fut_v_bw_o_n (original 1959 photo, 'meteoric' hazards)
“Recent advances made in rocketry indicate man may get to the moon sooner than even the well informed imagined.
This very prospect, however, increases the concern about the presence of meteoric dust and particles in space.
These constitute a deadly rain when they fall on a body – like the moon – which possesses no protective atmosphere. Arriving at a speed 100 times as fast as a high-powered rifle bullet, even a small particle is lethal.
The hazard is real, as satellites telemetering information back to earth have shown.
Soviet data acquired from the sputniks indicate meteoric material is falling to the earth at the rate of 10,000,000 tons a day!
This is an incredible figure. Is it possible the sensing instruments were in error or the sputniks moved through meteoric showers having especially large concentrations of particles?
If the figures are correct, it means meteoric debris is falling on the earth at the rate of 100 pounds a square mile each day. In a year this would amount to 18 tons an acre. Surely there would be ample evidence of such rain, if it existed.
In shallow seas, for example, the particles would settle and remain undisturbed for centuries. However, samples taken from the bottom of the seas do not indicate the density of fall.
Thus we are forced to conclude that an unusually large error was contained in sputnik information.
What about studies in this country?
An evaluation of the high-altitude Aerobee rockets fired from the White Sands Proving Grounds indicates the daily meteoric showers range from a high of 25,000 tons to a low of 5,000 tons a day. However…”
…the rest of the article is unfortunately unreadable.
The accompanying caption above per Dr. I. M. Levitt, then Director of the Franklin Institute.
Although the jagged lunar peaks & landing vehicles confirm this to be an early depiction, that spacesuit is pretty high-speed and a far cry from most concepts of the time. To me, it looks a lot like what motocross riders wear today. And no PLSS, at least not visible from this perspective. Note also what appears to be a sort of United Nations/United Federation of Planets(?)-looking helmet emblem...or that of Cadillac.
Artwork by M. Anderson. Disappointingly, absolutely nothing on him/her.
fut_v_bw_o_n (original 1959 photo, 'meteoric' hazards)
“Recent advances made in rocketry indicate man may get to the moon sooner than even the well informed imagined.
This very prospect, however, increases the concern about the presence of meteoric dust and particles in space.
These constitute a deadly rain when they fall on a body – like the moon – which possesses no protective atmosphere. Arriving at a speed 100 times as fast as a high-powered rifle bullet, even a small particle is lethal.
The hazard is real, as satellites telemetering information back to earth have shown.
Soviet data acquired from the sputniks indicate meteoric material is falling to the earth at the rate of 10,000,000 tons a day!
This is an incredible figure. Is it possible the sensing instruments were in error or the sputniks moved through meteoric showers having especially large concentrations of particles?
If the figures are correct, it means meteoric debris is falling on the earth at the rate of 100 pounds a square mile each day. In a year this would amount to 18 tons an acre. Surely there would be ample evidence of such rain, if it existed.
In shallow seas, for example, the particles would settle and remain undisturbed for centuries. However, samples taken from the bottom of the seas do not indicate the density of fall.
Thus we are forced to conclude that an unusually large error was contained in sputnik information.
What about studies in this country?
An evaluation of the high-altitude Aerobee rockets fired from the White Sands Proving Grounds indicates the daily meteoric showers range from a high of 25,000 tons to a low of 5,000 tons a day. However…”
…the rest of the article is unfortunately unreadable.
The accompanying caption above per Dr. I. M. Levitt, then Director of the Franklin Institute.
Although the jagged lunar peaks & landing vehicles confirm this to be an early depiction, that spacesuit is pretty high-speed and a far cry from most concepts of the time. To me, it looks a lot like what motocross riders wear today. And no PLSS, at least not visible from this perspective. Note also what appears to be a sort of United Nations/United Federation of Planets(?)-looking helmet emblem...or that of Cadillac.
Artwork by M. Anderson. Disappointingly, absolutely nothing on him/her.