1 mission summary 1 2 introduction 5 3 trajectory 6 1 launch and translunar trajectories 6

5INFLIGHT SCIENCE AND PHOTOGRAPHY

The experiments located in the scientific instrument module bay of the service module ( fig. 5-1) consisted of a gamma ray spectrometer, an X-ray spectrometer, an alpha-particle spectrometer, a mass spectrometer; and a subsatellite which is the vehicle for a particle shadows/boundary layer experiment, an S-band transponder experiment, and a magnetometer experiment. The subsatellite ( fig. 5-2) was launched successfully just prior to transearth injection on August 4 at approximately 2100 G.m.t., and was inserted into a 76.3-by-55.1-mile lunar orbit with an inclination of minus 28.7 degrees. The three subsatellite experiments are expected to acquire data for a period exceeding 1 year. At the time of launch, the moon was in the magnetosheath (transition) region of the earth's magnetosphere ( fig 5.3), one of several data collecting regions of scientific interest. All subsatellite experiments are turned off while the battery is being recharged after each tracking revolution. Both the magnetometer and particle shadows/boundary layer experiments are acquiring data on all revolutions except those when the battery is being charged.

Other inflight experiments consisted of ultraviolet photography of the earth and moon, photography of the Gegenschein from lunar orbit, an S-band transponder experiment using the command and service module and lunar module S-band communication systems, a down-link bistatic radar experiment using both the S-band and VHF communications systems of the command and service module and an Apollo window meteroid experiment.

Photographic tasks that were designated as detailed objectives rather than experiments are also discussed. They are the service module orbital photography employing the panoramic camera, the mapping camera, and the laser altimeter; and command module photography of lunar surface areas and astronomical subjects. A brief description of the equipment used for these experiments and photographic tasks is given in appendix A.

5.1GAMMA-RAY SPECTROMETER EXPERIMENT

The instrument as well as the deployment boom performed well throughout the mission. However, two anomalous conditions occurred which affected instrument calibration. First, a downward drift in the linear gain of the photomultiplier or pulse analyzer was detected after the first boom extension (prior to undocking in lunar orbit) when several lines in the spectrum of the Apollo lunar surface experiment package fuel capsule were used for calibrations. The drift decreased in magnitude from an initial rate of 1 percent per hour to 0.4 percent per day and, eventually, reached a fairly stable state. The second anomalous condition was noted about 2-3/4 hours after transearth injection, when spectrum zero shifted eight channels, causing loss of the 0.279-million-electron-volt calibration reference. Commencing at 246:56, the problem disappeared for approximately 25 hours, returning at 271:47 and remaining for the rest of transearth flight. These problems are discussed further in section 14.3.4.

The preliminary data indicates variations in radioactivity as the spacecraft passed over different kinds of terrain. The western mare areas are generally the highest in radioactivity, with the eastern maria being somewhat lower. The highlands are the lowest in activity with a slightly lower level in the far-side highlands. The data further indicate a continuum level comparable to that predicted from Ranger 3 and Luna 10 data. Peaks due to potassium, thorium, oxygen, silicon, and iron have been identified. Detailed analysis is expected to show the presence and distribution of uranium, magnesium, aluminum, and titanium.

5.2X-RAY FLUORESCENCE EXPERIMENT

Near the end of transearth flight, an engineering test was conducted to determine if the gas-filled proportional counters Would be damaged by direct impingement of solar X-rays. The experiment continued to operate satisfactorily after the test.

The preliminary data shows that the fluorescent X-ray flux was more intense than predicted; that the concentration of aluminum in the highlands is about 50 percent greater than in the maria; and that the ratio of magnesium-to-aluminum in Mare Smithii and Mare Chrisium is about 50 percent greater than in the highlands between, and to the east and west of, the two maria. Analysis of the X-ray astronomy observations made enroute to the earth has shown that the intensity in X-ray output of Scorpius X-1 and Cygnus X-1 fluctuates with periods of several minutes.