Following the 'Short Ladder' thread where a question was asked that had not been asked before, I thought it would be fun for the regulars to try to come up with more questions of the same type.

I'm trying hard to think of one right now, but it is difficult. Any offers?

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I'm assuming these should be of a conspiracy bent?

Not necessarily, just interesting questions about Apollo that never get asked.

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Um, who had the largest shoe size on the moon?

Actually, don't recall it being asked... were the spacesuits custom fit? Were they unique, or did they just expand enough for the bigger astronauts (not that any of them were huge, or anything).

Did the majority of the astronauts who went to the Moon lose weight or gain weight ? Dunno if its been asked before, I'm just curious.

First they gained weight, then lost it all for a few days, then gained back some, then a little more, then lost it all again for a few more days, then got it all back in the end.

Ah, the Aldrin's reduced-gravity diet plan. I should have known it would just turn out to be a fad. :P

Shoes. The overshoes came in one size, if memory serves. They did not have to fit tightly. The inner, integral boots looked very Osmondish and were custom-fitted.

As to weight, the Bad Astronomer is correct. Since the original intent obviously was whether they lost mass, I think the answer would be interesting. No one really liked defecating with the Apollo waste management system, and so several astronauts vowed to put the low-residue diet to the test and "hold it" until the end of the mission. I doubt many succeeded. Draw whatever conclusion you think appropriate.

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"Facts are stubborn things." --John Adams
Clavius Moon Base

I agree with Jay on the lunar overshoes: pretty sure they were 'one size fits all'. On the other hand, the Apollo spacesuits were custom fitted for each astronaut (unlike modern Shuttle suits which come in small, medium and large and are then custom adjusted to fit whoever is using them on a particular mission). Approximately 1200 pattern-piecs were required to make each suit, each piece derived from the body measurements of the astronaut for whom the suit was intended. The suit gloves were custom-made with measurements taken from plaster casts of of the astronaut's hand. The suit boots were likewise tailored to the feet of each individual wearer.

Which I guess brings us back to the earlier question: who did have the biggest feet on the Moon? (I've a vague memory of reading somehwere that Pete Conrad had the largest shoe size, but I'm not sure about that)

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Hehe, this is fun. Thanks for the answers

Ok, what if an astronaut needed to blow his nose? Did they bring kleenex along? Is there a kleenex box littering the moon somewhere?

For the woo-woo types who believe that the moon is hollow and inhabited.

Why was the only astronaut (Cooper) who believed/believes in UFOs/alien visitations/Area 51 not given a moon flight, considering he was the back-up commander for Apollo 10?

Heh oops, again. ops:
Now I'm an idiot. #-o

Blowing their noses when they were in the EMU would have been difficult, although I think Kucharek once pointed out that they had a strip inside their helmets that they could scratch their noses on!

But for the full drama of a head cold in space, read the mission reports for Apollo 7. Good ol' Captain Grumpy!

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"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day." - Douglas Adams

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[quote="AGN Fuel"]IIRC, the astronauts could hold the side of the nose against the scratching pad to close one nostril. Allowing a good blow into the helmet.

OK here’s my question. On some Saturn 5 launch films (sorry I don’t have a reference), as the rocket gets higher into the atmosphere the exhaust plume naturally spreads out. At some point the plume appears to actually move ahead of the engine bell and up to the lower part of the rocket. Is this just camera angles, a real phenomenon or a revealing mistake made by “whistle blowers” at NASA?

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The plume sneaking up the tail of the rocket is a real phenomenon.

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"Facts are stubborn things." --John Adams
Clavius Moon Base

Actually, I've always kind of wondered about that. So the questions are: What causes it, and is it dangerous?
I assume it's caused by the reduced atmospheric pressure at altitude. Or are the fins just getting really hot?

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What kind of driver's license did you need to drive the crawler?

(At least here, the license specifies max vehicle weight...)

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"We do not require reality to conform to the expectations of the ignorant"

1. You would never be pulled over for speeding.
2. The copper would need a cherrypicker to lean in the window to ask for your licence.
3. If you wanted to get through a police blockade, I'm not sure they could stop you.
4. "Step out of the vehicle please, Sir".
"What, are you out of your mind? It's a 40 foot drop!"
5. It is a safe vehicle, but a real chore to reverse park.
6. An insurance companies dream - not a popular choice for joyriders.

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"I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day." - Douglas Adams

"Certainly, in the topsy-turvy world of heavy rock, having a good solid piece of wood in your hand is often useful." - Ian Faith

Of course, the answer is in Apollo By the Numbers in the Crew Weight History section. ;-)

Interestingly, the only two who gained weight were the moonwalkers of Apollo 14, Shepard and Mitchell. I once asked Mitchell about this, but can't remember or find his answer again.

Harald

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"Flying in space is risky business, but just staying on this planet is risky business too." - John Young, astronaut

AFAIK, the lunar overshoes were one-size-fits-all.
Here a x-ray of Neil Armstrong's boots.
Custom fit. Todays EMU suits have standard size and you can insert rings at body, arms and legs to fit different sizes. The gloves are still custom made.

Harald

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"Flying in space is risky business, but just staying on this planet is risky business too." - John Young, astronaut

Blowing into something was impossible with the helmet. But, as Gene Cernan demostrates here, you could at least scratch it.

Harald

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"Flying in space is risky business, but just staying on this planet is risky business too." - John Young, astronaut

Okay. We know that the lunar commanders of the last missions were rather poor drivers (They all dented the Lunar Rover's fender?) But were they prepared? Did the Lunar rover have a spare wheel in case of accidents?

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It must be fun to lead a life completely unburdened by reality. --- JayUtah

You can't reason an irrational person out of an irrational belief. --- Noclevername

Apollo: The History and the Hoax
Enter the World of Athran

No. In general, the whole Apollo stuff had no spare parts. In an early stage of the project, it was planned to have servicable systems. But analysis showed that putting efforts into reliability and redundancy would be much better. So they went this way.
It's hard to imagine how an LRV tire (wire mesh) could break so replacing it would fix the problem. Other things could break easier. There was a motor in every wheel and they had four-wheel steering. That's redundancy.
And they were never allowed to go father than their consumables would allow them to walk back to the LM in case the LRV broke down.

Harald

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"Flying in space is risky business, but just staying on this planet is risky business too." - John Young, astronaut

like a flat? the wheels were made of wire mesh (no tyres) so that would have been impossible...

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Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes? -- Groucho Marx

I already knew that, I was actually thinking more of a dent. Considering they banged into things and did in the fender, what would have happened if they have hit something and damaged the wheel beyond repair.

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Howling from the Shadows

It must be fun to lead a life completely unburdened by reality. --- JayUtah

You can't reason an irrational person out of an irrational belief. --- Noclevername

Apollo: The History and the Hoax
Enter the World of Athran

As I said: Either keep on rolling on three wheels or take a stroll.

Harald

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"Flying in space is risky business, but just staying on this planet is risky business too." - John Young, astronaut

well, since i don't think they brought spares, given the ever present concerns about weight, i reckon in that case they would've had to abandon it. i figure the desing of the wheels was the way it was in order to minimize the risks of something like that happening. didn't they have a titanium inner frame to increase the strength even more?

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Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes? -- Groucho Marx

genau...

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Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes? -- Groucho Marx

I'm imagining a low-speed chase that would put O.J. Simpson's to shame...

I have a vague memory that the rover missions were designed that, if worse came to worse, the astronauts had enough time to walk back. True?

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