Audio Vault: NASA Aeronautics and Space Report (11/1/1970)

Here’s audio from a November 1970 “Aeronautics and Space Report” produced by NASA and aired on television stations in the 1960s and 1970s:

This particular “report” covers how a detailed simulation of the lunar surface was created to assist with lunar landing and takeoff simulations. I this recording is from Denver, Colorado TV station KLZ-TV (Channel 7), which aired the report on Sunday, November 1st, 1970 in the early morning, likely as filler following a program with a shortened run time.

Here’s a transcript:

NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, presents Aeronautics and Space Report.”

These men are getting ready to practice landing and taking off from the Moon. Although they never leave the ground, the simulation is as close to the real thing as technology can provide. One of the most important parts of this lunar landing simulator at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston is the detailed relief sections of the Moon’s surface complete with craters. It is painstakingly put together by U.S. Army topographers in Washington, D.C. When completed, the lunar surface model is three dimensional.

Working from pictures like these taken from unmanned lunar orbiters and using this special machine that can measure to within a millionth of an inch, a technician identifies various known points on the lunar photo for position fixing. As the operator zeroes in on a specific spot, coordinates are fed into a computer, tying together an entire area of the Moon’s surface. With this information, both the longitude and latitude can be determined.

Next, a stereo image is transferred to an analytical plotter, which in turn draws in craters and contours. It can draw and measure with great accuracy, even small craters a few feet in size.

These photo enlargements are blowups made from the plotter. The men here are marking the position of the craters onto a clear plastic overlay. This forms the blueprint for the lunar surface background to be used on the simulator.

Next, the two-foot-by-two-foot clear square overlays are lifted off the floor and given to compilers who outline the very small craters. This is the final step before the lunar blueprint goes to the model shop.

In the model shop, lunar surface contours are traced and a router cuts craters and contours into plastic foam blocks. Using the original lunar orbiter photographs as guides, the model is shaped and small craters carved. Then, paint is sprayed on to highlight the contours. Finally, the blocks are laid out on the floor where very small craters are punched out with a hand machine.

After being shipped to the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, the model is formed into a lightweight epoxy resin and fiberglass section and is painted. When the relief model, which closely duplicates an Apollo landing site, is installed on the lunar landing simulator, the crew practices landing and taking off from the Moon. Mountains, craters, and valleys show up before them in exact scale and position.

The end result, precision Moon landings by Project Apollo astronauts.

Lunar mapmaking, a vital job performed by those on the ground for the men who land on the moon.

This has been an Aeronautics and Space Report, presented by NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

About This Recording

Source: Reel-to-reel audio tape
Date: Sunday, November 1, 1970
Network: CBS
Station: KLZ-TV (Channel 7, Denver, Colorado)