h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm writing a science fiction short story and it involves the discovery of the Apollo 11 LEM descent module on the surface of the moon.

Does anyone know what type of condition it would be in after having the LEM ascent module take off. Specificly, would the stainless steel plaque commemorating the landing still be ledgible?

No reason why it should not be. There is no atmosphere on the Moon therefore for no wind or erosion. Even the footprints left there by the astronauts will still be visible.

Thats one of the reasons for going to the Moon; nothing has changed for millions of years. The rocks formations are the same as when they were first formed.

I think the only thing that is going to destroy the LEM is a direct his from a meteor. Thats of course assuming that you do not subscribe to the conspiracy theory that it was all a huge hoax in the first place.

Donald

I agree, if the descent module was in good condition on September 1, 1969, it should still be in good condition in a few centuries.

The problem is, the ascent module sat on top of the descent module when it fired its main engine down to get Armstrong and Aldrin off the moon. I don't know what that would have done to the descent module.

Probably just scorched it a bit. The ascent module only had a relatively small rocket because of the low gravity.

I remember seeing a shot of the ascent of a later Apollo mission where we saw the ascent module take of shot by a remote camera. The decent module seemed to survive it quite well.

Donald

Thanks. That's good to know, if the plaque isn't legible, my whole plotline sort of falls apart.

Can't one of your characters sort of breathe on the cuff of his spacesuit and buff it up a bit?

B

Hard to do without taking your helmet off...

But the main point is that if the plaque was likely to be melted or something, it would be awfuly hard to read.

Ah, no. They definitely made it from material that wasn't going to melt. I remember that being part of the big plan. And I think it's in the Apollo 13 book.

B

The propellent used wasn't flammable. It was what's called a hypergolic propellent. I'd have to look around a bit to find out more, but basically two materials are combined and react instantly with no ignition source. I'm not sure whether it is an exo or endo thermic reaction, but either way, I don't believe very high temperatures are created. The plaque would have been designed to withstand any foreseeable events and conditions regardless. The main thing it will have to withstand in the coming eons is micrometeorite strikes and biweekly temperature extremes if it is subjected to direct sunlight.

Thanks--I'm glad someone here knows about this.

If you're talking about _Lost Moon_, the irony is that I read that but don't remember comments about the propellent.



Thanks, all. I just didn't want the story to get rejected on the grounds that the premise was impossible. Instead, I suppose, it'll get rejected because I'm not a good writer or because someone else already used the premise and I'm just not aware of it.

Hypergolic fuel it may be, but it is still an oxidation reaction, which are invariably pretty exothermic.

B

You might be interested in this little bit of pop culture trivia. In the second episode of the US television series "Futurama" the characters Leela and Fry find refuge in the original Apollo 11 lander. They are being chased by a rural moon farmer upset about the deflowering of his daughter-robot, the Crushinator... I digress... anyway, Leela and Fry are just about to run out of oxygen and daylight (they got the shadows wrong, but again, I digress) when they find the lander... the writers were pretty fond of this little deus ex machina until someone pointed out after most of the production was complete that the actual living area of the lander would no longer be on the moon. They made a last minute change and inserted a plaque behind Leela's head on the wall of the module stating "Lander returned to this site by the Historical Sticklers' Society".

How coincidental.I was watching the History channel earlier this evening and the programme was about the Apollo moon landings.However I can't answer your question.

How about asking at the Nasa website?http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html?skipIntro=1

And more particularly here http://www.nasa.gov/about/contact/index.html

Incog.

I saw that episode, but somehow I forgot the part about the LEM.

Thanks for the link.