Apollo 17
Day 4, part 2: Light flash experiment
Corrected Transcript and Commentary Copyright © 2017-2022 by W. David Woods and Ben Feist. All rights reserved.
Last updated 2022-03-30
068:04:27 Schmitt: Houston, 17.
068:04:30 Overmyer: Go ahead, 17.
068:04:33 Schmitt: Okay, Bob, we're getting ready for the ALFMED. I just took a red-filter and a blue-filter pictures, - On frame 41 now, with the 35-millimeter - pictures of the Earth. And I took them one stop smaller - that is, more open - than the lightmeter said, hoping to compensate for the small Earth. The Earth just barely fills the most inner - the innermost circle of the spotmeter. Also, there's a very strong band of clouds, shaped sort of like a narrow fir tree, with a base about 20 degrees of longitude west of Baja California, that extends up, I believe, into the vicinity of Hawaii. And the top terminates in a very strong northern cyclone pattern.
AS17-162-24072 - Earth, red filter - uncorrected JSC scan
AS17-162-24073 - Earth, blue filter - uncorrected JSC scan
068:05:36 Overmyer: Roger, Jack. Was your magazine Sierra Sierra?
068:05:45 Schmitt: That's affirm. Sierra Sierra.
068:05:48 Overmyer: Roger, Jack. And you say that cloud is right - that cloud area is right near Baja California? I've got a picture of it here in front of me, from one of the satellites.
068:05:58 Schmitt: No, it's about 20 degrees west - longitude degrees west of that.
068:06:05 Overmyer: Yeah. Okay, we've got it on the spot here.
068:06:07 Schmitt: And maybe even more than that. Okay, maybe even more than that. It's [long pause.] It might be as much as 40 degrees west, and - Actually, Hawaii may be on the west side of that. It's a little hard to tell. It's close enough to the LM that it's hard to say.
068:06:40 Overmyer: Roger, Jack. I think I've got it on our map here. It shows a pretty heavy dense cloud area right down in that area you're talking about. [Long pause.]
068:07:11 - This is Apollo Control at 68 hours, 7 minutes. ALFMED is Apollo Light Flash Moving...
068:07:20 Cernan: Okay, Bob. For the ALFMED, CDR will be in the left seat. CMP will be in the center seat with the ALFMED. For our reporting, when we get to VOX, we'll just call out our first names to shorten it and the comments following. And Jack will be recording.
068:07:43 Overmyer: Roger. We'll be listening.
068:07:51 - That's the Apollo Light Flash Moving Emulsion Detector, associated with the visual light flash phenomenon that most crews have reported on past missions, seeing points of light in their eyes when their eyes were closed. There're a couple of theories proposed on the origin of the flashes. One is that they are caused by cosmic rays. The other is that they are high energy atomic particles which enter the eyeball or ionize upon collision with the retina or cerebral cortex. The ALFMED is an emulsion plate device that Ron Evans will wear. It will cover the front and sides of his head and will provide information on time, strength and path of particles penetrating the emulsion plates. The other two crewmen will wear eye shields. This test will last for approximately an hour. And the data on the - recorded by the ALFMED device will be correlated with the crewmen's verbal reports on flash observations.
068:10:52 Evans: Okay, wait a minute. Houston, how do you read on VOX with the lightweight headset?
068:10:55 Overmyer: Read you loud and clear, Ron.
068:10:59 Evans: Okay. [Long pause.]
068:11:12 Evans: Yeah. Wait a minute. Let me get this little old box set to go here, first.
068:11:19 Overmyer: Okay. [Pause.]
068:11:29 Evans: Yeah. [Long pause.]
068:12:00 Evans: Okay, Utility Power is Off. [Pause.]
068:12:10 Evans: Yeah. Power switch is Off. [Pause.] Okay, it's connected, now.
068:12:23 Evans: Okay, Utility Power is On. Okay. [Pause.] Let me get strapped in here, somehow, or I'll float all over.
068:14:08 Evans: [Music] Okay, let's see.
068:14:21 Evans: Uh huh, I think I can. [Long pause.]
068:14:49 Evans: Okay, my blindfold's going on, now. [Long pause.]
068:15:09 Evans: Okay. Sounds like they clipped. Okay, somebody will have to help me put this thing on now; yeah, just kind of - like so, yeah. It goes around the old [garble]. [Long pause.]
068:16:18 Evans: [Garble] yes, but you ought to [garble] kind of maintain your head in the same position, if you can. [Long pause.]
068:17:19 Evans: [Garble] to operate now? [Long pause.]
068:17:43 Evans: No, just turn it down a little bit. [Long pause.]
068:18:18 Evans: Go to operate while you're taking the pictures there [chuckle]. [Long pause.]
068:18:45 Cernan: Hello, Houston. CDR put his blindfold on at 68:18.
068:18:51 Overmyer: Okay, we copy that. [Pause.]
068:18:57 Cernan: And how do you read me in VOX, Bob? This is Gene.
068:19:00 Overmyer: Read you loud and clear, Gene.
068:19:04 Cernan: Okay, I'm conducting the experiment.
068:19:09 Schmitt: And the - frame - Sierra Sierra is now at 45. I got two shots. One - two from the side and two from the bottom.
AS17-162-24074 - Evans wearing Light Flash Detector - JSC scan
AS17-162-24075 - Evans wearing Light Flash Detector - JSC scan
AS17-162-24076 - Evans wearing Light Flash Detector - JSC scan
AS17-162-24077 - Evans wearing Light Flash Detector - JSC scan
068:19:21 Overmyer: Roger. We copy.
068:19:26 Evans: Hey, looks like a countdown for ready to go, Jack?
068:19:35 Cernan: Hey, Bob, does it make any difference if your eyes are opened or closed?
068:19:40 Overmyer: (Chuckle) it may be a personal thing, Gene. I - This is Stu. I had to have my eyes closed but give it either way.
068:19:58 Cernan: Okay; thank you.
068:20:07 Evans: Okay, we'll count down to start. 3, 2, 1...
068:20:13 Evans: Mark it. It's buzzing. [Long pause.]
068:25:17 Cernan: Change it. The other side is not very good.
068:25:25 Evans: [Garble] two. [Long pause.]
068:26:08 Cernan: Mark. Gene. I've got a series of random lines, which do not appear to be the width of my field of view, that are moving like a flashing horizon with thunderstorms on the horizon. They're dimly flashing, and they're moving across the eye from left to right and from top to bottom, individually. Both eyes. It's stopped now.
068:27:02 Cernan: Mark, this is Gene again. Going from the upper left to the bottom right. Lines of the same sort of thing. Dimly lit flashing horizon-type flashes. But they're linear. They're linear, and they tend to come from the - either the upper left or the upper right and work their way downward. Now they've stopped. Both eyes.
068:28:48 Cernan: Mark. Gene again. Both eyes. This time the same flashes on the horizon, but they don't seem to be moving out of both eyes. Tend to be up at the tops of both eyes. Just rapid, sequential, lightning-like flashes. And they've stopped.
068:29:57 Cernan: Mark. Gene again. Similar type of flashes. They don't seem to be moving, but they're coming from the right of the right eye and from the upper left of the right eye. And I can actually see an outline of a - of a curved horizon, and the flashes are coming out from behind it. They've stopped. [Long pause.]
068:30:37 - This is Apollo Control at 68 hours, 30 minutes. Distance from Earth 183,910 nautical miles [340,601 km].
068:30:45 Cernan: Mark. Gene again. I see - peripherally out of my right eye - I cannot see these flashes - but I can see peripherally the right-hand and upper-right-hand side of my right eye being lit up.
068:31:13 - Distance, 183,920 nautical miles [340,620 km]; velocity, 2,504 feet per second [763 m/s].
068:31:46 Cernan: Pardon? This last one? They were peripherally I couldn't see them all I know is that there was some light out peripherally out - yes - but a flashing glow. Oh man, there is a good one the left eye right in the middle it's almost a purple flash. It's still going right in the middle of my eye and it's coming out from behind a horizon that is almost. It starts out as a semicircle and then folds in to a point like on a pencil, and then it disappears. That's the horizon and the light is flashing from behind it. It's gone.
068:33:31 Overmyer: Hey, Gene, Houston.
068:33:35 Cernan: Go ahead.
068:33:36 Overmyer: Okay. According to all our experts here, the phenomena you're describing is pretty much the phosphene effect - sort of like when you rub your eyes or squint your eyes too hard - because the effect is lasting too long. The streaks or the flashing that we're looking for are very fast, and they do not remain as a scene to your eye. And I guess the only thing we could say would be to maybe either relax your squint a little bit or to - if the blindfold's on exceptionally tight. I know this sounds kind of screwy, but those are the words that we would like to - like to say to you. But the actual phenomena we're looking for will be a very short-lived phenomenon. It will either be a flash or a very fast streak. Something along this - we're not trying to load the data, but we feel you're describing a different phenomena.
068:35:20 Cernan: Stu, we lost all that last conversation. You better repeat it.
068:35:26 Overmyer: Okay, Gene. Sorry about that, and here I thought I had waxed so eloquently. But the - the effect you're describing is an effect that can come from rubbing your eyes or perhaps squinting too hard. But the effect we're looking for - and I guess we're really not trying to load the data - but the effect that we're looking for is a very short-lived phenomena and would not...
068:35:50 Evans: Mark. Ron. I got one. In the right eye, Coming from - back - going towards [garble]. Very narrow streak.
068:36:10 Overmyer: And, Gene, our only words of wisdom are try to relax the - the eyes a little bit or if you have the blindfold on exceptionally tight, you might work on that. But the - just - I guess sort of relax and see if we can see the other - the other phenomena.
068:39:26 Evans: Mark, Ron. One about 12 o'clock in the right eye; looked like it was just a spot.
068:42:43 Evans: How about 15 seconds ago. It's so dim now I hardly noticed what it was, but, kinda started in the left eye and just a flash in the left eye and then a flash in the right eye, very dim. Going left, left to right.
068:44:38 Evans: Mark. Can't tell if it's right or left eye. Looks like it's almost between the two eyes. There's a...
068:44:47 Evans: Mark. One in the left eye. Just about right in the center. Spot; no streak or anything, just a spot. First spot seemed to be right between the two eyes, upper half of the field of view.
068:48:42 Cernan: Mark; Gene. Streak from the upper right, of the right eye, down to about the middle.
068:50:23 Evans: Mark; Ron. About 8 o'clock [garble] diameter out, just a bright flash; it's the brightest flash I've seen yet. Left eye.
068:50:43 Cernan: Just about a second or two after Ron said "Mark," I saw a vertical bright line in the left side of the left eye; just flashed. [Long pause.]
068:51:36 Evans: It was the greatest intensity - the intensity on that last one I had - but - the brightness was there, but it was kind of dull glow to it. It wasn't a - a spot that you could really focus on.
068:53:21 Evans: Mark; Ron. Left eye, about 09:30, half way...
068:53:28 Cernan: Mark...
068:53:29 Evans: ...to the left.
068:53:30 Cernan: ...Gene. Left eye, very bright spot; left eye, left side about halfway in towards the middle. That was the brightest one I've seen, and it was just a spot.
068:53:58 Evans: Ron. The intensity of the last one I had was - oh, a fourth of the bright one I had before that.
068:54:17 Evans: Spot. Yes, on the left eye. [Long pause.]
068:55:08 Evans: Mark about 5 seconds ago, about 6 o'clock in the right eye.
068:55:14 Evans: Mark. Right between the two eyes, seemed like. Both spots.
068:55:26 Cernan: Mark; Gene. A sharp line from the center of the left eye to the upper left-hand - upper left-hand side. [Long pause.]
068:56:41 Cernan: Mark; Gene. It's a very short - very short line, upper left hand of left eye going towards the right. [Long pause.]
068:57:10 - This is Apollo Control at 68 hours 57 minutes. Apollo 17's distance from Earth is 184,548 nautical miles [341,783 km], traveling at a speed of 2,488 feet per second [758 m/s].
068:57:32 Cernan: Mark; Gene. Upper right eye, tangential to my eye, just a very short line. Moving...
068:57:44 Evans: Mark; Ron. Oh, a fourth of a diameter out in the right eye. Bright spot. Seemed like it was coming in. I could see the spot and then the streak. It went from that point kind of in - or up, I guess.
068:59:53 Cernan: Mark; Gene. A dull flash on the bottom inside corner of the right eye. Correction...
069:00:02 Evans: Mark; Ron. Go ahead, Gene.
069:00:03 Cernan: Okay. Correction, Gene. That was on the left eye, that last one.
069:00:12 Evans: The last one for Ron was at 10 o'clock. Three-fourths of the diameter out. Just a - [garble] was only about an eighth of an inch in diameter. Right eye.
069:03:05 Cernan: Mark; Gene.
069:03:06 Cernan: Mark again. A flash - first flash was in the left eye on the left side. It went vertal - vertically up and away. And following that was a flash in the identically same spot. It was a line flash, up and away. On the left side of each eye, and it went up in both cases, but they were split by about 2 seconds.
AS17-148-22760 - 345,509 km Australia, Antarctica - JSC scan
069:08:41 Evans: Mark; Ron. A fourth of the diameter out at 3 o'clock in the right eye. I mean a half a diameter - half a radius; put it that way.
069:08:52 Cernan: Mark; Gene. A flash across the bottom of the right eye coming inward from left to right.
069:09:12 Evans: On the last one, it looked like it was a...
069:09:15 Cernan: Mark; Gene. Just a spot flash in the bottom of the left eye.
069:09:27 Evans: This is Ron. On my last one, it was just a spot flash. No direction to it at all.
069:09:57 Evans: Ron; Mark, Mark; Ron. When I first said the word - it kind of looks like a - almost a sine wave transition from the corner upper at 10 o'clock in the right eye to about 2 o'clock in the left eye. Right between the two of them. The sine wave was - maybe two wiggles in it, and it was about a fourth of an inch long. Going from right to left, yes. And going into the left at about 2 o'clock.
069:10:56 Cernan: Turn that music higher.
069:10:59 Evans: Yes. [Long pause.]
069:11:20 Evans: Mark; Ron. Seems like I looked up, and as I looked up, there was one in the left eye about 12 o'clock just a flash. On the outer periphery.
069:15:34 - This is Apollo Control at 69 hours, 15 minutes. Apollo 17's distance from Earth, 184,987 nautical miles [342,596 km]. Velocity, 2,477 feet per second [755 m/s].
069:18:02 Evans: Mark; Ron. [Garble] down about 06:30; just a flash. Right eye. [Long pause.]
069:18:42 Evans: Mark; Ron. Left eye, about 03:30, three-quarters of the radius out. A very dim flash. About 03:30. [Long pause.]
069:19:44 Evans: Mark; Ron. Left eye. Starting at 5 o'clock on the circumference going to 3 o'clock at about three-quarter diameter - three-quarter radius, I mean. Just a straight line.
069:20:14 Evans: Did I say left eye? I guess I did. Okay, let's [garble]. [Long pause.]
069:21:11 Cernan: Okay, the motor quit. Okay.
069:21:20 Cernan: Is that it?
069:21:28 Evans: Yes, I can get that, Gene. [Long pause.]
069:21:46 Evans: Okay, you want to take a picture of it first? Okay, Power [garble] Okay, stand by. 3, 2, 1...
069:22:00 Evans: Mark it. Power switch is Off. [Long pause.]
069:22:28 Cernan: Say, Bob or Stu.
069:22:31 Overmyer: Roger. Go ahead.
069:22:35 Cernan: Okay, add - to add to today. Not last night, but - I guess the first night I was in bed - I definitely saw some of these - because I had a hard time going to bed, to start with - I saw some of the same peripheral horizon-type things you said were not the type of data you were looking for; but I also saw a - some sets of the streaks. And probably the one most imposing thing I remember is - and the last one I remember before falling asleep - was the fact that there was a very bright spot that flashed right between my eyes like a very bright headlight - like a train coming at you, only with a flash. It's difficult probably to estimate the frequency of any of those because I was in a - sort of a sleep-hazy mode.
069:23:39 Overmyer: Roger.
069:23:43 Cernan: But then, as today, I saw some that flashed and lit up the horizon and some that lit up peripherally; and I guess, as you say, that's a different kind of data, but I did see them there and they impressed me.
069:24:00 Overmyer: Okay. We got all that, Gene.
069:24:08 Evans: And it might be interesting to know I've never seen it before today.
069:24:31 Overmyer: Hey, Gene, we appreciate all the data. We were just trying to make the data fit the curve; you know the old trick.
069:24:40 Cernan: Okay, I just wanted you to - just told them like we saw them. That's all.
069:24:47 Overmyer: Roger.
069:24:52 Cernan: I will say one thing, though; no question in my mind but that they're there. Last trip I took, I guess I just wasn't looking for them or paying any attention to them. Maybe they were there and I ignored them because of other things. But they're there.
069:25:11 Schmitt: Okay, all you flash bugs down there - or flashbulbs I guess is the word - frame 50. I just took four pictures to show - two on the side and two on the bottom - to show the position of the ALFMED, and one of them of each set was focused on the ALFMED. The others were focused on the other - the other set was focused on the struts.
AS17-162-24078 - Evans wearing Light Flash Detector - JSC scan
AS17-162-24079 - Evans wearing Light Flash Detector. Cernan in the background - JSC scan
AS17-162-24080 - Evans wearing Light Flash Detector - JSC scan
AS17-162-24081 - Evans wearing Light Flash Detector - JSC scan
069:25:39 Overmyer: Roger, Jack.
069:25:48 Schmitt: And when you don't have anything else to do, why don't you have somebody predict where the S-IVB is. I think I've got her spotted - behind us and above us with respect to the Earth and our travel from it.
069:26:02 Overmyer: FIDO just went out and shot himself, but we'll get working on it.
069:26:08 Schmitt: Oh, don't worry about it. Shoot. I thought you guys might have an idea off-the-cuff there.
069:26:13 Overmyer: No, what's humorous on this, Jack, is they have really been working on that S-IVB impact point, and they've really been - it's been a - a real difficult problem for them so far.
069:26:24 Schmitt: I'll tell you, I bet you Ron could give you a star sighting on it [laughter]. I looked at it through the monocular and sure looks like the S-IVB.
069:26:37 Overmyer: Jack, we're not doubting you at all. We could probably start cranking it right now.
069:26:47 Overmyer: Jack, are you sto - you all stowing the ALFMED now or are you done?
069:26:53 Evans: What's that, Bob?
069:26:54 Overmyer: Are you all done with the ALFMED now, Ron?
069:26:59 Evans: Yes, I've got to get it to - get the plate moved back down there yet.
069:27:03 Overmyer: Okay, Ron...
069:27:04 Evans: [Garble] get the blindfold off first so I can see what I'm doing.
069:27:08 Overmyer: Roger. I just want you to know. We've got a real long update coming up to you here on the LOI abort charts and that - and it's going to be, probably, a difficult read-up. And you're the most familiar with the charts; you probably would want to take them. But whenever you want to take them, they are on - charts on page 3-81, 3-82, and then the cue card for LOI limits. Whenever you want to take them. It will be a lengthy one.
069:27:36 Evans: Stand by, Bob. Let us get squared away from the ALFMED; then we can get going on that.
069:27:41 Overmyer: No, I don't want to hurry you, Ron. I just want you to know what - when - just get yourself comfortable and be ready to take them whenever you want them. It's going to be a lengthy time, though.
069:27:54 Cernan: Hey, Bob, I'm looking at what - what Jack was talking about; and it's definitely not a particle that's nearby because there is another one I can look at and get a three-dimensional comparison with. It is a - it is a bright object, and it's obviously rotating because it's flashing. It's way out in the distance, as I say, because there are particles that are close by and it's obviously not one of those. It's apparently rotating in a very rhythmic fashion because the flashes come around almost - almost on-time. And it's as we look back at the Earth, it's up at about 11:00 about - oh, maybe 10 or 12 Earth diameters. I don't know whether that does you any good, but there is something out there.
069:28:51 Overmyer: Roger. We don't doubt it, Gene. And we might work out a set of gimbal angles or something here; maybe we can get a look at it through the optics.
069:29:03 Cernan: Okay. And I - I - I just want to emphasize that it's definitely not - not one of these particles that tends to look like a star out there. It's something physical in the distance. [Long pause.]
069:29:48 Cernan: [Laughter.] Oh, yes. [Pause.]
069:30:08 SC: [Garble] thing off.
069:30:14 Evans: Yes, guess I am.
069:30:29 Overmyer: Hey, Gene. If you can call up a Noun 20 so we know the spacecraft attitude, and if you can reference the object you're looking at out of your window, with - with respect to body axis and let us look at your - your - give us a mark, somehow, and give us your Noun 20s, we can try and get a tie-in and start locating - locating this object down for you.
069:30:58 Cernan: Okay, I'm looking it out - looking at it out the center window - the hatch window - and I'll give you a hack when it crosses the XX axis at the center window; and I guess it's up maybe 45 degrees
069:31:18 Overmyer: Okay, give us a hack and we're copying your Noun 20s right now.
069:31:26 Cernan: Okay, Jack says pitched up about 30 degrees but...
069:31:30 Schmitt: No. 45 because...
069:31:31 Cernan: Yes, he agrees. It's 45 degrees pitched up, and I'll give you a hack when it crosses the XX axis. [Long pause.]
069:31:52 Cernan: Okay...
069:31:53 Cernan: Mark it. It just crossed through the...
069:31:56 Overmyer: Mark. We got it.
069:31:57 Cernan: ...let's call it the X-Z plane of the spacecraft. One unique thing about it, Bob, is that it's got two flashes. As it comes around in - in rhythmic fashion, you get a very bright flash; and then you get a dull flash. And then it'll come around with a bright flash, and then a dull flash.
069:32:19 Schmitt: That's the side and - of the S-IVB - and then the engine bell, Gene.
069:32:34 Schmitt: The commander doesn't think that I can see the engine bell on that thing.
069:32:39 Overmyer: Roger, Jack. is that with the monocular you're looking at it?
069:32:46 Cernan: He couldn't see the engine bell if he had 10 monoculars.
069:32:54 Evans: Okay. I've got the cable restowed now.
069:33:00 Overmyer: Say again, Ron.
069:33:11 Evans: And, Gene, where's your blindfold? [Garble].
069:35:25 Schmitt: Bob, couple of revolutions ago when I was looking at it, I had a much brighter view and I believe I was looking at it broadside. It looks to me like it may be flashing more or less end-on now. It's much, not - not as bright, although it's getting brighter. But it's not as bright now as it was a while ago.
069:35:50 Overmyer: Roger, Jack. [Long pause.]
069:36:16 Schmitt: [Garble] we've actually been noticing that, I think, for about 24 hours or so. I just - hadn't put it together as maybe being the S-IVB. I thought it was just some other particle out there.
069:36:28 Overmyer: Roger, Jack.
069:36:31 Cernan: Hey, Robert, what's the final Cowboys score?
069:36:35 Overmyer: Okay; I was just going to update that. The Cowboys won it 34 to 24. And by winning it, they wrap up the wild-card slot in the NFC; and so both Washington and Dallas will be in the playoffs.
069:36:54 Cernan: Sounds good. [Long pause.]
069:37:17 Schmitt: Bob, that line of clouds I called a fir tree pattern that swings up towards Hawaii - Hawaii, if you will - has - also has a mushroom pattern on the top. It has the appearance as if two major air masses, one going from west to east and the other from east to west, have converged along that line, and the joint movement of air at the interface being south to north. And up in the area of Hawaii, I think, it tends to mushroom so that the pattern then goes back to flow from west to east on the east side and from east to west on the west side.
069:38:18 Overmyer: Roger. [Pause.]
069:38:27 Schmitt: In a little while, we'll probably get a pretty good look at a - what looks like a very concentrated intense storm that, I think, is just - east...
069:39:09 Evans: [Garble] And then we'll put them, once we get updated a little bit. Yes, I'll get out of VOX in a minute. [Long pause.]
069:40:28 Schmitt: I was looking for the Flight Plan and stuff. And the little books. [Pause.]
069:40:50 Schmitt: Say, Bob.
069:40:52 Overmyer: Go ahead.
069:41:11 Schmitt: Houston, 17. How do you read?
069:41:14 Overmyer: Go ahead, Jack. Read you loud and clear.
069:41:19 Cernan: Okay, Bob, you want to update the LOI card and Flight Plan 3-82 and 3-81; is that right?
069:41:31 Overmyer: That's affirmative.
069:41:36 Cernan: Which one do you want to start on?
069:41:39 Overmyer: I would say 3-81 is the most difficult one to start on.
069:41:50 Cernan: Okay, in that case, why don't you start on the board - on the cue card?
069:41:57 Overmyer: Okay. We can start on the cue card. Your - your druthers.
069:42:03 Cernan: Yes, go ahead. I'm ready.
069:42:05 Overmyer: Okay, on the LOI limits. The V
GO column - let's go right down the VGO column; I think that would be the easiest way to do it. Where it says, "V
GO 2980," change that to "2986".
069:42:31 Cernan: Why don't you just keep going?
069:42:33 Overmyer: Okay. The next one going straight down the line, "2721, 2521, and 2316". That's, all the changes on the V
GO line.
069:42:57 Cernan: Okay; and all those changes were in Mode I?
069:43:02 Overmyer: That's affirmative.
069:43:06 Cernan: Okay, I got 2986, 2721, 2521, 2316.
069:43:13 Overmyer: Roger. Now under the burn time column, the first one opposite the 2986, the burn time remains the same. Do not change that one. The next one changes...
069:43:35 Cernan: Go ahead.
069:43:36 Overmyer: Zero plus 40.
069:43:39 Cernan: Which one is that, Bob? I missed you.
069:43:41 Overmyer: Okay. Where it says, "0 plus 28," change that to "0 plus 40".
069:43:56 Cernan: Okay, press on through them all now.
069:43:59 Overmyer: Change the "0 plus 53" one to "1 plus 10". Change the "1 plus 31" to the number "1 plus 40". Over.
069:44:18 Cernan: Okay. I got - in order - burn time 0, and then 0 plus 40, 1 plus 10, and 1 plus 40.
069:44:26 Overmyer: Roger. V-measured column: the first one, the zero does not change. The next one - in this order: "265, 465, and 670". Over.
069:44:55 Cernan: Okay. I got 0, 265, 465, and 670.
069:44:59 Overmyer: That's affirmative, Gene. That's the changes to the LOI limits cue card.
069:45:14 Cernan: Okay, Bob, I think we got all that. I guess Delta-V measured down there in the bottom - 2980, should be 2986, huh?
069:45:31 Overmyer: Roger. We felt that wasn't - that - that is - correct. To be technically correct, it should be 2986 at that last one.
069:45:46 Cernan: Okay, I guess we're coming in just a sukosh hotter, huh?
069:45:52 Overmyer: That's affirmative.
069:46:05 Overmyer: You'll see from the curves that we're going to have to update, that you're a lot closer to the free-return trajectory.
069:46:17 Cernan: Okay, why don't you go ahead on 3-81?
069:46:22 Overmyer: Okay, this is the tough one. The first thing we're going to do is plot a couple or three points here in the Mode I - 2-hour - the Mode I 2-hour line changes, also. So you might want to draw a line at a LOI Delta-V DVM of 265, 265 and draw that straight up the curve. That'll be the no - the new...
069:46:55 Cernan: Okay, the LOI Delta-V magnitude of - DVM of 265 huh?
069:47:02 Overmyer: Roger. That will be the crossover point from the Mode I 2-hour to the Mode I 30-minute. [Long pause.]
069:48:54 Cernan: Bob, are you there?
069:48:55 Overmyer: That's affirmative. Go ahead.
069:49:04 Cernan: Okay, Bob, I've got a - 265 vertical line drawn and I expect I can extend the Mode I 2-hour abort to that limit.
069:49:10 Overmyer: That is affirmative, Gene.
069:49:14 Overmyer: Now you're going to have a new curve, so don't bother to draw in the old curve. We're going to give you three points to plot and draw a straight line in between them that will create a new curve.
069:49:26 Cernan: Go ahead.
069:49:27 Overmyer: Okay. The first one is at - the point is defined with a Delta-VM of zero and an abort Delta-V of 1525, 1525.
069:49:52 Overmyer: Okay, the second point is defined by a Delta-VM of 150; an abort Delta-V of 1810. Over.
069:50:17 Cernan: Bob, that last was 1810?
069:50:20 Overmyer: That's affirmative. [Long pause.]
069:50:37 Cernan: Okay. I got it.
069:50:38 Overmyer: Okay, and the last point is defined by Delta-VM of 265; an abort Delta-V of 2105.
069:50:59 Overmyer: The curve defined by those three points will be your LOI plus 2 hours abort Delta-V.
069:51:08 Cernan: Okay, and that - that last point is just the DPS available curve with 265.
069:51:15 Overmyer: That's affirmative. [Long pause.]
069:51:43 Cernan: Okay, it's drawn in and I...
069:51:46 Overmyer: Okay, now we got a curve 1.
069:51:47 Cernan: ...guess at 2 - Okay, go ahead.
069:51:53 Overmyer: I'm sorry I cut you out. Did you have something else you want on that?
069:51:57 Cernan: No, it's good. Our curve's in.
069:51:59 Overmyer: Okay. Curve 1 is two points defining it. The first one is Delta-VM of 265, abort Delta-V of 1855.
069:52:27 Overmyer: And the second one is a Delta - Delta-VM of 400, abort Delta-V of 2065.
069:52:56 Overmyer: Okay. Those two points form the curve 1 of the Mode I 30-minute.
069:53:04 Cernan: Okay, I got it.
069:53:06 Overmyer: Okay, now curve 2 has three points defining it. The first point is identical with the end point of curve 1. It's 400 on the Delta-VM and 2065 on the abort Delta-V.
069:53:29 Cernan: All right.
069:53:30 Overmyer: Okay, the second point is 530 for the DVM and 2245 for the abort Delta-V.
069:54:03 Overmyer: And the last point is DVM of 670 and a Delta-V - abort Delta-V of 2475.
069:54:48 Overmyer: Okay; and if you draw a line up the page at the DVM of 670, that is the end of the Mode I 30-minute and everything to the right of that you are in Mode II.
069:55:54 Overmyer: Gene, Houston.
069:56:03 Cernan: Stand by, Bob.
069:56:04 Overmyer: Roger.
070:00:13 Cernan: Hello, Houston. Are you reading yet?
070:00:15 Overmyer: Roger. Go ahead.
070:00:19 Cernan: Okay, Bob, curve looks good. I just checked the DPS/APS crossover on the DPS available, and it comes out with what you gave me on the card - about 2521.
070:00:28 Overmyer: Roger. And just one minor point. Across the top, on the velocity to be gained, you can bias all those numbers - add a six to every one of them across the top, to be technically correct.
070:00:51 Cernan: Okay. [Pause.]
070:00:58 Overmyer: The next thing we have on that, Gene...
070:00:59 Cernan: [Garble] correct, I could have done that before I - before I plotted the curve; but that's good. We understand, and we got it down.
070:01:08 Overmyer: Okay. The next thing I've got is - that whole update column in the little block there is all updated; and we probably ought to get a readback on all these numbers, Gene. I can give it to you right like a regular PAD, just from the - right down from the top to the bottom, and then read it back to me. I think that'll be the best way, don't you?
070:01:26 Cernan: Okay. Ron's going to go ahead and take them; and we'll double check them, and he'll read them back.
070:01:31 Overmyer: Okay.
070:01:32 Evans: Okay, just go ahead and start at the top and go down.
070:01:35 Overmyer: Okay. I'm starting at LOI ignition time. 88:54:26.8. Pitch is minus 43, yaw 112. GET abort ignition, 89:24:26.8; roll 217, pitch 6, yaw 25. Minus 42 on the Pitch, 110 on the yaw. 216, 6, 18. High Gain angles again. Minus 75, Yaw 250; GET abort ignition there 90:54:26.8; 153, 17, 19. Next time there, GET abort ignition for the LM FDAI angles there - 90:54:26.8; Roll, Pitch, and Yaw angles, 202, 29, 330. Over.
070:03:50 Evans: Okay, Bob, here we go on the readback. I'll just read them right down the line. 88:54:26.8; minus 43, 112, 89:24:26.8; 217, 6, 25; minus 42, 110; 216, 6, 18; minus 75, 250; 90:54:26.8; 153, 17, 19, 90:54:26.8; 202, 29, 330. Over.
070:04:39 Overmyer: Roger, Ron. A real good readback. The - on the next page, on page 3-82, the data there is exactly the same as the LOI limit cue card - the changes. We can read it up to you individually or you can take it from your cue cards; your choice.
070:05:00 Evans: No, we'll change it from the cue card.
070:05:03 Overmyer: Okay. [Long pause.]
070:05:26 Schmitt: Bob, since they won't let me write anything, I tried looking for the Moon near the Sun with the filters and could not see it.
070:05:36 Overmyer: Roger.
070:05:43 Schmitt: You sure you're sending us to the right place?
070:05:46 Overmyer: Roger, Jack. Hey, I've got some information on that S-IVB that you're looking at. The azimuth was in - within 1 degree of what you called when we looked - checked out on your angles.
070:07:08 Overmyer: Hey, Jack. Houston. [Long pause.]
070:07:48 Overmyer: 17, Houston.
070:07:53 Evans: Go ahead, Bob.
070:07:54 Overmyer: This was for Jack and Gene. The trench has computed the S-IVB location in reference to your body axis; and the azimuth was within 1 degree, very close, and the - we calculate it should have been out of that window at 62 degrees from the X-axis, and you reported 45 degrees, which is just a 17-degree error. It's real close there. You know, just eyeballing it like that.
070:08:23 Schmitt: That's great. Then that is the S-IVB, huh?
070:08:26 Overmyer: Okay. Well, we - you might check it this way, Jack. Line up the star Denebola and Rigel - say again, Regulus; I'm sorry, Regulus - Denebola and Regulus. And then, on that line, go perpendicular to that line right above Ri - right above - right above Regulus, and that should be the S-IVB. It forms one point of a right triangle with Denebola and Regulus.
070:08:59 Cernan: What you're saying is, it's the eye of Leo the Lion.
070:09:03 Overmyer: That's affirm.
070:09:07 Cernan: Except we can't see Leo the Lion very well.
070:09:11 Overmyer: Okay.
070:10:16 Overmyer: And, 17; Houston.
070:10:21 Schmitt: Go ahead.
070:10:22 Overmyer: We've got a rather lengthy Flight Plan update series here. We can read up to you any time you want. Just a reminder that we are sitting here waiting with it. Your call.
070:10:46 Schmitt: Generally what is it, Bob?
070:10:49 Overmyer: It's changing a number of attitudes all through the Flight Plan, 84:32 - 84:35; changing Verb 49 maneuver, things like that, due to the TLC change here on times and that.
070:11:09 Schmitt: Okay, where are you going to start?
070:11:11 Overmyer: Okay, it's at 84:32. Standby 1.
070:11:24 Overmyer: Jack, Flight just told me we can wait on this if you want until some other time in the Flight Plan. We want to get into this Experiment Checklist with the pa - pan camera, mapping camera film cycling. Or we can do both of them concurrently.
070:11:57 Cernan: Hey, Bob, let's get the camera cycling out of the way first, and then we'll pick up the Flight Plan updates.
070:12:02 Overmyer: Roger. We concur with that.
070:13:12 Schmitt: Okay, Bob, I'll get to that camera in just a second. The coast of Australia is starting to come into view. Still looks pretty clear. We'll give you more on that later, probably. That cyclone I talked about yesterday in the vicinity, I believe, of the Solomon islands, looks even better organized than yesterday. It's really tightening up. Starting to look very bright and dense right in the core, not too dissimilar from Therese. Although it has a little broader extent in the southeast quadrant.
070:13:56 Overmyer: Roger, Jack. Trying to match that up in my prog here. I can't find it.
070:14:05 Schmitt: Well, you didn't have it there yesterday either. It certainly looks like a tight little storm now though.
070:14:12 Overmyer: Roger. I understand. [Pause.]
070:14:25 Overmyer: Jack, would you mind repeating that location of that.
070:14:27 Schmitt: Can't give you much on the progress...
070:14:31 Schmitt: Well, I'll try to give it to you a little better later. It's the one I was talking about yesterday as being in the vicinity of the Solomon islands. That's somewhat east-southeast of New Guinea.
070:14:45 Overmyer: Yes. Roger. I've got it. [Long pause.]
070:15:09 Schmitt: I think before we go to bed, we'll probably be able to update the progress of the - that front south of Australia, also.
070:15:17 Overmyer: Oh. Roger. I've - I've got a pretty disorganized area to the east of New Guinea. It's probably right over the Solomons. Looks pretty disorganized on our satellite photo - from, let's see, I guess that was this morning sometime.
070:15:39 Schmitt: Well, there is a lot of cloudiness in the equatorial regions, the intertropical convergence zone in there. This is south of that, sort of on a - I'll talk to you later.
070:15:59 Overmyer: Roger.
070:19:01 Schmitt: Houston, how do you read 17?
070:19:03 Overmyer: Loud and clear, Jack.
070:19:09 Schmitt: Okay, S-Band Aux TV to Science.
070:19:14 Schmitt: Mark it.
070:19:26 Schmitt: Okay, SM/AC Power is coming On.
070:19:32 Schmitt: Mark it.
070:19:44 Schmitt: Mapping Camera to Standby.
070:19:47 Schmitt: Mark. [Long pause.]
070:20:13 Schmitt: Pan Camera Power is Power; barber pole - gray.
070:20:24 Schmitt: Self Test is to Heaters.
070:20:32 Schmitt: And, do you want the High Gain?
070:20:40 Overmyer: That's affirmative. Minus 50 on Pitch and 270 on Yaw. [Long pause.]
070:21:27 Schmitt: Okay, there she is, all locked up. PCM Rate's going High.
070:21:35 Overmyer: Roger.
070:21:39 Schmitt: Okay. When you're ready, I'll do the big deal here
070:21:43 Overmyer: Roger. Stand by for my cue on that, Jack. [Pause.]
070:21:58 Overmyer: Okay, Jack; we're ready.
070:22:02 Schmitt: Okay, Mapping Camera - Mapping Camera is On.
070:22:07 Overmyer: Roger. We mark it.
070:22:15 Schmitt: Okay; and Pan Camera Self Test - going Self Test. Got a barber pole.
070:23:37 Schmitt: And the Pan Camera Self Test - or talkback is gray.
070:23:41 Overmyer: Roger. We'd like Reacq on the High Gain. Check.
070:23:52 Schmitt: You got it.
070:23:53 Overmyer: Thank you.
070:23:56 Schmitt: Sorry, I didn't read the checklist. [Long pause.]
070:24:39 Schmitt: Mapping Camera is Off.
070:24:44 Overmyer: Jack, say your last.
070:24:48 Schmitt: Mapping Camera went Off at 2 minutes, and the Pan Camera Power is Off.
070:24:53 Overmyer: Roger. And we'd like to select your checklist angles now on the High Gain, please.
070:25:03 Schmitt: Okay. [Long pause.]
070:25:24 Schmitt: Do you want those on the dial? You don't want me to try to acquire there, do you?
070:25:30 Overmyer: That's affirmative.
070:25:37 Schmitt: Okay, SM/AC Power is going to come Off here, now.
070:25:42 Overmyer: Roger.
070:25:49 Evans: Okay, SM/AC Power is Off; and how is my ZPN doing?
070:26:02 Overmyer: Jack, say again your question, please.
070:26:08 Evans: This is Ron. How is my ZPN doing?
070:26:12 Overmyer: Oh. Roger. Let me take a look here. [Long pause.]
070:27:02 Overmyer: Hey, Ron, we don't - we don't want to say it's bad, but we're glad you're talking to us because we want to make sure you're with us.
070:27:11 Evans: [Laughter.] Okay. Let me [garble] a little bit then.
070:27:16 Overmyer: Roger. We think we've got a bad skin - skin sensor interface there, Ron.
070:27:34 - This is Apollo Control at 70 hours, 26 minutes. Apollo 17's distance from Earth, 186,663 nautical miles [345,700 km]; velocity, 2,436 feet per second [742 m/s]. This is Apollo Control at 70 hours, 27 minutes. We have another update on the S-IVB stage; impact time and coordinates. Predicting an impact time of 89 hours, 39 minutes, 38 seconds at 4 degrees, 21 minutes south; 12 degrees, 12 minutes west.
070:30:35 Schmitt: Bob, how do you read 17?
070:30:38 Overmyer: Read you loud and clear, Jack.
070:30:42 Schmitt: Okay; that storm I'm talking about - a little more precisely is maybe centered at 2 degrees latitude, north of the Solomon islands.
070:31:02 Overmyer: Yes, that kind of matches up, Jack. Does it look like New Guinea and that is pretty well clobbered?
070:31:11 Schmitt: No, not really. New Guinea is at the western edge of a cloud zone that is part of that inter-tropical convergence zone that starts at New Guinea and swings east-northeast in an arc for about half the visible Pacific, and then that arc crosses back down over the equator and heads generally towards Central America, I suspect, although that's beyond the terminator now. The storm I'm talking about is clearly south and separate from that inter-tropical convergence cloud - pattern.
070:32:03 Overmyer: Roger.
070:32:07 Schmitt: It's getting very tightly wound in the - the clockwise sense, and - and is - is just where there was a less well-organized pattern yesterday. Although maybe it's moved northward a little bit.
070:32:40 Overmyer: Roger. We understand, Jack. [Long pause.]
070:33:17 Schmitt: Our zero-phase point, Bob, is about 10 degrees - make that 15 degrees longitude east of the Solomons and has a - is a - fairly - low intensity at this time. I'll keep an eye on it as it approaches that storm area and see if it changes.
070:34:15 Schmitt: Okay - I'll be ready for them - Bob, just one last thing on that line of clouds that stretches up toward Hawaii. They're very - they look very thick and dense based on the structure you can see as that - as the terminator approaches them. They cast a pretty strong shadow to the west.
070:34:38 Overmyer: Roger. I see those on our satellite photo. They look pretty - pretty thick in there. I'm strictly an amateur talking to you, Jack, but it looks pretty thick in there.
070:34:50 Schmitt: Yes, right.
070:34:55 Schmitt: How about some flight - when you come around again, can you start the Flight Plan updates?
070:35:02 Overmyer: Any time you want them, I can start them.
070:35:06 Schmitt: Go ahead.
070:35:08 Overmyer: Okay, the first one is at 84:32 in the Flight Plan. [Long pause.]
070:35:36 Schmitt: 84:22. Go ahead.
070:35:39 Overmyer: 84:32. 32. Add the following...
070:35:43 Schmitt: Okay...
070:35:44 Overmyer: Roll right 12 degrees in parentheses, to a roll of 150. The purpose of this change is to avoid...
070:36:02 Schmitt: Say again the - say again the number in parentheses.
070:36:09 Overmyer: R, roll of 150, 150.
070:36:17 Schmitt: Okay, at 84:32, "Roll right 12 degrees to roll 150".
070:36:24 Overmyer: Roger. And in parentheses here, just a comment, it's to avoid gimbal lock during Verb 49 maneuver directly below it.
070:36:50 Schmitt: Okay; go ahead.
070:36:52 Overmyer: Okay. At 84:35, the Verb 49 maneuver, change the attitude to "Roll 320, pitch 010, Yaw 324." And we want the High Gain Antenna angles: Pitch, minus 29; Yaw 17. Over.
070:37:34 Schmitt: Okay. 320, 010, 324. High Gain: Pitch, minus 29; Yaw, 17. And that's at - that's for the Verb 49 maneuver at 84:35.
070:37:47 Overmyer: That's affirm. And it goes without saying, scratch out - scratch out "Omni Alpha" there.
070:37:54 Schmitt: Got you.
070:37:55 Overmyer: Okay, the next one is at 85:42. 85:42.
070:38:03 Schmitt: Go ahead.
070:38:04 Overmyer: This is just a couple of notes here. The P52 stars we got in the CMS are 16 and 17. Gyro torquing will take 10 minutes, 47 seconds; 10 minutes, 47 seconds.
070:38:35 Schmitt: Okay, the stars will be stars 16 and 17. Torquing will take 10 minutes, 40 seconds - 47 seconds.
070:38:43 Overmyer: That's affirmative, Jack. Okay, at 85:44, over there on the right where it says, "LOI REFSMMAT attitude," change that - "Roll, 064; Pitch, 135; Yaw, 005." Over.
070:39:15 Schmitt: Okay, got you. Change is to Roll, 064; Pitch, 135; Yaw, 005.
070:39:23 Overmyer: Okay, Jack, and let's take a break here, and you can go ahead and secure the High Gain and give me Omni Bravo, and call me when you're ready for some more of these. [Long pause.]
070:40:05 Schmitt: Okay, go ahead.
070:40:08 Overmyer: Okay, Jack. The next one is an addition at 86 hours, 86 hours. We just want the following words: "Manually pressurize SPS." Over.
070:40:43 Schmitt: Go ahead.
070:40:44 Overmyer: Okay; did you get that last one, 86 hours?
070:40:49 Schmitt: Roger. 86 hours, "Manually pressurize the SPS."
070:40:52 Overmyer: That's affirmative. And just for your information, that's because we need a couple hours of data on it. Like to look at it a couple of hours prior to LOI. Okay, the next one's at 87:20.
070:41:14 Schmitt: Go ahead.
070:41:15 Overmyer: Okay. Where it says, "Manual roll left to 30 degrees," change "30 degrees" to "63 degrees," 63 degrees. Change the roll angle...
070:41:31 Schmitt: All right.
070:41:33 Overmyer: ...from "050" to "001".
070:41:53 Schmitt: Okay, that's roll left 63 degrees and the roll is 001.
070:41:59 Overmyer: That's affirmative. And the new High Gain angles will be Pitch, minus 27; Yaw, 339.
070:42:14 Schmitt: Okay, minus 27 and 339.
070:42:17 Overmyer: Okay, just a little bit below that - where - at about 87:27 or 87:30, where it says, "Manually roll right 30 degrees," change the "30" to "63", 63. Change the roll to "064".
070:42:47 Schmitt: Okay, roll right 63 degrees. Roll will be 064.
070:42:52 Overmyer: That's affirmative. And scratch out "Omni Alpha" and add "High Gain antenna: Pitch, minus 29; Yaw, 17", Yaw 17.
070:43:13 Schmitt: Okay. That's High Gain: Pitch, minus 29; Yaw, 17.
070:43:21 Overmyer: Roger, Jack. And the next one is over at 89:03. We've got a comm attitude.
070:43:39 Schmitt: Okay, 89:03.
070:43:42 Overmyer: Okay, that attitude there should - it's pretty close. Roll 165, Pitch 060, Yaw 338.
070:45:08 Schmitt: Go ahead, Bob.
070:45:10 Overmyer: Did you get that last - the attitude change there? It's a real trivia change; we probably shouldn't have called it, but it's...
070:45:16 Schmitt: 89:03 [garble] to me.
070:45:17 Overmyer: ...165, 060, and 338.
070:45:20 Schmitt: 89:03; excuse me.
070:45:23 Overmyer: Roger. Did you get that attitude at 89:03?
070:45:30 Schmitt: Repeat 8 - 89:03.
070:45:34 Overmyer: Roger. Roll, 165; Pitch, 060; Yaw, 338.
070:45:51 Schmitt: Okay. New comm attitude: 165, 060, 338.
070:45:56 Overmyer: Roger. That seems hardly worth it on that, Jack. Sorry on that one. Just one last note, general note on all this we gave you. Everything has been checked in the CMS. You probably figured that anyway.
070:46:11 Evans: Roger. Always know those fellows are working with us.
070:46:14 Overmyer: Roger. And, Ron, we've got good data on you now.
070:46:19 Schmitt: Is that it?
070:46:21 Overmyer: That's affirmative, Jack.
070:46:27 Evans: Okay; thank you, Jack.
070:46:43 Schmitt: Bob, Gene just told me I may have confused you on the clouds that I told you I could see near the terminator with a good shadow - and the shadow's on the eastern side as the - the terminator approaches.
070:47:04 Overmyer: Roger.
070:49:40 Schmitt: Bob, how do you read 17?
070:49:45 Overmyer: Read you loud and clear, Jack.
070:49:49 Schmitt: Okay, I mentioned earlier, I can't remember exactly when, that it looked like the wa - pattern of water in the Ross Sea - clear areas within the Ross Sea icepacks had changed, and I feel more strongly about that now. It looks like it's opened up considerably. The tri - long - elongate triangular areas, two of them that were there a couple of days ago, seem to have merged, and you also have clear water along most of the inner portion of the shoreline of that sea.
070:50:28 Overmyer: Roger. Must be getting towards summertime down there.
070:50:33 Schmitt: Well, I'm very surprised that it's changed shape as much as that, and it could be that that triangular pattern was caused by a cloud bank that split what is now open water and made it look as if it was icepack.
070:50:51 Overmyer: Roger. Understand. [Long pause.]
070:51:09 Schmitt: Hey, Bob, can one of the guys there give me a - a hack on when - when the terminator should cross Hawaii?
070:51:21 Overmyer: Roger. We'll work it out.
070:51:28 Schmitt: Do it in either GET or CST, either one.
070:51:33 Overmyer: We'll crank it up to you in GET.
070:53:20 - This is Apollo Control; it's 70 hours, 53 minutes. Apollo 17 is now 187,288 nautical miles [346,857 km] from Earth. The spacecraft velocity is 2,421 feet per second [738 m/s].
070:53:43 Overmyer: Ron, we missed a Noun 05 in there. Can you give us a Noun 05?
070:53:56 Overmyer: Ron, Houston. We missed the Noun 05 on the data - can you give us what your Noun 05 was?
070:54:04 Evans: Would you believe five balls?
070:54:07 Overmyer: Oh, I'd believe that.
070:54:12 Overmyer: You can go ahead and torque, Ron.
070:54:16 Evans: Roger. Roger. We'll torque at 30 - 54 30.
070:54:24 Overmyer: 54 30, Roger.
070:56:17 Overmyer: Jack, Houston.
070:56:21 Schmitt: Go ahead.
070:56:22 Overmyer: Roger. We've been listening to the playback of the DSE tape from the ALFMED period, and all three of you sound pretty good on that. Gene is still clearer than the rest, but all three of you sound real clear and very readable.
070:56:41 Schmitt: Excellent. That'll make up for my note taking.
070:56:47 Overmyer: Roger. And also, Jack. You had a question earlier about the different response of sea and continental areas when viewed through monocular polarizing filter, and I've got a note here from John Dietrich that kind of explains it.
070:57:08 Schmitt: Okay, let's hear what John has to say.
070:57:10 Overmyer: Okay. This is pretty much referencing the time you were looking at it, and here it is. "Ocean scenes near the bright area off Bolivia, which is the spel - specular point, include a high proportion of polarized light. The spacecraft-Earth-Sun geometry now is approximately equal to the Brewster angle which is nearest 53 degrees, where maximum plane polarization due to reflection occurs. Therefore, a high response of scene brightness to changes of filter position can be expected. Continental scenes are dominated by Lambertian or diffuse reflectors, which are characterized by low proportion of polarization in the reflected beam. For such scenes, changing position of the polarization filter produces changes in scene brightness that are near or below the threshold of detectability." Over.
070:58:13 Schmitt: Okay. That sounds very good. It's sort of like the contrast between the lunar surface response and - the oceans being more like that, I guess, and the - between the lunar surface and terrestrial land surfaces.
070:58:33 Overmyer: Roger, Jack. [Long pause.]
070:58:48 Schmitt: That's very good, very interesting. Thank - thank John for me. I should have thought about that, but I've been away from it too long.
070:58:57 Overmyer: No problem. Okay; terminator over Hawaii at 73:45 GET.
070:59:09 Schmitt: 73:45; thank you.
071:02:44 - This is Apollo Control at 71 hours, 2 minutes. Apollo 17's distance from Earth now 187,507 nautical miles [347,263 km]; velocity, 2,416 feet per second [736 m/s]. On Monday, eighty foreign students who are touring space research science centers in the United States will begin a three day visit here at the Manned Spacecraft Center. They will observe the three periods of lunar exploration by astronauts Cernan and Schmitt and will also tour the facilities at MSC. This international youth tour began December 2 in Washington D. C. and is being conducted under the auspices of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with the cooperation of the State Department. The student group saw the Apollo 17 launch at Cape Kennedy and since that time, have toured the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Oakridge National Laboratory facilities in Tennessee. Today they're at the NASA Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Alabama tomorrow they will tour the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Bureau of Standards in Boulder, Colorado. The students were selected by their respective governments in response to a NASA invitation, and they range in age from 15 to 17 years and rank high academically and have strong scientific interests. Following their visit to Houston the group will tour the NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Schedules for the visit here at MSC and a complete list of the participating students, and countries may be obtained at the MSC news center. At 71 hours, 5 minutes; this is Mission Control, Houston.
071:05:46 Schmitt: Houston, 17. How do you read?
071:05:49 Overmyer: Go ahead. Read you loud and clear, Jack.
071:05:53 Schmitt: Roger. Gene and I are going to stir your cryos - Gene and I are going to stir your cryos for you.
071:05:59 Overmyer: Okay, we'll be watching for it.
071:09:21 Evans: Okay, Houston; Apollo 17 here. We have canister number 8 in the Bravo.
071:09:28 Overmyer: Roger; 8 in the Bravo. We got it. You made EECOM happy tonight there, Ron.
071:09:37 Evans: Okay, and I'm still looking for my scissors.
071:09:42 Overmyer: For your what?
071:09:47 Evans: My scissors.
071:09:48 Overmyer: What did you do, misplace them? Or do you want me to look up and see where they're supposed to be?
071:09:55 Evans: [Laughter.] No. They were stuck in the hand controller number 1. That little thing you're supposed to put the lap belt and things into. It was stuck in there last night when I went to bed, and I got up this morning, it was gone.
071:10:11 Overmyer: Scissor, scissor, who got the scissor, huh?
071:10:12 Schmitt: [Garble] waiting for him to get up.
071:10:21 Overmyer: Well, I've got a - I've got a feeling they're still with you somewhere.
071:10:29 Cernan: All sorts of things happened on his watch.
071:10:34 Evans: Yes; we won't talk too much about that.
071:15:30 Evans: Houston, are you watching Jack's EKG?
071:15:39 Overmyer: Say again, Ron; we missed that.
071:15:44 Evans: Roger. Are you watching Jack's and my EKG?
071:15:49 Overmyer: Roger. Let me punch the Surgeon here.
071:15:50 Evans: We're doing a little - we're doing a little bit of exercising, now.
071:15:56 Overmyer: Oh, we can see that in the cryos. We know you're doing exercises. Let me go over and get the numbers here.
071:16:06 Overmyer: Jack's at 120 on the heart rate.
071:16:13 Overmyer: And, Ron, you're about 90.
071:16:22 Overmyer: And, Jack - guess you can pass the word to Jack we refined that Hawaii terminator number through the Pacific fleet and called it all around. It is actually at 72:55 GET.
071:16:38 Evans: Okay. 72:65 GET.
071:16:42 Overmyer: No, 72:55, 55.
071:16:46 Evans: Roger. 72:55 - [Long pause.]
071:17:56 Overmyer: Okay, Jack. We got you at 130 right now.
071:20:50 Schmitt: Houston, this is the LMP. What was the last number you saw on my heart rate?
071:21:00 Overmyer: Okay, you peaked at 135, and we had you at 130 for several minutes.
071:21:10 Schmitt: Okay. [Long pause.]
071:22:06 Overmyer: Jack, just for interest, in that time you got banging around so hard there, you caused the heaters in the H
2 to shut off. The - the pressure went up until the heater shut off.
071:22:19 Schmitt: Well, that's what you wanted, wasn't it?
071:22:20 Overmyer: That's affirm.
071:22:25 Schmitt: Good thing there's not another mission or we'd have to Flight Plan this kind of thing for your EECOMs.
071:22:31 Overmyer: That's right. Got to conserve at all cost.
071:22:39 Schmitt: Who's sitting on your right tonight?
071:22:42 Overmyer: Got a big Moon over there.
071:22:46 Schmitt: He's always there, isn't he?
071:22:50 Overmyer: Roger.
071:24:33 Schmitt: Say, Bob, I took another picture of the Earth and forgot to give you the GET on it. That was about 15 minutes before the end of the ALFMED experiment, if you can go back that way.
071:24:49 Overmyer: Okay.
071:24:55 Overmyer: Let me see, Jack. We - the last thing we had was right about the end of it. We had you in Sierra Sierra, frame 50. And you had four pictures then. is that before that or after that? Okay, those four were for the ALFMED, weren't they?
071:25:09 Schmitt: That's affirm. No, this was with the - the Hasselblad, the EL camera.
071:25:20 Overmyer: Oh, okay; got you.
071:25:27 Overmyer: We had FAO working on matching that one up.
071:28:27 Schmitt: Houston, 17.
071:28:29 Overmyer: Go ahead, Jack.
071:28:33 Schmitt: Roger. That weak front that I talked about south of Australia yesterday has moved north, but it looks considerably weaker than it did yesterday even. Just a very thin line of clouds - very thin line of clouds that now is touching the - the tip of Australia, south of Perth.
071:31:06 Schmitt: Houston, 17. I think maybe you dropped out before I said that little weak front moving north-northeast, south of Australia. The western end of it is just touching the coast of Australia, south of Perth, but it looks much weaker; and I, right now, would not expect very much weather out of it.
071:31:32 Overmyer: Okay. That - I can't tie up with you on that one, Jack, because my prog doesn't go down that far; it only stays up in the landing area. And my satellite photo doesn't go down that far south either. So, I can't touch up with you on that one.
071:31:49 Schmitt: Okay. Well, it - it looked stronger yesterday, and it might have developed. Now there is a larger disturbance at the southeastern end of that front, still south of Tasmania; although, I suspect, unless it stays on a pretty northerly course, it will not affect the weather on the east coast of Australia very much.
071:32:15 Overmyer: Roger. [Long pause.]
071:33:04 Overmyer: Jack, just thought you might be interested. I called some friends of yours in Tucson, and everybody's fine there and wanted to say hello and tell you everybody's fine and getting along real good.
071:33:20 Schmitt: Thank you very much. Good to hear. They've learned to take care of themselves pretty well, haven't they?
071:33:25 Overmyer: They sure have. They - they're - they're having a little trouble with the squawk box, and we'll get working on that and it's - they're having trouble reading a little bit, but they're keeping up with us.
071:33:35 Schmitt: That's nothing new.
071:33:36 Overmyer: Roger.
071:33:37 Schmitt: But try to fix it, please.
071:33:39 Overmyer: Oh, we'll - definitely on that one. [Long pause.]
071:33:58 Schmitt: Bob, Ron got you all - the Earth down there zeroed in in the sextant, and it puts my little binocular to shame. I tell you, it's a fine instrument. And I'll just confirm that the - that disturbance over the So - Solomon islands is an awfully tightly wound little storm system. And right now, I finally have seen New Zealand for the first time in a couple of days, for sure. And the South island's got some, probably high cirrus over it. North island looks pretty clear. That's the end that I can get right now.
071:34:36 Overmyer: Roger. We saw you looking at Regulus there; we didn't realize you were looking at the Earth instead.
071:34:44 Schmitt: Ron's been looking for the booster. And he called me down and asked me to look at the Earth. He's been holding out on me.
071:34:50 Overmyer: Roger.
071:34:54 Schmitt: Pass the torch of weather forecasting to Ron. [Long pause.]
071:35:21 Overmyer: Hey, Jack. I also have some words for you and Gene. Got some advice from the home front. The thing to do with Ron in the future is to hook up a Baby Ben and a metal dishpan. It works every time, if you want to wake him up.
071:35:42 Evans: No. I think that's not a good way.
071:35:57 Overmyer: Ron, everybody's fine over at El Lago. They are doing great. Listening to every word.
071:36:06 Evans: Very good, Bob. Thank you very much. [Pause.]
071:36:16 Cernan: Hey, Bob. We got two of those flashers out there. They could be SLA panels. I don't know. They're alike in intensity and pretty regular in the - in the intensity, bright and dim flashes they come out with, and they're widely separated. One is about the position we called at the first time; the other one is - oh, as I'm looking at the Earth, far to the left. Closer to the center window now.
071:36:51 Overmyer: Roger.
071:41:06 Schmitt: Houston, 17.
071:41:12 Overmyer: Go ahead.
071:41:17 Schmitt: Yes, Bob, what is your - analysis chart, if you have it - surface terms analysis chart show for Hawaii today?
071:41:41 Overmyer: Stand by on that.
071:41:52 Overmyer: Jack, according to the...
071:41:53 Schmitt: The reason I ask is that for using your term - Go ahead.
071:41:57 Overmyer: No, go ahead on that, Jack.
071:42:02 Schmitt: I was going to say, using your terminator time as a partial - mark for where Hawaii ought to be, Hawaii ought to be, it looks like that cyclonic circulation at the north end of the cloud bank I described, approaching that area, would be just about on the Hawa - Hawaiian islands. I'm curious if they're getting some weather down there now.
071:42:42 Overmyer: Stand by right now; I've got my weatherman right beside me here.
071:42:50 Schmitt: Also, that major front we talked about last night as being east and south of Japan has progressed even farther and is, oh, maybe 20 degrees longitude - about 20 degrees longitude from the Hawaiian islands. And I'm making some guesses on exactly where Hawaii is.
071:43:25 Overmyer: Roger, Jack. We've got nothing adverse in the Hawaiian area at all. Just a lot of winds, high winds and surface winds and surface roughness, but we don't have any bad cloud area in the Hawaiian area. I'll get the Hickam sequence report here shortly, Jack.
071:43:55 Schmitt: Okay, [garble] a little bit. The - our zero-phase point is now centered just a little south of the disturbance near the Solomon islands. And I see no distinct change in the intensity of that zero-phase point over what I had talked about a couple hours ago.
071:44:22 Overmyer: Roger, Jack. The Solomon islands disturbance and everything is confirmed on this chart that I've got. It's very definitely confirmed in there.
071:44:32 Schmitt: Okay. Well, it's a lot more obvious today than it was yesterday; but even then it was showing pretty strong circulation. It is starting to wrap up, look very much like Therese did yesterday.
071:44:49 Overmyer: Roger. I'm sure of that. The one right off of Vietnam is also pretty tight, isn't it still?
071:44:57 Schmitt: Well, we can't see that one yet.
071:44:58 Overmyer: Okay.
071:45:08 Schmitt: Australia in general is still very clear except in the northeastern portions where it looks like they have got scattered clouds; but it looks like a pretty night - over Australia.
071:45:24 Overmyer: Roger. Looks that way from the satellite photo from the last couple days. Looks pretty nice down there.
071:45:32 Schmitt: Right.
071:46:36 - This is Apollo Control at 71 hours, 46 minutes. Weather reporter, Schmitt, is 188,524 nautical miles [349,146 km] from Earth and the spacecraft from which he is observing is traveling at a speed of 2,392 feet per second [729 m/s].
071:47:04 Overmyer: Jack, in looking at the sequence reports for Hickam and Hilo and that area, it looks like they just got their standard 3500 scattered, 4500 broken clouds, maybe a rain shower or two. But just their standard tropical fluffy clouds.
071:52:33 Schmitt: Houston, Apollo 17.
071:52:35 Overmyer: Go ahead, Ron.
071:52:40 Evans: Bob, I don't know whether I told you or not, but we ended up with the LMP and the CDRs suit in the bottom of this suit bag. My suit is in the top, and I sure don't have any idea how in the world the other crews got three suits in there. I guess they never did because these things are plumb full right now, of suits, in the suit bag. And it's a good thing we lengthened them. I don't have room for anything else inside the suit bag. The water bags and - you know - contingency water bags, and my g-suit, and those flight things are - I found a place to stick them all around the wall on the outside of the suit bag.
071:53:30 Overmyer: Roger, Ron. Good work.
071:53:50 Schmitt: Bob, you made some comment earlier about the weather. It may have been Hawaii, but you broke up.
071:53:55 Overmyer: Roger; I just got the sequence report for Hawaii, and Hickam had 3500, scattered; 4500, broken with minor rain showers; and Hilo had about the same. And basically, it's just their tropical puffy weather out there. The typical nothing. No frontal-type weather - no cyclonic-type weather.
071:54:19 Schmitt: Okay. Well, it may be just patterns induced by the - the wind currents, or maybe I don't have the position of Hawaii quite right.
071:54:29 Overmyer: Well, it's - it's possible. You know they do have high winds out there, and I've seen it, just flying in that area in the past, where those broken clouds get pretty close together at times. It almost looks like a solid overcast. And especially when you look at it from an angle, they all blend together.
071:54:59 Schmitt: I hope you're going to save all those charts you're gathering together as we talk about it on this outbound leg. Be interesting to compare them and the pictures we take sometime in January.
071:55:14 Overmyer: Jack, the Weather just was out here, and they told me that's exactly what they're doing. And if your time will permit in January, they'd like to go through and maybe help piece them all together, but they're going through these transcripts and they're gathering all their satellite pictures and plotting what you're seeing versus the satellite pictures etc., etc. And they'd like to go over it with you when you get back.
071:55:40 Schmitt: I'd love to do that. I hope, in general, we're getting the directions right. At least, I know I thought I'd worry about the descriptions, and it's hard to place points on the globe, particularly in the Pacific, if you can't identify land masses near them or have those nice little latitude and longitude lines painted on the Earth.
071:56:04 Overmyer: Well, that's right. We'll - we'll put in a request for some lat - long lines out there. [Long pause.]
071:57:12 Overmyer: Jack, we're going to have a slight changeover from Goldstone to Honeysuckle at 72 hours, so we will probably break by.
071:57:25 Schmitt: Okay. Bob, you know you're just the last turn or so, you started to break up occasionally as if you might be getting a bad mike button or something.
071:57:36 Overmyer: Okay, I'll check it out,
072:02:47 Overmyer: 17, Houston through Honeysuckle. How do you read?
072:02:55 Cernan: You're loud and clear, Bob.
072:03:00 Overmyer: Roger, sameo sameo.
072:08:12 Schmitt: Houston, 17.
072:08:16 Overmyer: Go ahead.
072:08:20 Schmitt: I was just playing with the polarizing filter again, and it looks as if - when you have the knob on the filter parallel to the - roughly parallel to the polar axis of the Earth, - you get maximum darkening. And, of course, the opposite 90 degrees to that you get maximum lightening of the globe. And, in the - in the case of Australia, it also appears to lighten and darken, but not to the extent of the - of the ocean areas.
072:09:02 Overmyer: Roger.
072:09:06 Schmitt: It could be that in the more desert climate you get finer grain material on the ground and give you the response that John Dietrich had talked about.
072:09:19 Overmyer: Roger.
072:10:59 Schmitt: Houston, 17.
072:11:01 Overmyer: Go ahead, Jack.
072:11:06 Schmitt: I rechecked that little story I was trying to give you about the ice pack there in the Ross Sea.
072:11:12 Overmyer: Roger.
072:11:13 Schmitt: And whether I was right a couple of days ago or not - whether I was right a couple of days ago or not in the patterns, right now there is a lot of open water between the ice pack and the inner or, let's say, southern and south - eastern shore of the sea that I don't recall being there the other day.
072:11:45 Overmyer: Roger.
072:11:49 Schmitt: I don't know whether you have any connections with all the Marines stationed in Antarctica, but maybe somebody knows what the ice pack's been doing the last few days.
072:12:00 Overmyer: I'll - I'll see if we can find out, Jack. I don't think we've got any gates in Antarctica, though.
072:12:08 Schmitt: Well, that way you can't lose any.
072:12:11 Overmyer: Roger. Well, they never stole the continent.
072:12:18 Schmitt: Sounds like pretty good duty, Bob.
072:14:40 - This is Apollo Control at 72 hours, 14 minutes. Apollo 17 now 189,167 nautical miles [350,337 km] from Earth, traveling at a speed of 2,377 feet per second [725 m/s]. And, we're just over an hour away from the time that Apollo 17 will enter the lunar sphere of influence. Flight Dynamics Officer Bill Boone has re-computed the time for that event. That will occur at 73 hours, 17 minutes, 45 seconds.
072:31:11 Schmitt: Houston, 17.
072:31:15 Overmyer: Go ahead, 17.
072:31:21 Schmitt: Yes, I - may have misled you earlier about a storm system south of Tasmania. It's - If there is one, it's just developing, and it's probably 20 degrees of longitude south. As I recall yesterday, there was some indication that a couple fronts were joining forces and moving in that direction. Today, the weaker and more western front appears to have dominated the system, and the only area where there seems to be cyclonic circulation developing is - is that point way south of Tasmania. That conceivably might move up and affect New Zealand in a few, in a couple days, but right now I don't see how it could affect Australia.
072:32:19 Overmyer: Roger, Jack.
072:45:46 - This is Apollo Control at 72 hours, 45 minutes. Apollo 17 now 37 minutes away from entering the lunar sphere of influence. Present distance from Earth is 189,878 nautical miles [351,654 km]; velocity, 2,360 feet per second [719 m/s].
AS17-148-22761 - Earth at a distance of approximately 355,500 km (based on photo analysis). Australia, Antarctica - JSC scan
AS17-148-22762 - Earth at a distance of approximately 356,700 km (based on photo analysis). Australia, Antarctica - JSC scan
072:55:26 Overmyer: 17, Houston.
072:55:31 Schmitt: Go ahead, Bob.
072:55:32 Overmyer: I just wanted to give you fair warning, Jack. In case you all feel a bump there when you're about ready to go to sleep there. At 73:17:45, you'll cross that magic line into the lunar sphere of influence.
072:55:50 Cernan: What's the number, Bob?
072:55:52 Overmyer: 73:17:45.
072:56:03 Cernan: Bob, do you read us?
072:56:05 Overmyer: Roger. We read you loud and clear.
072:56:12 Overmyer: We're reading you, Jack. How me?
072:56:17 Evans: You're reading Gene. How me?
072:56:20 Overmyer: Okay, sorry. I'm reading - reading 17 loud and clear.
072:56:28 Cernan: Okay, this is Geno. What was that number on the lunar sphere of influence?
072:56:32 Overmyer: 73 hours, 17 minutes, 45 seconds: 73:17:45.
072:56:46 Cernan: Okay, Bob. You're a little intermittent. Anyway, what you mean is we start hauling the mail I gue[garble]
072:56:56 Overmyer: Roger.
072:57:00 Cernan: I guess we hit our slowest point. How fast are we going now? [Long pause.]
072:57:43 Overmyer: Gene, you're pretty slow today. You're at 2,354 feet per second [717 m/s].
072:57:53 Cernan: Yes. That's - that's quite a drop from the 35K [11K m/s] that the S-IVB put us on.
072:58:01 Overmyer: That's for sure.
072:58:08 Cernan: Say, Bob. What do you hear from my home front? Anything?
072:58:18 Overmyer: Talked to Tracy a little while ago, and she's listening to the box quite often and enjoying it, and everybody's fine there.
072:58:30 Cernan: Bob, you're continuing [garble]. We're getting every third word.
072:58:52 Overmyer: Gene, do you read me any better on this one? [Long pause.]
072:59:11 Overmyer: 17, Houston.
072:59:15 Cernan: Go ahead, Bob.
072:59:17 Overmyer: How do you read me now?
072:59:23 Cernan: I think you're still [garble] off.
072:59:25 Overmyer: Roger; you're breaking up on us, too. Let's check it through here a minute.
072:59:43 Overmyer: We were wondering who was going to be wearing the headset tonight, Jack. Who's got the duty?
073:00:10 Overmyer: 17, Houston.
073:04:33 Cernan: Hey, Bob. You reading us now?
073:05:09 Overmyer: 17, Houston, did you call?
073:05:14 Cernan: I just wondered if you're reading us now, Bob.
073:05:19 Overmyer: Roger. Reading you now loud and clear. I was just off a minute there, talking to Barbara on the phone. Everybody's fine on the home front, Gene.
073:05:29 Cernan: Okay, what did you say Tracy said earlier?
073:05:31 Overmyer: She just said she's tickled pink and listening - listening on the squawk box.
073:05:44 Cernan: I guess that's the way a 9-year-old daughter should be in a case like this, huh?
073:05:47 Overmyer: That's affirmative.
073:05:53 Cernan: In case she's not listening, tell her not to forget to feed the horses.
073:05:56 Overmyer: Roger. Barbara said I should find some nice young female voice around here to tell you she loves you, good night. But I figure we'd better not do that.
073:06:14 Cernan: Okay; enough said. I guess what we don't need right (chuckle) right now is a nice female voice.
073:06:27 Overmyer: I'm sure of that.
073:06:37 Cernan: We're just happy, health - healthy, hungry, and homesick.
073:06:47 Overmyer: You got a lot of work to do, and you better not say you're hungry. The doctor about went through the overhead over here when you said that.
073:06:56 Cernan: That's a cliché.
073:06:59 Overmyer: Roger.
073:07:09 Cernan: Bob, just in general, how is the spacecraft looking to you? Pretty good, I hope.
073:07:22 Overmyer: That's affirmative. We - we haven't found anything I guess we're - stopped getting those spurious Master Alarms here for a while. So that - that was the only witch hunt we were having right there, was trying to find that.
073:07:41 Cernan: Yes, they disappeared. The ones we've had recently seem to be real ones.
073:07:46 Overmyer: Roger.
073:07:54 Overmyer: Hey, guys, we were just still trying to figure out who is going to wear the headset and got - who has the duty tonight?
073:08:03 Cernan: Oh, I'll wear it tonight, Bob.
073:08:07 Overmyer: Is that Gene?
073:08:12 Overmyer: Okay. [Pause.]
073:08:25 Evans: And, Houston; 17. You ready for some onboard read-outs?
073:08:29 Overmyer: You better believe it.
073:08:35 Evans: Okay. Bat C, 36.8; Pyro Bat A, 37.0; and Bravo is 37.0. RCS Alpha, 93, 91, 91, and 94. Over.
073:08:58 Overmyer: Roger. Got them all, Ron.
073:11:38 Evans: Houston, we're cycling the H
2 fans, now.
073:11:47 Overmyer: Roger, 17. Go ahead.
073:11:53 Evans: Okay. We're cycling the H
2 fans.
073:12:00 Overmyer: Okay; we copy.
073:18:12 - This is Apollo Control at 73 hours, 18 minutes. Apollo 17 has just entered the lunar sphere of influence and the distance/velocity displays here in the Control Center are now referenced to the Moon, Apollo 17 is 33,803 nautical miles [62,603 km] from the Moon, traveling at a speed of 3,355 feet per second [1,023 m/s].
073:23:30 - This is Apollo control at 73 hours, 23 minutes. On its present trajectory and without doing a Lunar Orbit Insertion burn, Apollo 17 would reach its closest approach to the Moon at a Ground Elapsed Time of 88 hours, 58 minutes, 12 seconds. The distance of that closest approach would be 53.48 nautical miles [99.04 km] and spacecraft velocity at that time would be 8,198 feet per second [2,499 m/s]. We expect the crew to settle down into an 8-hour rest period here very shortly. On the Flight Plan that rest period due to begin at 73 hours; some 24 minutes ago. We do expect that the crew will shortly go into that rest period.
073:43:09 Cernan: Hello, Houston.
073:43:14 Overmyer: 17, Houston. Go ahead.
073:43:20 Cernan: Okay, Bob, we're going to turn out the lights now and hit the sack.
073:43:28 Overmyer: Okay. Have you gone through the presleep checklist, getting ready on the comm and all that?
073:43:40 Cernan: Yes; that's affirm - the presleep checklist. [Garble] one.
073:44:05 Overmyer: We're not getting any biomed data on - supposed to be on Ron, I guess. We're not showing any biomed data.
073:44:22 Cernan: Houston, do you read 17?
073:44:25 Overmyer: 17, Houston. How do you read me?
073:44:30 Cernan: Yes, I'm reading you, Bob. What did you say I might want?
073:44:33 Overmyer: You might check the sensors on Ron, We're not getting any biomed data. is he unplugged?
073:44:41 Cernan: Well, that's because he's - Yes, he's unplugged. Give him a chance to get hooked up and change some leads here.
073:44:47 Overmyer: Okay,
073:44:49 Cernan: Everything else - the presleep check - the presleep checklist is complete. I'm going to leave the comm cap on tonight. Our tone boost doesn't work, so I'll just be on comm all night.
073:45:33 Cernan: Do you have any biomed on Ron?
073:45:40 Overmyer: Stand by on that, Gene.
073:47:07 Cernan: Good night, Robert.
073:47:10 Overmyer: Good night, Gene.
073:47:15 Overmyer: Got a busy day tomorrow, and we'll - we'll be with you then.
073:49:23 - This is Apollo Control at 73 hours, 49 minutes. We said goodnight to the crew at 73 hours and 47 minutes and we don't expect any more conversation with them tonight. Flight Surgeon is now receiving good biomedical data from the Command Module Pilot Ron Evans. We'll leave the line up for a few minutes in case there are any postscripts to the air-ground, and if not, we'll take the line down and come back up hourly with reports. But for the moment we'll leave the line up live. This is Apollo Control. As the crew turns in, the spacecraft is 32,741 nautical miles [60,636 km] from the Moon; velocity, 3,362 feet per second [1,025 m/s].
074:04:45 - This is Apollo Control at 74 hours, 4 minutes. Apollo 17 now 32,264 nautical miles [59,753 km] from the Moon; velocity, 3,366 [fps, 1,026 m/s]. The crew has settled down for the night and we'll take the lines down now and come back up with hourly reports.
