High Res Apollo photos.

[Heid the Ba]

Space porn here.

[Lianachan]

Very nice indeed. I saw that they'd been posted, but didn't get around to go looking (so cheers!).

[tubeswell]

AS11-40-5927 by Project Apollo Archive, on Flickr

[tubeswell]

^Held together by copper tape^ LoL

[Lance]

Notice how the shadow of the left leg is vertical but the shadow of the main body of the lander slants to the upper left?

Clearly this is proof of multiple light sources! I knew it was fake all along.

[MM_Dandy]

What about that vertical line on the far left of the image? I call shenanigans!

EDIT: It shows up on the far right of the image, too, when you follow the link to Flikr. Double shenanigans!

[Lance]

And look at the overlapping footprints! How could someone else step on your footprints unless there were other people there?

[Enzo]

And not a single star in that clear night sky!!!

[Мастер]

Wow, that thing really does look like it was taped together by some high-school students working on their class project.

For something that was pressurised, I guess I was expecting it to have a sturdier look about it.

[Enzo]

Well, I'd hate to burst your balloon, but... oh, wait...

[Lance]

Wow, that thing really does look like it was taped together by some high-school students working on their class project.

For something that was pressurised, I guess I was expecting it to have a sturdier look about it.

The descent stage did contain pressure vessels but wasn't pressurized itself. The ascent stage, which you can't really see, was pressurized but even so, I seem to recall Buzz Aldrin commenting about how easy it would have been to put a boot through it.

[Heid the Ba]

It manages to look less sturdy than my Airfix model of it was.

[Мастер]

It manages to look less sturdy than my Airfix model of it was.

A lot of even modest-wage workers around here are driving cars that don't look like they'd fall apart if you sneezed on them.

I'm wondering if they were under extreme pressure on the weight, and making it out of more rugged materials would have put them over the weight budget? I don't imagine it would have added much, in the grand scheme of things, to the cost budget to make it look a little less rickety.

[Lance]

You guys do realize you're looking at the foil wrappings, right?

[Мастер]

You guys do realize you're looking at the foil wrappings, right?

Those look like they're around the bottom, but the panels along the top don't look a whole lot better - they look warped, don't fit together well, etc.

But regarding the foil - what's that for? Does it help with temperature regulation?

I'm just surprised that the person who made my coffee table seems to have taken more care about making the parts fit together snugly I know there's no air, so you don't have to worry about making it aerodynamic, but still, it's taken me a bit by surprise.

[Lance]

But regarding the foil - what's that for? Does it help with temperature regulation?

It's because NASA has such an excessive budget they have to burn through some of it by shooting gold into space.

Okay, that might not really be it.

Yeah, the gold color is better at reflecting IR wavelengths. The foil is a multi-layerd polymer with an aluminized backing. The polymer gives it the golden color. But I believe* in some applications they use actual gold for its superior properties.

*Believe, because I'm too lazy to look and confirm this right now.

[tubeswell]

... the panels along the top don't look a whole lot better - they look warped, don't fit together well, etc...

I wonder whether this was because the engineers who designed the LM (was it Grumman?) were asked to save weight etc? - Could have resulted in thinner panels/less fasteners used.

[tubeswell]

... the engineers who designed the LM (was it Grumman?) ...

Yes. It was.

[tubeswell]

... I wonder whether this was because the engineers who designed the LM (was it Grumman?) were asked to save weight etc?...

Yes. They were.

[Мастер]

... the panels along the top don't look a whole lot better - they look warped, don't fit together well, etc...

I wonder whether this was because the engineers who designed the LM (was it Grumman?) were asked to save weight etc? - Could have resulted in thinner panels/less fasteners used.

I had wondered the same thing.

I'm wondering if they were under extreme pressure on the weight, and making it out of more rugged materials would have put them over the weight budget? I don't imagine it would have added much, in the grand scheme of things, to the cost budget to make it look a little less rickety.

[Lance]

Yeah, the Grumman facility in Bethpage, Long Island. I grew up about 30 miles from there and have a first cousin once removed who worked there at the time, but not on the LM unfortunately.

[Мастер]

Yeah, the Grumman facility in Bethpage, Long Island. I grew up about 30 miles from there and have a first cousin once removed who worked there at the time, but not on the LM unfortunately.

Probably a good thing, they would have had to silence your cousin to cover up the fact that it was all faked if s/he had worked on the LM.

[Heid the Ba]

You guys do realize you're looking at the foil wrappings, right?

I was talking about the light grey/dark grey panels at the top. Are they structural or a covering?

[Lance]

You guys do realize you're looking at the foil wrappings, right?

I was talking about the light grey/dark grey panels at the top. Are they structural or a covering?

Ah, okay. The crew compartment was well inside the ascent stage and was the only part that was pressurized. Those panels cover the thruster pods.

[MM_Dandy]

I have to admit, they look like the rear panels that keep my pre-cut, follow-the-instructions furniture square and slightly less wobbly. I'm sure there's a good reason for them, but I have no idea what the material is or their purpose.


EDIT: Oh! I just noticed the cool lemonade juicer right of center in the image. Now to go find the spout or dispenser.