Mare Tranquillitatis

Along the periphery of the mare are several bay-shaped features that have been given names. Mare Tranquillitatis - Sinus Amoris. The "Bay of Love" extends northward from the northeast end of the Mare Tranquillitatis. It is located at selenographic coordinates 18.1° N, 39.1° E, and lies within a diameter of 130 km. To the north of the bay are the jumbled Montes Taurus peaks. Near the southern end of the bay where it outlets into the Mare Tranquillitatis lies the Theophrastus crater. Along the weste ...

See also:

Mare Tranquillitatis, Mare Tranquillitatis - Bays, Mare Tranquillitatis - Sinus Amoris, Mare Tranquillitatis - Sinus Asperitatis, Mare Tranquillitatis - Sinus Concordiae, Mare Tranquillitatis - Sinus Honoris, Mare Tranquillitatis - In the arts

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Apollo 8 was the second manned mission of the Apollo space program, in which Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders became the first humans to leave Earth orbit and to orbit around the Moon. It was also the first manned launch of the Saturn V rocket. NASA prepared for the mission in only four months. The hardware involved had only been used a few times—the Saturn V had launched only twice before, and the Apollo spacecraft had only just finished its first manned m ...

Including:

• Apollo 8 - Planning
• Apollo 8 - The Saturn V
• Apollo 8 - The mission
• Apollo 8 - Launch and trans-lunar injection
• Apollo 8 - Coasting to the Moon
• Apollo 8 - Lunar sphere of influence
• Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit
• Apollo 8 - Unplanned manual re-alignment
• Apollo 8 - Cruise back to Earth and re-entry
• Apollo 8 - Historical importance
• Apollo 8 - Crew
• Apollo 8 - Backup crew
• Apollo 8 - Support crew
• Apollo 8 - Mission parameters
• Apollo 8 - Earth parking orbit
• Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit
• Apollo 8 - Translunar injection burn

Read more here: » Apollo 8: Encyclopedia - Apollo 8

Ranger's Block 3 embodied four launches in 1964-65. These spacecraft boasted a television instrument designed to observe the lunar surface during the approach; as the spacecraft neared the Moon, they would reveal detail smaller than the best Earth telescopes could show, and finally details down to dishpan size. The first of the new series, Ranger 6, had a flawless flight, except that the television system was disabled b ...

See also:

Ranger program, Ranger program - Block 1 missions, Ranger program - Block 2 missions, Ranger program - Block 3 missions, Ranger program - The Ranger spacecraft, Ranger program - Mission list

Read more here: » Ranger program: Encyclopedia II - Ranger program - Block 3 missions

Apollo 8 - Launch and trans-lunar injection. Apollo 8 launched at 7:51:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 21, 1968. The entire launch phase was practically flawless with only minor problems. The S-IC first stage's engines underperformed by 0.75%, causing the engines to burn for 2.45 seconds longer than planned. Towards the end of the second stage burn, the rocket underwent pogo oscillations that Frank Borman estimated were of the order of 12 Hz and about ±0.25 g (±2.5 m/s²). The first manned Satu ...

See also:

Apollo 8, Apollo 8 - Planning, Apollo 8 - The Saturn V, Apollo 8 - The mission, Apollo 8 - Launch and trans-lunar injection, Apollo 8 - Coasting to the Moon, Apollo 8 - Lunar sphere of influence, Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit, Apollo 8 - Unplanned manual re-alignment, Apollo 8 - Cruise back to Earth and re-entry, Apollo 8 - Historical importance, Apollo 8 - Crew, Apollo 8 - Backup crew, Apollo 8 - Support crew, Apollo 8 - Mission parameters, Apollo 8 - Earth parking orbit, Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit, Apollo 8 - Translunar injection burn

Read more here: » Apollo 8: Encyclopedia II - Apollo 8 - The mission

The lunar landscape is characterized by impact craters, their ejecta, a few volcanoes, hills, lava flows and depressions filled by magma. Geology of the Moon - Lunar highlands and lowlands. The most distinctive aspect of the Moon is the constract between its light and dark zones. Lighter surfaces are the lunar highlands, which receive the name of terrae (singular terra, from the Latin for Earth) and darker plains which are called maria (singular mare, from the latin for sea), after Johannes Kepler, who introduced the name in the 1600's. < ...

See also:

Geology of the Moon, Geology of the Moon - Formation, Geology of the Moon - Lunar capture, Geology of the Moon - Fission hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Accretion hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Giant impact theory, Geology of the Moon - Geologic history, Geology of the Moon - Lunar landscape, Geology of the Moon - Lunar highlands and lowlands, Geology of the Moon - Impact cratering, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and craters, Geology of the Moon - Volcanism, Geology of the Moon - Maria, Geology of the Moon - Rilles, Geology of the Moon - Wrinkle-ridges, Geology of the Moon - Lunar domes, Geology of the Moon - Composition, Geology of the Moon - Surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and lunar magma, Geology of the Moon - Mineral composition of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Lunar minerals, Geology of the Moon - Study of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Interior, Geology of the Moon - Interior and moonquakes

Read more here: » Geology of the Moon: Encyclopedia II - Geology of the Moon - Lunar landscape

Rangers 6, 7, 8, and 9 were the so-called Block 3 versions of the Ranger spacecraft. The spacecraft consisted of a hexagonal aluminum frame base 1.5 m across on which was mounted the propulsion and power units, topped by a truncated conical tower which held the TV cameras. Two solar panel wings, each 739 mm wide by 1537 mm long, extended from opposite edges of the base with a full span of 4.6 m, and a pointable high gain dish antenna was hinge mounted at one of the corners of the base away from the solar panels. A cylindrical quasiomnidirectional antenna was seated on top of the conical tower. T ...

See also:

Ranger 8, Ranger 8 - Spacecraft design, Ranger 8 - Mission Profile, Ranger 8 - External link

Read more here: » Ranger 8: Encyclopedia II - Ranger 8 - Spacecraft design

The Moon does not have tectonic plates, and as a result, its crust is not renewed constantly as Earth's surface is. Earthquakes on the Moon, called moonquakes, are minimal, and the largest (of magnitude 5, only occur about once a year. The interior of the Moon is very different from the interior of the Earth; the lunar crust only has a thickness of about 70 km in the side facing Earth, and of about 150 km on the side opposite. Maria have about 1 km of thickness (data derived from photogeologic studies). The samples returned to Earth and spac ...

See also:

Geology of the Moon, Geology of the Moon - Formation, Geology of the Moon - Lunar capture, Geology of the Moon - Fission hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Accretion hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Giant impact theory, Geology of the Moon - Geologic history, Geology of the Moon - Lunar landscape, Geology of the Moon - Lunar highlands and lowlands, Geology of the Moon - Impact cratering, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and craters, Geology of the Moon - Volcanism, Geology of the Moon - Maria, Geology of the Moon - Rilles, Geology of the Moon - Wrinkle-ridges, Geology of the Moon - Lunar domes, Geology of the Moon - Composition, Geology of the Moon - Surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and lunar magma, Geology of the Moon - Mineral composition of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Lunar minerals, Geology of the Moon - Study of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Interior, Geology of the Moon - Interior and moonquakes

Read more here: » Geology of the Moon: Encyclopedia II - Geology of the Moon - Interior and moonquakes

Block 1, consisting of two spacecraft launched into Earth orbit in 1961, was intended to test the Atlas/Agena launch vehicle and spacecraft equipment without attempting to reach the Moon. Most elements of spacecraft technology taken for granted today were untested before Ranger. Perhaps the most important of these was three-axis attitude stabilization, meaning that the spacecraft is fixed in relation to space instead of being stabilized by spinning. This would permit pointing large solar panels at the Sun, a large antenna at Earth, an ...

See also:

Ranger program, Ranger program - Block 1 missions, Ranger program - Block 2 missions, Ranger program - Block 3 missions, Ranger program - The Ranger spacecraft, Ranger program - Mission list

Read more here: » Ranger program: Encyclopedia II - Ranger program - Block 1 missions

Each Ranger spacecraft had 6 cameras on board. The cameras were fundamentally the same with differences in exposure times, fields of view, lenses, and scan rates. The camera system was divided into two channels, P (partial) and F (full). Each channel was self-contained with separate power supplies, timers, and transmitters. The F-channel had 2 cameras: the wide-angle A-camera and the narrow angle B-camera. The P-channel had four cameras: P1 and P2 (narrow angle) and P3 and P4 (wide angle). The final F-channel image was taken between 2.5 and ...

See also:

Ranger program, Ranger program - Block 1 missions, Ranger program - Block 2 missions, Ranger program - Block 3 missions, Ranger program - The Ranger spacecraft, Ranger program - Mission list

Read more here: » Ranger program: Encyclopedia II - Ranger program - The Ranger spacecraft

Most of the rocks brought from the Moon are stored in the Lunar Curatorial Facility in the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. A small percentage is distributed in auxiliary installations at Brooks Air Force Base, near San Antonio, Texas. Many lunar samples are found in laboratories of researchers worldwide. A small number of these rocks is available for public display in museums, and only three pieces can be touched by the public. These are the "touchable rocks", cut from basaltic rocks obtained by Apollo 17. One of these rocks i ...

See also:

Geology of the Moon, Geology of the Moon - Formation, Geology of the Moon - Lunar capture, Geology of the Moon - Fission hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Accretion hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Giant impact theory, Geology of the Moon - Geologic history, Geology of the Moon - Lunar landscape, Geology of the Moon - Lunar highlands and lowlands, Geology of the Moon - Impact cratering, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and craters, Geology of the Moon - Volcanism, Geology of the Moon - Maria, Geology of the Moon - Rilles, Geology of the Moon - Wrinkle-ridges, Geology of the Moon - Lunar domes, Geology of the Moon - Composition, Geology of the Moon - Surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and lunar magma, Geology of the Moon - Mineral composition of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Lunar minerals, Geology of the Moon - Study of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Interior, Geology of the Moon - Interior and moonquakes

Read more here: » Geology of the Moon: Encyclopedia II - Geology of the Moon - Study of lunar rocks

The Atlas 196D and Agena B 6006 boosters performed nominally, injecting the Agena and Ranger 8 into an Earth parking orbit at 185 km altitude 7 minutes after launch. Fourteen minutes later a 90 second burn of the Agena put the spacecraft into lunar transfer trajectory, and several minutes later the Ranger and Agena separated. The Ranger solar panels were deployed, attitude control activated, and spacecraft transmissions switched from the omniantenna to the high-gain antenna by 21:30 UT. On 18 February at a distance of 160,000 km from Earth t ...

See also:

Ranger 8, Ranger 8 - Spacecraft design, Ranger 8 - Mission Profile, Ranger 8 - External link

Read more here: » Ranger 8: Encyclopedia II - Ranger 8 - Mission Profile

More than 4.5 billion years ago, the surface of the Moon was a liquid magma ocean. Scientists think that one component of lunar rocks, KREEP (K-potassium, Rare Earth Elements, and P-phosphorus), represents the last chemical remnant of that magma ocean. KREEP is actually a composite of what scientists term "incompatible elements": those which cannot fit into a crystal structure and thus were left behind, floating to the surface of the magma. The lunar crust is composed of a variety of primary elements, including uranium, thorium, potas ...

See also:

Geology of the Moon, Geology of the Moon - Formation, Geology of the Moon - Lunar capture, Geology of the Moon - Fission hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Accretion hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Giant impact theory, Geology of the Moon - Geologic history, Geology of the Moon - Lunar landscape, Geology of the Moon - Lunar highlands and lowlands, Geology of the Moon - Impact cratering, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and craters, Geology of the Moon - Volcanism, Geology of the Moon - Maria, Geology of the Moon - Rilles, Geology of the Moon - Wrinkle-ridges, Geology of the Moon - Lunar domes, Geology of the Moon - Composition, Geology of the Moon - Surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and lunar magma, Geology of the Moon - Mineral composition of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Lunar minerals, Geology of the Moon - Study of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Interior, Geology of the Moon - Interior and moonquakes

Read more here: » Geology of the Moon: Encyclopedia II - Geology of the Moon - Composition

As a note, astronaut Michael Collins, who flew aboard the Gemini 10 mission, was originally slated to fly aboard Apollo 8 as Command Module pilot. A bone spur in his neck that required surgery grounded Collins, requiring Jim Lovell to fly in Collins' place. In early 1969, Collins was reinstated to active flight status, and replaced Fred Haise on the Apollo 11 prime crew as Command Module pilot, while Edwin Aldrin became lunar module pilot. Haise became the backup LM pilot for Apollo 11. Apollo 8 - Backup crew. See also:

Apollo 8, Apollo 8 - Planning, Apollo 8 - The Saturn V, Apollo 8 - The mission, Apollo 8 - Launch and trans-lunar injection, Apollo 8 - Coasting to the Moon, Apollo 8 - Lunar sphere of influence, Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit, Apollo 8 - Unplanned manual re-alignment, Apollo 8 - Cruise back to Earth and re-entry, Apollo 8 - Historical importance, Apollo 8 - Crew, Apollo 8 - Backup crew, Apollo 8 - Support crew, Apollo 8 - Mission parameters, Apollo 8 - Earth parking orbit, Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit, Apollo 8 - Translunar injection burn

Read more here: » Apollo 8: Encyclopedia II - Apollo 8 - Crew

Apollo 8 came at the end of 1968, a year that had seen much upheaval around the world. Soviet tanks had put a stop to the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia; Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy had been assassinated; the Vietnam War had escalated with the Tet Offensive; University campuses across the United States had seen rioting and occupation of buildings by students; May had se ...

See also:

Apollo 8, Apollo 8 - Planning, Apollo 8 - The Saturn V, Apollo 8 - The mission, Apollo 8 - Launch and trans-lunar injection, Apollo 8 - Coasting to the Moon, Apollo 8 - Lunar sphere of influence, Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit, Apollo 8 - Unplanned manual re-alignment, Apollo 8 - Cruise back to Earth and re-entry, Apollo 8 - Historical importance, Apollo 8 - Crew, Apollo 8 - Backup crew, Apollo 8 - Support crew, Apollo 8 - Mission parameters, Apollo 8 - Earth parking orbit, Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit, Apollo 8 - Translunar injection burn

Read more here: » Apollo 8: Encyclopedia II - Apollo 8 - Historical importance

The Saturn V rocket used by Apollo 8 was designated SA-503, the third flight model. When it was erected in the Vertical Assembly Building on 20 December 1967, it was thought that the rocket would be used for an unmanned test flight carrying a boilerplate Command/Service Module. Although Apollo 6 had suffered several major problems (it suffered severe pogo oscillation during its first stage and two second stage engines shutdown early), Marshall Space Flight Center, in charge of the Saturn V, was confident that it could solve all the issues without the need for another unmanned test flight. The SA-503 ...

See also:

Apollo 8, Apollo 8 - Planning, Apollo 8 - The Saturn V, Apollo 8 - The mission, Apollo 8 - Launch and trans-lunar injection, Apollo 8 - Coasting to the Moon, Apollo 8 - Lunar sphere of influence, Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit, Apollo 8 - Unplanned manual re-alignment, Apollo 8 - Cruise back to Earth and re-entry, Apollo 8 - Historical importance, Apollo 8 - Crew, Apollo 8 - Backup crew, Apollo 8 - Support crew, Apollo 8 - Mission parameters, Apollo 8 - Earth parking orbit, Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit, Apollo 8 - Translunar injection burn

Read more here: » Apollo 8: Encyclopedia II - Apollo 8 - The Saturn V

Apollo 8 - Earth parking orbit. Perigee: 112.8 mi (181.5 km) Apogee: 118.9 mi (191.3 km) Inclination: 32.51° Period: 88.17 min Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit. Perilune: 69.5 mi (111.9 km) Apolune: 193.3 mi (311.1 km) Inclination: 12° Period: 128.7 min ...

See also:

Apollo 8, Apollo 8 - Planning, Apollo 8 - The Saturn V, Apollo 8 - The mission, Apollo 8 - Launch and trans-lunar injection, Apollo 8 - Coasting to the Moon, Apollo 8 - Lunar sphere of influence, Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit, Apollo 8 - Unplanned manual re-alignment, Apollo 8 - Cruise back to Earth and re-entry, Apollo 8 - Historical importance, Apollo 8 - Crew, Apollo 8 - Backup crew, Apollo 8 - Support crew, Apollo 8 - Mission parameters, Apollo 8 - Earth parking orbit, Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit, Apollo 8 - Translunar injection burn

Read more here: » Apollo 8: Encyclopedia II - Apollo 8 - Mission parameters

For a long time, the fundamental question regarding the history of the moon was of its origin. The hypotheses that have been created regarding it are as numerous as they are different from each other. The most important ones are: Geology of the Moon - Lunar capture. The moon was captured, completely formed, by the gravitational field of the Earth. This is unlikely, since a close encounter with the Earth would have produced either a collision or an alteration of the trajectory of the body in question, so if ...

See also:

Geology of the Moon, Geology of the Moon - Formation, Geology of the Moon - Lunar capture, Geology of the Moon - Fission hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Accretion hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Giant impact theory, Geology of the Moon - Geologic history, Geology of the Moon - Lunar landscape, Geology of the Moon - Lunar highlands and lowlands, Geology of the Moon - Impact cratering, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and craters, Geology of the Moon - Volcanism, Geology of the Moon - Maria, Geology of the Moon - Rilles, Geology of the Moon - Wrinkle-ridges, Geology of the Moon - Lunar domes, Geology of the Moon - Composition, Geology of the Moon - Surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and lunar magma, Geology of the Moon - Mineral composition of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Lunar minerals, Geology of the Moon - Study of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Interior, Geology of the Moon - Interior and moonquakes

Read more here: » Geology of the Moon: Encyclopedia II - Geology of the Moon - Formation

On December 22, 1966, NASA announced the crew for the third manned Apollo flight: Frank Borman, Michael Collins and Bill Anders. Collins was replaced by his backup Jim Lovell, in July 1968, after Collins had to have surgery as he was suffering cervical intervertebral disc herniation — an intervertebral disc had slipped into the spinal cavity and required two vertebrae to be fused together. Collins recovered and went on to be the Comma ...

See also:

Apollo 8, Apollo 8 - Planning, Apollo 8 - The Saturn V, Apollo 8 - The mission, Apollo 8 - Launch and trans-lunar injection, Apollo 8 - Coasting to the Moon, Apollo 8 - Lunar sphere of influence, Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit, Apollo 8 - Unplanned manual re-alignment, Apollo 8 - Cruise back to Earth and re-entry, Apollo 8 - Historical importance, Apollo 8 - Crew, Apollo 8 - Backup crew, Apollo 8 - Support crew, Apollo 8 - Mission parameters, Apollo 8 - Earth parking orbit, Apollo 8 - Lunar orbit, Apollo 8 - Translunar injection burn

Read more here: » Apollo 8: Encyclopedia II - Apollo 8 - Planning

The geological history of the Moon has been defined into six major epochs, called the lunar geologic timescale. Starting about 4,600 million years ago, the newly formed Moon was in a molten state and was orbiting much closer to the Earth. The resulting tidal forces deformed the molten body into an ellipsoid, with the major axis pointed towards Earth. The first important event in the formation of the moon was the crystallization of oceanic magma. It is not known with certainty what its depth was, but according to different studies, the ...

See also:

Geology of the Moon, Geology of the Moon - Formation, Geology of the Moon - Lunar capture, Geology of the Moon - Fission hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Accretion hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Giant impact theory, Geology of the Moon - Geologic history, Geology of the Moon - Lunar landscape, Geology of the Moon - Lunar highlands and lowlands, Geology of the Moon - Impact cratering, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and craters, Geology of the Moon - Volcanism, Geology of the Moon - Maria, Geology of the Moon - Rilles, Geology of the Moon - Wrinkle-ridges, Geology of the Moon - Lunar domes, Geology of the Moon - Composition, Geology of the Moon - Surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and lunar magma, Geology of the Moon - Mineral composition of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Lunar minerals, Geology of the Moon - Study of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Interior, Geology of the Moon - Interior and moonquakes

Read more here: » Geology of the Moon: Encyclopedia II - Geology of the Moon - Geologic history

Geology of the Moon - Highlands and lunar magma. The first rocks brought back by Apollo 11 were basalts. In spite that the mission landed on Mare Tranquillitatis (Latin for "Sea of Tranquility"), a few millimetric fragments of rocks coming from the highlands were picked up. These are composed mainly of plagioclase feldspar; some fragments were composed exclusively of plagioclase. These rocks are called anorthosites. The rocks of the highlands are made mainly of plagioclase since this mineral started ...

See also:

Geology of the Moon, Geology of the Moon - Formation, Geology of the Moon - Lunar capture, Geology of the Moon - Fission hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Accretion hypothesis, Geology of the Moon - Giant impact theory, Geology of the Moon - Geologic history, Geology of the Moon - Lunar landscape, Geology of the Moon - Lunar highlands and lowlands, Geology of the Moon - Impact cratering, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and craters, Geology of the Moon - Volcanism, Geology of the Moon - Maria, Geology of the Moon - Rilles, Geology of the Moon - Wrinkle-ridges, Geology of the Moon - Lunar domes, Geology of the Moon - Composition, Geology of the Moon - Surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar surface, Geology of the Moon - Lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Highlands and lunar magma, Geology of the Moon - Mineral composition of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Lunar minerals, Geology of the Moon - Study of lunar rocks, Geology of the Moon - Interior, Geology of the Moon - Interior and moonquakes

Read more here: » Geology of the Moon: Encyclopedia II - Geology of the Moon - Lunar rocks