Date: 4-25-01
EXPLORATIONS #1949 - PROJECT APOLLO, PART 4
TYPE=SPECIAL ENGLISH FEATURE
By MARILYN RICE CHRISTIANO
ANNCR:
EXPLORATIONS -- A PROGRAM IN SPECIAL ENGLISH BY THE VOICE OF
AMERICA.
(THEME)
THE SUMMER OF NINETEEN-SIXTY-NINE WAS A SPECIAL TIME IN HISTORY.
THAT WAS WHEN MEN FROM EARTH -- AMERICAN ASTRONAUTS -- FLEW THEIR
APOLLO ELEVEN SPACECRAFT TO THE MOON, LANDED AND RETURNED HOME
SAFELY. THE WORLD HONORED THE ASTRONAUTS AS HEROES.
NEIL ARMSTRONG AND EDWIN ALDRIN WERE THE FIRST TO LAND ON THE
MOON. BUT THEY WERE NOT THE LAST. NASA -- THE NATIONAL
AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION -- LAUNCHED SIX MORE APOLLO
FLIGHTS.
TODAY, HARRY MONROE AND KAY GALLANT TELL ABOUT THE FLIGHTS THAT
FOLLOWED APOLLO ELEVEN TO THE MOON.
VOICE ONE:
APOLLO TWELVE LIFTED OFF ONLY FOUR MONTHS AFTER THE APOLLO ELEVEN
FLIGHT. RAIN HAD FALLEN THE NIGHT BEFORE. THE CLOUDS CLEARED,
BUT MORE RAIN WAS EXPECTED. SPACE OFFICIALS DECIDED THE WEATHER
WAS SAFE ENOUGH FOR THEM TO LAUNCH THE SPACECRAFT.
THIRTY-SIX SECONDS AFTER LIFT-OFF, LIGHTNING HIT THE HUGE SATURN
FIVE ROCKET. THE APOLLO SPACECRAFT LOST ELECTRICAL POWER TO ITS
CONTROL SYSTEM. THE ASTRONAUTS WORKED CALMLY TO GET THE POWER
BACK ON. THEN LIGHTNING STRUCK AGAIN. AND POWER WAS LOST AGAIN.
THE LIGHTNING, HOWEVER, DID NOT AFFECT THE SATURN ROCKET. THE
ROCKET CONTINUED TO PUSH THE SPACECRAFT ON ITS PATH. THE
ASTRONAUTS SOON FIXED THE ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. THE SITUATION
RETURNED TO NORMAL. APOLLO TWELVE COULD CONTINUE ITS FLIGHT TO
THE MOON.
VOICE TWO:
ALL THREE ASTRONAUTS OF APOLLO TWELVE WERE NAVY FLIERS. CHARLES
CONRAD WAS THE FLIGHT COMMANDER. RICHARD GORDON WAS PILOT OF THE
COMMAND MODULE. ALAN BEAN WAS PILOT OF THE MOON LANDER.
AFTER FOUR DAYS, APOLLO TWELVE WAS NEAR ITS LANDING AREA ON THE
MOON. IT WOULD LAND IN AN AREA CALLED THE OCEAN OF STORMS. THE
OCEAN OF STORMS WAS ABOUT TWO-THOUSAND KILOMETERS WEST OF THE
PLACE WHERE APOLLO ELEVEN HAD LANDED.
RICHARD GORDON REMAINED IN THE COMMAND MODULE CIRCLING THE MOON.
CHARLES CONRAD AND ALAN BEAN FLEW THE LANDER CRAFT TO THE
SURFACE. THEY CAME DOWN NEAR SURVEYOR THREE, AN UNMANNED
SPACECRAFT THAT HAD LANDED ON THE MOON TWO YEARS BEFORE.
SURVEYOR HAD SENT BACK SIX-THOUSAND PICTURES OF THE MOON BEFORE
IT STOPPED WORKING.
CONRAD STEPPED OUT OF THE LANDER ONTO THE MOON. HE DESCRIBED THE
SURFACE AS HE WALKED AWAY FROM THE SPACECRAFT. "OH," HE SAID,
"IS THIS SOFT! I DON'T SINK IN IT TOO FAR."
VOICE ONE:
ALAN BEAN FOLLOWED CHARLES CONRAD TO THE SURFACE. THE TWO
ASTRONAUTS COLLECTED ABOUT THIRTY-FIVE KILOGRAMS OF ROCKS. THEY
LEFT FIVE SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS DESIGNED TO SEND INFORMATION
BACK TO EARTH. AND THEY VISITED THE OLD SURVEYOR SPACECRAFT.
THE TWO ASTRONAUTS SPENT MORE THAN THIRTY-ONE HOURS ON THE MOON.
THEN THEY RETURNED TO THE ORBITING COMMAND MODULE AND STARTED
BACK TO EARTH. THEY LANDED IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN, ONLY SIX
KILOMETERS FROM THE SHIP THAT WAITED TO RESCUE THEM.
VOICE TWO:
THE NEXT FLIGHT IN AMERICA'S APOLLO SPACE PROJECT -- APOLLO
THIRTEEN -- NEVER LANDED ON THE MOON. THREE DAYS AFTER LAUNCH,
AN EXPLOSION DAMAGED THE SPACECRAFT. THE ASTRONAUTS LOST MOST OF
THEIR OXYGEN. THEY HAD TO CANCEL THE MOON LANDING AND USE THE
MOON LANDER AS A LIFEBOAT. OXYGEN FROM THE LANDER KEPT THEM
ALIVE DURING THE LONG TRIP BACK TO EARTH.
APOLLO FOURTEEN WAS LAUNCHED IN JANUARY, NINETEEN-SEVENTY-ONE.
IT LANDED IN THE HILLY FRA MAURO AREA OF THE MOON.
FRA MAURO IS A HUGE HIGHLANDS EAST OF APOLLO TWELVE'S LANDING
PLACE. A LARGE METEORITE HIT THE AREA FOUR-THOUSAND-MILLION YEARS
AGO. THE FORCE OF THE CRASH SPREAD MATERIAL FROM DEEP INSIDE THE
MOON. SCIENTISTS WANTED TO STUDY THIS MATERIAL. THEY BELIEVED
IT WOULD GIVE THEM IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE EARLY HISTORY
OF THE MOON.
VOICE ONE:
THE COMMANDER OF THE APOLLO FOURTEEN FLIGHT WAS ALAN SHEPARD. HE
HAD BEEN THE FIRST AMERICAN IN SPACE. STUART ROOSA AND EDGAR
MITCHELL WERE THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE CREW. ONE PIECE OF
EQUIPMENT ON APOLLO FOURTEEN WAS A LIGHT-WEIGHT VEHICLE WITH TWO
WHEELS. THE ASTRONAUTS USED IT TO CARRY TOOLS AND CAMERAS WHILE
THEY WERE ON THE MOON. THE VEHICLE MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO
TRAVEL FARTHER FROM THE SPACECRAFT TO COLLECT ROCKS AND DO
EXPERIMENTS. THEY WALKED AS FAR AS THREE KILOMETERS FROM THE
MOON LANDER. EVEN WITH THE TWO-WHEELED VEHICLE, HOWEVER, SHEPARD
AND MITCHELL COULD NOT REACH ONE OF THEIR GOALS -- A CRATER
CALLED CONE. THEY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH OXYGEN TO WALK THAT FAR.
THEY HAD TO RETURN TO THE LANDER.
APOLLO TWELVE AND APOLLO FOURTEEN PRODUCED MUCH NEW SCIENTIFIC
INFORMATION. AND THEY INCREASED THE INTEREST OF SCIENTISTS IN
THE NEXT APOLLO FLIGHTS TO THE MOON.
VOICE TWO:
THE LAST THREE FLIGHTS WOULD PERMIT ASTRONAUTS TO STAY MUCH
LONGER ON THE MOON. THEY ALSO WOULD PROVIDE A VEHICLE WITH FOUR
WHEELS IN WHICH ASTRONAUTS COULD RIDE. WITH SUCH A VEHICLE,
ASTRONAUTS COULD EXPLORE A MUCH LARGER AREA OF THE MOON'S
SURFACE. THE VEHICLE WAS CALLED A LUNAR ROVER.
THE LUNAR ROVER WAS POWERED BY ELECTRICITY. IT COULD CARRY TWO
ASTRONAUTS MORE THAN THIRTY KILOMETERS FROM THE LANDER. IT COULD
CARRY MORE THAN ONE-HUNDRED-TEN KILOGRAMS OF EQUIPMENT. THE
LUNAR ROVER ALSO HAD A TELEVISION CAMERA AND AN ANTENNA FOR
SENDING COLOR TELEVISION BROADCASTS BACK TO EARTH.
VOICE ONE:
DAVID SCOTT, ALFRED WORDEN AND JAMES IRWIN WERE THE CREW FOR
APOLLO FIFTEEN. THEY LANDED AT HADLEY RILLE NEAR THE APENNINE
MOUNTAINS, NORTHWEST OF THE PLACE WHERE APOLLO ELEVEN HAD LANDED.
SCOTT AND IRWIN WERE THE FIRST TO USE THE LUNAR ROVER VEHICLE.
THEY MADE SEVERAL TRIPS FROM THE LANDING AREA TO STUDY THE
SURFACE OF THE MOON. THEY GATHERED SEVENTY-SIX KILOS OF MOON
ROCKS. AND THEY PLACED A SMALL SATELLITE IN LUNAR ORBIT BEFORE
THEY RETURNED TO EARTH.
THE APOLLO FIFTEEN ASTRONAUTS RETURNED SAFELY. SCIENTISTS WERE
EXCITED ABOUT THE MOON ROCKS THE ASTRONAUTS BROUGHT BACK. THEY
NAMED ONE OF THEM "THE GENESIS ROCK." IT IS BELIEVED TO BE MORE
THAN FOUR-THOUSAND-MILLION YEARS OLD. SCIENTISTS SAY THE ROCK
WAS CREATED VERY EARLY IN THE LIFE OF THE MOON.
SOIL BROUGHT BACK CONTAINED BITS OF ORANGE GLASS. SCIENTISTS
SAID THE GLASS CAME FROM MATERIAL CREATED AS DEEP AS
THREE-HUNDRED KILOMETERS BELOW THE MOON'S SURFACE.
ASTRONAUTS JOHN YOUNG, THOMAS MATTINGLY AND CHARLES DUKE FLEW
APOLLO SIXTEEN TO THE MOON IN APRIL, NINETEEN-SEVENTY-TWO. YOUNG
AND DUKE LANDED SOUTHWEST OF THE APOLLO ELEVEN LANDING PLACE.
THEY SPENT FORTY-FIVE HOURS ON THE MOON. THEY COLLECTED ROCKS
AND SET UP SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT.
VOICE TWO:
ASTRONAUTS EUGENE CERNAN, HARRISON SCHMITT AND RONALD EVANS MADE THE LAST APOLLO FLIGHT TO THE MOON. THAT WAS IN DECEMBER,
NINETEEN-SEVENTY-TWO.
CERNAN AND SCHMITT LANDED IN A VALLEY ALMOST DIRECTLY NORTH OF
THE APOLLO ELEVEN LANDING PLACE. THEY SPENT SEVENTY-FIVE HOURS,
IN ALL, ON THE SURFACE. MORE THAN TWENTY-TWO HOURS WERE SPENT
WORKING OUTSIDE THE LANDER.
THE ASTRONAUTS MADE THREE TRIPS IN THE LUNAR ROVER TO TAKE
PICTURES AND COLLECT ROCKS. THE ASTRONAUTS ALSO LEFT MANY
SCIENTIFIC DEVICES THAT WOULD CONTINUE TO REPORT INFORMATION
ABOUT THE MOON.
CERNAN AND SCHMITT LIFTED OFF THE MOON ON DECEMBER FOURTEENTH.
JUST BEFORE LEAVING, THEY PLACED A METAL SIGN ON THE SURFACE.
THE SIGN WAS TO REMAIN FOREVER.
IT SAID: "HERE MAN COMPLETED HIS FIRST EXPLORATION OF THE MOON,
DECEMBER, NINETEEN-SEVENTY-TWO. MAY THE SPIRIT OF PEACE IN WHICH
WE CAME BE REFLECTED IN THE LIVES OF ALL MANKIND."
VOICE ONE:
PRODUCTION OF THE SATURN FIVE ROCKET AND THE APOLLO SPACECRAFT
ENDED WITH APOLLO SEVENTEEN. AMERICA'S MANNED EXPLORATIONS OF
THE MOON WERE COMPLETED.
IT WAS THE END OF A SPECIAL TIME IN HUMAN HISTORY. IT HAD BEEN
THE FIRST TIME PEOPLE MOVED BEYOND THEIR SMALL PLANET INTO THE
HUGE SOLAR SYSTEM. NOW, ONCE AGAIN, THE MOON WAS BEYOND HUMAN
REACH.
(THEME)
ANNCR:
YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO THE STORY OF THE UNITED STATES' APOLLO
SPACE FLIGHT PROGRAM THAT SENT PEOPLE TO THE MOON. THIS PROGRAM
WAS WRITTEN BY MARILYN RICE CHRISTIANO. YOUR NARRATORS WERE KAY
GALLANT AND HARRY MONROE. LISTEN AGAIN
NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER EXPLORATIONS PROGRAM ON THE VOICE OF
AMERICA.
Source: www.voa.gov/special/