Nevada test site craters used for astronaut training
Links
- Document: Report (pdf)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
Craters produced by chemical and nuclear explosives at the Nevada Test Site were used to train astronauts before their lunar missions. The craters have characteristics suitable for reconnaissance-type field investigations. The Schooner test produced a crater about 300 m across and excavated more than 72 m of stratigraphic section deposited in a fairly regular fashion so that systematic observations yield systematic results. Other features common on the Moon, such as secondary craters and glass-coated rocks, are present at Schooner crater. Smaller explosive tests on Buckboard Mesa excavated rocks from three horizontal alteration zones within basalt flows so that the original sequence of the zones could be determined. One crater illustrated the characteristics of craters formed across vertical boundaries between rock units. Although the exercises at the Nevada Test Site were only a small part of the training of the astronauts, voice transcripts of Apollo missions 14, 16, and 17 show that the exercises contributed to astronaut performance on the Moon.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Nevada test site craters used for astronaut training |
| Series title | Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Year Published | 1977 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Description | 15 p. |
| First page | 719 |
| Last page | 733 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| Other Geospatial | Nevada Test Site |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |