One of the Orbital Science experiments on Apollo 15 was a mass spectrometer designed to measure the composition and distribution of the lunar atmosphere. It operated for nearly 90 hours, producing spectra of an unexpectedly complex nature, indicating that many complex gas molecules exist in the vicinity of the spacecraft. The most plausible explanation is that there was continual vaporization of frozen or liquid drops of water, fuel, or other matter that had been ejected from the spacecraft with small relative velocity so that these particles remained in nearby orbits. The search for naturally occurring gases in these spectra involves a statistical analysis of the data which has not been completed to date. A theoretical prediction regarding the possibilities of detecting lunar volcanism from orbit is included.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Lunar orbital mass spectrometer experiment.


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    Lunar Science Conference ; 1972 ; Houston, TX


    Publication date :

    1972-01-01


    Type of media :

    Miscellaneous


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English


    Keywords :



    Lunar orbital mass spectrometer experiment

    Hodges, R. R. / Hoffman, J. H. / Evans, D. E. | NTRS | 1972


    Lunar orbital mass spectrometer experiment

    Hoffman, J. H. / Hodges, R. R. / Evans, D. E. | NTRS | 1972



    The Lunar Mass Spectrometer experiment.

    Ormsby, R. D. / Dehaven, C. E., Jr. | NTRS | 1971