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Apollo Video Photogrammetry Estimation Of Plume Impingement EffectsThe Constellation Project's planned return to the moon requires numerous landings at the same site. Since the top few centimeters are loosely packed regolith, plume impingement from the Lander ejects the granular material at high velocities. Much work is needed to understand the physics of plume impingement during landing in order to protect hardware surrounding the landing sites. While mostly qualitative in nature, the Apollo Lunar Module landing videos can provide a wealth of quantitative information using modem photogrammetry techniques. The authors have used the digitized videos to quantify plume impingement effects of the landing exhaust on the lunar surface. The dust ejection angle from the plume is estimated at 1-3 degrees. The lofted particle density is estimated at 10(exp 8)- 10(exp 13) particles per cubic meter. Additionally, evidence for ejection of large 10-15 cm sized objects and a dependence of ejection angle on thrust are presented. Further work is ongoing to continue quantitative analysis of the landing videos.
Document ID
20130012063
Acquisition Source
Kennedy Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Immer, Christopher (ASRC Aerospace Corp. Cocoa Beach, FL, United States)
Lane, John (ASRC Aerospace Corp. Cocoa Beach, FL, United States)
Metzger, Philip T. (NASA Kennedy Space Center Cocoa Beach, FL, United States)
Clements, Sandra (ASRC Aerospace Corp. Cocoa Beach, FL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 27, 2013
Publication Date
March 3, 2008
Subject Category
Communications And Radar
Report/Patent Number
KSC-2008-021
Meeting Information
Meeting: 11th Biennial ASCE Aerospace Division International Conference on Engineering, Construction and Operations in Challenging Environments
Location: Long Beach, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: March 3, 2008
End Date: March 5, 2008
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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