|
Post by brotherofthemoon on Aug 21, 2006 23:16:11 GMT -4
I've been "inspired" by the recent ramblings of Moon Man on the Unexplained Mysteries forum.
The CM would be about 25 feet in diameter, big enough to house 100 pounds of moon rocks, three astronauts, and the folding LM when it's time to bring it to the Smithsonian. The docking port would be at the top, and the parachutes and docking probe would be installed on the side of the spacecraft on opposite ends. Also on the front would be a giant window so the spacecraft can be steered like a car.
The service module would have to be absolutely enormous, as it has to store enough oxygen for two weeks, and enough fuel for 500,000 miles of continuous thrusting. "Directional vector adjustment" thrusters would be installed around the perimeter of the SM to change the spacecraft's course. It would also have a high-resolution camera that permanantly focused on the Earth. Because if you can't see the Earth, everyone will think it's faked.
The lunar module would have an aerodynamic shape, and giant weeks for flying through the scorching radiation hell of the lunar vacuum. It would have a six foot wide hatch so astronauts could bring the giant sample boxes inside, and so they could exit standing upright. The descent stage would be clad in polished aluminum panels, house a fully-assembled LRV, have giant heavy-duty landing gear like the Nostromo, and be powered by a giant rocket that burned LO2 & LH2 at a continuous 100% thrust.
Of course, the entire assembly would be surrounded by six feet of lead shielding. The windows would have to be transparent lead, of course.
|
|
|
Post by hplasm on Aug 22, 2006 9:19:37 GMT -4
Perhaps a tail like a kite or weathervane to keep the pointy end pointing to the direction of travel at all times?
|
|
|
Post by twinstead on Aug 22, 2006 9:44:45 GMT -4
You forgot room for a team of independent verifiers to sit while they record the event just in case 30 years later somebody doubts the landings occurred.
|
|
|
Post by Apollo Gnomon on Aug 22, 2006 13:29:37 GMT -4
|
|
|
Post by Mr Gorsky on Aug 23, 2006 4:27:24 GMT -4
You'd never have fitted 25 people in there ... hamsters maybe
|
|
|
Post by nomuse on Aug 23, 2006 19:06:01 GMT -4
Hamsters. Hrm. Some work I did on IDW's radiation calculations convinced me he was working with an astronaut body mass of 1.04 kilograms. That would be one fat hamster....but I think we may be on to something here.
|
|
|
Post by shmilydana on Aug 25, 2006 12:30:19 GMT -4
Don't forget, you need to add the most advanced available computer to do the trajectory calculations...
And according to moonman, you spend all the eva time on all the missions trying to find out what the temperature of a vacumm is...
|
|
|
Post by Count Zero on Aug 25, 2006 14:26:56 GMT -4
you spend all the eva time on all the missions trying to find out what the temperature of a vacumm is...
No, no, no! You must spend all of the EVAs trying to photograph stars!
You must follow the Shoe of Brian, not the Gourd.
|
|
|
Post by shmilydana on Aug 25, 2006 16:07:06 GMT -4
One more thing, it can only be built by the Soviet Union. We don't have the experience.
|
|