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Ronald F. Scott
Ronald Fraser Scott (April 9, 1929 – August 16, 2005) was a British-born, American geotechnical engineer. An internationally recognized authority on the mechanics of soils, his lunar soil experiments on the Surveyor missions cleared the Apollo astronauts to walk safely on the moon. Early life and education Scott was born in London on April 9, 1929, but grew up in Perth, Scotland. He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Glasgow in 1951, a master's degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1953 and a doctorate from M.I.T. in 1955. His interest in soil behavior – possibly sparked by boyhood experience digging potatoes during World War II when the men were away at service – developed into a scientific understanding of soils as complicated two-phase media of solid particles and fluids. After graduation, he worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructing pavements on permafrost in Greenland. He joined the engineering facul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geotechnical Engineering
Geotechnical engineering, also known as geotechnics, is the branch of civil engineering concerned with the engineering behavior of earth materials. It uses the principles of soil mechanics and rock mechanics to solve its engineering problems. It also relies on knowledge of geology, hydrology, geophysics, and other related sciences. Geotechnical engineering has applications in military engineering, mining engineering, petroleum engineering, coastal engineering, and offshore construction. The fields of geotechnical engineering and engineering geology have overlapping knowledge areas. However, while geotechnical engineering is a specialty of civil engineering, engineering geology is a specialty of geology. History Humans have historically used soil as a material for flood control, irrigation purposes, burial sites, building foundations, and construction materials for buildings. Dykes, dams, and canals dating back to at least 2000 BCE—found in parts of ancient Egypt, ancient Mes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viking Program
The ''Viking'' program consisted of a pair of identical American space probes, ''Viking 1'' and ''Viking 2'' both launched in 1975, and landed on Mars in 1976. The mission effort began in 1968 and was managed by the NASA Langley Research Center.Soffen, G. A. (July–August 1978). "Mars and the Remarkable Viking Results." ''Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets''. 15 (4): 193-200. Each spacecraft was composed of two main parts: an orbiter spacecraft which photographed the surface of Mars from orbit, and a Lander (spacecraft), lander which studied the planet from the surface. The orbiters also served as communication relays for the landers once they touched down. The Viking program grew from NASA's earlier, even more ambitious, Voyager program (Mars), Voyager Mars program, which was not related to the successful Voyager program, Voyager deep space probes of the late 1970s. ''Viking 1'' was launched on August 20, 1975, and the second craft, ''Viking 2'', was launched on September 9, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teflon
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene, and has numerous applications because it is chemically inert. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemours, a spin-off from DuPont, which originally invented the compound in 1938. Polytetrafluoroethylene is a fluorocarbon solid, as it is a high- molecular-weight polymer consisting wholly of carbon and fluorine. PTFE is hydrophobic: neither water nor water-containing substances wet PTFE, as fluorocarbons exhibit only small London dispersion forces due to the low electric polarizability of fluorine. PTFE has one of the lowest coefficients of friction of any solid. Polytetrafluoroethylene is used as a non-stick coating for pans and other cookware. It is non-reactive, partly because of the strength of carbon–fluorine bonds, so it is often used in containers and pipework for reactive and corrosive chemicals. When used as a lubricant, PTFE reduces fric ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alan Bean
Alan LaVern Bean (March 15, 1932 – May 26, 2018) was an American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, NASA astronaut and painter. He was selected to become an astronaut by NASA in 1963 as part of Astronaut Group 3, and was the fourth person to walk on the Moon. Before becoming an astronaut, Bean graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from University of Texas at Austin in 1955 and re-joined the U.S. Navy—he served as an enlisted member for a year after his high school graduation. He received his naval aviator wings in 1956 and served as a fighter pilot. In 1960, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, flew as a test pilot and was The New Nine selection finalist in 1962. Bean made his first flight into space aboard Apollo 12 in November 1969, the second crewed mission to land on the Moon. He spent over seven hours walking on the Moon during two lunar excursions. He made his second and final flight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pete Conrad
Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. (June 2, 1930 – July 8, 1999) was an American NASA astronaut, aeronautical engineer, naval officer, aviator, and test pilot who commanded the Apollo 12 mission, on which he became the third person to walk on the Moon. Conrad was selected for NASA's second astronaut class in 1962. Conrad was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Despite having dyslexia, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Princeton University—being the first Ivy League astronaut—and joined the U.S. Navy. In 1954, Conrad received his naval aviator wings, served as a fighter pilot and, after graduating from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (Class 20), as a project test pilot. In 1959, he was an astronaut candidate for Project Mercury. Conrad set an eight-day space endurance record in 1965 along with his Command Pilot Gordon Cooper on his first spaceflight, Gemini 5. Later, Conrad commanded Gemini 11 in 1966, and Apollo 12 in 1969. Afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apollo 12
Apollo 12 (November 14–24, 1969) was the sixth crewed flight in the United States Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. It was launched on November 14, 1969, by NASA from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commander Charles "Pete" Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean completed just over one day and seven hours of lunar surface activity while Command Module Pilot Richard F. Gordon remained in lunar orbit. Apollo 12 would have attempted the first lunar landing had Apollo 11 failed, but after the success of the earlier mission, Apollo 12 was postponed by two months, and other Apollo missions also put on a more relaxed schedule. More time was allotted for geologic training in preparation for Apollo 12 than for Apollo 11, Conrad and Bean making several geology field trips in preparation for their mission. Apollo 12's spacecraft and launch vehicle were almost identical to Apollo 11's. One addition was a set of hammocks, designed to provide Conrad and Bean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer who, in 1969, became the Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations, first person to walk on the Moon. He was also a Naval aviator (United States), naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. Armstrong was born and raised near Wapakoneta, Ohio. He entered Purdue University, studying aeronautical engineering, with the U.S. Navy paying his tuition under the Holloway Plan. He became a midshipman in 1949 and a Naval aviator (United States), naval aviator the following year. He saw action in the Korean War, flying the Grumman F9F Panther from the aircraft carrier . After the war, he completed his bachelor's degree at Purdue and became a test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Armstrong Flight Research Center, High-Speed Flight Station at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He was the project pilot on Century Serie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apollo Lunar Module
The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed spacecraft to operate exclusively in the airless vacuum of space, and remains the only crewed vehicle to land anywhere beyond Earth. Structurally and aerodynamically incapable of flight through Earth's atmosphere, the Multistage rocket , two-stage Lunar Module was ferried to lunar orbit attached to the Apollo command and service module (CSM), about twice its mass. Its crew of two flew the Lunar Module from lunar orbit to the Moon's surface. During takeoff, the spent descent stage was used as a launch pad for the ascent stage which then Lunar orbit rendezvous, flew back to the command module, after which it was also discarded. Overseen by Grumman, the LM's development was plagued with problems that delayed its first uncrewed flight by about ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angle Of Repose
The angle of repose, or critical angle of repose, of a granular material is the steepest angle of descent or Strike and dip, dip relative to the horizontal plane on which the material can be piled without slumping. At this angle, the material on the slope face is on the verge of sliding. The angle of repose can range from 0° to 90°. The morphology of the material affects the angle of repose; smooth, rounded Sand, sand grains cannot be piled as steeply as can rough, Shear strength (soil), interlocking sands. The angle of repose can also be affected by additions of solvents. If a small amount of water is able to bridge the gaps between particles, electrostatic attraction of the water to mineral surfaces increases the angle of repose, and related quantities such as the bearing capacity, soil strength. When bulk granular materials are poured onto a horizontal surface, a cone (geometry), conical pile forms. The internal angle between the surface of the pile and the horizontal sur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surveyor 7
Surveyor 7 was sent to the Moon in 1968 on a scientific and photographic mission as the seventh and last lunar lander of the American uncrewed Surveyor program. With two previous unsuccessful missions in the Surveyor series, and with Surveyor 7's landing success, Surveyor 7 became the fifth and final spacecraft in the series to achieve a lunar soft landing. A total of 21,091 pictures were transmitted from Surveyor 7 back to Earth. The objectives for this mission were to perform a lunar soft landing (in an area well removed from the maria to provide a type of terrain photography and lunar sample significantly different from those of other Surveyor missions); obtain postlanding TV pictures; determine the relative abundances of chemical elements; manipulate the lunar material; obtain touchdown dynamics data; and obtain thermal and radar reflectivity data. This spacecraft was similar in design to the previous Surveyors, but it carried more scientific equipment including a televisio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surveyor 3
Surveyor 3 is the third lander of the American uncrewed Surveyor program sent to explore the surface of the Moon in 1967 and the second to successfully land. It was the first mission to carry a surface-soil sampling-scoop. Surveyor 3 was visited by Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean in November 1969, and remains the only probe visited by humans on another world. The Apollo 12 astronauts excised several components of Surveyor 3, including the television camera, and returned them to Earth for study. History Launched on April 17, 1967, Surveyor 3 landed on April 20, 1967, at the Mare Cognitum portion of the Oceanus Procellarum (S3° 01' 41.43" W23° 27' 29.55"), in a small crater that was subsequently named Surveyor. It transmitted 6,315 TV images to the Earth, including the first images to show what planet Earth looked like from the Moon's surface. As Surveyor 3 was landing in the crater highly reflective rocks confused the spacecraft's lunar descent radar. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
