Apollo Lunar Surface
Experiment Package (ALSEP)
Lunar Surface Gravimeter
Experiment
.
Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Gravimeter (LSG) at ALSEP
deployment site. Note the geophone flag just to the left of the LSG,
and the LM Challenger in the background.
.
Above Left - Diagram of LSG in deployed configuration
Above Right - Pre-flight photo of LSG (nice match
for the diagram!)
Apollo Experiment Number: S 207
Apollo Missions: 17
Wt: 12.7 kg
Dim: 27.7 X 25.4 X 38.4 cm, stowed
This was a very exciting and interesting experiment
which, had it actually worked, was designed to study gravity on the moon.
Specifically, it was to have looked for gravity waves, a phenomenon predicted
by Einstein's theory of relativity. It would also have been used
to study tidal effects of the earth's gravity on the moon, and seismic
effects.
Unfortunately, a manufacturing error caused the instrument
to malfunction. Calculations for the booms which would have measured
the gravity effects used an incorrect value for the 1/6 lunar gravity to
estimate their weight, essentially rendering the exotic instrument useless.
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