Canon PowerShot G9
ƒ/2.8
7.4 mm
1/60
80

I love how everything was done with typewriters back then.

This one went to the moon for three days, and covered the procedures upon returning from EVA 2, the second moonwalk. (This was the expedition with the clever lunar rover fender repair. Following the guidance from astronaut John Young at Mission Control, they rebuilt the fender using lunar maps and clamps from the optical alignment telescope lamp. )

EVA2 was also the trip to Shorty Crater where the famous “orange soil” was discovered. Shorty is actually an impact crater and the orange soil is an older volcanic deposit. They also used the traverse gravimeter there, and I have a build of that instrument on display as well.

The instructions here read, In short: close the hatch, re-pressurize the LM cabin, doff gloves and helmets…

It comes from the personal collection of Mission Commander Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon. Apollo 17 was the first and only night launch of a Saturn V.

Backside below.

12 responses to “Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Checklist”

  1. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Backside of card: covers recharging the PLSS (Portable Life Support System, or lunar backpack) in the LM (Lunar Module)

    Apollo 17 EVA backside 0445

    CDR (Commander) is Gene Cernan
    LMP (Lunar Module Pilot) is Harrison Schmitt, first trained scientist (geologist) on the moon

    "Recharging the PLSS was a six-step process. Usually done as part of the EVA prep, a few crews used spare time at the end of their workday to replenish the PLSS consumables. The process took about 30 minutes for each suit, and each crewmember worked on their own equipment. By staggering tasks, the entire process took less than an hour. First, the battery and the lithium hydroxide canister were exchanged for fresh units. Used batteries and canisters were stored in large bags that were thrown under the descent stage at the beginning of the next day’s EVA, or jettisoned out the front hatch after the last EVA of the mission. Next, oxygen cylinders in the PLSSs were charged from the descent stage high-pressure oxygen supply in a two step process. First, a charge that filled the PLSS O2 cylinders to about 90% capacity was performed. After a few minutes (to allow the cylinders to cool), the O2 supply was "topped off" to about 95% to 98%. Finally, a three-step procedure was used to service the water management system. Step 1 was to recharge the cooling water supply. Draining the waste water was the second step, and the third step was to vent out the excess gas from the cooling water system. Bubbles formed by such gas could interfere with the flow of cooling water in the suit."

    plss104plss103

    Reply
  2. Astrocatou Avatar
    Astrocatou

    I guess they dumped the whole pack out prior to liftoff..??
    As a kid I tried using charcoal to re breath air ….
    All kinds of crazy stuff.

    Understand they are drinking urine on the S Station…

    Reply
  3. Today is a good day Avatar
    Today is a good day

    Cool

    Reply
  4. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    dave – space habitation is the ultimate challenge, or the final frontier if you will, for recycling and renewables…

    Here is the fender fix for EVA 2:

    AS17-137-20979
    …and some fine lunar cruising….
    AS17-147-22523

    Thinking about this mission last night, I went back to Chaikin’s A Man on the Moon:

    The ability to witness an earthrise, Schmitt would note, could happen only if humankind took the well-planned but significant risk of sending three of its members into an environment utterly foreign to the one in which they had evolved — that is, lunar orbit — with no guarantee of getting those people back. That commitment, Schmitt would come to believe, marked a turning point in human evolution. Human beings had become a space-faring species. What they would do with that new status was still locked in the unknowable future, but Schmitt firmly believed that space exploration would dominate the future of humanity.

    Reply
  5. Astrocatou Avatar
    Astrocatou

    Well…in the context of a few hours…or even weeks in space,lots of good efficiencies and recycling,etc.
    The mind is wonderfully focused.

    Here on Earth,in 2010….folks drive a 2500 pound car 3 miles to get McDonald’s for dinner…toss the plastic fork in the trash,then truck that to a dump,bury it.
    Etc.
    Great shots of the Rover…
    They used Hasselblad’s…35mm.

    PS
    What ever happened to all that great "fuel cell" technology they had…
    Last I saw Ballard Power was a reverse split of 10:1 or something…and sinking fast.

    Reply
  6. msamaclean © Avatar
    msamaclean ©

    This is very cool! I love the fact that it’s typed. One of my faves of your collection!

    Reply
  7. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    thanks ma’am! There are some cool space auctions this month. fingers crossed.

    Dave: fuel cells can make a lot of sense in space… batteries are a good substitute on land

    I just saw this badass photo of Gene, looking like the Master Chief in Halo…
    Cernan

    Reply
  8. Astrocatou Avatar
    Astrocatou

    Those were the days…
    Almost makes me glad I am old enough to have been a ? 12 year old at the time…
    Almost.

    Reply
  9. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    now I want to strap the PLSS on and play astronaut again… =)

    Apollo Portable Life Support System (PLSS)

    Reply
  10. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    APOD just posted a cool photo from EVA2, the visit to Shorty crater:
    moonshorty_apollo17_1498

    The crew discovered orange soil near the rim of Shorty Crater during the second EVA; later analysis of the soil revealed a large component of orange glass beads that were interpreted to be the product of volcanic eruptions.

    Reply
  11. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    And on this 40th anniversary of Apollo 17 anniversary, NASA Goddard posted:

    Scientist-astronaut Harrison Schmitt

    Scientist-astronaut Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17 lunar module pilot, uses an adjustable sampling scoop to retrieve lunar samples during the second Apollo 17 Eextravehicular Activity EVA 2, at Station 5 at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. A gnomon is atop the large rock in the foreground. Image taken by Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan. Station 5, Sample 5060,5075,5080 taken during EVA 2 of the Apollo 17 mission. Original film magazine was labeled D film type was SO-368 Color Exterior CEX, Ektachrome MS, color reversal, 60mm lens with a sun elevation of 28 degrees.

    Reply
  12. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    and I found some extra images from EVA 2 on my drive…

    A17

    and a cool overlay of the A17 rover, as imaged by the recent LROC mission:
    a17 lunar rover from LROC

    Reply

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