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    NASA: 180576main ETM Roving

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    NASAdocuments
    The document discusses constructing a model of the lunar roving vehicle (LRV) used by astronauts during the Apollo 15-17 missions. It provides background on the real LRV, which folded up in the lunar lander and unfolded on the Moon's surface to carry two astronauts. The LRV had wire mesh wheels made of titanium to be lightweight. The document includes guidelines for students to design and build their own LRV models using recyclable materials, and extensions for testing the student-built vehicles.

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    NASA: 180576main ETM Roving

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    NASAdocuments
    33 views6 pages
    The document discusses constructing a model of the lunar roving vehicle (LRV) used by astronauts during the Apollo 15-17 missions. It provides background on the real LRV, which folded up in the lunar lander and unfolded on the Moon's surface to carry two astronauts. The LRV had wire mesh wheels made of titanium to be lightweight. The document includes guidelines for students to design and build their own LRV models using recyclable materials, and extensions for testing the student-built vehicles.

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    The document discusses constructing a model of the lunar roving vehicle (LRV) used by astronauts during the Apollo 15-17 missions. It provides background on the real LRV, which folded up in the lunar lander and unfolded on the Moon's surface to carry two astronauts. The LRV had wire mesh wheels made of titanium to be lightweight. The document includes guidelines for students to design and build their own LRV models using recyclable materials, and extensions for testing the student-built vehicles.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    33 views6 pages

    NASA: 180576main ETM Roving

    Uploaded by

    NASAdocuments
    The document discusses constructing a model of the lunar roving vehicle (LRV) used by astronauts during the Apollo 15-17 missions. It provides background on the real LRV, which folded up in the lunar lander and unfolded on the Moon's surface to carry two astronauts. The LRV had wire mesh wheels made of titanium to be lightweight. The document includes guidelines for students to design and build their own LRV models using recyclable materials, and extensions for testing the student-built vehicles.

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    Teacher Page

    Lunar Roving Vehicle


    Purpose
    To construct a model of a lunar roving vehicle.

    Background
    The Apollo lunar roving vehicle was a battery-powered space buggy. The astro-
    nauts on Apollo 15, 16, and 17 used it to explore their landing sites and to travel greater
    distances than astronauts on earlier missions. The lunar rover neatly folded up inside the
    lunar lander during trips to the Moon. Once on the Moon's surface, it unfolded with the
    help of springs. The lunar rover carried two astronauts and was manually driven. It was
    designed to climb steep slopes, to go over rocks, and to move easily over the Moon's
    regolith. It was able to carry more than twice its own weight in passengers, scientific
    instruments, rocks, and regolith samples. The wheels on the rover were made of wire
    mesh (piano wire) with titanium cleats for treads. Engineers did not use solid or air-filled
    rubber tires because they would have been much heavier than were the wire mesh wheels.
    The Apollo spacecraft had a fixed amount of mass (payload) it could deliver to the
    surface, including the rover, rover batteries, scientific instruments, sample collection de-
    vices, etc. Hence, the wire-mesh wheels were important to the overall payload mass. This
    rover was not designed for prolonged use, and it is uncertain if future lunar explorers
    would use similar designs and materials for their vehicles, use new, more durable compo-
    nents, or turn to robotic rovers.

    If students are interested in constructing models that actually move, then refer to Page 38
    for more information on rocket and model building.

    Preparation
    Review and prepare materials listed on the student sheet. While commercial building sets
    are very popular, models can be built with more simple and recyclable materials such as
    cardboard boxes, tubes, cans, straws, construction paper, string, tape, pins, styrofoam
    trays, thread spools, balloons, rubber bands, and mouse traps (for propulsion).

    In Class / Wrap Up
    After construction, students should name their vehicles and write a description of the
    capabilities and special features.

    Exploring the Moon -- A Teacher's Guide with Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ 87


    Teacher Page

    Lunar Roving Vehicle


    Extensions
    Hold competitions between student vehicles with these criteria for judging:
    1. Can the vehicle actually move -- by gravity; by some kind of propulsion system?
    2. Can the vehicle go over different surfaces -- smooth, flat, bumpy, or inclined?
    3. Is the vehicle sturdy?
    4. Can the vehicle carry a heavy load? Have the students decide the weight of the load.
    5. Could the vehicle withstand meteoritic bombardment?
    6. Would the vehicle work on the Moon?
    Discuss the pros and cons of manually driven vehicles versus remote-controlled robotic
    rovers on the Moon.

    Diagram of the vehicle used by Apollo astronauts.

    88 Exploring the Moon -- A Teacher's Guide with Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ


    Lunar Roving Vehicle
    Purpose
    To construct a model of a lunar roving vehicle.

    Key Words Procedure


    antenna 1. Describe the similarities and differences between
    the Apollo lunar roving vehicle and a typical
    console
    family vehicle.
    tool carrier and storage
    robot

    Materials
    diagram of Apollo lunar 2. What was special about the rover's wheels? Why
    roving vehicle weren't they made of rubber and filled with air?

    “Moon ABCs Fact Sheet”


    construction materials
    such as cardboard
    boxes, tubes, cans,
    straws, construction
    paper, string, tape, pins, 3. Review the “Moon ABCs Fact Sheet.” Design
    styrofoam trays, thread a new lunar roving vehicle. Important design
    spools, balloons, rubber issues include size, weight, power supply, number
    bands, mouse traps, etc. of passengers, controls, scientific instruments,
    tape measures tools, and storage compartments. Use the space
    provided on the next page to draw a picture of
    stop watches your design. Label the parts.

    4. Construct a model of the lunar rover based on


    your design.

    5. Give a name to the vehicle.

    6. Write a descriptive essay about the special features


    and capabilitites of the vehicle and how you
    solved the design issues raised in Question 3.
    Exploring the Moon -- A Teacher's Guide with Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ 89
    Lunar Roving Vehicle

    Sketch of
    my model

    90 Exploring the Moon -- A Teacher's Guide with Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ


    Moon ABCs Fact Sheet
    Property Earth Moon Brain Busters

    Equatorial 12,756 km 3,476 km How long would it take to drive


    diameter around the Moon's equator at
    80 km per hour?

    Surface area 510 million 37.8 million The Moon's surface area is
    square km square km similar to that of one of Earth's
    continents. Which one?

    Mass 5.98 x 1024 kg 7.35 x 1022 kg What percentage of Earth's mass


    is the Moon's mass?

    Volume --- --- Can you calculate the volumes of


    Earth and the Moon?

    Density 5.52 grams per 3.34 grams per Check this by calculating the
    cubic cm cubic cm density from the mass and
    volume.

    Surface 9.8 m/sec/sec 1.63 m/sec/sec What fraction of Earth's gravity is


    gravity the Moon's gravity?

    Crust Silicate rocks. Silicate rocks. What portion of each body is


    Continents Highlands crust?
    dominated by dominated by
    granites. Ocean feldspar-rich
    crust dominated rocks and maria
    by basalt. by basalt.

    Mantle Silicate rocks Similar to Earth. Collect some silicate rocks and
    dominated by determine the density. Is the
    minerals density greater or lesser than the
    containing iron Earth/Moon's density? Why?
    and magnesium.

    Exploring the Moon -- A Teacher's Guide with Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ 17


    Moon ABCs Fact Sheet
    Property Earth Moon Brain Busters
    Core Iron, nickel metal Same, but core is What portion of each body is
    much smaller core?
    Sediment or Silicon and Silicon and oxygen Do you think life ever existed
    Regolith oxygen bound in bound in minerals, on the Moon?
    minerals that glass produced by Why or why not?
    contain water, meteorite impacts,
    plus organic small amounts of
    materials. gases (e.g., hydrogen)
    implanted by the solar
    wind. No water or
    organic materials.
    Atmosphere 78 % nitrogen, Basically none. Some Could you breathe the lunar
    (main 21 % oxygen carbon gases (CO2 , atmosphere?
    constituents) CO, and methane),
    but very little of them.
    Pressure is about one-
    trillionth of Earth's
    atmospheric pressure.
    Length of day 23.93 hours 27.3 Earth days How long does daylight last
    (sidereal on the Moon?
    rotation
    period)
    Surface Air temperature Surface temperature Why are the temperatures of
    temperature ranges from ranges from -193oC Earth and the Moon so
    -88oC (winter in (night in polar different?
    polar regions) to regions) to 111 Co
    o
    58 C (summer in (day in equatorial
    tropical regions). regions).

    Surface 25 % land 84 % heavily-cratered Compare maps of Earth and


    features (seven continents) highlands. the Moon. Is there any
    with varied terrain 16 % basalt-covered evidence that plate tectonics
    of mountains, maria. operated on the Moon?
    plains, river val- Impact craters--
    leys. Ocean floor some with bright rays,
    characterized by crater chains, and
    mountains, plains. rilles.

    18 Exploring the Moon -- A Teacher's Guide with Activities, NASA EG-1997-10-116-HQ

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