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139-615: Constellation began in response to the goals laid out in the Vision for Space Exploration under NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and President George W. Bush . O'Keefe's successor, Michael D. Griffin , ordered a complete review, termed the Exploration Systems Architecture Study , which reshaped how NASA would pursue the goals laid out in the Vision for Space Exploration, and its findings were formalized by

278-525: A Saturn IB . This was originally planned for April 1967, to be followed by the first crewed flight later that year. But the LM's development problems had been underestimated, and LM-1's flight was delayed until January 22, 1968, as Apollo 5 . At that time, LM-2 was held in reserve in case the LM-1 flight failed, which did not happen. LM-3 now became the first crewed LM, again to be flown in low Earth orbit to test all

417-503: A counterweight to a Moon-based space elevator . NASA has also outlined plans for human missions to the far side of the Moon . All of the Apollo missions have landed on the near side. Unique products may be producible in the nearly extreme vacuum of the lunar surface, and the Moon's remoteness is the ultimate isolation for biologically hazardous experiments. The Moon would also become

556-500: A spending bill which gave NASA the $ 16.2 billion that President Bush had sought to kick-start the Vision. According to then-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe , that spending bill "was as strong an endorsement of the space exploration vision, as any of us could have imagined." In 2005, Congress passed S.1281, the NASA Authorization Act of 2005 , which explicitly endorsed the Vision. Former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin

695-616: A throttleable Descent Propulsion System (DPS) engine with four hypergolic propellant tanks. A continuous-wave Doppler radar antenna was mounted by the engine heat shield on the bottom surface, to send altitude and rate of descent data to the guidance system and pilot display during the landing. Almost all external surfaces, except for the top, platform, ladder, descent engine and heat shield, were covered in amber, dark (reddish) amber, black, silver, and yellow aluminized Kapton foil blankets for thermal insulation. The number 1 (front) landing leg had an attached platform (informally known as

834-656: A "sustainable course of long-term exploration." NASA estimated that the original policy would cost $ 230 billion (in 2004 dollars) through 2025, including the Commercial Crew and Cargo program, which is separate from the Constellation program. However, unsolved technical and design challenges made it impossible for NASA to provide a conclusive estimate. Upon taking office, President Obama declared Constellation to be "over budget, behind schedule, and lacking in innovation." A review concluded that it would cost on

973-605: A Reaction Control System (RCS) for attitude and translation control, which consisted of sixteen hypergolic thrusters similar to those used on the Service Module, mounted in four quads, with their own propellant supply. A forward extravehicular activity hatch provided access to and from the lunar surface, while an overhead hatch and docking port provided access to and from the Command Module. Internal equipment included an environmental control (life support) system;

1112-543: A Saturn V, the telescope was mounted on a hinged arm and controlled from inside the MDA. Only the octagonal shape of the telescope container, solar panels and the Apollo Telescope Mount name were kept, though there was no longer any association with the LM. The Apollo LM Truck (also known as Lunar Payload Module) was a stand-alone LM descent stage intended to deliver up to 11,000 pounds (5.0 t) of payload to

1251-532: A Space Conference on April 15, 2010, in Florida. This came at a time when the president's administration was being criticized considerably for leaving the Constellation Program out of the 2011 budget. At the conference, President Obama and top officials, as well as leaders in the field of spaceflight, discussed the future of U.S. efforts in human spaceflight and unveiled a plan for NASA that followed

1390-487: A VHF communications system with two antennas for communication with the Command Module; a unified S-band system and steerable parabolic dish antenna for communication with Earth; an extravehicular activity antenna resembling a miniature parasol which relayed communications from antennas on the astronauts' Portable Life Support Systems through the LM; primary (PGNCS) and backup (AGS) guidance and navigation systems; an Alignment Optical Telescope for visually determining

1529-601: A crewed command and service module , named the Apollo Telescope Mission (ATM). This idea was later transferred to the original wet workshop design for the Skylab orbital workshop and renamed the Apollo Telescope Mount to be docked on a side port of the workshop's multiple docking adapter (MDA). When Skylab changed to a "dry workshop" design pre-fabricated on the ground and launched on

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1668-506: A development philosophy used for the original Saturn I , test-launching one stage at a time, which George Mueller had firmly opposed and abandoned in favor of "all-up" testing for the Saturn V . As of May 2010, the program got as far as launching the first Ares I-X first-stage flight on October 28, 2009 and testing the Orion launch abort system before its cancellation. Ares V would have had

1807-639: A dramatization of that mission starring Tom Hanks , Kevin Bacon , and Bill Paxton , was filmed using realistic spacecraft interior reconstructions of the Aquarius and the Command Module Odyssey . In 2013 in the television show Arrested Development , a fictionalized version of Howard is depicted as having the Apollo 11 "LEM" in his office, which his character claims was used to fake the 1969 moon landing . The development and construction of

1946-533: A four-person crew for lunar missions) on an Ares I rocket. Once the Orion spacecraft docked with the landing module and the Earth Departure Stage (EDS), the EDS would then fire again and propel the Orion spacecraft to a nearby near-Earth asteroid where the crew would then land and explore its surface. Once the task was completed, the Orion spacecraft would then depart from the asteroid and, upon reaching

2085-647: A human," the vision announced by the President states that "robotic missions will serve as trailblazers—the advanced guard to the unknown." Others, such as the Mars Society , have argued that it makes more sense to avoid going back to the Moon and instead focus on going to Mars first. Throughout much of 2004, it was unclear whether the U.S. Congress would be willing to approve and fund the Vision for Space Exploration. However, in November 2004, Congress passed

2224-409: A lifeboat to provide life support and propulsion to keep the crew alive for the trip home, when their CSM was disabled by an oxygen tank explosion en route to the Moon. The six landed descent stages remain at their landing sites; their corresponding ascent stages crashed into the Moon following use. One ascent stage (Apollo 10's Snoopy ) was discarded in a heliocentric orbit after its descent stage

2363-572: A maximum lift capacity of about 188 metric tons (414,000 lb) to low Earth orbit (LEO), compared to the Space Shuttle 's capacity of 24.4 metric tons (54,000 lb), and the Saturn V 's 118 metric tons (260,000 lb). The Ares V would have carried about 71 metric tons (157,000 lb) to the Moon , versus the Saturn V 's 45 metric tons (99,000 lb) lunar payload. The Ares V design consisted of six RS-68 engines with assistance from

2502-428: A near-vertical position, allowing the crew to look forward and down to see the lunar surface for the first time. Astronauts flew Apollo spacecraft manually only during the lunar approach. The final landing phase began about 2,000 feet (0.61 km) uprange of the targeted landing site. At this point, manual control was enabled for the commander, who had enough propellant to hover for up to two minutes to survey where

2641-735: A new funding bill for 2011. NASA continues the development of the Orion spacecraft for deep space travel. In an effort to reduce costs, it has contracted for private development of vehicles for use in low Earth orbit. Since May 2020, the Commercial Crew Development program has used the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to bring people to and from the International Space Station, while Boeing's Starliner spacecraft started operating in 2024 for

2780-698: A pair of 5.5-segment SRBs. Five RS-25 engines were originally planned for the Ares V, but the RS-68 engines are more powerful and less complex and therefore less expensive than the SSMEs. The Ares V would have flown for the first eight minutes of powered flight, then the Earth Departure Stage would have placed itself and the Altair spacecraft into low Earth orbit while awaiting the arrival of the Orion. Toward

2919-696: A period of years without human spaceflight capability from the US. Termination of the Space Shuttle program, without any planned alternatives, in 2011 ended virtually all US capability for reusable launch vehicles. This severely limited any future of low Earth orbit or deep space exploration. Ultimately, the lack of proper funding caused the VSE to fall short of its original goals, leaving many projects behind schedule as President George W. Bush's term in office ended. Keith Cowan wrote in 2014, "The damage done to America and

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3058-627: A proposal for continued crewed space exploration after the completion of the International Space Station and the planned retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2010. This proposal was to be a way to "establish an extended human presence on the Moon" to "vastly reduce the costs of further space exploration." Included in this would be the "harvesting and processing of lunar soil into rocket fuel or breathable air." According to Bush, experience gained could help "develop and test new approaches and technologies and systems" to begin

3197-488: A proving ground toward the development of In-Situ Resource Utilization , or "living off the land" (i.e., self-sufficiency) for permanent human outposts. In a position paper issued by the National Space Society (NSS), a return to the Moon should be considered a high priority space program , to begin development of the knowledge and identification of the industries unique to the Moon. The NSS believes that

3336-487: A robust research and development program that would include work on propellant depots . After reviewing the report, and following congressional testimony, the Obama administration decided to exclude Constellation from the 2011 United States federal budget . On February 1, 2010, the President's proposed budget was released, which included no funding for the project, and it became law on April 15, 2011. President Obama hosted

3475-523: A second, forward docking port, allowing the LEM crew to take an active role in docking with the CSM. As the program continued, there were numerous redesigns to save weight, improve safety, and fix problems. First to go were the heavy cockpit windows and the seats; the astronauts would stand while flying the LEM, supported by a cable and pulley system, with smaller triangular windows giving them sufficient visibility of

3614-517: A single Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) derived in part from the primary boosters used in the Space Shuttle system, connected at its upper end by an interstage support assembly to a new liquid-fueled second stage powered by a J-2X rocket engine. NASA selected the Ares designs for their anticipated overall safety, reliability and cost-efficiency. NASA began developing the Ares I low Earth orbit launch vehicle (analogous to Apollo's Saturn IB ), returning to

3753-564: A suit-puncture hazard to the astronauts, as the probes tended to break off and protrude upwards from the surface.) Equipment for the lunar exploration was carried in the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA), a drawer mounted on a hinged panel dropping out of the lefthand forward compartment. Besides the astronaut's surface excavation tools and sample collection boxes, the MESA contained a television camera with

3892-710: A sustained and affordable human and robotic program to explore the Solar System and beyond; extend human presence across the Solar System, starting with a human return to the Moon by the year 2020, in preparation for human exploration of Mars and other destinations; develop the innovative technologies, knowledge, and infrastructures both to explore and to support decisions about the destinations for human exploration; and to promote international and commercial participation in exploration to further U.S. scientific, security, and economic interests. In pursuit of these goals,

4031-403: A tripod; as the commander opened the MESA by pulling on a lanyard while descending the ladder, the camera was automatically activated to send the first pictures of the astronauts on the surface back to Earth. A United States flag for the astronauts to erect on the surface was carried in a container mounted on the ladder of each landing mission. The Early Apollo Surface Experiments Package (later

4170-782: Is a supporter of the Vision, but modified it somewhat, saying that he wants to reduce the four-year gap between the retirement of the Space Shuttle and the first crewed mission of the Crew Exploration Vehicle. NASA's "Lunar Architecture" forms a key part of its Global Exploration Strategy, also known as the Vision for Space Exploration. The first part of the Lunar Architecture is the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter , which launched in June 2009 on board an Atlas V . The preliminary design review

4309-559: Is planned to fly aboard Artemis II in 2025 and on several subsequent missions. Altair (formerly known as the Lunar Surface Access Module, LSAM) was designed to be the main transport vehicle for astronauts on lunar missions. The Altair design was much larger than its predecessor, the Apollo Lunar Module , at almost five times the volume, occupying a total of 1,120 cubic feet (32 m) compared with

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4448-551: Is that funding for VSE could instead be harnessed to advance science and technology, such as in aeronautics, commercial spacecraft and launch vehicle technology, environmental monitoring, and biomedical sciences. However, VSE itself is poised to propel a host of beneficial Moon science activities, including lunar telescopes, selenological studies and solar energy beams. With or without VSE, human spaceflight will be made sustainable. However, without VSE, more funds could be directed toward reducing human spaceflight costs sufficiently for

4587-611: Is to begin development of the knowledge and identification of the industries unique to the Moon, because "such industries can provide economic leverage and support for NASA activities, saving the government millions." As Tumlinson additionally notes, the goal is to "open space ... to human settlement ... to create ways to harvest the resources ... not only saving this precious planet, but also ... assuring our survival." Regarding "the Moon, NASA should support early exploration now. ... " Apollo Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module ( LM / ˈ l ɛ m / ), originally designated

4726-514: The Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package ), was carried in the opposite compartment behind the LM. An external compartment on the right front panel carried a deployable S-band antenna which, when opened looked like an inverted umbrella on a tripod. This was not used on the first landing due to time constraints, and the fact that acceptable communications were being received using the LM's S-band antenna, but

4865-400: The Ares I and Ares V , when the program was created. Ares I was designed for the sole purpose of launching mission crews into orbit, while Ares V would have been used to launch other hardware which required a heavier lift capacity than the Ares I booster provided. In addition to these two boosters, NASA designed other spacecraft for use during Constellation, including the Orion crew capsule,

5004-641: The Ares I , employs many concepts from the Apollo program. The design of the J-2X engine intended for use on the Ares V booster rocket was originally to be similar to the J-2 engine of the Apollo-era Saturn V and Saturn IB rockets. In designing the J-2X, NASA engineers visited museums, searched for Apollo-era documentation and consulted with engineers who worked on the Apollo program. "The mechanics of landing on

5143-769: The Ares V for cargo. This would have allowed the two launch vehicles to be optimized for their respective missions, and allowed a much higher total lift for the Ares V without being cost-prohibitive. The Constellation Program thus combined the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous method adopted by the Apollo program 's lunar missions with the Earth Orbit Rendezvous method which had also been considered. The name Ares (the Greek god called Mars in Roman mythology)

5282-537: The Earth Departure Stage secondary booster, and the Altair lunar lander. The Orion spacecraft was designed for the Constellation program as a crew compartment for use in low Earth orbit . Lockheed Martin was selected as the prime contractor for the Orion project on August 31, 2006, and Boeing was selected to build its primary heat shield on September 15, 2006. NASA initially planned to develop different Orion capsules tailored for specific missions. The Block I Orion

5421-554: The Lunar Excursion Module ( LEM ), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program . It was the first crewed spacecraft to operate exclusively in the airless vacuum of space, and remains the only crewed vehicle to land anywhere beyond Earth. Structurally and aerodynamically incapable of flight through Earth's atmosphere,

5560-606: The Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV), which used a gimbal-mounted vertical jet engine to counter five-sixths of its weight to simulate the Moon's gravity, in addition to its own hydrogen peroxide thrusters to simulate the LM's descent engine and attitude control. Successful testing of two LLRV prototypes at the Dryden Flight Research Center led in 1966 to three production Lunar Landing Training Vehicles (LLTV) which along with

5699-552: The Moon , and then to Mars and beyond. Subsequent to the findings of the Augustine Committee in 2009 that the Constellation Program could not be executed without substantial increases in funding, on February 1, 2010, President Barack Obama proposed to cancel the program, effective with the passage of the U.S. 2011 fiscal year budget . He then revised administration statements in a major space policy speech at Kennedy Space Center on April 15, 2010. On October 11,

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5838-419: The NASA Authorization Act of 2005 . The Act directed NASA to "develop a sustained human presence on the Moon, including a robust precursor program to promote exploration, science, commerce and US preeminence in space, and as a stepping stone to future exploration of Mars and other destinations." Work began on this revised Constellation Program, to send astronauts first to the International Space Station , then to

5977-636: The S-IVB third stage of the Saturn V rocket. There it remained through Earth parking orbit and the trans-lunar injection (TLI) rocket burn to send the craft toward the Moon. Soon after TLI, the SLA opened; the CSM performed a maneuver whereby it separated, turned around, came back to dock with the Lunar Module, and extracted it from the S-IVB. During the flight to the Moon, the docking hatches were opened and

6116-588: The Saturn V rocket, the crewed Orion spacecraft would be launched separately from the uncrewed EDS and lunar lander. The Ares V/Altair stack would be assembled at the Vehicle Assembly Building and then transported to LC-39A , and the Ares ;M/Orion stack would be transported to the adjacent Pad 39B. The Ares V/EDS/Altair stack would be launched first, into a 220 miles (360 km) high circular orbit. Approximately 90 minutes later,

6255-667: The Space Launch System , and the Space Launch System, and the program was partially revived as the Artemis program in 2017. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration . Vision for Space Exploration The Vision for Space Exploration ( VSE ) was a plan for space exploration announced on January 14, 2004 by President George W. Bush . It

6394-519: The Space Shuttle . But unlike the X-33 and other programs intended to replace the Shuttle, Constellation reused concepts from the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs . The shape of the Orion command module closely resembles the aerodynamic shape of the Apollo command and service module . However, in other areas Orion employs updated technology. The design of the launch vehicle taking Orion into orbit,

6533-524: The command module Columbia splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, completing President John F. Kennedy's goal : "...before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth". This was followed by landings by Apollo 12 (LM-6 Intrepid ) and Apollo 14 (LM-8 Antares ). In April 1970, the Apollo 13 LM-7 Aquarius played an unexpected role in saving the lives of

6672-443: The lunar orbit insertion (LOI) burn. Once in lunar orbit, the crew would refine the trajectory and configure the Orion spacecraft for uncrewed flight, allowing all four crew members to transfer to the Altair vehicle and land on the Moon, while the Orion waits for their return. Upon receiving clearance from Mission Control, the Altair would undock from the Orion and perform an inspection maneuver, allowing ground controllers to inspect

6811-407: The two-stage Lunar Module was ferried to lunar orbit attached to the Apollo command and service module (CSM), about twice its mass. Its crew of two flew the Lunar Module from lunar orbit to the Moon's surface. During takeoff, the spent descent stage was used as a launch pad for the ascent stage which then flew back to the command module , after which it was also discarded. Overseen by Grumman ,

6950-411: The "porch") in front of the ascent stage's extravehicular activity hatch and a ladder, which the astronauts used to ascend and descend between the cabin to the surface. The landing pad of each leg incorporated a 67-inch-long (1.7 m) surface contact sensor probe, which signaled the commander to switch off the descent engine. (The probe was omitted from the number 1 leg of every landing mission, to avoid

7089-486: The Altair would rendezvous and dock with the waiting Orion spacecraft, and the crew would then transfer, along with samples collected on the Moon, back to the Orion. After jettisoning the Altair, the crew would perform the Trans Earth Injection (TEI) burn for the return trip to Earth. After a two-and-a-half-day coast, the crew would jettison the Service Module (allowing it to burn up in the atmosphere) and

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7228-440: The Apollo lander's 235 cubic feet (6.7 m). It was to stand 32 feet (9.8 m) tall and span 49 feet (15 m) wide from tip to tip of the landing gear. Like its predecessor, the Altair design consists of two parts: an ascent stage which houses the four-person crew; and a descent stage consisting of the landing gear, and storage for the majority of the crew's consumables (oxygen and water) and for scientific equipment. Unlike

7367-468: The Ares I/Orion would then launch with the crew into a nearly identical orbit. The Orion would then rendezvous and dock with the Altair/EDS combination already in low-Earth orbit. After the necessary preparations for lunar flight, the EDS would fire for 390 seconds in a translunar injection (TLI) maneuver, accelerating the spacecraft to 25,000 miles per hour (40,200 km/h). After this burn,

7506-638: The Augustine Panel's "Flexible Path to Mars" option, modifying President Obama's prior proposal to include the continuing development of the Orion capsule as an auxiliary system to the ISS and setting the year 2015 as the deadline for the design of a new Super Heavy Launch Vehicle. In October 2010, the NASA authorization bill for 2010 was signed into law which canceled Constellation. However, previous legislation kept Constellation contracts in force until passage of

7645-597: The CM would reenter the Earth's atmosphere using a special reentry trajectory designed to slow the vehicle from its speed of 25,000 miles per hour (40,200 km/h) to 300 miles per hour (480 km/h) and thus allow a Pacific Ocean splashdown. The Crew Module would then be flown back to Kennedy Space Center for refurbishment, while lunar samples would be routed to the Johnson Space Center 's (JSC) Lunar Receiving Laboratory for analysis. The Orion Asteroid Mission

7784-401: The CSM and docked to transfer the crew and rock samples. Having completed its job, the ascent stage was separated. The Apollo 10 ascent stage engine was fired until its fuel was used up, sending it past the Moon into a heliocentric orbit . The Apollo 11 ascent stage was left in lunar orbit to eventually crash; all subsequent ascent stages (except for Apollo 13) were intentionally steered into

7923-416: The CSM, flying independently. The commander operated the flight controls and engine throttle, while the Lunar Module pilot operated other spacecraft systems and kept the commander informed about systems status and navigational information. After the command module pilot visually inspected the landing gear , the LM was withdrawn to a safe distance, then rotated until the descent engine was pointed forward into

8062-538: The Cape and Mission Control in Houston, the Ares I would then launch. After a two-day orbital chase, the Orion spacecraft , having jettisoned much of the initial stack during takeoff, would meet with the International Space Station . After getting the go ahead from Houston, Orion would then dock with the ISS. The six-man crew (at a maximum) would then enter the station in order to perform numerous tasks and activities for

8201-489: The EDS would be jettisoned. During the three-day trans-lunar coast, the four-man crew would monitor the Orion's systems, inspect their Altair spacecraft and its support equipment, and correct their flight path as necessary to allow the Altair to land at a near-polar landing site suitable for a future lunar base. Approaching the lunar far side, the Orion/Altair combination would orient the Altair's engines forward and make

8340-441: The Earth from asteroid impacts . This would be the first crewed mission to any extraterrestrial body besides the Moon, and would represent a step towards a human mission to Mars . The mission would start in a similar fashion to the lunar landing mission described above, using an Ares V to launch the landing module into Low Earth orbit , followed by the launch of an Orion spacecraft, with a two- or three-person crew (as opposed to

8479-439: The International Space Station and missions beyond low Earth orbit. Outlining some of the advantages, U.S. President George W. Bush addressed the following: Establishing an extended human presence on the moon could vastly reduce the costs of further space exploration, making possible ever more ambitious missions. Lifting heavy spacecraft and fuel out of the Earth's gravity is expensive. Spacecraft assembled and provisioned on

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8618-547: The J-2X. Like Apollo, Constellation would have flown a lunar orbit rendezvous mission profile, but unlike Apollo, Constellation would have also employed Earth orbit rendezvous , conveying the crew to the vehicle. The lander, known as Altair , would have been launched separately on the Ares V rocket, a rocket based on both Space Shuttle and Apollo technologies. Orion would have been launched separately and would have linked up with Altair in low Earth orbit. Also, unlike Apollo, Orion would have remained uncrewed in lunar orbit while

8757-589: The LLRV's were used to train the astronauts at the Houston Manned Spacecraft Center. This aircraft proved fairly dangerous to fly, as three of the five were destroyed in crashes. It was equipped with a rocket-powered ejection seat, so in each case the pilot survived, including the first man to walk on the Moon, Neil Armstrong . LM-1 was built to make the first uncrewed flight for propulsion systems testing, launched into low Earth orbit atop

8896-415: The LM's development was plagued with problems that delayed its first uncrewed flight by about ten months and its first crewed flight by about three months. Regardless, the LM became the most reliable component of the Apollo–Saturn space vehicle . The total cost of the LM for development and the units produced was $ 21.65 billion in 2016 dollars, adjusting from a nominal total of $ 2.29 billion using

9035-475: The Launch Abort System (LAS), which provides capability for the astronauts and Crew Module to escape from the launch vehicle should problems arise during launch ascent. The Orion Crew Module is designed to be reusable, allowing NASA to construct a fleet of Orion crew modules. Despite the cancellation of the Constellation program, development of the Orion spacecraft continues, with a test launch performed on December 5, 2014. Orion flew aboard Artemis I in 2022 and

9174-413: The Lunar Module pilot entered the LM to power up temporarily and test all systems except propulsion. The Lunar Module pilot performed the role of an engineering officer, monitoring the systems of both spacecraft. After achieving a lunar parking orbit, the commander and LM pilot entered and powered up the LM, replaced the hatches and docking equipment, unfolded and locked its landing legs, and separated from

9313-403: The Lunar Module, Altair was designed to land in the lunar polar regions favored by NASA for future lunar base construction. Altair, like the Lunar Module, was not designed to be reusable, and the ascent stage would be discarded after use. The Altair descent stage was to be powered by four RL-10 rocket engines, which are also those used in the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas V rocket. Unlike

9452-409: The MAV to return to their interplanetary vehicle in Mars orbit, which would then be used to return to Earth. The mission would conclude with the re-entry and landing of the Orion capsule. NASA lists a number of reasons for a human return to the Moon on its website: In the words of former NASA Administrator, Michael D. Griffin , "The goal isn't just scientific exploration.... It's also about extending

9591-444: The MAV. The second cargo payload would be a habitat that the astronauts would live in during the stay on the surface. In the next launch window, 26 months after the first, the crew would go to Mars in an interplanetary transfer vehicle with nuclear thermal rocket and propellant modules assembled in Earth orbit. Once at Mars, the crew would rendezvous with the Mars habitat in orbit, land on Mars, and explore for 500 days. The crew would use

9730-404: The Moon and getting off the Moon to a large extent have been solved," said Constellation program manager Jeff Hanley. "That is the legacy that Apollo gave us." However, as the J-2X program progressed, it became apparent that, because of revised safety requirements and the growing mass of the upper stage, it was necessary to scrap the original J-2 design completely and use a completely new design for

9869-511: The Moon for an uncrewed landing. This technique was intended to deliver equipment and supplies to a permanent crewed lunar base . As originally proposed, it would be launched on a Saturn V with a full Apollo crew to accompany it to lunar orbit and guide it to a landing next to the base; then the base crew would unload the "truck" while the orbiting crew returned to Earth. In later AAP plans, the LPM would have been delivered by an uncrewed lunar ferry vehicle. The 1995 Ron Howard film Apollo 13 ,

10008-407: The Moon may be a repository of the history and possible future of Earth, and that the six Apollo landings only scratched the surface of that "treasure". According to NSS, the Moon's far side, permanently shielded from the noisy Earth, is an ideal site for future radio astronomy (for example, signals in the 1–10 MHz range cannot be detected on Earth because of ionosphere interference ). When

10147-502: The Moon to obtain readings from seismometers placed on the surface. The Lunar Module (originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module, known by the acronym LEM) was designed after NASA chose to reach the Moon via Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) instead of the direct ascent or Earth Orbit Rendezvous (EOR) methods. Both direct ascent and EOR would have involved landing a much heavier, complete Apollo spacecraft on

10286-424: The Moon's weaker gravity field . While simultaneously serving as a proving ground for a wide range of space operations and processes, the Moon may serve as a cost-effective construction, launching and fueling site for future space exploration missions. For example, future Ares V missions could cost-effectively deliver raw materials for future spacecraft and missions to a Moon-based space dock positioned as

10425-519: The Moon. Once the decision had been made to proceed using LOR, it became necessary to produce a separate craft capable of reaching the lunar surface and ascending back to lunar orbit. In July 1962, eleven firms were invited to submit proposals for the LEM. Nine companies responded in September, answering 20 questions posed by the NASA RFP in a 60-page limited technical proposal. Grumman was awarded

10564-515: The NASA New Start Inflation Indices. Ten lunar modules were launched into space. Of these, six were landed by humans on the Moon from 1969 to 1972. The first two flown were tests in low Earth orbit : Apollo 5 , without a crew; and Apollo 9 with a crew. A third test flight in low lunar orbit was Apollo 10 , a dress rehearsal for the first landing, conducted on Apollo 11 . The Apollo 13 lunar module functioned as

10703-528: The Orion CSM, which would use the descent stage as both a launchpad and a platform for future base construction. Alternately, there was a small possibility that the original plan of using LOX/CH 4 –fueled engines on board the Block II (lunar) Orion CSM and Altair ascent stage would have been adopted. NASA planned to use two separate boosters for the Constellation Program missions – the Ares I for crew and

10842-402: The Orion spacecraft, flying missions in low Earth orbit to service the International Space Station, and in conjunction with the Altair and Earth Departure Stage vehicles, on crewed flights to the polar regions of the Moon. There were no well-defined plans at the time of cancelation for a crewed flight to Mars , the ultimate goal of the project, but a mission to a Near-Earth asteroid was in

10981-610: The Vision called for the space program to complete the International Space Station by 2010; retire the Space Shuttle by 2010; develop a new Crew Exploration Vehicle (later renamed Orion ) by 2008, and conduct its first human spaceflight mission by 2014; explore the Moon with robotic spacecraft missions by 2008 and crewed missions by 2020, and use lunar exploration to develop and test new approaches and technologies useful for supporting sustained exploration of Mars and beyond; explore Mars and other destinations with robotic and crewed missions; pursue commercial transportation to support

11120-520: The Vision was announced in January 2004, the U.S. Congress and the scientific community gave it a mix of positive and negative reviews. For example, U.S. Representative Dave Weldon (Republican–Florida) said, "I think this is the best thing that has happened to the space program in decades." Though physicist and outspoken crewed spaceflight opponent Robert L. Park stated that robotic spacecraft "are doing so well it's going to be hard to justify sending

11259-439: The abbreviation as ( / l ɛ m / ) instead of the letters "L-M". Comparing landing on the Moon to "a hovering operation", Gus Grissom said in 1963 that although most early astronauts were fighter pilots, "now we're wondering if the pilot making this first moon landing shouldn't be a highly experienced helicopter pilot". To allow astronauts to learn lunar landing techniques, NASA contracted Bell Aerosystems in 1964 to build

11398-456: The agency's current course invited "failure, disillusionment, and [loss of] the longstanding international perception that human space-flight is something that the United States does best." The report recommended that Mars be the next major goal of human space flight. Several possible paths for reaching the planet by 2037 were explored in the report, which noted that returning to the Moon would offer "significant advantages" as an intermediate step in

11537-418: The betterment of low Earth orbit research, business, and tourism. Alternatively, VSE could afford advances in other scientific research ( astronomy , selenology ), in-situ lunar business industries, and lunar-space tourism. The VSE budget required termination the Space Shuttle by 2010 and of any US role in the International Space Station by 2017. This would have required, even in the most optimistic plans,

11676-452: The cabin. The return payload included the lunar rock and soil samples collected by the crew (as much as 238 pounds (108 kg) on Apollo 17), plus their exposed photographic film . The descent stage's primary job was to support a powered landing and surface extravehicular activity. When the excursion was over, it served as the launch pad for the ascent stage. Its octagonal shape was supported by four folding landing gear legs, and contained

11815-408: The computer to slow the craft's forward and vertical velocity to near zero. Control was exercised with a combination of engine throttling and attitude thrusters, guided by the computer with the aid of landing radar. During braking, the LM descended to about 10,000 feet (3.0 km), then, in the final approach phase, down to about 700 feet (210 m). During final approach, the vehicle pitched over to

11954-400: The computer was taking the craft and make any necessary corrections. If necessary, landing could have been aborted at almost any time by jettisoning the descent stage and firing the ascent engine to climb back into orbit for an emergency return to the CSM. Finally, one or more of three 67.2-inch (1.71 m) probes extending from footpads on the legs of the lander touched the surface, activating

12093-474: The contact indicator light which signaled the commander to shut off the descent engine, allowing the LM to settle onto the surface. On touchdown, the probes would be bent as much as 180 degrees, or even break off. The original design used the probes on all four legs, but starting with the first landing (LM-5 on Apollo 11), the one at the ladder was removed out of concern that the bent probe after landing might puncture an astronaut's suit as he descended or stepped off

12232-474: The contract officially on November 7, 1962. Grumman had begun lunar orbit rendezvous studies in the late 1950s and again in 1961. The contract cost was expected to be around $ 350 million. There were initially four major subcontractors: Bell Aerosystems ( ascent engine ), Hamilton Standard (environmental control systems), Marquardt (reaction control system) and Rocketdyne ( descent engine ). The Primary Guidance, Navigation and Control System (PGNCS)

12371-547: The crawler-transporter reached the pad, the stack and the Launcher Platform would be left in place and the crawler-transporter removed to a safe distance. After final safety checks, the ground crew would fill up the second stage with liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ) and liquid oxygen (LOX) fuel, and the crew, wearing all-purpose spacesuits , would enter the spacecraft three hours before liftoff. Once they were locked in, and after all systems were cleared by controllers at both

12510-437: The crew would put on their extravehicular activity (EVA) spacesuits and commence the first of five to seven lunar EVAs, collecting samples and deploying experiments. After completing their Lunar Sortie operations, the crew would then enter the Altair and fire the ascent stage engine to lift off from the surface, using the descent stage as a launchpad (and leaving it as a platform for future base construction). Upon entering orbit,

12649-413: The current RL-10 engines in use, these newer RL-10s were to have the ability to throttle down to as low as 10% rated thrust (the older specifications allow for 20%), thus allowing the use of Altair for both the lunar orbit insertion (LOI) and landing stages of lunar missions. The ascent stage was designed to be powered by a single engine, likely a hypergolic engine similar or identical to the main engine of

12788-513: The descent propellant tanks were enlarged. A waste storage tank was added to the descent stage, with plumbing from the ascent stage. These upgrades allowed stays of up to 75 hours on the Moon. The Lunar Roving Vehicle was folded up and carried in Quadrant 1 of the descent stage. It was deployed by the astronauts after landing, allowing them to explore large areas and return a greater variety of lunar samples. Weights given here are an average for

12927-506: The designers compromised on four landing legs. In June 1966, the name was changed to Lunar Module (LM), eliminating the word excursion . According to George Low , Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office, this was because NASA was afraid that the word excursion might lend a frivolous note to Apollo. Despite the name change, the astronauts and other NASA and Grumman personnel continued to pronounce

13066-410: The direction of travel. A 30-second descent orbit insertion burn was performed to reduce speed and drop the LM's perilune to within about 50,000 feet (15 km) of the surface, about 260 nautical miles (480 km) uprange of the landing site. As the craft approached perilune, the descent engine was started again to begin powered descent. During this time, the crew flew on their backs, depending on

13205-436: The duration of their flight, usually lasting six months, but possibly shortened to four or lengthened to eight, depending upon NASA's goals for that particular mission. Once completed, the crew would then reenter the Orion, seal itself off from the ISS, and then undock from the station. Once the Orion reached a safe distance from the ISS, the Command Module (after having jettisoned the disposable service module) would re-enter in

13344-423: The end of the program, it became apparent that the ablatively-cooled RS-68B engines would not withstand the heat from the solid rocket boosters at launch, and NASA began again to consider using RS-25 engines instead of upgrading the RS-68 to be regeneratively-cooled . The Earth Departure Stage (EDS) was the propulsion system designed to put the Altair upper stage on a lunar trajectory from within low Earth orbit. It

13483-477: The entire crew landed on the lunar surface. Toward the end of the mission, the Altair spacecraft would have launched into lunar orbit to link up with the Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit rendezvous. Like Apollo, the Orion capsule would then have returned to Earth, re-entering the atmosphere and landing in water. Like those of the Apollo Program, Constellation program missions would involve its main vehicle,

13622-400: The extended missions. [REDACTED] One proposed Apollo application was an orbital solar telescope constructed from a surplus LM with its descent engine replaced with a telescope controlled from the ascent stage cabin, the landing legs removed and four "windmill" solar panels extending from the descent stage quadrants. This would have been launched on an uncrewed Saturn IB, and docked with

13761-413: The final approach. The CSM would then raise its perilune back to the normal 60 nautical miles (110 km). The Extended Lunar Module (ELM) used on the final three "J-class missions" — Apollo 15 , 16 , and 17 — was upgraded to land larger payloads and stay longer on the lunar surface. The descent engine thrust was increased by the addition of a 10-inch (250 mm) extension to the engine bell, and

13900-478: The first Mars launch window , two cargo payloads would be launched into Earth orbit, as well as a nuclear thermal rocket stage for each payload, in order to boost them to Mars. Alternatively, chemical (specifically liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen) propellant stages could have been used, although this would have required more launches. One cargo payload would include a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), as well as In-situ resource utilization equipment to generate propellant for

14039-507: The goal of sending astronauts back to the Moon was "more like reaching for past glory than striving for new triumphs". In February 2009, the Aerospace Technology Working Group released an in-depth report asserting that the Vision had several fundamental problems with regard to politics, financing, and general space policy issues and that the initiative should be rectified or replaced. Another concern noted

14178-529: The hardware of the Constellation Project, primarily the Orion spacecraft (or a variation based on the Orion), and the Ares V cargo-launch vehicle. A design study utilizing Constellation launch vehicles, known as Design Reference Architecture 5.0, was completed in 2009. In DRA 5.0, a Mars mission would have involved multiple launches of an Ares V rocket, as well as an Ares I to launch the crew. In

14317-620: The initial planning phase as of 2008. After being manufactured at private plants, the parts of the Ares I/Orion stack would be tested and assembled at the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center . Once assembly was completed and a launch date was set, the crawler-transporter would transport the completed stack, along with the launch support tower and the Mobile Launcher-1 , out to LC-39B . Once

14456-423: The ladder. The original extravehicular activity plan, up through at least 1966, was for only one astronaut to leave the LM while the other remained inside "to maintain communications". Communications were eventually deemed to be reliable enough to allow both crew members to walk on the surface, leaving the spacecraft to be only remotely attended by Mission Control. Beginning with Apollo 14 , extra LM propellant

14595-562: The landing site. Later, the redundant forward docking port was removed, which meant the Command Pilot gave up active control of the docking to the Command Module Pilot; he could still see the approaching CSM through a small overhead window. Egress while wearing bulky extra-vehicular activity spacesuits was eased by a simpler forward hatch (32 in × 32 in or 810 mm × 810 mm). The configuration

14734-468: The last four landing missions by using the Service Module engine to perform the initial descent orbit insertion burn 22 hours before the LM separated from the CSM, a practice begun on Apollo 14. This meant that the complete spacecraft, including the CSM, orbited the Moon with a 9.1-nautical-mile (16.9 km) perilune, enabling the LM to begin its powered descent from that altitude with a full load of descent stage propellant, leaving more reserve propellant for

14873-411: The lightest possible configuration. But as any particular leg would have to carry the weight of the vehicle if it landed at a significant angle, this was also the least stable configuration if one of the legs were damaged during landing. The next landing gear design iteration had five legs and was the most stable configuration for landing on an unknown terrain. That configuration, however, was too heavy and

15012-409: The lunar landing, practicing all phases of the mission except powered descent initiation through takeoff. The LM descended to 47,400 feet (9.0 mi; 14.4 km) above the lunar surface, then jettisoned the descent stage and used its ascent engine to return to the CSM. The first crewed lunar landing occurred on July 20, 1969, in the Apollo 11 LM-5 Eagle . Four days later, the Apollo 11 crew in

15151-403: The lunar module is dramatized in the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon episode entitled "Spider" . This is in reference to LM-3, used on Apollo 9, which the crew named Spider after its spidery appearance. The unused LM-13 stood in during the teleplay to depict LM-3 and LM-5, Eagle , used by Apollo 11. The Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle is depicted in the 2018 film First Man ,

15290-419: The moon could escape its far lower gravity using far less energy, and thus, far less cost. Also, the moon is home to abundant resources. Its soil contains raw materials that might be harvested and processed into rocket fuel or breathable air. We can use our time on the moon to develop and test new approaches and technologies and systems that will allow us to function in other, more challenging environments. One of

15429-442: The order of $ 150 billion for Constellation to reach its objective if adhering to the original schedule. Another review in 2009, ordered by President Obama, indicated that neither a return to the Moon nor a crewed flight to Mars was within NASA's current budget. The Augustine panel proposed various options, that included two primary destination points (the Moon and deep space), three different types of Super Heavy Launch vehicles , and

15568-403: The original pre-ELM spec vehicles. For specific weights for each mission, see the individual mission articles. The ascent stage contained the crew cabin with instrument panels and flight controls. It contained its own Ascent Propulsion System (APS) engine and two hypergolic propellant tanks for return to lunar orbit and rendezvous with the Apollo command and service module . It also contained

15707-432: The process. The National Space Society (NSS), a private nonprofit, regards a return to the Moon as a high priority for the US space program, in order to develop the body of scientific knowledge of the Moon, particularly in regards to its potential for the creation of new industries, in order to provide further funding for further space exploration. On January 14, 2004 President George W. Bush requested that NASA develop

15846-542: The range of human habitat out from Earth into the Solar System as we go forward in time.... In the long run a single-planet species will not survive.... If we humans want to survive for hundreds of thousands or millions of years, we must ultimately populate other planets ... colonize the Solar System and one day go beyond." A report published in June 2014 by the US National Academy of Sciences called for clear long-term space goals at NASA. The report said that

15985-403: The rest of the world by unsustainable deficits is real, and any lack of zeal in facing this problem would be a mistake. In that context, this would be a good time for Congress to look again at Bush's plans for NASA to re-establish a human presence in deep space. The outgoing Republican Congress gave its Republican president too much benefit of the doubt on this undertaking. The new Congress must, at

16124-504: The same manner as all NASA spacecraft prior to the Shuttle, using the ablative heat shield to both deflect heat from the spacecraft and to slow it down from a speed of 17,500 mph (28,200 km/h) to 300 mph (480 km/h). After reentry was completed, the forward assembly would be jettisoned, and two drogue parachutes released, followed at 20,000 feet (6,100 m) by three main parachutes and airbags filled with nitrogen (N 2 ), which does not combust when exposed to heat, allowing

16263-567: The same purpose. Furthermore, it seeks human-rating for the launch vehicles in the United States Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles program. Private spacecraft are also operating under the Commercial Resupply Services program bringing cargo to ISS. The Orion spacecraft and Ares V (also Jupiter DIRECT family of rockets) was modified and reauthorized in 2010/2011 as the main payload of

16402-425: The signing of the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 shelved the program, with Constellation contracts remaining in place until Congress would act to overturn the previous mandate. In 2011, NASA adopted the design of its new Space Launch System . One of the main goals of Constellation was the development of spacecraft and booster vehicles to replace the Space Shuttle . NASA had already begun designing two boosters,

16541-409: The spacecraft orientation; rendezvous radar with its own steerable dish antenna; and a system for active thermal control. Electrical storage batteries, cooling water, and breathing oxygen were stored in amounts sufficient for a lunar surface stay of 48 hours initially, extended to 75 hours for the later missions. During rest periods while parked on the Moon, the crew would sleep on hammocks slung across

16680-476: The spacecraft to splashdown. The Command Module would then be returned to Kennedy Space Center for refurbishment for a later flight. Unlike the Apollo CM, which was used only for one flight, an Orion CM could theoretically be used up to ten times under normal operating conditions. Unlike the Apollo missions, where both the Apollo command and service module and the Apollo Lunar Module were launched together on

16819-483: The spacecraft via live TV mounted on Orion for any visible problems that would prevent landing (on Apollo this was done by the Command Module Pilot). After receiving approval from ground controllers, the two craft would separate to a safe distance and the Altair's descent engines would fire again for powered descent to a pre-determined landing spot previously selected by uncrewed spacecraft. Upon landing,

16958-522: The stated goals for the Constellation program is to gain significant experience in operating away from Earth 's environment, as the White House contended, to embody a "sustainable course of long-term exploration." The Ares boosters are a cost-effective approach – entailing the Ares V 's enormous, unprecedented cargo-carrying capacity – transporting future space exploration resources to

17097-472: The systems, and practice the separation, rendezvous, and docking planned for Apollo 8 in December 1968. But again, last-minute problems delayed its flight until Apollo 9 on March 3, 1969. A second, higher Earth orbit crewed practice flight had been planned to follow LM-3, but this was cancelled to keep the program timeline on track. Apollo 10 launched on May 18, 1969, using LM-4 for a "dress rehearsal" for

17236-752: The three astronauts after an oxygen tank in the service module ruptured, disabling the CSM. Aquarius served as a "lifeboat" for the astronauts during their return to Earth. Its descent stage engine was used to replace the crippled CSM Service Propulsion System engine, and its batteries supplied power for the trip home and recharged the Command Module's batteries critical for reentry. The astronauts splashed down safely on April 17, 1970. The LM's systems, designed to support two astronauts for 45 hours (including two depressurization and repressurization cycles, causing loss of oxygen supply), actually stretched to support three astronauts for 90 hours (without pressurization cycles and loss of oxygen). Hover times were maximized on

17375-476: The very least, articulate more convincing reasons than have yet been heard for such a colossal expenditure." "A large portion of the scientific community" concurs that NASA is not "expanding our scientific understanding of the universe" in "the most effective or cost-efficient way." Proponents for VSE argue that a permanent settlement on the moon would drastically reduce costs for further space exploration missions. President George W. Bush voiced this sentiment when

17514-485: The vicinity of Earth, would jettison both the service module and the landing module in a manner similar to that of Apollo 13 before entering the atmosphere for a Pacific Ocean splashdown. The ultimate goal of NASA's Constellation program was a crewed mission landing humans on Mars in the 2030s as a spiritual successor to the Apollo Applications Program in the 1960s. The mission would utilize

17653-566: The vision was first announced (see quote above), and the United States Senate has re-entered testimony by Space Frontier Foundation founder Rick Tumlinson offered previously to the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation advocating this particular perspective. The reason that the National Space Society regards a return to the Moon as a high space program priority

17792-519: Was a proposed NASA mission to a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) which would use the standard Orion spacecraft , and a landing module based on a modified Altair lunar lander. Most of its specific details are now deprecated by the cancellation of the Constellation Program and related designs. Such a mission could assess the potential value of water, iron, nickel, platinum and other resources on the asteroid; test possible ways to extract them; and possibly examine or develop techniques which could be used to protect

17931-417: Was chiefly designed by Grumman aerospace engineer Thomas J. Kelly . The first LEM design looked like a smaller version of the Apollo command and service module (a cone-shaped cabin atop a cylindrical propulsion section) with folding legs. The second design invoked the idea of a helicopter cockpit with large curved windows and seats, to improve the astronauts' visibility for hover and landing. This also included

18070-542: Was chosen for the boosters as a reference to the project's goal of landing on Mars. The numbers I and V were chosen to pay homage to the Saturn rockets of the 1960s. The Orion spacecraft would have been launched into a low Earth orbit by the Ares I rocket (the "Stick"), developed by Alliant Techsystems , Rocketdyne , and Boeing . Formerly referred to as the Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV), the Ares I consisted of

18209-537: Was completed in February 2006 and the critical design review was completed in November 2006. An important function of the orbiter will be to look for further evidence that the increased concentrations of hydrogen discovered at the Moon's poles is in the form of lunar ice . After this the lunar flights will make use of the new Ares I and Ares V rockets. In December 2003, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin voiced criticism for NASA's vision and objectives, stating that

18348-741: Was conceived as a response to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster , the state of human spaceflight at NASA , and as a way to regain public enthusiasm for space exploration . The policy outlined by the " Vision for Space Exploration " was replaced first by President Barack Obama 's space policy in April 2010, then by President Donald Trump 's "National Space Strategy" space policy in March 2018, and finally by President Joe Biden 's preliminary space policy proposals in spring 2021. The Vision for Space Exploration sought to implement

18487-541: Was designed as the second liquid-fueled stage of the Ares V rocket. The Orion spacecraft would have been launched separately by Ares I, and then met and docked with the Ares V-launched EDS/Altair combination, delivering the crew and configuring the spacecraft for its journey to the Moon in a process known as Earth orbit rendezvous . NASA planned to use the first vehicles developed in the Constellation Program for Earth-orbit tasks formerly undertaken by

18626-713: Was developed by the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory ; the Apollo Guidance Computer was manufactured by Raytheon (a similar guidance system was used in the command module ). A backup navigation tool, the Abort Guidance System (AGS), was developed by TRW . The landing gear was manufactured by Héroux . The Apollo Lunar Module was assembled in a Grumman factory in Bethpage, New York . The Apollo Lunar Module

18765-474: Was discarded in lunar orbit. The other three LMs were destroyed during controlled re-entry in the Earth's atmosphere: the four stages of Apollo 5 and Apollo 9 each re-entered separately, while Apollo 13's Aquarius re-entered as a unit. At launch, the lunar module sat directly beneath the command and service module (CSM) with legs folded, inside the Spacecraft-to-LM adapter (SLA) attached to

18904-612: Was frozen in April 1963, when the ascent and descent engine designs were decided. In addition to Rocketdyne, a parallel program for the descent engine was ordered from Space Technology Laboratories (TRW) in July 1963, and by January 1965 the Rocketdyne contract was cancelled. Power was initially to be produced by fuel cells built by Pratt and Whitney similar to the CSM, but in March 1965 these were discarded in favor of an all-battery design. The initial design had three landing legs,

19043-409: Was made available for the powered descent and landing, by using the CSM engine to achieve the 50,000-foot (15 km) perilune. After the spacecraft undocked, the CSM raised and circularized its orbit for the remainder of the mission. When ready to leave the Moon, the LM's ascent engine fired, leaving the descent stage on the Moon's surface. After a few course correction burns, the LM rendezvoused with

19182-430: Was to be used for International Space Station missions and other Earth orbit missions, while the Block II and III variants were designed for deep-space exploration. Orion's design consists of three main parts: a crew module (CM) similar to the Apollo command module , but capable of sustaining four to six crew members; a cylindrical service module (SM) containing the primary propulsion systems and consumable supplies; and

19321-602: Was used on Apollo 12 and 14. A hand-pulled Modular Equipment Transporter (MET), similar in appearance to a golf cart, was carried on Apollo 13 and 14 to facilitate carrying the tools and samples on extended moonwalks. On the extended missions ( Apollo 15 and later), the antenna and TV camera were mounted on the Lunar Roving Vehicle , which was carried folded up and mounted on an external panel. Compartments also contained replacement Portable Life Support System (PLSS) batteries and extra lithium hydroxide canisters on

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