Do you think we will one day recover Snoopy and other lost spacecraft? - Shoutout to PayPal Honey for supporting this video. Get it for free here: joinhoney.com/primalspace
I think snoopy if brought back to earth would have lost any paint. Some sensors might have been damaged or knocked off my space debris. And it would probably have a lot of scratches. Never won a giveaway before.
I can't imagine that it would look too different from its appearance in 1969. Then again, constant exposure to solar radiation could have taken a toll on the module. It's amazing that parts of the Apollo missions 50+ years ago are still out there. Space really is an eternal museum.
@@MikinessAnalog that Tesla would be a mountain of data regarding the effects of various radiation, particles and temperatures upon the many construction materials; from rubber to carbon fibre, and aluminium to paint!
@@tehjamerz orbital mechanics are very well understood. If you know the start and end positions you can extrapolate the path between them with a fairly high degree of confidence.
@tommybotts unless it was retrieved by a cargo rocket that could secure it inside and manage to act as the heat shield for it, getting Snoopy down safely again
The Cradle of Aviation Museum in Mitchell Field, Long Island, New York has the LEM intended for Apollo 18. The spacecraft was donated by Grumman. It is a magnificent display.
Some of the greatest engineers worked for this great company (Grumman). The late 60's were one of the proudest eras in the technological history of the United States.
In case anybody is feeling sad about snoopy being all alone out there in the endless expanse of space, worry not! The current plan for one of the Artemis missions involves yeeting an HLS out into interplanetary space just like snoopy, so after fifty-something years it’ll finally have a buddy out there!
I wonder if any microorganisms survived inside for this long. It would be an incredible example of adaptations to deep space with extreme temperature and radiation exposure if they did.
That does bring up something that happened after leaving the moon but before the LM was undocked: One of the astronauts saw some feces passed by one of them floating around. He grabbed a tissue, caught it, and threw it in the trash. Soon after they went onboard the CM and as described undocked. This is referred by some as 'The Apollo 10 Turd'. They want to find anything like that to see what happened after all this time. Same goes with the about the 98 pounds of poop the astronauts left with their other trash and discards on the moon's surface/
@@jamesanderson9287 What if some aliens were whizzing around our solar system in it's infancy and jettisoned some of their waste while near a young earth. It's plausible that all life as we know it has it's origins from some bacteria on a space turd. A few billion years later and those aliens are long extinct but here we are, descendants of the their crap. Think about it!
Almost 55 years now. I was 11 years old when Apollo 10 made this flight, and this is the first time I've known that "Snoopy" was lost in space. Nice to know he comes around now and then to check up on us.
imagine there's a scenario where your ship is destroyed, you're lost in space, and you see a dot in the middle of the darkness, you grab a fire extinguisher to reach it, and there. Power it on, presurize it, and call on an old UHF radio «i'm safe» «are you back on the dragon VI capsule?» «nah, i'm on the LEM.»
imagine space pirates in the future going around and stealing old equipment from space, there ends up being a black market auction for the apollo 10 lander
What is crazy is that NASA was doing these launches and test runs in a matter of months. The Apollo 9, 10, 11, and 12 all happened in the same calendar year with 11 and 12 landing on the Moon! Right after 9 the next team was prepping 10 to fly weeks after. Even the Space Shuttle program struggled to achieve or maintain that kind of schedule.
One advantage that Apollo had was the number of vehicles. If the shuttles had to be serviced between every mission, you would be limited by how long that took. With at most 4 vehicles operational at any given point, that severely limits your capability. On the other hand, you had a new Saturn 5 for every mission, with plenty of time to service each vehicle, as you could start doing so many months before the flight. SpaceX has a similar advantage due to the number of Falcon 9s. Any booster that needs extra service can get served while others take its role. Which points to one of the Shuttle programs biggest failures being the idea that they could just create a fleet of them and fly them. If they had been continuously manufacturing new shuttles, even at a modest rate, they would have been able to update the design, and add extra vehicles as needed. It makes good sense that SpaceX is still manufacturing Falcon 9s, even if the program is expected to wind down in a few years.
@placeholdername0000 These are valid points and a good analysis. NASA planned for and bought the Saturns, and each mission was a self-contained mission with no reuse. Still crazy they were able to have all those test runs up until actually having the lander decend above the lunar surface. The shuttle was a very complex machine with many many parts. There were never going to be a fleet of more than 5 shuttles due to their immense expense. The sales pitch to Nixon....then Carter was the lowering of cost per launch due to reuse. Noble but ultimately counterproductive as this put NASA under great stress and eventually lower standards to meet launch schedules. It should be noted that it wasn't the Orbiter that failed when Challenger and Columbia incidents occurred. Another key facet to the regularity and success of future space missions is partnering with industries that are in turn competing with other companies. So far only SpaceX is producing.....but others will rise to the occasion. This will stop the over reliance on NASA to be the sole entity in the US that is responsible for building and launching space vehicles. Naturally....advancements in rocketry.....computers.....automation via industry such as SpaceX are is a huge difference maker in the achievement of being able to launch vehicles into space faster.....safer.....cheaper. Something the Space Shuttle program aspired to but ultimately fail.
@@rickbase833 I see your point, but I truly do believe that NASA could have made an economic shuttle if they had kept the production line open. But another issue was the insistence of NASA to use manned shuttles. An unmanned system should have been preferred, and this would have allowed NASA to conduct more daring experimental flights, as well as allowing the launching of satellites to be more efficient due to the avoidance of constraints due to the crew. If that had been done, Challenger might have been unmanned, or at the very least, unmanned flights could have resumed more quickly, and new boosters, external tanks, and heat shield could have flown without being mam rated.
short answer, politics.. but the reality is the shuttle didn't have even a 1/4 of the budget Apollo had and the hilarious thing is people complain about the cost of SLS when apollo cost 20.2b dollars (roughly 140b dollars today) to develop.
I agree that we elect politicians that don't have well thought and cohesive plan. Before Artemis there was Constellation and that was kaibash'd by Obama administration thinking we could go directly to Mars.....but the reality is he needed to the budget to go to social programs that also happen to heavy costs for the "managerial" types. I just read that a crewed Artemis 2 mission is not happening until 2025. What the hell is going on? 3 freaking years between flight? Oh right.....we forgot how to do space missions that go beyond LEO. Please Elon.....doctor thing and get out to the Moon.....then Mars and shame all the rocket scientists at NASA.
Snoopy is probaby in relatively good shape just faded a bunch. It would be really cool for it to be put in a museum if we ever retrieve it. Might also be able to study the effects of longterm exposure in space.
What an amazing story, I had no idea that Snoopy had escaped us. Because of the hole in the hatch I assume all of the oxygen within had vented into space, no oxygen = no oxidization, so the interior should be pristine. The exterior should be pretty good too, perhaps a few micro-meteors left their holes here and there, but as nothing had drastically altered the orbit it won't be that bad in my opinion. If it were my choice, I would leave her where she is. Fate chose her path and she is in the best museum that money can't buy. Who knows, she may well "out live" mankind. Those who find her will wonder at who we were and our achievements long after all other traces of us have turned to dust.
What you two should be worrying about is ensuring that the sub-orbital platform is destroyed exactly 104 miles above the surface of the Earth - or, ostensibly at least, the Earth and its inhabitants will not survive. If you need help, talk to Roberta Lincoln! She's easy to find. She's 20 years old, blonde hair, and 120 pounds. If you still can't recognize her, then you can look for a small mole on her left shoulder or a slightly larger heart-shaped mole on her... you get the idea... :) How's that for geeky!?!?!?
I have often thought about how Voyager 1 and 2 would look like if it was possible to inspect them up close as they travel through space. It would be interesting to observe the LM AS of Apollo 10 and I would expect to see many signs of it being exposed in space for so long.
NASA should have 'parked' a couple of the Space Shuttles in high orbit or even near the moon, to be able to later recover larger objects in near space. Instead they gave the to museums, which is not a bad thing but reduced Earth's capability in local space.
@@Thurgosh_OG "NASA should have 'parked' a couple of the Space Shuttles in high orbit or even near the moon, to be able to later recover larger objects in near space. Instead they gave the to museums, which is not a bad thing but reduced Earth's capability in local space." They're going de-orbit the ISS instead of boosting it to much higher orbit where it could serve as our first saved space station and eventually students in the future could have "that field trip to the old space station" that every class has to go on.... But for the rest of time they plan this for end of 2020's, so say 2030-2035+ it could serve as second(the lesser of at least 2 ) space station that many poorer countries could send their astronauts to perform science on. That can't get time on the only single station up there. As there are more science projects competing for International Space Station time then there are available space station hours and scientists to run those experiments. Compare this option, to back in the 1970's where they had left in orbit with this very plan the USA's SKY LABS(our first space stations) in higher orbits for the up coming space shuttle but due to over an extra decade in delays for Shuttle, that caused the need to de-orbit them. Which one Skylab missed crashing into the Pacific Ocean and parts that didn't burn up on reentry hit all across Australia. People cry about the cost to maintain the ISS , but the cost to put it up there, even if its sits in powered down mode as just an emergency escape to station (is a pretty good insurance policy), perhaps it acts as a station for spare parts, the reasons go on and on for why we should leave and hopefully preserve the ISS long after this artificially created termination of service life date comes and goes. This would be like how the USA's Navy sold off ships that were ""too old"" to be of any service anymore but other countries bought them and used those ships for many decades for their NAVY. Everyone wants to work on the new flagship with best and newest equipment, but if comes down not going at all or serving on that older ship/station .... which one do you think people/countries/scientists would be happy for?
"I have often thought about how Voyager 1 and 2 would look like if it was possible to inspect them up close as they travel through space. It would be interesting to observe the LM AS of Apollo 10 and I would expect to see many signs of it being exposed in space for so long." One day we will hopefully have faster spaceships, that will fly past the Voyager Satellites way out beyond the edge of solar system right now(a line very much being debated presently) and that Spaceship (they'll probably already have orders on what to do) will have to decide do they bring the Voyagers onboard and return it to Earth for archaeology purposes for investiagting and preserving items from the age of man's earliest space craft or do they refuel it, maybe update the equipment with extra means of transmitting signals, then send back out on its original mission. Hoping to find other alien life, so they can know us. Given by then we'll have sent many similar faster more advance styles of spacecraft out towards interesting planetary systems by then, hoping for a hit with the possibility of good luck on one of them. More than random small Voyager 1 & 2 satellites flying through huge void of space hoping someone/something finds it. Like a message in bottle thrown in the oceans back in the 1700's.... The ever faintest of chances but still chance it might work compare to not trying at all......
Bringing Snoopy back, we can actually see how the extremely low temperatures of the space and solar radiations have modified the lattice structure of Aluminium.
@@kurtfrancis4621 There is no power after all these years. Even nuclear reactors doesnt last that long, but it will be hardly any more complicated then asteroid mission, i think space x superheavy is perfect for task, if they got it ready till next flyby not in state "it critically failed multiple times every flight 3 times in a row".
I was a kid in the 60s and remember this, and the Charlie Brown TV specials, well. The craft is interesting anyway, but that the craft is named "Snoopy" had me welling up tears for some odd reason. It's kind of touching knowing Snooping is still flying out there somewhere.
Did you notice that both Snoopy and the earth have a FLAT orbit around the sun. Let that sink in a bit. More questions later after your jaw is picked up from the floor.
@@charleshill506 I'm not sure it is anything special either but the video did say that objects from outside our solsr system have orbits angled to that of the earth and moon. I don't know enough about the reasons.
@@WilliamMurphy-uv9pm I assumed that since they were controlling it, it originally had a flat orbit and when they sent it off it kept that flat orbit. But I used to have trouble balancing my check book, I can't imagine correctly plotting the movements of objects in orbit.
Depending what definition of spacecraft you use, Snoopy may not be the only one still flying through space that once had humans in it. Snoopy is cruising the cosmos with a little red Tesla that once carried humans.
Honestly, I imagine it would be in a similar condition to how it was in 1969, albeit with a little less atmosphere. Im glad at least one part of the Apollo missions is out there to serve as an eternal history museum (aside from all the S-IVB stages out there).
I can't imagine 50 years of solar radiation and micrometeorites has been kind to it. Would be interesting to see what is left, and would give us insight into long term space missions.
Think of it that maybe thousands of years from now it is still circling, and they find it while maybe they are forgotten who put it in space? Would they think of it as an old craft from ET ?
I had the honour of meeting Eugene Cernan many years ago. He spent about 1/2 hour chatting with me. At one point, I asked him about the rumour that he and his copilot had thought about “mutiny” by actually landing. He said they talked about it jokingly, but the look on his face told me it may have been a little more serious of a discussion. 🙂
Im seeing a lot of AI and Bot based science channels now a days. I like how this channel is not one of them. This channel really makes me feel insignificant on the grand scale of the universe!
My mom's friend back in the 60's worked at NASA on the Apollo XIII. She gave me a patch which I still have. I'll never forget her as she was the one that got me interested in science.
it would be wonderful in the future to have the possibility to bring this spaceship back to earth and perhaps to carry out missions of this type also to carry out maintenance on other space probes. Beautiful!
I believe that the internal portion of Snoopy will be relatively similar to how it appeared to the astronauts. The external portions of it will definitely have had some degree of wear. How much is based on various factors such as its orbit, whether there was any spin, whether it was in the path of any solar events such as a CME, etc. It is difficult to say how much damage the spacecraft will have suffered but it is likely not in pristine condition.
@@alexturnbackthearmy1907 Sure, if we were still building memory using core toroids and transistor logic. Electronic components suck of progressive damage from high energy particles. I doubt that even one transistor aboard Snoopy is functional.
Hate to bring this up, but Apollo 11, Eagle, has not been found. All the other crashed LMs have been found on the Moon. There is a better than nil chance that it is still in orbit of the Moon. Scott Manly did a great video on this very thing. Might want to check it out.
Title didn't though. Also, the evidence presented tends significantly more towards "they've found it" than towards "nah, it's not the module - that will please all the depressingly cynical people".
I can't imagine that it would look too different from its appearance in 1969. Then again, constant exposure to solar radiation could have taken a toll on the module. It's amazing that parts of the Apollo missions 50+ years ago are still out there. Space really is an eternal museum.
It really is! Would love to see Snoopy retrieved one day for a closer look though. Thanks for taking the time to comment and good luck in the giveaway!
Great video, i just found out you yesterday, and i have already watched all your videos uploaded in the last 3 years. Your videos are really great, amazing explanations, for ease of understanding. Fantastic work.
One of my earliest memories is the NASA mission featuring "Charlie Brown" and "Snoopy". I can't recall if I actually remember it when it happened, or if I merely remember my dad telling me about it perhaps some time later. I was 2 years old when that mission took place, and just shy of 3 when Apollo 11 landed (which I also recall) but my whole life I've known that at one time there were NASA vehicles called "Charlie Brown" and "Snoopy". And despite being as young as I was, I knew who Charlie Brown and Snoopy were as characters.
Great video, the only thing I would add is that we don’t actually know where Apollo 11 eagle is, which is pretty amazing considering it’s historical significance. We have found all the crash sites of all the other Luna missions minus snoopy Command modules but not Apollo 11. It has been suggested that it might actually still be in Luna orbit. Pretty amazing if you ask me.
Agreed. The comment at 8:08 is incorrect in that it should state "If confirmed, Snoopy will be the only object previously occupied by man to be confirmed still in space"... Of course this also is incorrect if you take the space station into consideration... then we can bring in the arguments on where exactly "Outer space" actually begins tho conventionally "space" is said to begin at the arbitrary height of 100k and the station is at 400k so clearly it's also in outer space... and I'm fairly sure it had been occupied at some time by humans... (unless it's all a hoax and the astronauts "in the space station" are on holiday in the Arizona desert...)
I remember Scott Manley doing a video on that one as well. I know I probably won't still be around for it, but I like the thought of us having advanced in space enough that we might be able to bring both Snoopy and Eagle home one day (be it a museum on Earth, or one on the moon).
@@Conundrum191 I like the idea of things like Eagle remaining where they are undisturbed for as long as possible... it's just stopping the idiots from venturing to them that is the problem (read "tiny sub implodes") etc... Perhaps it can become the thing to see with some powerful electric telescopes... and footprints on the moon... (or was that the Arizona Desert). q8)
The definition of where space begins is less arbitrary than you think. It's actually based on physics. The karman line is the point where a plane needs to be traveling at orbital velocity in order for the control surfaces to function. And there's no taking anything into consideration. The ISS has never been "previously" occupied. "Previously occupied" kinda means there's no one there anymore....
I like the fact is still around in space and not destroyed on surface, The people of Northrop Grumman did an incredible job and it was one of the most reliable parts of the mission.
On one hand, Snoopy has been in an absolute vacuum where oxidation doesn't exist. On the other hand, it has been exposed to sometimes extreme ultraviolet radiation, which is known to deteriorate manmade objects. I was young, but I still remember the Apollo Program as it unfolded and part of me says leave it alone and let it continue its journey, while another part of me says it would be a once in a lifetime experience to see it on display someday. Either way, this is a pretty cool find.
I suspect that the overall shape will be roughly the same as when Snoopy was made. Likely to have faded in appearance, maybe to a more grayish tone, due to the constant solar radiation. There may also be quite a few impact craters, ranging from microscopic to larger dents, due to impacts with space objects (meteors, dust, space junk). It would be very interesting to see Snoopy's current state. And, yes, being able to bring it back, perhaps to sit next to an Apollo space craft in a museum, would be fascinating.
If you think about the range of velocities of dust and micro-meteorites it probably leaks like a sieve. The thing is not much thicker than an aluminum beer can.
The LM was never meant to be durable. Collisions with micrometeoroids probably have certain areas looking like more like lace than metal sheets. The unfiltered sunlight would likely obliterate unprotected plastics. The Mylar blankets had thin coatings of gold and nickel which (if intact) would preserve them. Interior items are going to span the range of possibilities.
There are some facts I remember clearly about the LEMs, which adequately describe their character. Each LEM weighed 14 tons, and cost as much to build as if they were made from 14-tons of pure gold - at the 1969 gold price. The LEM was so lightweight, that you could literally punch a hole in it with your fist, if you smashed it hard enough. My first computer, in 1979, just 10 years after Apollo 11, had almost the exact same specification as the LEM computer. Overclocked 2 MHz 6502 CPU, 8KB of ROM and 32KB of RAM. :)
I think it's going to be generally intact, except a few of the more delicate internal components surely affected by interplanetary dust and particles hitting the craft for decades. Only one way to know for sure though, recovering it. It belongs in a museum!
And floating dead in space is so far worse than being dead and buried in dirt on the earth? Being dead is dead everywhere. One thing about space, you might not decay. No air. Then again, if you were still in your pressurized space capsule, you'd still be in an earth-like environment. Hope I didn't ruin dinner for you.
Yes. The winner of each giveaway is always announced in the following video. For the most recent giveaway (still open for entries) you can check out my newest video. Cheers and thanks for watching!
1. Send probe to verify. 2. Design, plan, launch, vehicle to recover Snoopy. Let's crowd source - or even globally crowd source the funds to make it happen. Maybe we can attach it to the next space station for a while, till we have sufficient technology to safely bring Snoopy home to Cape Canaveral. What a centerpiece at a museum she would be!
Thanks for the post. If Snoopy were in a relatively stable attitude (or only slowly tumbling) its external structure would be relatively intact. But if any remaining RCS fuel managed to leech through the plumbing to the thrusters over time, it might be in a high spin such that various antennae would've detached. Unpainted surfaces on the exterior would probably have successfully reflected sunlight, but the black pyromark-coated panels would likely have blistered and flaked away. Here's hoping we'll be able to get some decent pics in 2028. There's also some speculation that the Eagle Ascent Stage is still in lunar orbit.
We can look at dots of light light years away and tell that it's a planet and what it likely is composed of, but can't tell if this is Snoopy or not from a few thousand kilometers?
Because planets from super far away travel slower through the skies, thus allowing us to point our biggest telescopes at them. Smaller telescopes are the only ones that can turn fast enough to see something in our orbit
If we were to retrieve Snoopy, I believe it should be in pristine condition on the inside. The vacuum of space would have nothing to deteriorate, however, space dust and debris should pit the exterior.
If it's ever visited, it will be interesting to see how many, if any, impacts it's had with micrometeoroids/meteoroids/debris, that would have been potentially catastrophic. Divide that by how long it's been in interplanetary space, and it could give us a lot of useful information about the risk posed to future manned interplanetary missions, as well as the the kind of shielding needed to minimise those odds.
I believe that some of the interior will have been changed by exposure to hard vacuum but be mostly intact. Additionally, I think there is a good chance that the exterior will be a little dirty but otherwise totally intact.
Thanks for the video. I'd never heard this story, and I'm fascinated by it. Snoopy's condition will depend on several things. First, I don't expect any polymers or elastomers that were on the surface to still be attached. UV light from the sun likely will have destroyed anything made of carbon chains. I don't know how much UV light will get through the hole blown into the hatch during separation. I don't know whether any small meteors will have hit Snoopy and put additional holes in the shell. If UV light has been getting inside and reflecting around the inside for fifty years, I'd expect everything made of polymer or elastomer to be completely destroyed as well. If there were hydraulics inside the module, the fluids would have seeped through non-metallic hoses long ago and escaped into space. If everything was sealed completely with metal pipes and holes, then maybe some of the hydraulic fluid is still inside. Wires that were insulated with polymer or elastomer will have lost the insulation if the UV radiation reached them. In terms of the metallic components, I don't see a reason why they would be terribly damaged. The vapor pressure above a piece of metal is tiny, and in the cold of space that vapor pressure is even smaller. However, an atom will occasionally fly off the surface. In the vacuum of space, that atom won't return. I doubt that the rate of loss would be enough that we would be able to notice or measure, but maybe there will be some metal loss. If tiny particles are flying through space, those particles could have scoured the surface of the module. Aluminum is not very hard, and small rocks moving along the surface would cut grooves in the surface. If those rocks/particles are microscopic, the grooves will be microscopic. If they are bigger, the grooves will be bigger. I'd expect to see some surface scouring of the aluminum shell. The metal inside the module should be pretty much intact. Aluminum has good thermal conductivity. I could imagine the module staying a fairly constant temperature on all pieces of metal. On the other hand, I'm not familiar with how much the sun can heat one side of an aluminum object when that side is turned towards the sun. If the module has stayed in one position relative to the sun so that one side has been hot and the other cold for fifty years, I wouldn't expect much damage. If the module has been tumbling for fifty years and there is a significant temperature gradient from the hot side to the cold side, we may find that the thermally-induced stresses have caused fatigue cracking of the aluminum. These cracks could grow to the point that the module would break apart at some point.
I think Snoopy would in pretty much same condition right now when it left the lunar module , except it would frozen, also there are many radiations in space, so it may have become pretty radioactive.
This is so fascinating and really amazing to think about its journey all this time, who knows what it saw and where it flew past by. Would of been awesome if there was any way to recover data from it, but I imagine it is still in the same condition as it was 50 years ago, maybe some scuffs and faded painting but other then that has to still work
wha? there's so much apollo footage, uncut footage even, and news coverage, that only the deranged or the ignorant have ever had a reason to disbelieve.
I am liking this video! The truly miraculous sighting of a 4metre object 55million kilometres away is too much for me! Wow! That is so incredible! This lunar module even has a name! This needs to be publicised much more widely, please share everybody. Miracles will never cease.
Given the materials the LEM is made out of, I'd say the surface will mostly be intact aside from the micrometeoroid impacts, and I'd wager components like the RCS clusters will still be hanging in there. Long live Snoopy, we hope to see you in person some day!
A slight factual error. One of the mission objectives was to give the ascent stage engine a long duration burn to fuel depletion. So the re-firing of Snoopy's engine was deliberate. Snoopy also contained less than a full load of fuel so that depletion occurred in a timely fashion. The low fuel is one of several reasons why a Moon landing by Apollo 10 was not possible.
I did the same job a while ago on my BJ73. I tried similar approaches and experienced similar challenges. Here is a tip: Get yourself a marker that has real black paint in it, eg Edding 751. You can retrace the outer diameter of the letters and smooth out the edge. Worked great für me. Enjoy your truck!
this channel is so interesting, I have been in love with all things space related since I was 1st able to talk and I even saw the challenger explode during that time. Love the idea that we finally found Snoopy after all this time.
I would like to get ahold of the batteries and see if there is any residual charge. About 10 years ago I was working on a very old (60s?) VHF-Multi radio pack with an 'internal 12v block battery' and the battery still had about 5 second charge when I tried to initially turn it on. Thing sat in a damp cellar for nearly 50 years and that crusty old block battery still had a few electrons to give.
If anyone ever retrieves it, they'll be greeted to several bags of poop that was left inside. Along with any other trash the astronauts needed to dispose of. It was used as a trash can before separation.
If the cabin depressurization was slow enough then it is possible that the air trapped behind the glass instrument covers will leak out from behind the glass panels slowly enough, then they should remain intact. If any corrosion occurred it would be from corrosive gases kept on board the craft when it was abandoned in lunar orbit. I don't know how corrosive the hypergolic main engine fuel. If it is corrosive then some sort of damage would probably have occurred IF there enough leftover. Otherwise it's very likely to be in good shape, aside from possible solar radiation damage, as mentioned elsewhere here.
at 2:30 'snoopy continued burning' is that part actual footage, or graphics for the explanation? and also just after, is the window view of it far away real or reenacted. thanks
Haha thanks so much. I try to keep it as entertaining as possible, but also include those chapter links for anyone who wants to skip forward without missing any content.
"searching for an object in space is extremely difficult" Should be "searching for most objects in space is extremely difficult" since some objects are very easy to find in space. The Moon and The Sun, for example lol
Thank you for the intriguing video and the possibilities of Snoopy's position and condition. Three notes: 1:10 shows all the flown Apollo Lunar Modules, but Apollo 5 (January 1968) was launched without landing legs (weren't ready yet and not needed for Earth orbit test. 2:26-Narration states "NASA decided to fire its (Snoopy's) engines..." Only the ascent engine was left to fire. As long as you do not count the Reaction Control System thrusters; there was only one engine left on the ascent stage. 4:40- Narration states that burn added 1 kilometers per second velocity (plural). Should be kilometer (singular). Greatly enjoyed the video and very much looking forward to another close approach to Earth in 2028. Perhaps a recovery mission can be undertaken?
it might be one that has had impacts from micro items but the best way to find out is to have a small probe like a cube sat get a closer look with a camera. And maybe even attach to it with a beacon device
Snoopy might have lots of pin holes in its Fuselage due lots of small meteorites hitting it. lots of space dust rust like. I'm a fan of the lunar module.
Do you think we will one day recover Snoopy and other lost spacecraft? - Shoutout to PayPal Honey for supporting this video. Get it for free here: joinhoney.com/primalspace
I think snoopy if brought back to earth would have lost any paint. Some sensors might have been damaged or knocked off my space debris. And it would probably have a lot of scratches.
Never won a giveaway before.
Does the Honey add on also work in the netherlands?
Thank you!
I think Snoopy would be near perfectly preserved, if a little damaged from the explosive bolts. -David, age 12
no
I can't imagine that it would look too different from its appearance in 1969. Then again, constant exposure to solar radiation could have taken a toll on the module. It's amazing that parts of the Apollo missions 50+ years ago are still out there. Space really is an eternal museum.
Amazing indeed. I really hope we have the opportunity to see it retrieved one day! Thank you for your comment and good luck in the giveaway!
Also, an electric car that will most likely outlast humanity, if we never retrieve at some point or it is hit by meteors.
@@MikinessAnalog You’re right. Leonid meteor shower will most likely take care of it
@@MikinessAnalog that Tesla would be a mountain of data regarding the effects of various radiation, particles and temperatures upon the many construction materials; from rubber to carbon fibre, and aluminium to paint!
@@AtomicExtremophile was actually referring to the car that was left on the moon.
Looks like Snoopy had a great journey
Absolutely!
Did you watch the video? We know nothing about it's journey.
@@tehjamerz shut up
@@tehjamerz orbital mechanics are very well understood. If you know the start and end positions you can extrapolate the path between them with a fairly high degree of confidence.
@@them2545 did you watch the video?
I want to bring snoopy back and put it in a museum, that's a cool story!
yes
It couldn't be towed back to earth because it doesn't have heat shields. It would burn up on reentry.
@tommybotts unless it was retrieved by a cargo rocket that could secure it inside and manage to act as the heat shield for it, getting Snoopy down safely again
@@Director_Orson_Krennic Sounds like a cool mission for starship. It would be so cool if Starship was working and could recover the ISS as well.
Oh, whoa-oh! Let's have a party with Charlie Brown and Snoopy! We could go dancing with Linus and Lucy! .....
Primal Space never ceases to amaze me! Captivating content everytime!!
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
The Cradle of Aviation Museum in Mitchell Field, Long Island, New York has the LEM intended for Apollo 18. The spacecraft was donated by Grumman. It is a magnificent display.
Some of the greatest engineers worked for this great company (Grumman). The late 60's were one of the proudest eras in the technological history of the United States.
@@alohamark3025 I agree; I was on the Apollo launch team at KSC. Wonderful time.
That LEM is a huge vehicle, I was surprised how tall it was.
In case anybody is feeling sad about snoopy being all alone out there in the endless expanse of space, worry not! The current plan for one of the Artemis missions involves yeeting an HLS out into interplanetary space just like snoopy, so after fifty-something years it’ll finally have a buddy out there!
Love this! Best friends in the making!
Call it Woodstock!
with all of the "space junk" out there i think it already has a buddy !
😐
@@Mbuzz49x Well, a friend it can relate to, then
If you find the Red Baron, then you'll find Snoopy.
I wonder if any microorganisms survived inside for this long. It would be an incredible example of adaptations to deep space with extreme temperature and radiation exposure if they did.
That does bring up something that happened after leaving the moon but before the LM was undocked: One of the astronauts saw some feces passed by one of them floating around. He grabbed a tissue, caught it, and threw it in the trash. Soon after they went onboard the CM and as described undocked. This is referred by some as 'The Apollo 10 Turd'. They want to find anything like that to see what happened after all this time. Same goes with the about the 98 pounds of poop the astronauts left with their other trash and discards on the moon's surface/
@@jamesanderson9287 What if some aliens were whizzing around our solar system in it's infancy and jettisoned some of their waste while near a young earth. It's plausible that all life as we know it has it's origins from some bacteria on a space turd. A few billion years later and those aliens are long extinct but here we are, descendants of the their crap. Think about it!
would be one of the greatest discoveries of all time
@@jamesanderson9287imagine if the bacteria from that turd has evolved and flys snoopy back to earth 😂
That would be a hell of a movie lmao 🤣
Almost 55 years now. I was 11 years old when Apollo 10 made this flight, and this is the first time I've known that "Snoopy" was lost in space. Nice to know he comes around now and then to check up on us.
imagine there's a scenario where your ship is destroyed, you're lost in space, and you see a dot in the middle of the darkness, you grab a fire extinguisher to reach it, and there. Power it on, presurize it, and call on an old UHF radio «i'm safe» «are you back on the dragon VI capsule?» «nah, i'm on the LEM.»
Needs to be a movie
I love the idea of one day being able to retrieve these bits of space flotsam and put them in a museum one day
Me too! Really hoping I'm around to see Snoopy come home!
imagine space pirates in the future going around and stealing old equipment from space, there ends up being a black market auction for the apollo 10 lander
I think Snoopy would be considered 'jetsam'. Flotsam is what falls overboard by accident. Jetsam is jettisoned overboard on purpose. Or so I've heard.
@@primalspace would it survive re entry with now heatshield?
@@captainsouth4460 you could put it into another spacecraft and then land it.
What is crazy is that NASA was doing these launches and test runs in a matter of months. The Apollo 9, 10, 11, and 12 all happened in the same calendar year with 11 and 12 landing on the Moon! Right after 9 the next team was prepping 10 to fly weeks after. Even the Space Shuttle program struggled to achieve or maintain that kind of schedule.
One advantage that Apollo had was the number of vehicles. If the shuttles had to be serviced between every mission, you would be limited by how long that took. With at most 4 vehicles operational at any given point, that severely limits your capability. On the other hand, you had a new Saturn 5 for every mission, with plenty of time to service each vehicle, as you could start doing so many months before the flight. SpaceX has a similar advantage due to the number of Falcon 9s. Any booster that needs extra service can get served while others take its role. Which points to one of the Shuttle programs biggest failures being the idea that they could just create a fleet of them and fly them. If they had been continuously manufacturing new shuttles, even at a modest rate, they would have been able to update the design, and add extra vehicles as needed. It makes good sense that SpaceX is still manufacturing Falcon 9s, even if the program is expected to wind down in a few years.
@placeholdername0000 These are valid points and a good analysis. NASA planned for and bought the Saturns, and each mission was a self-contained mission with no reuse. Still crazy they were able to have all those test runs up until actually having the lander decend above the lunar surface.
The shuttle was a very complex machine with many many parts. There were never going to be a fleet of more than 5 shuttles due to their immense expense. The sales pitch to Nixon....then Carter was the lowering of cost per launch due to reuse. Noble but ultimately counterproductive as this put NASA under great stress and eventually lower standards to meet launch schedules.
It should be noted that it wasn't the Orbiter that failed when Challenger and Columbia incidents occurred.
Another key facet to the regularity and success of future space missions is partnering with industries that are in turn competing with other companies. So far only SpaceX is producing.....but others will rise to the occasion. This will stop the over reliance on NASA to be the sole entity in the US that is responsible for building and launching space vehicles.
Naturally....advancements in rocketry.....computers.....automation via industry such as SpaceX are is a huge difference maker in the achievement of being able to launch vehicles into space faster.....safer.....cheaper.
Something the Space Shuttle program aspired to but ultimately fail.
@@rickbase833 I see your point, but I truly do believe that NASA could have made an economic shuttle if they had kept the production line open. But another issue was the insistence of NASA to use manned shuttles. An unmanned system should have been preferred, and this would have allowed NASA to conduct more daring experimental flights, as well as allowing the launching of satellites to be more efficient due to the avoidance of constraints due to the crew. If that had been done, Challenger might have been unmanned, or at the very least, unmanned flights could have resumed more quickly, and new boosters, external tanks, and heat shield could have flown without being mam rated.
short answer, politics.. but the reality is the shuttle didn't have even a 1/4 of the budget Apollo had and the hilarious thing is people complain about the cost of SLS when apollo cost 20.2b dollars (roughly 140b dollars today) to develop.
I agree that we elect politicians that don't have well thought and cohesive plan. Before Artemis there was Constellation and that was kaibash'd by Obama administration thinking we could go directly to Mars.....but the reality is he needed to the budget to go to social programs that also happen to heavy costs for the "managerial" types.
I just read that a crewed Artemis 2 mission is not happening until 2025.
What the hell is going on? 3 freaking years between flight?
Oh right.....we forgot how to do space missions that go beyond LEO.
Please Elon.....doctor thing and get out to the Moon.....then Mars and shame all the rocket scientists at NASA.
Snoopy is probaby in relatively good shape just faded a bunch. It would be really cool for it to be put in a museum if we ever retrieve it. Might also be able to study the effects of longterm exposure in space.
Agreed. I would love to see Snoopy brought home for a closer look!
What an amazing story, I had no idea that Snoopy had escaped us.
Because of the hole in the hatch I assume all of the oxygen within had vented into space,
no oxygen = no oxidization, so the interior should be pristine.
The exterior should be pretty good too, perhaps a few micro-meteors left their holes here and there,
but as nothing had drastically altered the orbit it won't be that bad in my opinion.
If it were my choice, I would leave her where she is. Fate chose her path and she is in the best museum
that money can't buy. Who knows, she may well "out live" mankind. Those who find her will wonder at
who we were and our achievements long after all other traces of us have turned to dust.
I love it!!!!
What you two should be worrying about is ensuring that the sub-orbital platform is destroyed exactly 104 miles above the surface of the Earth - or, ostensibly at least, the Earth and its inhabitants will not survive.
If you need help, talk to Roberta Lincoln! She's easy to find. She's 20 years old, blonde hair, and 120 pounds. If you still can't recognize her, then you can look for a small mole on her left shoulder or a slightly larger heart-shaped mole on her... you get the idea... :)
How's that for geeky!?!?!?
@@amoskowitz0103 One of the best episodes of TOS
@@amoskowitz0103what the hell are you talking about
@@Professor_Sex It's a Star Trek thing (TOS)... :)
I have often thought about how Voyager 1 and 2 would look like if it was possible to inspect them up close as they travel through space. It would be interesting to observe the LM AS of Apollo 10 and I would expect to see many signs of it being exposed in space for so long.
Interesting indeed. I really hope we have that chance. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and good luck in he giveaway.
NASA should have 'parked' a couple of the Space Shuttles in high orbit or even near the moon, to be able to later recover larger objects in near space. Instead they gave the to museums, which is not a bad thing but reduced Earth's capability in local space.
@@Thurgosh_OG "NASA should have 'parked' a couple of the Space Shuttles in high orbit or even near the moon, to be able to later recover larger objects in near space. Instead they gave the to museums, which is not a bad thing but reduced Earth's capability in local space."
They're going de-orbit the ISS instead of boosting it to much higher orbit where it could serve as our first saved space station and eventually students in the future could have "that field trip to the old space station" that every class has to go on.... But for the rest of time they plan this for end of 2020's, so say 2030-2035+ it could serve as second(the lesser of at least 2 ) space station that many poorer countries could send their astronauts to perform science on. That can't get time on the only single station up there. As there are more science projects competing for International Space Station time then there are available space station hours and scientists to run those experiments.
Compare this option, to back in the 1970's where they had left in orbit with this very plan the USA's SKY LABS(our first space stations) in higher orbits for the up coming space shuttle but due to over an extra decade in delays for Shuttle, that caused the need to de-orbit them. Which one Skylab missed crashing into the Pacific Ocean and parts that didn't burn up on reentry hit all across Australia.
People cry about the cost to maintain the ISS , but the cost to put it up there, even if its sits in powered down mode as just an emergency escape to station (is a pretty good insurance policy), perhaps it acts as a station for spare parts, the reasons go on and on for why we should leave and hopefully preserve the ISS long after this artificially created termination of service life date comes and goes.
This would be like how the USA's Navy sold off ships that were ""too old"" to be of any service anymore but other countries bought them and used those ships for many decades for their NAVY.
Everyone wants to work on the new flagship with best and newest equipment, but if comes down not going at all or serving on that older ship/station .... which one do you think people/countries/scientists would be happy for?
"I have often thought about how Voyager 1 and 2 would look like if it was possible to inspect them up close as they travel through space. It would be interesting to observe the LM AS of Apollo 10 and I would expect to see many signs of it being exposed in space for so long."
One day we will hopefully have faster spaceships, that will fly past the Voyager Satellites way out beyond the edge of solar system right now(a line very much being debated presently) and that Spaceship (they'll probably already have orders on what to do) will have to decide do they bring the Voyagers onboard and return it to Earth for archaeology purposes for investiagting and preserving items from the age of man's earliest space craft or do they refuel it, maybe update the equipment with extra means of transmitting signals, then send back out on its original mission. Hoping to find other alien life, so they can know us.
Given by then we'll have sent many similar faster more advance styles of spacecraft out towards interesting planetary systems by then, hoping for a hit with the possibility of good luck on one of them. More than random small Voyager 1 & 2 satellites flying through huge void of space hoping someone/something finds it. Like a message in bottle thrown in the oceans back in the 1700's.... The ever faintest of chances but still chance it might work compare to not trying at all......
Have you never seen Star Trek the motion picture?
Bringing Snoopy back, we can actually see how the extremely low temperatures of the space and solar radiations have modified the lattice structure of Aluminium.
Great in theory. Extremely poor in practicality. Better would be probe sent to link up with Snoopy to study it and send data back.
@@kurtfrancis4621 There is no power after all these years. Even nuclear reactors doesnt last that long, but it will be hardly any more complicated then asteroid mission, i think space x superheavy is perfect for task, if they got it ready till next flyby not in state "it critically failed multiple times every flight 3 times in a row".
ב''ה, did they fly the RTG for the surface experiments on this one?@@alexturnbackthearmy1907
I was a kid in the 60s and remember this, and the Charlie Brown TV specials, well. The craft is interesting anyway, but that the craft is named "Snoopy" had me welling up tears for some odd reason. It's kind of touching knowing Snooping is still flying out there somewhere.
But he still hasn't downed the Red Baron!
I forget if was mentioned earlier, but the Command Module was named (appropriately), "Charlie Brown"!
Flatearthers can't watch videos like this without having a nervous breakdown.
🤣🤣🤣
Did you notice that both Snoopy and the earth have a FLAT orbit around the sun. Let that sink in a bit. More questions later after your jaw is picked up from the floor.
@WilliamMurphy-uv9pm I don't see that as anything special. But maybe that's because I don't know enough to see how special it really is.
@@charleshill506 I'm not sure it is anything special either but the video did say that objects from outside our solsr system have orbits angled to that of the earth and moon. I don't know enough about the reasons.
@@WilliamMurphy-uv9pm I assumed that since they were controlling it, it originally had a flat orbit and when they sent it off it kept that flat orbit. But I used to have trouble balancing my check book, I can't imagine correctly plotting the movements of objects in orbit.
I'd say 50 years of deep space have really preserved it.
Here's hoping!
Depending what definition of spacecraft you use, Snoopy may not be the only one still flying through space that once had humans in it. Snoopy is cruising the cosmos with a little red Tesla that once carried humans.
Also, there is evidence that the Eagle ascent stage from Apollo 11 is still in lunar orbit. It was not intentionally crashed into the lunar surface.
I believe Snoopy will be more or less the same from when we lost it in '69, but it's hard to say how staying in a vacuum for 50+ years could affect it
and solar radiation
Agreed. Here's hoping we have the chance at a closer inspection!
Honestly, I imagine it would be in a similar condition to how it was in 1969, albeit with a little less atmosphere. Im glad at least one part of the Apollo missions is out there to serve as an eternal history museum (aside from all the S-IVB stages out there).
I can't imagine 50 years of solar radiation and micrometeorites has been kind to it. Would be interesting to see what is left, and would give us insight into long term space missions.
The descent stages are still on the moon.
Think of it that maybe thousands of years from now it is still circling, and they find it while maybe they are forgotten who put it in space? Would they think of it as an old craft from ET ?
@@connectthedots5678 Only if they put it in more stable orbit, like asteroids. Crossing paths with earth isnt great for longevity.
Maybe future generations will be able to bring Snoopy home. That would be really cool!
I would love to be around to see that!
I had the honour of meeting Eugene Cernan many years ago. He spent about 1/2 hour chatting with me. At one point, I asked him about the rumour that he and his copilot had thought about “mutiny” by actually landing. He said they talked about it jokingly, but the look on his face told me it may have been a little more serious of a discussion. 🙂
Im seeing a lot of AI and Bot based science channels now a days. I like how this channel is not one of them. This channel really makes me feel insignificant on the grand scale of the universe!
Thank you so much! I am so glad that you're enjoying the channel and my content - it really means a lot!
My mom's friend back in the 60's worked at NASA on the Apollo XIII. She gave me a patch which I still have. I'll never forget her as she was the one that got me interested in science.
A patch of what?
@@davidcopson5800all nasa missions have embroidered patches for uniforms and space suits so he got the Apollo 13 patch
@@davidcopson5800nicotine
it would be wonderful in the future to have the possibility to bring this spaceship back to earth and perhaps to carry out missions of this type also to carry out maintenance on other space probes. Beautiful!
Snoopy actually isn't the only object flying through space once occupied by humans. Elon musk's roadster is also one.
😮🤯🤯… 4 years from now we can finally get some answers. Can’t wait!
I believe that the internal portion of Snoopy will be relatively similar to how it appeared to the astronauts. The external portions of it will definitely have had some degree of wear. How much is based on various factors such as its orbit, whether there was any spin, whether it was in the path of any solar events such as a CME, etc.
It is difficult to say how much damage the spacecraft will have suffered but it is likely not in pristine condition.
And that will be amazing information. Maybe even critical for further missions into space.
@@alexturnbackthearmy1907 Sure, if we were still building memory using core toroids and transistor logic. Electronic components suck of progressive damage from high energy particles. I doubt that even one transistor aboard Snoopy is functional.
Totally.
the segue into the sponsor is just gold
Your explanations are so good. The animations are so brilliantly synced with the narration. Thank you.
Thank you so much! So glad that you enjoyed the video - it really means a lot!
Hate to bring this up, but Apollo 11, Eagle, has not been found. All the other crashed LMs have been found on the Moon. There is a better than nil chance that it is still in orbit of the Moon. Scott Manly did a great video on this very thing. Might want to check it out.
The geometry of those altered orbits are insane 😂
The math behind figuring this out made me feel insignificantly stupid.
So the thumbnail was a clickbait cause it said that it was found but in reality, it wasnt, cause you said it's still 'speculation' 😒
True
Thumb up for you, thumb down for this vid
So much bullcrap on the interweb,the problem,some of it is changing history 🙄😤
I find it funny you didn't get a like of the channel , 😮😅 everyone else did 😂
Title didn't though. Also, the evidence presented tends significantly more towards "they've found it" than towards "nah, it's not the module - that will please all the depressingly cynical people".
Snoopy had a long and great journey
1969 - forever
That it did!
Sounds like Snoopy might be... "Still in Saigon. Still in Saigon." 😉
Amazing after all these years, Snoopy is still hanging around.
I can't imagine that it would look too different from its appearance in 1969. Then again, constant exposure to solar radiation could have taken a toll on the module. It's amazing that parts of the Apollo missions 50+ years ago are still out there. Space really is an eternal museum.
It really is! Would love to see Snoopy retrieved one day for a closer look though. Thanks for taking the time to comment and good luck in the giveaway!
Great video, i just found out you yesterday, and i have already watched all your videos uploaded in the last 3 years. Your videos are really great, amazing explanations, for ease of understanding. Fantastic work.
Thank you so much! I'm so glad that you found the channel and have been enjoying it - it really means a lot!
Snoopy might still just be in the same condition as Surveyor 2's 3rd stage! But who knows, it's 2023, we have to wait until 2028.
Hang on Snoopy, Snoopy hang on!
We'll get you back one of these days.
I hope so! I would love to see Snoopy retrieved for a closer look!
Gives a whole new meaning to the song "Snoopy Come Home". ;)
One of my earliest memories is the NASA mission featuring "Charlie Brown" and "Snoopy". I can't recall if I actually remember it when it happened, or if I merely remember my dad telling me about it perhaps some time later. I was 2 years old when that mission took place, and just shy of 3 when Apollo 11 landed (which I also recall) but my whole life I've known that at one time there were NASA vehicles called "Charlie Brown" and "Snoopy". And despite being as young as I was, I knew who Charlie Brown and Snoopy were as characters.
That would be a trip to get that thing back along with the frozen💩
Great video, the only thing I would add is that we don’t actually know where Apollo 11 eagle is, which is pretty amazing considering it’s historical significance. We have found all the crash sites of all the other Luna missions minus snoopy Command modules but not Apollo 11. It has been suggested that it might actually still be in Luna orbit. Pretty amazing if you ask me.
Scott Manley has a video up about this including publicly available NASA data that supports the conclusion that Eagle is in orbit around the Moon.
Agreed. The comment at 8:08 is incorrect in that it should state "If confirmed, Snoopy will be the only object previously occupied by man to be confirmed still in space"...
Of course this also is incorrect if you take the space station into consideration... then we can bring in the arguments on where exactly "Outer space" actually begins tho conventionally "space" is said to begin at the arbitrary height of 100k and the station is at 400k so clearly it's also in outer space... and I'm fairly sure it had been occupied at some time by humans...
(unless it's all a hoax and the astronauts "in the space station" are on holiday in the Arizona desert...)
I remember Scott Manley doing a video on that one as well. I know I probably won't still be around for it, but I like the thought of us having advanced in space enough that we might be able to bring both Snoopy and Eagle home one day (be it a museum on Earth, or one on the moon).
@@Conundrum191 I like the idea of things like Eagle remaining where they are undisturbed for as long as possible... it's just stopping the idiots from venturing to them that is the problem (read "tiny sub implodes") etc...
Perhaps it can become the thing to see with some powerful electric telescopes... and footprints on the moon...
(or was that the Arizona Desert).
q8)
The definition of where space begins is less arbitrary than you think.
It's actually based on physics.
The karman line is the point where a plane needs to be traveling at orbital velocity in order for the control surfaces to function.
And there's no taking anything into consideration. The ISS has never been "previously" occupied.
"Previously occupied" kinda means there's no one there anymore....
no way, i was just reading about this on wikipedia and now theres a video on it!
Haha small world! Glad I could share some more information!
I like the fact is still around in space and not destroyed on surface, The people of Northrop Grumman did an incredible job and it was one of the most reliable parts of the mission.
On one hand, Snoopy has been in an absolute vacuum where oxidation doesn't exist. On the other hand, it has been exposed to sometimes extreme ultraviolet radiation, which is known to deteriorate manmade objects. I was young, but I still remember the Apollo Program as it unfolded and part of me says leave it alone and let it continue its journey, while another part of me says it would be a once in a lifetime experience to see it on display someday. Either way, this is a pretty cool find.
Why bring something back that might still be useful?
I think (and hope) that Snoopy is in good condition so that we can recover it 😅
I hope so too! I would love to see Snoopy recovered and returned to us!
I suspect that the overall shape will be roughly the same as when Snoopy was made. Likely to have faded in appearance, maybe to a more grayish tone, due to the constant solar radiation. There may also be quite a few impact craters, ranging from microscopic to larger dents, due to impacts with space objects (meteors, dust, space junk). It would be very interesting to see Snoopy's current state. And, yes, being able to bring it back, perhaps to sit next to an Apollo space craft in a museum, would be fascinating.
If you think about the range of velocities of dust and micro-meteorites it probably leaks like a sieve. The thing is not much thicker than an aluminum beer can.
The LM was never meant to be durable. Collisions with micrometeoroids probably have certain areas looking like more like lace than metal sheets. The unfiltered sunlight would likely obliterate unprotected plastics. The Mylar blankets had thin coatings of gold and nickel which (if intact) would preserve them. Interior items are going to span the range of possibilities.
The windows are probably long gone too.
There are some facts I remember clearly about the LEMs, which adequately describe their character.
Each LEM weighed 14 tons, and cost as much to build as if they were made from 14-tons of pure gold - at the 1969 gold price.
The LEM was so lightweight, that you could literally punch a hole in it with your fist, if you smashed it hard enough.
My first computer, in 1979, just 10 years after Apollo 11, had almost the exact same specification as the LEM computer. Overclocked 2 MHz 6502 CPU, 8KB of ROM and 32KB of RAM. :)
Yes. Some of the aluminum was milled to as thin as 0.020 inches if my memory serves me correctly. Damned thin!
Just have to rever tROM and RAM.
The AGC had 2k of 15 bits words and 32k of same word length.
I just subscribed. Your channel is endlessly fascinating.
Thank you so much. So glad you enjoyed the video and welcome to the channel!
I think it's going to be generally intact, except a few of the more delicate internal components surely affected by interplanetary dust and particles hitting the craft for decades. Only one way to know for sure though, recovering it. It belongs in a museum!
It takes real balls of steel to go to space knowing that the ship could malfunction any moment and you could be floating in Space for eternity
gEt oUt OF mY hEAD
That's why, they never went. They just shot a Fake Movie here in Area 51 & sold the Crap to the World.
Its not for eternity 🤓
And floating dead in space is so far worse than being dead and buried in dirt on the earth? Being dead is dead everywhere. One thing about space, you might not decay. No air. Then again, if you were still in your pressurized space capsule, you'd still be in an earth-like environment. Hope I didn't ruin dinner for you.
@@soisaus564 Why not? Space craft are not like boomerangs, they don't always come back to earth.
Did anyone win that poster he promised?
Yes. The winner of each giveaway is always announced in the following video. For the most recent giveaway (still open for entries) you can check out my newest video. Cheers and thanks for watching!
1. Send probe to verify.
2. Design, plan, launch, vehicle to recover Snoopy. Let's crowd source - or even globally crowd source the funds to make it happen. Maybe we can attach it to the next space station for a while, till we have sufficient technology to safely bring Snoopy home to Cape Canaveral. What a centerpiece at a museum she would be!
Its amazing that people spend days living in those tiny little space capsules
Thanks for the post.
If Snoopy were in a relatively stable attitude (or only slowly tumbling) its external structure would be relatively intact. But if any remaining RCS fuel managed to leech through the plumbing to the thrusters over time, it might be in a high spin such that various antennae would've detached. Unpainted surfaces on the exterior would probably have successfully reflected sunlight, but the black pyromark-coated panels would likely have blistered and flaked away. Here's hoping we'll be able to get some decent pics in 2028.
There's also some speculation that the Eagle Ascent Stage is still in lunar orbit.
Snoopy probably has a beautiful view,
up among the stars,
looking down at us,
hoping one day
we might come retrieve him
home at last ❤
I would love to see Snoopy brought home to us!
It was on the shelf the whole time right next to the 2001 and 2010 Space Odyssey models.
We can look at dots of light light years away and tell that it's a planet and what it likely is composed of, but can't tell if this is Snoopy or not from a few thousand kilometers?
Because planets from super far away travel slower through the skies, thus allowing us to point our biggest telescopes at them. Smaller telescopes are the only ones that can turn fast enough to see something in our orbit
If we were to retrieve Snoopy, I believe it should be in pristine condition on the inside. The vacuum of space would have nothing to deteriorate, however, space dust and debris should pit the exterior.
I could certainly see that being the case. Thank you for sharing your prediction for Snoopy and good luck in the giveaway!
@@primalspace thank you
If it's ever visited, it will be interesting to see how many, if any, impacts it's had with micrometeoroids/meteoroids/debris, that would have been potentially catastrophic. Divide that by how long it's been in interplanetary space, and it could give us a lot of useful information about the risk posed to future manned interplanetary missions, as well as the the kind of shielding needed to minimise those odds.
I believe that some of the interior will have been changed by exposure to hard vacuum but be mostly intact. Additionally, I think there is a good chance that the exterior will be a little dirty but otherwise totally intact.
"Exposure to hard vacuum"
A vacuum is in fact an absolute absence of exposure ! If in a vacuum, how would dirt transfer ?
Thanks for the video.
I'd never heard this story, and I'm fascinated by it.
Snoopy's condition will depend on several things.
First, I don't expect any polymers or elastomers that were on the surface to still be attached. UV light from the sun likely will have destroyed anything made of carbon chains. I don't know how much UV light will get through the hole blown into the hatch during separation. I don't know whether any small meteors will have hit Snoopy and put additional holes in the shell. If UV light has been getting inside and reflecting around the inside for fifty years, I'd expect everything made of polymer or elastomer to be completely destroyed as well. If there were hydraulics inside the module, the fluids would have seeped through non-metallic hoses long ago and escaped into space. If everything was sealed completely with metal pipes and holes, then maybe some of the hydraulic fluid is still inside. Wires that were insulated with polymer or elastomer will have lost the insulation if the UV radiation reached them.
In terms of the metallic components, I don't see a reason why they would be terribly damaged. The vapor pressure above a piece of metal is tiny, and in the cold of space that vapor pressure is even smaller. However, an atom will occasionally fly off the surface. In the vacuum of space, that atom won't return. I doubt that the rate of loss would be enough that we would be able to notice or measure, but maybe there will be some metal loss. If tiny particles are flying through space, those particles could have scoured the surface of the module. Aluminum is not very hard, and small rocks moving along the surface would cut grooves in the surface. If those rocks/particles are microscopic, the grooves will be microscopic. If they are bigger, the grooves will be bigger. I'd expect to see some surface scouring of the aluminum shell. The metal inside the module should be pretty much intact.
Aluminum has good thermal conductivity. I could imagine the module staying a fairly constant temperature on all pieces of metal. On the other hand, I'm not familiar with how much the sun can heat one side of an aluminum object when that side is turned towards the sun. If the module has stayed in one position relative to the sun so that one side has been hot and the other cold for fifty years, I wouldn't expect much damage. If the module has been tumbling for fifty years and there is a significant temperature gradient from the hot side to the cold side, we may find that the thermally-induced stresses have caused fatigue cracking of the aluminum. These cracks could grow to the point that the module would break apart at some point.
I think snoopy will be just as it was, but might have a bit of solar damage…
I could definitely see that being the case. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and good luck int he giveaway!
I think Snoopy would in pretty much same condition right now when it left the lunar module , except it would frozen, also there are many radiations in space, so it may have become pretty radioactive.
I could see that for sure. Thanks for sharing your prediction and good luck in the giveaway!
This is so fascinating and really amazing to think about its journey all this time, who knows what it saw and where it flew past by. Would of been awesome if there was any way to recover data from it, but I imagine it is still in the same condition as it was 50 years ago, maybe some scuffs and faded painting but other then that has to still work
If it wasn't for CGI, we would never believe Man landed on the moon
wha? there's so much apollo footage, uncut footage even, and news coverage, that only the deranged or the ignorant have ever had a reason to disbelieve.
That's very true that's why the Russian and the Chinese have never tried it.
CGI , wasn't around around in the 60's !
Neither were breezes on the moon @@SISU889
China and Russia have tried it, China being the most recent (2013) where they landed a Rover and Lander. They intend to go there by 2030@@tonynoaa3950
I am liking this video! The truly miraculous sighting of a 4metre object 55million kilometres away is too much for me! Wow! That is so incredible! This lunar module even has a name! This needs to be publicised much more widely, please share everybody. Miracles will never cease.
I would REALLY reccomend for nasa to put in in a museum after all of the space germs are killed somehow for studies and stuff
I would love the chance to see it up close!
Given the materials the LEM is made out of, I'd say the surface will mostly be intact aside from the micrometeoroid impacts, and I'd wager components like the RCS clusters will still be hanging in there. Long live Snoopy, we hope to see you in person some day!
I would love to see Snoopy brought home as well! Thanks for sharing your prediction and good luck in the giveaway!
LEM is a term used for Lunar Excursion Module, but the word "excursion" was removed from the acronym.
Noooooo snoopy come back
One day!
Snoopy come home
🙌🙌🙌
A slight factual error. One of the mission objectives was to give the ascent stage engine a long duration burn to fuel depletion. So the re-firing of Snoopy's engine was deliberate. Snoopy also contained less than a full load of fuel so that depletion occurred in a timely fashion. The low fuel is one of several reasons why a Moon landing by Apollo 10 was not possible.
I did the same job a while ago on my BJ73. I tried similar approaches and experienced similar challenges.
Here is a tip: Get yourself a marker that has real black paint in it, eg Edding 751. You can retrace the outer diameter of the letters and smooth out the edge. Worked great für me.
Enjoy your truck!
FIRST
🙌🙌🙌
this channel is so interesting, I have been in love with all things space related since I was 1st able to talk and I even saw the challenger explode during that time. Love the idea that we finally found Snoopy after all this time.
Thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear that you're enjoying the channel and my content. It really means a lot!
I would like to get ahold of the batteries and see if there is any residual charge.
About 10 years ago I was working on a very old (60s?) VHF-Multi radio pack with an 'internal 12v block battery' and the battery still had about 5 second charge when I tried to initially turn it on. Thing sat in a damp cellar for nearly 50 years and that crusty old block battery still had a few electrons to give.
If anyone ever retrieves it, they'll be greeted to several bags of poop that was left inside. Along with any other trash the astronauts needed to dispose of. It was used as a trash can before separation.
That is good, not Moon Litterers, should be drain down into descent module :)
2:53 Those stars are twinkling! 😍 Must be a lot of atmospheric turbulence out there!
I believe snoopy is probably in good condition unless it re enters the atmosphere.
Here's hoping it is! Thanks for sharing your prediction for Snoopy and good luck in the giveaway!
Never thought I would cry about a lunar module 😢
It definitely gets ya in the feels haha
If the cabin depressurization was slow enough then it is possible that the air trapped behind the glass instrument covers will leak out from behind the glass panels slowly enough, then they should remain intact. If any corrosion occurred it would be from corrosive gases kept on board the craft when it was abandoned in lunar orbit. I don't know how corrosive the hypergolic main engine fuel. If it is corrosive then some sort of damage would probably have occurred IF there enough leftover. Otherwise it's very likely to be in good shape, aside from possible solar radiation damage, as mentioned elsewhere here.
In 1969 my Dad took my family to Florida for the Apollo 11 launch.
Very cool!
at 2:30 'snoopy continued burning' is that part actual footage, or graphics for the explanation? and also just after, is the window view of it far away real or reenacted. thanks
I despise ads... but I must admit, your segue to Honey was quite smooth.
Haha thanks so much. I try to keep it as entertaining as possible, but also include those chapter links for anyone who wants to skip forward without missing any content.
What band of spectral response can distinguish between metals like aluminium and steel?
Built on Long Island at Grumman..
I knew a lot of these guys who would also fly model airplanes at mtichel field
JWST- why can't we use JWST to study SNOOPY, Apollo Lander.??
it should be in ok condition, with only very small holes from micro meteorites.
"searching for an object in space is extremely difficult"
Should be "searching for most objects in space is extremely difficult" since some objects are very easy to find in space. The Moon and The Sun, for example lol
1:29 correct me if I’m wrong but I think Eagle (LM from Apollo 11) is still in lunar orbit
That rare collectable is going to look really impressive in some billionaire's office.
Thank you for the intriguing video and the possibilities of Snoopy's position and condition. Three notes: 1:10 shows all the flown Apollo Lunar Modules, but Apollo 5 (January 1968) was launched without landing legs (weren't ready yet and not needed for Earth orbit test. 2:26-Narration states "NASA decided to fire its (Snoopy's) engines..." Only the ascent engine was left to fire. As long as you do not count the Reaction Control System thrusters; there was only one engine left on the ascent stage. 4:40- Narration states that burn added 1 kilometers per second velocity (plural). Should be kilometer (singular). Greatly enjoyed the video and very much looking forward to another close approach to Earth in 2028. Perhaps a recovery mission can be undertaken?
Apollo 12’s S-IVB booster is still roaming around out there as well.
it might be one that has had impacts from micro items but the best way to find out is to have a small probe like a cube sat get a closer look with a camera. And maybe even attach to it with a beacon device
Snoopy might have lots of pin holes in its Fuselage due lots of small meteorites hitting it. lots of space dust rust like. I'm a fan of the lunar module.