Neil Armstrong: Why I Didn't Walk Far on Moon

When NPR's Robert Krulwich wondered aloud on his blog why Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked such a short distance on the moon—less than 100 yards—he got a surprise reply from none other than Armstrong himself. Among the reasons: NASA wanted them to stay within the range of the camera set up by Armstrong; it was hot—200 degrees Fahrenheit hot—and the astronauts weren't sure how long the coolant in their suits would last; they were too busy with experiments to go strolling.

Krulwich summarizes: "Basically, he says, we were part of a team and we were team players on a perilous, one-of-a-kind journey. Improvisation was not really an option." But he gets the feeling, "reading between the lines," that Armstrong would have loved to play. In fact, Armstrong writes: "I candidly admit that I knowingly and deliberately left the planned working area out of TV coverage to examine and photograph the interior crater walls." See the full post for Armstrong's pitch on why the US should return to the moon.

Source: www.newser.com...
More detail here: www.npr.org...

It was really, really hot on the moon, 200 degrees Fahrenheit. We needed protection. ~ Neil Armstrong

I thought the ATS gang might enjoy this information. My question, I thought space was absolute zero and I know the moon has no atmosphere; why was it so hot?

reply to post by Jason88


If you were in space and strayed too close to the sun, wouldn't you burn up? The astronauts were in the full glare of the sun with no protection. The sun's rays reflected off the surface of the moon. I don't think heat requires an atmosphere.

reply to post by Jason88


I would love the opportunity to go to the moon. I'd go for a huge walk, as long as my equipment would permit it.
Would be so keen to walk to the highest point, and have a look around.

Cheers
Brady

Originally posted by Jason88
My question, I thought space was absolute zero and I know the moon has no atmosphere; why was it so hot?

edit on 9-12-2010 by Jason88 because: formatting

Because it doesn't have an atmosphere. Ours acts as an insulator to help regulate the temperature. In the direct sunlight, the temps would be very hot and very cold out of the light, much like a desert.

www.universetoday.com...

A link that explains it in more detail.

Cool find.

the solar emitions from the sun in direct line of site would cause all sorts of problems
here are some estimites
500-600 degress at earths distence (gets colder the further away you get
5000-6000 degress outside the heliosphere in the "local fluff" (supernova exaust cloud)
100,000-1,000,000 degress outside our galaxy
estimates only as no ones been there

pretty hot place really

xploder

They were in a sunlit area so the radiated energy from the sun is continually bombarding their suits, without cooling systems the heat would build up inside the suit. Also, just in addition, space is not absolute zero, it is almost but not quite. Its about 2.7K in the coldest areas due to background radiation that cannot be avoided.

Heat on the moon

How cold is space?

Hope that helps.

I think the real reason he couldn't walk very far was because he would've wound up bumping into the matte painting at the edge of the movie set or tripping over one of those marked prop rocks!

That's the one drawback of being the first: You have to be the most careful.

Until that day, everything was just theory, with a lot of testing. No one knew 100% for sure if they had missed anything.

Another thing I learned in a documentary: The Astronauts had to be very careful not to trip, fall forward, and have that big glass face shield shatter on a rock. They must have not been too worried though, because in later missions you can see the astronauts jumping around woo-hoo!

No kidding! Having no atmosphere on the moon puts an astronaut right in the direct heat from the sun and radiation, I just thought we were far enough away from the sun we had a comfortable temperature, and it was generally freezing out there in our galactic neighborhood. I knew ATS could help me here. Thanks guys, and for the clarification space is not absolute zero.

it was hot, because of the sun, just like the dark side of the moon is cold. they didn't burn up because their suits are made of materials that have high melting points and are cooled down to bearable temps. by a cooling system.

Originally posted by XPLodER
the solar emitions from the sun in direct line of site would cause all sorts of problems
here are some estimites
500-600 degress at earths distence (gets colder the further away you get
5000-6000 degress outside the heliosphere in the "local fluff" (supernova exaust cloud)
100,000-1,000,000 degress outside our galaxy
estimates only as no ones been there

pretty hot place really

xploder

Im confused. could you explain this in more detail? The farther away from the sun you go, the hotter it gets? Hotter still outside the galaxy?

reply to post by randomname


there is no darkside to the moon. all sides of the moon get hit by the sun throughout the day(24 hours). if you mean the side not facing the sun at any given moment, then yes it would be really really really cold.


to op, that's also why the astronauts have coolant systems in their space suits.

reply to post by Jason88


Damn I'd be P'd off too...
Imagine going through all that training, the launch G's and days of travelling 350000kms in a confined space while peeing in a bag and then when you finally get their mummy says, "now stay where I can see you kiddies"

reply to post by optimus primal


I'm kinda of new at this, but I assumed astronauts would have a heating system because space is so cold... I guess I need to do more research. Thanks for cluing me in.

Question: I thought the moon didn't rotate that's why there is a dark side to it? /thinking of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon/

Edit to add: I feel like I should give a Homer Simpson, D'oh! The sun I had no idea it heated the moon, I just thought it was cold all the time... it looks cold in the sky.

lovely to hear from people like Neil Armstrong telling a bit of true history.

reply to post by Jason88


No, we only call it the dark side because we never see that side from earth..
It does get as much sun as the side we see...

Originally posted by backinblack
reply to post by Jason88

 

No, we only call it the dark side because we never see that side from earth..
It does get as much sun as the side we see...

And here, my whole life, I thought it was always dark. That's amazing it's sunny on the dark side of the moon. Cheers

i bet it was hot in all those clothes under spotlights for hours on end until kubrick got the shots right

You're exactly right black, the moon rotates at a rate similar to that of the earth so that it always apppears the same to us . Couple that with the moon being exactly the right diameter to cause a nearly perfect eclipse when passing between us and the sun, and then tell me there is no God. That it's all a coincidence. Really?

That's what Armstrong claims now, i'm pretty sure it was all those lunar aliens snapping at his ankles that convinced him that it was time to go back.