By 2016, the museum had started updating signs again, although the sign's text
had been tweaked only slightly as compared to the sign from 2002. It reads
NASA Lunar Module (LM)
This vehicle was designed to land two astronauts on the moon. It consisted of
two main sections. The lower portion is the Descent Stage, with landing gear, propellant
tanks, and descent engine which could be throttled to ensure a soft landing.
The upper portion, the ascent stage, was
the crew compartment with thrusters, a computer, and controls for maneuvering
the vehicle. When it was time to return to Earth, both astronauts would climb
the ladder and ingress back into the LM. Then, the descent stage now served as
a launch pad for the ascent stage, which carried the astronauts and lunar
samples to a rendezvous with the waiting Command Module. Since there is no air
on the moon, the LM was not aerodynamically streamlined. The Lunar Module,
with legs folded, was stored inside the cone-shaped Lunar Module Spacecraft Adapter of the
Saturn V Launch Vehicle. This is a 1:1 scale model of the LM.
Height: |
22.9 ft (6.98m) with legs extended |
Width: |
31 ft (9.45m) with legs extended |
Weight: |
36,100 lbs (16,375 kg) |
Thrust: |
- Descent engine 9,850 lbs (43,815N)
- Ascent engine 3,500 lbs (15,500N)
|
Propellant: |
Nitrogen tetroxide and Aerozine 50 |
Contractors: |
- Grumman Aircraft Corporation
- Bell Aerospace Corporation (Ascent Stage propulsion)
-
Space Technology Laboratories, Inc. (Descent Stage propulsion)
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