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Heat Flow Experiment

NASA experiment measuring heat loss from the Moon's interior.

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Heat Flow Experiment

NASA/JSC · Public domain

The instrument on Apollo 16 was rendered inoperable after its cable was broken, and the Apollo 13 instrument never reached the surface.[1] A NASA lunar science experiment designated the Heat Flow Experiment was designed to quantify the rate at which heat is lost from the Moon's surface.[1]

Key facts and history

The chosen design was a cylindrical heater paired with a temperature sensor, inserted into the subsurface to avoid surface temperature fluctuations.[2] Martin Marietta led development of the drill needed to place the probes below the regolith surface.[3] A small committee was formed to explore thermal measurement approaches, and it determined that the experiment should concentrate on heat flow emanating from the Moon's interior.[4] On Apollo 15, commander David Scott drilled the first borehole to 170 cm and the second to only 100 cm, leaving that probe not fully below the surface.[5]

On Apollo 16, Charles Duke drilled to a depth of 3 m, but the experiment was rendered inoperable when John Young tripped over the connecting cable, tearing it.[6][7]

What the cited sources add

The NASA technical report by Langseth (1977) states the probes each had twelve thermometers of exceptional accuracy and stability, recording temperatures down to 2.5 m.[8] That report notes the data provided a history of solar energy interaction with the lunar surface and heat flow from the deep interior.[8] The Langseth report also states the interpretation gave direct measurements of the mean temperature gradient due to interior heat flow at the Apollo 15 and Apollo 17 sites.[8] A 1965 NASA contractor report by Clark studied the feasibility of measuring lunar heat flow at the surface or in a shallow hole, including steady periodic temperatures and the blanket measurement method.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Heat Flow Experiment" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Heat Flow Experiment" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977; Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977; Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977; Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977; Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Heat Flow Experiment" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977; Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Heat Flow Experiment" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977; Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977; Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Heat Flow Experiment" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977; "Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report", history.nasa.gov; Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977; "Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report", history.nasa.gov; Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977; "Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report", history.nasa.gov (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Heat Flow Experiment" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ulivi, "Lunar Exploration: Human Pioneers and Robotic Surveyors", Springer-praxs, 2004, p. 172 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Heat Flow Experiment" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Apollo 16 Flight Journal – Apollo 16 Flight Summary", history.nasa.gov; Ulivi, "Lunar Exploration: Human Pioneers and Robotic Surveyors", Springer-praxs, 2004, p. 172; Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977; Ulivi, "Lunar Exploration: Human Pioneers and Robotic Surveyors", Springer-praxs, 2004, p. 172 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Langseth, "Lunar heat-flow experiment", NASA, 1977. facts only, no text reused. ntrs.nasa.gov
  9. Clark, "Some calculations pertaining to the feasibility of measuring lunar heat flow Final report", NASA, 1965. facts only, no text reused. ntrs.nasa.gov

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Heat Flow Experiment (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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