Apollo J-Series Missions Scientific Instrument Module (SIM) Bay& SIM Bay Data Retrieval EVA

Apollo 15 CSM “Endeavor” orbits above the moon with SIM Bay visible. Detail from NASA photo AS15-88-11971

Apollo J-Series Missions Scientific Instrument Module (SIM) Bay
Diagrams & photos of Apollo SIM Bays
Apollo 15 & 16 were the same

Apollo 15 & 16 SIM Bay diagram
Pre-flight photo of Apollo 15 SIM Bay
Apollo 15 in-flight photo of SIM Bay
Apollo 17 SIM Bay diagram
Apollo 17 in-flight photo of SIM Bay

Two instruments that were common to all 3 SIM Bays

Panoramic Camera (diagram)
Panoramic Camera (photo)
Mapping camera (photo)
Mapping Camera (diagram)
Diagram of Mapping Camera

SIM Bay Subsatellite

Diagram and photo of subsatellite,
carried on Apollos 15 &16 and released
into lunar orbit


Apollo 17 SIM Bay – Differences Explained

Much like the entire mission, Apollo 17’s SIM Bay was a little different from it’s J-Series predecessors.  The Subsatellite canister was replaced with the Lunar Sounder Experiment box, and the entire bottom shelf of experiments was changed.  The differences are listed in this table:

Apollo 15 & 16 experiment:
Replaced on Apollo 17 with:
Particles & Fields Subsatellite
Lunar Sounder Experiment 
(Also referred to as the Coherent Synthetic Aperture Radar or CSAR)
Gamma Ray Spectrometer
UV Spectrometer
Mass Spectrometer
Lunar Sounder Experiment Optical Recorder
Alpha & X-Ray Spectrometer
IR Scanning Radiometer

Diagrams of Apollo 17 SIM Bay Instruments

Bottom shelves of Apollo 17 SIM Bay, showing the different instruments it carried
UV Spectrometer (see photo below)
IR Scanning Radiometer (see photo below)
Front panel of the Lunar Sounder Optical Recorder
Antenna configuration of the Lunar Sounder Experiment

Pre-flight photos of 2 of the Apollo 17 SIM Bay instruments

IR Scanning Radiometer (lying on it’s back) Front of instrument is facing up
UV Spectrometer

Above: Lunar orbital photos of Apollo 17 CSM “America”, showing the two dipole antennae boxes for the Lunar Sounder Experiment

Above: Apollo 17 CSM “America”, with the Yagi antenna for the Lunar Sounder Experiment clearly visible.


Apollo J-Series Missions SIM
Bay Data Retrieval EVA

Beautiful painting of SIM Bay EVA
Nat Geo painting showing Al Worden’s view of Jim Irwin in the CM hatch
Apollo 17 backup CMP Stu Roosa rehearsing for EVA on KC-135 “Vomit Comet”
Rehearsing for SIM Bay EVA in WETF
J-Series CMP EMU Connectors layout
Great photo of specialized OPS used by CMP
same as at left

3 awesome views of the real SIM Bay EVA

Luna Spacey

Luna Spacey

Luna Spacey, a distinguished space researcher, earned her Ph.D. in Astrophysics from MIT, specializing in exotic matter near black holes. Joining NASA post-graduation, she significantly contributed to the discovery of gravitational waves, enriching cosmic understanding.With a 15-year stellar career, Luna has numerous published papers and is currently spearheading a dark matter research project. Beyond her profession, she’s an avid stargazer, dedicated to community science education through local school workshops.Luna also cherishes hiking and astrophotography, hobbies that harmoniously blend her admiration for nature and the cosmos, making her a revered figure in both the scientific and local communities.

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