal. It was identified as plagioclase feldspar , more commonly known as anorthosite , and was one of the components of the Moon'south early on crust. Geologists in Mission Control dubbed the sample the "Genesis rock" as it dates dorsum over 4 billion years to the origin of the Moon and the Earth . During the same moonwalk the astronauts discovered olivine, a mineral formed in the Moon'southward magma, suggesting that the Moon might not take been equally cold and desolate and we encounter today.

Paving the Way for Future Exploration

Our beautiful Moon Rock. Credit: National Infinite Centre/NASA

The Apollo 15 mission showcased but what lunar secrets geological training can unlock and provided evidence for many theories about the Moon's origin.

Ultimately, the success of the Apollo xv mission, the Lunar Roving Vehicle, and the geological finds paved the mode for the success of Apollo missions 16 and 17 which saw the astronauts travelling further across the Moon's surface and making more boggling discoveries.

During Apollo 16 and 17 , the astronauts fabricated many more discoveries which changed our idea of what the Moon is made of. One of the most important was when Harrison Schmitt retrieved a sample of orange soil from Shorty Crater . Orangish soil is made up of globules of black and orangish glass which form on Earth during volcanic events, providing evidence of the Moon'south volcanic past.

Y'all tin see 1 of the Moon rocks brought back by the Apollo 17 mission in the National Space Eye's Rocket Tower, some of the terminal to be brought back from the M oon by human hands!

A Mission of Firsts

Apollo 50 Celebrations at the National Space Centre

Although not the first mission to the Moon, Apollo 15 was a mission total of firsts. The first to drive a vehicle on the Moon, the start to perform an EVA outside of Globe'southward orbit , and the beginning to put a focus on geological training. These firsts helped to advance our knowledge of the Moon and provide vital lessons for futurity missions. On the l th anniversary we should think these discoveries and the revelations they have given us nearly our own special satellite.