Apollo Lens Brush

Copyright 2007 by Eric M. Jones. All rights reserved.
Last revised 3 September 2007.

 

Apollo 13 photo S70-32726 shows the lens brush, first flown on that mission.
(Click on the image for a larger version.)
Scan courtesy NASA Johnson.

Description of the lens brush from NASA's Handbook of Pilot Operational Equipment
Scan courtesy Ulli Lotzmann.

 

The following comes from the early stage of Apollo 15 EVA-2:

142:51:19 Scott: There. Get the lens brush out. Try to take care of those lens. (Pause) Hey, that works pretty good.

142:51:31 Irwin: Work good?

142:51:32 Scott: Man, does it ever. Bright and shiny.

[Scott, from the 1971 Technical Debrief - "I think the (16-mm DAC) camera would be better off if we'd protect it a little bit better. We used the lens brushes on the cameras, and they were very good."]

[Irwin, from the 1971 Technical Debrief - "On the TV, also."]

[Scott, from the 1971 Technical Debrief - "On the TV also. That lens brush is really a good brush. It cleaned it off very well. The (large) dust brush to clean off the suits seemed to work pretty good. It got the gross dirt off. It didn't get everything. I guess it also worked quite well on the LRV and the LCRU mirrors. (It) cleaned them off pretty well."]

[Scott, from a 1996 letter - "'Lens brush' and 'dust brush' are specific nomenclature to identify the different brushes."]