Why were there missing rungs on the Lunar Lander’s Ladder?
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- Опубликовано: 18 июл 2019
- Something about the Apollo missions always confused me, sure, the step off of the lunar lander’s 91 cm footpad was a small step, but the step just before that was actually enormous!
I’m talking about this, the huge gap between the last rung on the ladder and the ground. Why on the Moon is that gap so huge?! Isn’t it dangerous to require an astronaut to jump down onto the surface and jump back up?
The lunar lander’s ladder had nine rungs all spaced 22.8 cm (9”) apart, but the gap between the last rung and the ground was about three times that at a whopping 76 cm (30”)! So really, the ladder wasn’t missing one rung, it was missing two!
I mean sure, the gravity’s only 1/6th that of Earth’s, but wouldn’t it have been so much safer if there was even one more rung to close that gap up a little?
So today we’re going to look into why NASA and the Lunar Lander’s manufacturer Grumman, chose a ladder of this length, we’ll talk about design considerations of the hardware, the unknown conditions of the lunar surface, and the astronauts who were basically too smooth of pilots to get the ladder’s last rung any closer to the surface of the moon.
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"Woopie! That may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me"- Pete Conrad's first words walking on the Moon, Apollo 12.
Not as epic as Neil Armstrong, but still made me laugh ^^
@@thulyblu5486 There are a lot of good ones. I did a video recently that shows all 12 astronaut's first words when stepping on the Moon. Many remarked on the beauty, including Buzz Aldrin. Some tried to do memorable words. But only Pete Conrad was cracking a joke, trying to win a bet.
It's interesting to note that he was still on the pad when he delivered that line, while Armstrong's were actually delivered on the moon regolith. I suspect a few other "first words" were not actually delivered from the surface either.
@@philipcorner574 Yeah, that is true. The ones who cared it is pretty obvious they were on the regolith, while many of the more spontaneous ones were probably from the foot of the LM. See the video I published which shows all of them.
Pete was always one of my favorite astronauts. Great sense of humor, great test pilot and great American.
Only you can make a 15min discussion about ladders so interesting. ..
Anything aerospace grade+humans= making the most simple thing super complex
Agreed!
Idk man the little giant is pretty versatile somebody could prob do a decent discussion on it especially if they talk about they home shopping network dude who climbed on it and it folded up on him
Amazingly compelling evidence that man on moon landings were faked; amazing that the 3 astronauts that walked on the moon resigned a few days later.. all 3.. and then Neil Armstrong never spoke about it again, only giving a very cryptic interview about "uncovering truth" many years later.
And the moon landing director resigned 3 days before they supposedly landed on the moon!
Take a look if you get a chance:
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon
ruclips.net/video/xciCJfbTvE4/видео.html
and NASA admits we never went to the moon:
facebook.com/exposetheilluminati/videos/2014276232178920/UzpfSTEwMDAwMDczOTg3NTI3NjoxOTY0NTkxNTQzNTc1NDg5/
@@Turbo_Tastic Yeah, you're an idiot. WHY, please tell us, did the USSR try so hard to also land on the Moon? They tried (there is a photo in this video of their LK-1 lander design), they tried, and MANY people died. Do some frigging RESEARCH!! The Soviets never had a launch vehicle that worked...they kept blowing up. THAT'S the cause of the greatest death toll. Really, that stupid "movie" you referenced? Its a load of crap. Bart Sibrel is a load of crap.
I guess that makes YOU full of crap.
Ah yes those famous first words spoken from the surface of the Moon . . . " Okay. Engine stop. ACA - Out of detent."
Surely it should be _"Contact Light..."_ ?
@@SIXITHS Well, they weren't actually on the surface when the contact light went on, that turned on when one of the contact probes extending some 1.71m below the landing pads touched the surface.
@@drtidrow The craft was touching the surface...
As I recall watching it live and paying close attention to hear those first words. They were: "It's soft and dusty." I beleave everyone rearranged history.
@Larry Carmody CMD About five and a half feet.
They should have brought one small step ladder for a man
Boom boom!
I know, or just have the bottom portion fold out as needed. Maybe saving weight, but they could bring back 1 or 2 less rocks to make that happen. How funny would it be if they had to step off one of their backs to get the first person back up.
I love my Stepladder . . . I never knew my REAL Ladder. . . \‹·¿_·›/
@@TONE11111 Ha ha ha....
Ed Komasara. Or one small HINGED ladder, instead!
They didn’t want moon raccoons climbing up the ladder.
Yes, rodents are problematic when faking moon landings.
As believable as the rest of it
They would have been SCREWED if there had been lunar squirrels. Those buggers can get into anything.
@@Tubetopfan1, luckily the lunar squirrels stick to woodlands. As they landed in the sea of tranquility, a much more pressing threat was the lunar crabs.
@@JNCressey Getting crabs while on the moon. Try to explain THAT to the mrs. when you get home. : )
I remember laughing hysterically at the time when Pete Conrad said "that may have been a small step for Neil but it was a large one for me". Thanks for looking up that footage and include get in this video. It clearly qualifies as the greatest joke ever made on the surface of the moon. In some ways for me that line was more memorable than Armstrong's original.
Apparently he did it as a bet with a journalist, but she never paid him!
Never heard that one lol
Peter Conrad was referring to the studio in 1g, if they were really on the moon that's nothing in 1/6g.
There is no indication of them being in 1/6g in any video, it's just slow motion video with the odd visible wire. There's just no height and all the movements are sluggish - it all just looks like a half speed video on earth.
@@G-ra-ha-m Go back to school.
@@G-ra-ha-m ....SMH. WRONG!!! Right here on RUclips are plenty of videos that prove your comment WRONG!
The "odd visible wire" was sunlight reflecting off of the antenna on top of the PLSS backpack.
Because "words" are difficult, video:
ruclips.net/video/NxZMjpMhwNE/видео.html
AND: ruclips.net/video/NpR1CjvCuIk/видео.html
4:08 Tim.exe stopped working
I was hoping someone else noticed
also it happens again at 9:06
@@somename842 Huh, didn't notice that second one. n i c e
simulations code went corrupt
Tim is an AI algorithm confirmed. No wonder Elon likes talking to him.
12:30 is now my favourite moment in space history "whoopie! that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a big one for me"
My favorite - at least from the Apollo missions, was Harrison Schmitt with Apollo 17. He was the first guy to land on the moon who was an actual professional geologist, not just a pilot trained to take geologic samples. Dude was like a kid on Christmas on the lunar surface. Apollo 17's time on the Moon also featured some singing & physical comedy, and it ended with a lovely speech and Mission Control nailing the shot of the lunar ascent from the rover camera. Good mission.
whoopie C u s h i o n
bogen broom nobody from russia correct
My favorite is recently when nasa announced their return to VENUS
You: "Let me know if i answered all the questions you had about the lander ladder."
Me: "I did not even knew there where so many questions to be asked/explained about a ladder."
and even if i did have questions, why the hell would i ask that idiot...?
Given the detail in this video I'm a bit surprised the maker is not mentioned. Héroux Machine Parts (in Quebec) won the contract to make the landing gear in 1965 (beating out 15 other companies). In total Héroux delivered 17 sets of 4 legs used for the Apollo program, including those used on the Eagle.
probably because no one cares.
I tought all the equipment suppliers of technology are lost, thats why nasa cant land back as easy as next week as it was in 1970 's ;)
@@ahmetmutlu348 Can't tell if this is a weird joke or a weird and stupid moon landing denier joke.
@@meesalikeu That's a truly bold assumption to say no one would care the manufacturers of them, when there are people who wonders why the ladder lacks few rungs
Helps to keep moon rats from climbing up into the cabin of the lunar module. 😊
Lol the moon doesn't have rats, there is no life therw
@@thiruvalluvar3880 sorry, moonsnakes kept from slithering up the ladder.
@@thiruvalluvar3880 get a life and a sense of humour
@@thiruvalluvar3880 You sure?
He's forgotten about Clangers obviously.
When I was a small child in the 70s after seeing the video of the first step my first question was over this subject. Finally someone answered my first question asked about space travel. Thanks
Haha! I'm 28, but I remember when I first saw the Apollo missions footage my first question was 'why is everything covered in gold tin foil?'
A co-worker met one of the landing leg engineers at a party in the 80s. He was really, really freaked out when Armstrong had to jump so far to the pad.
Yep Armstrong did not shut off engine when instructed he clearly wanted a smother landing, seams like all of them left the engine on a big longer than requested. Expert pilots reaction I think minds going I got a better feal of when to shut off.
@@RedRocket4000 how can you be an expert at something your doing for the first time?
@@noidontthinksolol Armstrong was a beast of a pilot. That's why they chose him to go.
@@badmanarnie2456 you can practice in simulation.
@@noidontthinksolol all NASA spacecraft are considered flying vehicles. No one flying any of them is not a pilot themselves either.
"crushcore" sounds like some obscure metal genre lmao
🤣🤣
Nightcores big brother
Not only did you answer the question, but provided excellent context as to the decision making and concerns of the time. This is a great video.
Though any discussion of ladders is bound to have its... ups and downs, you wrung out all relevant info... Great explanation, I've been wondering since '69!
420
Michael Collins did it. He took those rungs off. "Yeah-make me stay up here while you two have all the fun? Well enjoy this suckers!"
A CUNNING PLAN!
collins never touched the moon lander. He was in the command module the whole time.
@Mark S
relax, its was just a joke
but Collins could rasp that ladder before launch, on Earth ;)
@@marks6663 hahhaah R/whoooosshhh
After the mission, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were invited to the Whitehouse to receive some medals from the president. Collins drove them to the WhiteHouse. While Armstrong and Aldrin went into the WhiteHouse, Collins drove around the block a few times waiting...
Shame on the US authorities for not making 2019 a huge 50th anniversary celebration of this singular turning point in human history.
Embarrassment ??
That’s up to the press. Though a presidential speech would be in order.
@@gammondog Trump did speak about it. You are right, the press treated it with relative indifference.
probably just to get through the whole thing with as little fuss as possible considering it wasn't real
@@princefarni8173 No. There was a huge celebration Friday night, 19 July, on the Mall in Washington, DC. Jeeze, don't you people watch the news?????
Thanks Tim. That's the first time I've heard an explanation about the ladder design which is as comprehensive as yours, in fifty years. Much appreciated.
4:08 glitch in the matrix!
I thought he was possessed by a demon XD
I came to the comments to see if anyone mentioned kt
@@fakerussian2036 same
Same
4:08 typical neanderthal footage. E.A is good though demons really think he's fine
I'm surprised I guessed exactly right for why they left such a gap between ladder and surface.
Given how hectic of a time it was, I figured they didn't have much info on how the surface would react upon landing.
I didn't know the surface was able to absorb so much of the impact, but given what we know about the surface composition, it makes sense.
Thabks, Tim! Interesting and educational video :)
I have nothing to say except that it is a great video. As always.
Thanks for all the work you do for us.
Man keep up the great content. I seriously watch full length on any space videos. So much in depth detail it's candy for not only my eyes but brain!
Ok, I thought they removed two rungs to compensate for the weight of the flag and flagpole. Glad there was a better explanation :-)
Fascinating video. The check by the first astronaut out of the LM to see if they could climb back up. Just shows the level of detail that the engineers a looked into regarding every bit of the landing. I"m sure the folding vs straight ladder came up around for many debates (weight, reliability, etc.)
My guess : reliability.
Sure down on cow's floor we scoff at such worry, but can you imagine the mission aborting so close because "our stepladder got stuck" ?
Not to mention it could shake loose and wreak havoc at launch.
This mention of Russia solution, make my day.
There’s probably a reason why they didn’t hinge the ladder.
NO DRUGS hope you know that is false
@@yoyonis6840 Then they found out the lead from pencils can float in the air and get stuck in stuff
@@yoyonis6840 Ah, the myth that refuses to die.
@@OCinneide Yeah, like electrical circuitry. very bad
Wow Tim... awesome video. I hope you continue to delve into this kind of quirky info about Apollo. Fascinating stuff... and many of these stories remain untold.
Grumman Engineers: "When we say jump, you should ask how high".
"that may have been a small one for neil but thats a long one for me" 😂😂
Such a simple yet fun video. Thanks Tim for all the research and hard work that you do.
this is fantastic, and the footage you were able to include was even better, don't think I've seen several of those clips before. Keep up the great work!
Awesome video again Tim. Love getting all these long unanswered questions finally...erm... answered! 😀 Learning stuff you didn't know you didn't know is fun!
So, one flies most of the way to the moon, but still has to jump the last bit.
Mind the gap?
"...between the LEM and the platform."
Don't forget that the engineers forgot to put a door handle on the outside of the LEM. If Buzz had closed the door they would have had no way to get back into it.
@@billrichards1965 So that funny video about the astronaut accidentally locking himself out of his lunar lander was very much based on reality then ? :D
@@billrichards1965 hey if that LEM was parked in NYC it would be jacked into in 15 secs
@@Spacekriek Not exactly. There was no lock and it could only be closed and sealed from the inside. However, if it had been pushed shut, they would have had to slip something into the seam to open it. There would have been a very great incentive to do so! Seriously, it made for a great bit of humor but would not have been a real issue.
Tim, I think I speak for all your watchers: Thank you sooo much for all your videos/streams/tweets/posts! You inspired us, motivated us and just entertained us. You way more attention! Thanks, thanks thanks!
That's really fascinating! I never knew I didn't know about this - thank you for teaching me all this cool stuff! You do a great job of telling us these little stories about details I never heard of. :)
Sheep 🐑 All of you!
Really interesting video about something so mundane. But also I learned a lot too. Brilliant stuff. Thank you.
best informative space channel out there, great stuff, always enjoyable
These videos are always so informative and interesting. Great job.
I’ve wondered this every time I saw a video of the Apollo astronauts descending down the LEMs ladder. Whats funny is just last night watching first man it was indirectly answered, and now this video pops up and answers the question in depth.
Not sure how I missed this one, thanks for linking to it on twitter today, I learned a ton
Obscure and fascinating. Thank you for not doing a 50th commemoration, but rather something off-beat.
I had always heard it was just about weight, Thank you for teaching us about the compression technology used in the legs.
Advantage to being older. I watched it live. As an astronomy student. No words!
Apollo 11 was fake. Here's leaked video proof from NASA of the Apollo 11 crew faking the shot of Earth from low orbit when they were supposed to be entering lunar orbit. It has time and date on everything, sorry to ruin your memory boomer. ruclips.net/video/5xJyhkScXbQ/видео.html
@@JustChrisss somehow I believe you are both a flat earther and an anti vaxxer
@@nishant5290 time to wake up
@@Rickswars Well I believe in God but that doesn't mean I don't have brain cells. I can process information and think it logically go watch captain disillusion's video. Don't tell me to seek knowledge when a 5th grader is smarter than you
@MichaelKingsfordGray well It's my opinion and my choice but aren't you even a little triggered about what this other guy said
Wonderful channel. Since 1969 I've always wondered why the ladder stopped so short. Thank you!
What I learned from this is that to NASA, there is no such thing as a trivial detail.
Hi Tim, me again, can you do a video on the Dragon Capsule's parachutes? How do they work? Why are they attached on one side of the capsule and not on both sides? How do they open slowly? And the history behind of capsule parachutes...And so on...
i second this - parachutes for returning space vehicles are a lot more complex than a skydiver's chutes. i remember seeing a documentary on Curiosity and how their chute testing was difficult and had lots of failed tests because it had to open at such high speeds though with a thinner atmosphere.
We need this video! I third this!
Apparently SpaceX published a video of a Crew Dragon parachute test last night! ruclips.net/video/B9eYCGOlr5Y/видео.html
In the SpaceX Dragon video. If anyone is curious what the big black round things are on the "lines" near the Dragon capsule that the chutes are attached to. Those lines are called the risers and the "things" are called "riser guillotines" and they cut the risers in the event a main failure is sensed or they only have a partial deployment. They fire the riser guillotines to cut that chute assembly away and then fire the backup.
@@StreuB1 Thanks for the explanation, I develop experimental model rockets and one of the most crucial and difficult part is the recovery system, hence my respect and admiration for the science behind it.
Yay, info I didn’t know about moon landings! Thanks for finding something fresh and interesting!
Aye! There's so much to learn about Apollo, I didn't know about the nozzle extension for Apollo 15, or that they considered using ropes to disembark. Sad thing is so many preliminary concepts and designs were never digitalised, and they live in the engineers attics gathering dust, I wish we could collect all the information together and put it in once place for safe keeping.
Your channel is the best! Thanks for your dedication to providing wonderful insight into our space programs!
Tim - a video on how the lunar rover was stowed and activated would be appreciated. Thanks.
PageMonster and how did they compensate for the weight? Was something removed that was used on earlier missions?
This little animation shows it pretty well: ruclips.net/video/NBNhUNROV5U/видео.html
@@tomb504dog The quadrant that carried the rover was empty on earlier missions as was the opposite quadrant. When the rover was added for the last three missions additional equipment was carried and it was placed inside the opposite quadrant to keep the LM balanced. The last three missions also had a more powerful engine, which allowed it to carry the additional weight.
I’m sure u know by now it’s all fake
@@shanecodman1842 I'm sure you know by now that there is no real evidence that it was faked and mountains of hard, verifiable evidence that it was real.
Had doubts about watching this, due to all the junk out there, but this was very informative, thanks...
No doubt now. I am sure.
This is a great video, and very well done. One tidbit to point out is that it's only been within about the last 10 years that it's been clearly understood what Armstrong's first step really was. Because of Pete Conrad's quip many people thought the first step onto the surface was the jump down from the ladder, which of course was actually only on to the foot bed of the Lander, from which the astronaut would then step off of and on to the surface. But as I was growing up so many news programs, when commemorating the anniversary, would pair up audio of Armstrong saying he was going to step off the LEM with the part of the video of him jumping down the ladder. Thankfully the correct procession of steps it's now commonly known.
Please do a video on how the lunar lander was stored and deployed. Great channel by the way I found it a few weeks ago, you have been spot on every video I have watched so far!
You just answered a question I didn’t even know I had
You did a good job with it too
Cracking punchline on Armstrong's quote Mr. Conrad!
Great video, love how a seemingly basic question can lead down a rabbit hole of engineering thought and consideration.
I’m just a layman and I find this stuff is so fascinating. I don’t understand how more people don’t think so. Don’t get me started with the people that deny that we did it. Great vid!! 👍🏻
They werent very gleeful in their press conference afterwards I wonder why
That's quite a tongue twister: Lunar Lander's Ladder. Try and say that one fast a couple of times in a row xD
Loony Ann Landers' Lunar Lander's ladder. Lordy.
I have wondered about that ladder length too. Very nice story. Thank you.
Great Video as usual, thanks for the time you spend on research to make these videos. Cheers
You're such a great educator Tim, I aspire to be like you and am just starting my RUclips journey (at age 49 lol!). Keep up the great work
I never thought about the ladder being short but was intrigued to find out why. And not only was your explanation fascinating, I also found out about the rods sticking down from the feet. I thought they sank into the moon's surface to hold the module steady, yeah silly I know. So, they were probes...... that makes sense. Thank you EA, another great video.
Not probes put rods to make contact with the soil so the crew got '"Contact Light'" ! These usually just folded over !
Shut up Oliver! USA never landed on moon
Thanks for the great videos, you’ve turned this slight skeptic into a space junkie.
This is a beautiful and super interesting video!, thanks a lot for taking your time to explain such an overlooked detail about the Apollo mission in such an interesting manner!. God bless
Great video, never considered that! Thanks for the videos, love your channel!
Great video, Tim, very informative and entertaining. Have you considered making one to explain how the latter Apollo mission astronauts removed and assembled the rover? It looks really big raising questions of where it was stowed, how they got it out and unfolded or assembled it. I’m really curious! Thanks!
Search bar above... put in "deploy rover".
Thanks!
Tim, absolutely wonderful channel! So thorough, interesting and just all around awesomeness. Are you thinking of getting a new spacesuit?
Cheers
Learn a lot of stuff i never heard.Thanks,keep it coming
I’m impressed! You nailed ALL the salient points. Nice job!
Me before watching:
I'm willing to bet it has something to do with concern about the landing legs sinking into the lunar surface.
After:
Partially correct!
Gold star for you, so cool
And yet the engine thrust manage to no move a bit of dust, truelly amazing
@@slckb0y65 And, you are well and truly wrong about that.
@@odysseusrex5908 rofl, yeah go ahead and show me the crater left by the thrust of the engine decelerating on landing.
there's not even a spec of dust on the "moon lander" (gimme a break) 's feet
6:50 my brother works at the company that makes the crush cores for the falcon 9! They're really cool!
What company?
@@natedole8276 Plascore
maybe he could give some public okayed info
Shhh! Keep it down! You don't want the flat earthers to find out he's on the pay roll!
@@dimwitsixtytwelve theres one in the comments named sindraug25.
An interesting and comprehensive explanation of a question that I have had since I was a kid.
Very informative and well done... thank you!
My favorite part of their activities was when they had the EVA suits on and looked out from the docking hatch on top of LM.
Ladders have been held short to make sure that even when tilting or eventual sinking into the moon will not affect the stability of the platform. And: saving weight everywhere is a factor as well. So, a bigger step down from the ladder could be afforded.
Great description man! I guess i just never considered that questiion before... Fun video, thank you!
Great explanation, now I finally know why.Hinged or telescopic ladder looks like a good solution.
Thanks for the mixed units, greatly appreciated by us metric users.
Jeff Vader ie the vast majority of the world
Neil followed Skipper's advice from Madagascar 2; ""Gently now, you just want to kiss the ground. Just a little peck. A smooch; like you're kissing your sister."
You are great!!!! Really enjoy your work... keep it up!!!!
I appreciate the new lighting Tim! Smooth and soft.
Fascinating, I was wondering about hinged ladder - maybe NASA thought that might be something to go wrong (and maybe too heavy)
Perhaps a worry that it wouldn't deploy or that the hinge would fail and the lower half of the ladder would break off? There were so many unknowns that the simplest and least problematic solution would be the one to go with.
@@samsignorelli I'm sure it was debated many times during development
@@PhilipChou Likely....given the complexity of every aspect of the mission, it's really amazing they landed in JFK's time frame.
@@samsignorelli... by the way, even if the landing had been pushed to 1970, that would have been OK as '70 is the final year of the '60s decade. (Just like the 21st century didn't begin until 1/1/2001 (not 2000)).
Everyday Astronaut: Covering things that don't happen everyday.
Great job, Tim. Fascinating!
just found your channel, what a great video!
Happy #Apollo50th Tim!!!!
To save you 14 minutes, It was because the guy who drew the blueprints for the lunar lander ordered a pizza and it arrived while he was in the middle of drawing the rungs on the ladder and he fell asleep after he finished the pizza and forgot to draw the last few rungs.
I too have always wondered that very thing. Thank you!
Thank You, very useful information. And happy anniversary - 50 years from Neil's first step.
Thank you so much for explaining distance in the metric system... following this video was so much easier.
Already knew it, but its amazing too hear you explain it again 😀
I saw that years and and wondered about that long step! Thanks
I guess they practiced that before flight to get used to it.
Wow, I remember wondering about that ladder when I was a kid. Thanks for this one!
I've always wanted to hear the Pete Conrad "small step" quote!
Ayyy right in time for the 50th anniversary.
Thanks for this video, I was wondering about this very thing the other day.
That was EXACTLY what I’ve been wondering for quite a while too!
I watched it happen live as a kid. I remember NASA stating they weren't positive the first landing wouldn't be a suicide mission, they were not positively sure how deep the dust was on the moon everywhere. That was mentioned in papers or daily scuttlebutt.
David Forbes In 1961 Arthur C. Clarke wrote a SF Story "A Fall of Moondust" where it was postulated there were patches of VERY deep dust, based on the studies of dust descending from space. YECs said it proved the Universe was young! However, careful examination of the experiments carried out shewed that much of the dust was terrestrial in origin and that there was little from space - hence not so much on the Moon either.
At the time, prospective micrometeor & dust accumulation calculations suggested that the moon could be covered in an average of several meters of fluffy, almost liquid-like powder. I think it was Robert Heinlein who even wrote a story based on it, describing dust-pits and avalanches that could pour across the surface to bury or otherwise cripple vehicles, or lure a driver into a deep fall into a crater.
When the moon turned out to be much more bare, scientists had to go back to the drawing board on the matter, and a different theory/mechanism of surface dynamics emerged as the best. Of course, for years, the Young Earth Creationists were touting the lesser amount of dust as proof that the moon was only 6000 years old...
Love the detail!!! Very well done!
Nice! I'm helping work on the next lunar lander so I'll make sure the ladders are long enough this time now that we know more about the lunar surface 👍