Spacelog Apollo 11

No, that's fine. I just wanted to confirm that. Until 79 10, then we'll breeze around here in orbit.

Roger. And we've got an observation you can make if you have some time up there. There's been some lunar transient events reported in the vicinity of Aristarchus. Over.

Roger. We just went into spacecraft darkness. Until then, why, we couldn't see a thing down below us. But now, with earthshine, the visibility is pretty fair. Looking back behind me, now, I can see the corona from where the Sun has just set. And we'll get out the map and see what we can find around Aristarchus

We're coming upon Aristarchus right now —

— Okay. Aristarchus is at angle Echo 9 on your ATO chart. It's about 394 miles north of track. However, at your present altitude, which is about 167 nautical miles, it ought to be over—that is within view of your horizon: 23 degrees north, 47 west. Take a look and see if you see anything worth noting up there. Over.

Both looking.

Houston, 11. It might help us a little bit if you could give us a time of crossing of 45 west.

Say again, please, 11.

You might give us a time of crossing of 45 west, and then we'll know when to start searching for Aristarchus.

Roger. You'll be crossing 45 west at 77 04 10 or about 40 seconds from now. Over. Thirty seconds from now.

Okay.

Apollo 11, when we lose the S-band, we'd like to get OMNI Charlie from you. And update my last, that 77 04 was the time when Aristarchus should become visible over your horizon. 77 12 is point of closest approach south of it. Over.

Okay. That sounds better because we just went by Copernicus a little bit ago.

Roger. We show you at about 27 degrees longitude right now.

Righto.

Houston, when a star sets up here, there's no doubt about it. One instant it's there, and the next instant it's just completely gone.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. We request you use OMNI Charlie at this time. Over.

Okay. Going to OMNI Charlie.

Houston, Apollo 11.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. Go ahead.

Roger. Seems to me since we know orbits so precisely, and know where the stars are so precisely, and the time of setting of a star or a planet to so very fine a degree, that this might be a pretty good means of measuring the altitude of the horizon …

Roger.

Hey, Houston. I'm looking north up toward Aristarchus now, and I can't really tell at that distance whether I am really looking at Aristarchus, but there's an area that is considerably more illuminated than the surrounding area. It just has—seems to have a slight amount of fluorescence to it. A crater can be seen, and the area around the crater is quite bright.

Roger, 11. We copy.

Houston, Apollo 11. Looking up at the same area now and it does seem to be reflecting some of the earthshine. I'm not sure whether it was worked out to be about zero phase to—Well, at least there is one wall of the crater that seems to be more illuminated than the others, and that one—if we are lining up with the Earth correctly, does seem to put it about at zero phase. That area is definitely lighter than anything else that I could see out this window. I am not sure that I am really identifying any phosphorescence, but that definitely is lighter than anything else in the neighborhood.

11, this is Houston. Can you discern any difference in color of the illumination, and is that an inner or an outer wall from the crater? Over.

Roger. That's an inner wall of the crater.

No, there doesn't appear to be any color involved in it, Bruce.

Roger. You said inner wall. Would that be the inner edge of the northern surface?

I guess it would be the inner edge of the westnorthwest part, the part that would be more nearly normal if you were looking at it from the Earth.

11, Houston. Have you used the monocular on this? Over.

11, this is Houston. We have about 6 minutes remaining until LOS, and in order that we may configure our ground lines, we'd like to know if you're still planning to have the TV up with the beginning of the next pass. Over.

Roger, Houston. We'll try to have it ready.

This is Houston. We are inquiring if it is your plan to. Over.

It never was our plan to; but it's in the flight plan, so I guess we'll do it.

Houston. Roger. Out.

11, Houston.

Roger. Go ahead.

For use in connection with the prime meridian crossing, you have an orbital period now of 2 hours 8 minutes and 37 seconds. Over.

Thank you.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. A little over 2 minutes to LOS. All your systems parameters and orbit are looking good from the ground. We have AOS on the other side at 78 23 31. Over.

Roger. 78 23 21.

Roger. That was 31 on the end.

Apollo 11, this is Houston. Over.

This is Apollo 11. Are you picking up our signals okay?

Apollo 11, this is Houston. Affirmative. We are reading you loud and clear on voice and we have a good clear TV picture, a little bright crater in the —

— No, no, no —

— the bottom of the picture. I guess that's the spot on the tube.

I'm sorry about that one.

And if you give us P00 and ACCEPT, we will uplink our new state vector and target load to you.

Okay.

Houston, Apollo 11. One of the larger craters on the back side—I noticed a small, dark speck on the outer wall and I put the monocular on it. I was able to see—oh, an area maybe a quarter of a mile in diameter. It was really a freshlooking dark colored pit, and that seems to be in contrast with all the other fresh little craters or holes that you can perceive on the walls of any of these craters. Around this particular one there seems to be two or three of these—especially the one that caught my attention. Quite remarkable. Over.

Roger. Do you have a location on that one?

No, not a precise one. I've got several pictures of it, though.

Roger. We copy.

We're getting a beautiful picture in down there now, 11. The color's coming in quite clearly, and we can see the horizon and the relative blackness of space, and without getting into the question of grays and browns, it looks, at least on our monitor, sort of a brownish gray.

That's a good, reasonable way of describing it. It appears to me as though it made a difference just sitting back in the tunnel and gazing at all windows; it makes a difference which one you're looking out of. For example, the camera right now is looking out the number 5 window, and it definitely gives a rosier or tanner tinge, especially when you look straight through it and not at an angle. Over.

Roger.

And if you rear back 95 or 100 degrees …

… Still holding … Okay.

Say again, 11?

I'd say we're about 95 degrees east, coming up on Smyth's Sea.

Roger. And for your information, we show you at an altitude of about 92 miles above the surface right now.

Okay.

Houston, Apollo 11. Could you observe a difference in the N₂ pressures before LOI? It seems to me as though the two were not equal on the … B tank was a little low on pressure. Over.

I'm flying it in SPS minimum impulse, Houston, and it's rather difficult to keep it on a constant data. The LM wants to wander up and down. I'm not sure if it's in response to MASCONN's or what, but I can get it completely stabilized in DATA and let it alone, and in another couple of minutes it will have developed its own rate.

This is Houston. Roger.

Houston, we'll be moving shortly from the side window to the hatch window, and we'll try and pick up some of the landmarks that we'll be looking at as we approach the powered descent. Over.

11, this is Houston. Roger. And we're through with the uplinks; the computer is yours. You can go to BLOCK and we'll have the information on nitrogen for you shortly. Over.

Roger. Copy.

Okay, Houston. Several minutes ago I was exactly steady on data, and since then I have been moving toward the LM, pointed straight down toward the radius vector, and that's been despite a number of down minimum pitch impulses.

Roger.