How to Travel to the Moon

The moon is the closest object to earth in the universe, about 384,403 km from earth. ^{[1] X Research Source The} first space probe to the moon was the Russian Luna 1, launched on 2 January 1959. ^{[2] X Research Source} Ten and a half years later, 20 In July 1969, the Applo 11 spacecraft landed Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin at a place on the moon named the Sea of Tranquility. Traveling to the moon was a mission that, in the words of President John F. Kennedy, required the highest levels of human energy and skill. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Table of Contents

Prepare for the trip

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Plan each phase. Unlike the “quick launch” spacecraft often depicted in science fiction stories, the flight to the moon was a mission divided into several parts: entering low-Earth orbit, transiting to orbit the moon, land on the moon, and reverse the steps above to return to earth.

Some science fiction stories more realistically describe how traveling to the moon would involve astronauts flying to a space station in earth orbit, where smaller rockets would take them there. moon and back to the station. Since the United States and the Soviet Union competed against each other, this approach was not feasible; The Skylab, Salyut, and International Space Stations were all decommissioned after the Applo program ended.
The Applo program uses a three-stage Saturn V rocket. The bottom floor is responsible for lifting the complex from the launch pad to an altitude of 68 km; the second stage brings the rocket close to the earth’s orbit; the third stage propels it into orbit and toward the moon. ^{[4] X Trusted Source NASA Go to Source}
The Constellation program approved by NASA to return to the moon in 2018 includes two three-stage rockets. There are two different designs for the rocket’s first stage: the first is called Ares I, with a crew-only launch stage consisting of a five-part booster; The other design was called Ares V with a launch deck carrying crew and cargo, with five rocket engines under an external fuel tank plus two five-part solid-fuel boosters. The second stage of both versions uses a single liquid fuel engine. The launch complex will carry the lunar orbiter and lander to which the astronauts will move when the two rocket systems come together. ^{[5] X Trusted Source NASA Go to Source}

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Equipment for the trip. Since the moon has no atmosphere, you’ll have to bring an oxygen tank to breathe; And when you walk on the moon, you’ll need to wear a spacesuit to protect yourself from the scorching heat of a day on the moon that lasts up to two weeks – not to mention radiation and Small meteorites fall to the moon due to lack of atmospheric protection. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

You will also need food. Most food for astronauts on a space mission must be freeze-dried and concentrated to reduce weight, and when eaten will be added with water. ^{[7] X Source of Research} These foods must also be high in protein to minimize the body’s waste after digestion.
Anything you bring into space adds weight, so the amount of fuel has to increase to lift the rocket carrying it into space, so you won’t be able to bring too many personal items into space. space – and remember that the rocks on the moon when they hit the earth will weigh 6 times more than they weight on the moon.

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Determine the launch time of the spacecraft. This is the time between the launch of the rocket from the earth and the landing in the desired area of the moon at a time when there is enough light to explore the landing area. Spacecraft launch time is decided in two ways, called time in months and time in days.

The time in months calculates the position of the moon landing relative to the earth and the sun. Because the Earth’s gravity forces the moon to always rotate one side toward the earth, lunar expeditions will land in areas on the earth’s side where radio communications between the earth and the earth can be used. moon. The launch time was also chosen at a time when the sun would illuminate the area where the spacecraft would land.
The spacecraft launch time in days will be calculated to take advantage of launch conditions, such as the spacecraft’s angle of launch, the performance of the boosters, and the presence of the process tracker. Launch the rocket at the starting point. In the past, lighting conditions for spacecraft launch were very important, as daylight would help in tracking problems when the rocket left the launch pad or before entering orbit, and recorded with snapshots. Today, as NASA has gained more experience in tracking spacecraft launches, daytime rocket launches are less important; Applo 17 was launched at night. ^{[8] X Trusted Source NASA Go to Source}

Fly to the moon at all costs

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Start. Ideally, a lunar rover would be launched vertically to take advantage of the Earth’s rotation to reach orbital velocity. However, in the Applo program, NASA allowed the wrong command to be within 18 degrees of vertical without much impact on the launch process. ^{[9] X Trusted Source NASA Go to Source}

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Reached low-earth orbit. To escape the earth’s gravity, there are two types of velocities that need to be considered: escape velocity and orbital velocity. Escape velocity is the velocity required to completely escape the earth’s gravity, and orbital velocity is the velocity required to enter a planet’s orbit. The surface escape velocity will be 40,248 km/h or 11.2 km/s. ^{[10] X Research Source}^{[11] X Research Source} The orbital velocity from the ground is only about 7.9 km/s; It will take more energy for the ship to reach escape velocity than it takes to reach orbital velocity.

In addition, the further away from the earth’s surface, the lower the values of orbital velocity and escape velocity will be, in which the escape velocity is always 1.414 times larger (square root of 2) times the orbital velocity. religion. ^{[12] X Research Source}

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Move to lunar orbit. Once you’ve entered low-Earth orbit and you’ve made sure all the spacecraft’s systems are working properly, it’s time to fire the boosters and head to the moon.

With the Applo program, this process is accomplished by launching three-stage boosters one last time to propel the spacecraft towards the moon. ^{[13] X Research Source} Along the way, the command/service modules will be detached from the third stage, rotated, and attached to the lunar exploration module carried on the upper part of the third stage.
With the Constellation program, the plan was to put the rocket carrying the crew and its control bay into earth orbit with the launch deck and lunar lander lifted by a cargo rocket. The launch stage will fire the boosters and send the spacecraft to the moon.

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Entering lunar orbit. Once the spacecraft has entered the moon’s gravity, boosters will be ignited to decelerate the spacecraft and send it into orbit around the moon.

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Switch to the lunar lander. Both the Applo program and the Constellation program have separate orbital and lander modules. Applo’s command module required one of the three astronauts to stay behind to operate it while the other two boarded the lunar module. ^{[14] X Research Source The} Constellation orbital capsule was designed to run autonomously, so all four astronauts could board the lander if they wanted to. ^{[15] X Trusted Source NASA Go to Source}

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Landing on the moon. The moon has no atmosphere, so rockets had to be used to slow the lunar lander down to 160 km/h to ensure a safe landing and a smooth landing for the passengers. ^{[16] X Research Source} Ideally, the planned landing surface should be clear and free of large rocks; that is why Sea of Tranquility was chosen as the landing point for the ship Applo 11. ^{[17] X Research Source}

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Discover. Once you’ve landed on the moon, it’s time to explore the moon. You can collect rocks and dust on the moon to bring back to earth for analysis. If you bring along a collapsible lunar probe like the previous Applo 15, 16, and 17 missions, you can even drive across the lunar surface at up to 18 km/h. ^{[18] X Research Source} (You don’t need to speed up the engine, though; it’s battery-powered, and there’s no air on the moon anyway so you can hear the engine sound) ).

Back to Earth

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Pack up and go home. Once you’ve completed your mission on the moon, you’ll pack up your samples and tools and board the lunar lander to return to Earth.

Applo’s lunar module has a two-stage design: a descent stage to land on the moon and a launch stage to return astronauts to lunar orbit. The descending stage will be left on the moon (along with the lunar rover). ^{[19] X Research Source}^{[20] X Research Source}

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Assemble with orbiter. Applo’s command module and Constellation’s orbital capsule were both designed to return crews from the moon to Earth. The contents of the lunar lander are transferred to the orbiter, and the lunar lander is then separated to fall to the moon. ^{[21] X Research Source}^{[22] X Trusted Source NASA Go to Source}

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Return to earth. The main boosters on the Applo and Constellation service modules are ignited to escape the moon’s gravity, and the spacecraft will head towards Earth. Upon entering the earth’s gravity, the serving module will be re-ignited to decelerate the command compartment before being aborted.

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Landing. The module/command compartment heat shield will be in place to protect the astronauts from heat upon return. As the craft entered the denser part of the earth’s atmosphere, the parachutes would be deployed to further decelerate.

In the Applo program, the command module will fall into the sea like previous NASA manned missions and will be recovered by the Navy ship. Command modules are not reused. ^{[23] X Research Sources}
In the Constellation program, the plan was to land on the ground like the Soviet manned space missions had done, with the backup plan being to fall into the sea if it was impossible to land. The command compartment is designed for refurbishment, whereby the heat shield is replaced and reused. ^{[24] X Trusted Source NASA Go to Source}

Advice

Private companies are slowly making their way into the lunar tourism industry. In addition to billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, which is planning to serve suborbital space flights, a company called Space Adventures is planning to sign a contract with Russia to bring two tourists around. moon by a Soyuz spacecraft piloted by an astronaut for 100 million UDS per ticket. ^{[25] X Research Sources}

Warning

Note that most missions to the moon require extensive testing of the instrument prior to launch. Prior to the Applo 11 mission that sent Armstrong and Aldrin to the moon, there were four manned missions to test the command module (Applo 7) and lunar lander (Applo 9 and 10), as well as the possibility ability to move from Earth into lunar orbit and back (Applo 8 and 10). Astronauts also undergo regular fitness tests and receive training in the use of equipment. In addition, 3 astronauts were killed in the fire of the Applo 1 spacecraft.

Steps

Prepare for the trip

Fly to the moon at all costs

Back to Earth

Advice

Warning

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