IN Fly with me to the moon– explains Cole Davis Kelly Jones What are these dark spots that we see on the Moon from Earth: seas. He tells him that these are places with a strong gravitational pull, and that is why the ship Apollo 11 I would land on one of them. But to what extent is that true for real moon landings?
The reality is that Apollo 11 did land in a lunar sea: sea of calm. In fact, this is the same thing that Cole explains in this scene. Fly with me to the moon. However, that is not exactly the reason why the seas were chosen as the landing site. In fact, of the other Apollo missions that reached the Moon, most They did not land in the seas.
The main thing is that the surface is flat enough for the ship to rest on it. no surprises. The composition of the rocks is also taken into account. And yes, gravity is important, but the best option is for it to be low, as is fortunately the case throughout the entire surface of the Moon.
What are the seas of the Moon?
The seas, also known as the Marys, dark plains formed by basaltic rocks. These are thought to be meteorite impact craters that were later filled with volcanic magma from the lunar mantle. For this reason, its orography is much flatter than other craters. They are so called because past astronomers believed in their observations that they were seas like those on Earth, full of water.
It is true that the craters have a denser topography. Therefore, the gravitational pull on the Earth will be greater. But this is not the reason that makes them an ideal landing site, as they note in Send me to the moon.
Why was the Sea of Tranquility chosen for Apollo 11?
Sea of Tranquility, where Apollo 11 landed Fly with me to the moon and in real life it was the perfect place to land a ship.
NASA Decides Lunar Landing Site Should Be Included Rectangle is located in the center of the disk of the visible side of the Moon. Two faces coincide with parallels located 5° north and south latitudeand the other two coincided with the meridians located at 45 degrees east and west. The latitude of 5° was chosen due to the limitations of the launcher and the amount of fuel available in the lunar module (LM) and command module (CM).
There were many options for landing on the moon in this rectangle. Flat areas with space large enough for a ship to land without problems. The two most suitable plains seemed to be Sea of Tranquility and Sea of Fertility. The latter had a problem, however: it was too far to the east, so the astronauts didn’t have much time between leaving the far side and beginning their powered descent.
What happens to gravity then?
The gravity on the Moon is generally much lower than on Earth. It is equivalent to about one-sixth of Earth’s. This is good for landing on the Moon, as ships will be able to land delicately on its surface.
The Moon Landing They Don’t Tell You About Fly with me to the moon
After the Apollo 11 moon landing, described in Fly with me to the moonThere were 5 more missions that reached the Moon: Apollos 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17.. Their landing on the Moon took place, accordingly, in He Oceanus ProcellarumFra Mauro Formation, Apennine Mountains, Caeli Formation and Dolina. Taurus-Littrow. The first is a lunar sea, the second is a selenite platform with a crater inside, the third is a mountain range (it landed next to it, not on top), the fourth is a crater and the fifth, as its name suggests, is a valley located on the seashore. In particular Sea of tranquility.
In short, gravity is not the factor that makes a region of the Moon ideal for landing. There are many other factors that were taken into account when designing Apollo 11, the rest of the program, and all subsequent missions.
Source: Hiper Textual
