THE NATURE OF THE LUNAR SEISMIC ECHO,
Abstract
One of the interesting effects discovered during the recent Apollo 12 mission was the unexpectedly long duration of the Moon's seimic reaction to the imapct of the ascent stage of the lunar module. Instead of the expected few minutes, the oscillations continued for about 55 minutes. No less unexpected and indeed somewhat disconcerting was the reaction among the specialists who were immediately faced with the difficulty of explaining this effect. The specialist world, under such circumstances, is reminiscent of a beehive reacting to an unexpected intrusion. However, the seeming chaos of conflicting opinions here involves three attitudes: (1) disbelief in the instrumentation; (2) the desire to construct, without delay, a new theory; (3) the attempt to account for the new phenomenon on the basis of some old theory. The duration of the seismic oscillations is calculated directly in terms of a theory worked out by the author back in 1965 (the multiple-cascade fall of material ejected by the impact of a meteorite on the lunar surface) and it is indicated just what was responsible for the Apollo 12 effect.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0709968
Entities
People
- A. I. Mukhamedzhanov