Page 60 - The Appollo Story

--------------1 The Apollo Storym------------.

Apollo 12 (AS-507) A Sea Of Storms
Deploying ALSEP - The Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package comprised a set of scientific instru-
ments placed by the astronauts at the landing site of each of the five Apollo missions to land on the Moon
following Apollo 11 (Apollos 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17). Apollo 11 left a smaller package called the Early
Apollo Scientific Experiments Package, or EASEP.

APOLL0-12

. APOLLO 8
SIX CENTS• UNIT ED .STATES
U.S. SECOND MOON EXPLORATION

Astronauts Charles Conrad, Alan L. Bean on
moon's surface.
During that time the are to set out of experiments
package ALSEP, powered by Atomic generator,
several hundred feet from the LM.

The instruments will study the moon's atmosphere, magnetic field, solar wind, and seismic
activity for the time of one year.

(ALSEP)

Lunar ionosphere de t ector
2. Nuclear gene rator (atomic batte ry)
3. Pass ive seismometer
4. Solar wind spectrometer

Atmosphere detector
Lunar surface spectrometer

The ALSEP was built and tested by Bendix Aerospace in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The instruments were
designed to run autonomously after the astronauts left and to make long term studies of the lunar environ-
ment. They were arrayed around a Central Station which supplied power generated by a radioisotope
thermoelectric generator (RTG) to run the instruments and communications so data collected by the ex-
periments could be relayed to Earth. Thermal control was achieved by passive elements (insulation, re-
flectors, thermal coatings) as well as power dissipation resistors and heaters. Data collected from the in-
struments were converted into a telemetry format and transmitted to Earth.