12.0 ASSESSMENT OF MISSION OBJECTIVES

The four primary objectives (ref. 4) assigned to the Apollo 15 mission were:

a. Perform selenological inspection, survey, and sampling of materials and surface features in a pre-selected area of the Hadley-Apennine region.
b. Emplace and activate surface experiments.
c. Evaluate the capability of the Apollo equipment to provide extended lunar surface stay time, increased extravehicular operations, and surface mobility.
d. Conduct inflight experiments and photographic tasks from lunar orbit.

Twelve detailed objectives (derived from primary objectives) and twenty-four experiments (listed in table 12-1 and table 12-1 Concluded and described in reference 5) were assigned to the mission. Preliminary indications are that adequate data were obtained to successfully complete all objectives.

The Manned Spacecraft Center participated in two of nine approved operational tests. The two operational tests were: lunar gravity measurement (using the lunar module primary guidance system) and a lunar module voice and data relay test (a lunar module and Manned Space Flight Network test of voice and portable life support system data from the Lunar Module Pilot). Both tests were completed.

The other seven tests were performed for the Department of Defense and the Kennedy Space Center. These tests are designated as follows:

a. Chapel Bell (classified Department of Defense test)
b. Radar skin tracking
c. Ionospheric disturbance from missiles
d. Acoustic measurement of missile exhaust noise
e. Army acoustic test
f. Long-focal-length optical system
g. Sonic boom measurement

TABLE 12-1. - DETAILED OBJECTIVES AND EXPERIMENTS (Concluded)



a Fourteen 35-mm photographs were scheduled for the Gegenschein from lunar orbit experiment. None of the photographs were obtained because of an error in the spacecraft photographic attitudes used. The error was incurred during the analytical transformation of the target coordinates to spacecraft attitudes.