1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,083 (calm, upbeat music) 2 00:00:19,455 --> 00:00:20,920 (radio chatter) 3 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:23,860 - Much before Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon 4 00:00:23,860 --> 00:00:28,290 on July 20th, 1969, NASA, looking toward future 5 00:00:28,290 --> 00:00:31,960 and more extensive exploration of the moon's surface, 6 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:34,410 requested that WES conduct investigations 7 00:00:34,410 --> 00:00:37,730 to determine mobility characteristics of wheels 8 00:00:37,730 --> 00:00:40,430 designed for a lunar rover. 9 00:00:40,430 --> 00:00:42,210 As temperatures on the moon range 10 00:00:42,210 --> 00:00:47,210 from 250 degrees Fahrenheit to -350 degrees Fahrenheit, 11 00:00:47,780 --> 00:00:51,200 conventional pneumatic wheel and tire configuration 12 00:00:51,200 --> 00:00:52,680 was unsuitable. 13 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:54,870 Thus, NASA provided three wheels 14 00:00:54,870 --> 00:00:57,600 to Waterways for testing purposes. 15 00:00:57,600 --> 00:00:59,850 A model of the lunar rover was fabricated 16 00:00:59,850 --> 00:01:03,800 here at Waterways for testing in simulated moon soil, 17 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:06,120 as the quantity of lunar soil recovered 18 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:07,820 from the surface of the moon 19 00:01:07,820 --> 00:01:12,360 during missions Apollo 11 and 12 was limited in quantity, 20 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,530 WES scientists developed simulated moon soil, 21 00:01:15,530 --> 00:01:18,440 utilizing fine dune sands from the deserts 22 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,640 near Yuma, Arizona, and basalt from the Napa Valley 23 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,255 in California, when mixed, contain the same 24 00:01:24,255 --> 00:01:27,803 cohesive properties as that of lunar soil. 25 00:01:27,803 --> 00:01:32,320 With this simulated lunar soil, testing was conducted 26 00:01:32,320 --> 00:01:34,840 here at Waterways for several months. 27 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:39,010 Of the three wheels provided by NASA to Waterways, 28 00:01:39,010 --> 00:01:41,320 the one developed by Boeing GM 29 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:43,910 was considered the most promising. 30 00:01:43,910 --> 00:01:47,680 It consisted of woven, zinc-coated piano wire, 31 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,179 with titanium chevrons for enhanced traction. 32 00:01:51,179 --> 00:01:54,800 This particular wheel, when placed on the lunar rover, 33 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:57,290 was utilized on the Apollo 15 mission. 34 00:01:57,290 --> 00:01:59,430 It was the fourth manned mission to the moon 35 00:01:59,430 --> 00:02:02,029 in July and August of 1971, and it unveiled 36 00:02:02,029 --> 00:02:06,330 what is more popularly known as the moon buggy. 37 00:02:06,330 --> 00:02:08,940 But with this lunar rover utilizing the wheels 38 00:02:08,940 --> 00:02:12,120 tested here at Waterways, astronauts James Irwin 39 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:15,200 and David Scott covered more than 17 miles 40 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,253 of the lunar surface on this particular mission. 41 00:02:18,253 --> 00:02:21,470 Lunar roving vehicles were used by astronauts 42 00:02:21,470 --> 00:02:25,490 on Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions. 43 00:02:25,490 --> 00:02:29,180 In reference to the LRB, astronaut Harrison Smith 44 00:02:29,180 --> 00:02:32,357 of Apollo 17 said, "A lunar rover proved to be 45 00:02:32,357 --> 00:02:36,577 "the reliable, safe, and flexible lunar exploration vehicle 46 00:02:36,577 --> 00:02:38,387 "we expected it to be. 47 00:02:38,387 --> 00:02:40,997 "Without it, the major scientific discoveries 48 00:02:40,997 --> 00:02:45,797 "of Apollo 15, 16, and 17 would not have been possible." 49 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:49,700 The wheels tested here at Waterways led to NASA 50 00:02:49,700 --> 00:02:52,510 to request that Waterways also conduct investigations 51 00:02:52,510 --> 00:02:55,782 into the mobility capabilities, traction capabilities, 52 00:02:55,782 --> 00:02:59,940 of devices for use on the Mars rover. 53 00:02:59,940 --> 00:03:03,990 Here at Waterways, an elasticized loop mobility system 54 00:03:03,990 --> 00:03:08,230 was tested, but deemed unsuitable for use on Mars. 55 00:03:08,230 --> 00:03:10,970 The corps relationship with NASA continues today, 56 00:03:10,970 --> 00:03:13,250 with the Engineering, Research, and Development Center 57 00:03:13,250 --> 00:03:17,260 in Vicksburg working on the LANDSAT satellites 58 00:03:17,260 --> 00:03:19,978 as well as computer programs for use in space 59 00:03:19,978 --> 00:03:21,713 and 3D printing. 60 00:03:23,721 --> 00:03:28,540 - [Narrator] ERDC, discovering, developing, and delivering 61 00:03:28,540 --> 00:03:32,203 new ways to make the world safer and better every day.