Ending the Second Day

Traverse to Station 6

 

Preparations for EVA-3

Corrected Transcript and Commentary Copyright © 1995 by Eric M. Jones.
All rights reserved.
Scan credits in the Image Library.
Audio clips by Dave Shaffer.
Last revised 26 September 2014.

MP3 Audio Clip ( 5 min 16 sec )

160:25:04 Fullerton: (Music: Texas Aggie War Hymn, "E Pluribus Gig'em")

[Pregnant Pause. Flight Director Gerry Griffin is an alumnus of Texas A&M University. The University was one of many institutions founded as the result of the "(Morrill) Act of 1862 Donating Lands for Colleges of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts". Because it was founded as an "Ag" school, the students are known as "Aggies".]

[Cernan - "This was probably the first time I'd heard the Aggie War Hymn in my life and it really didn't impress me all that much. You can tell that in my tone of voice. So when I said 'I want you to say it first,' I meant 'Whatever you're going to say, let's get it done and over with.' I wish I knew what Jack thought of that."]

[Cernan - "Gerry went to Texas A&M and he's a big Aggie (supporter). Now maroon is an Aggie color, but orange happens to be a (University of) Texas color. A&M and Texas are always at odds. If we had found blue dirt, it would have been better than finding orange dirt. That's a big deal around Houston."]

[Schmitt - "There were a lot of Aggies in the Control Room, but Gerry Griffin was the head Aggie."]

[That is, Gene is an alumnus of Purdue University and would like some appropriate wake-up music before the mission is over. Purdue is an engineering school and, hence, the students and alumni refer to themselves as "Boilermakers". A "Boilermaker" is also a drink consisting of a shot of whiskey followed by a beer chaser.]

160:27:26 Cernan: (Sounding a bit groggy) I feel like one right now. (Pause)

[Gene's reference is to the morning-after feeling following a few too many boilermakers.]

[Cernan - "Sometimes you're asleep and it's the wake-up call that gets you up; and other times you're up and taking care of things without bothering the ground. Here, we'd had a couple of hard days on the Moon and had one day to go. The adrenaline probably started pumping a little while later; but I would expect that a little bit of the edge had worn off. We were pretty tired, physically, at the end of each one of those days, and you don't get the best rest in the world in a situation like that. You rest and you sleep; but you lay there half the time asking yourself if there isn't something else you could do instead of try to sleep. It was enough sleep to keep you going, but I don't know how good a rest it was. I probably had my comm helmet hanging up next to my hammock and, when Gordo called, sat up Indian style. One-sixth g gave you some facility to move around, even in those tight quarters."]

160:27:40 Fullerton: Okay; I'll do that. The Challenger looks as good as ever. No problems at all through the night.

160:27:50 Cernan: That's outstanding. How's America?

160:27:54 Fullerton: It's in the same shape. Just clicking along. Ron's been up for a few hours now and (is) really gathering up the data.

160:28:05 Cernan: Outstanding, Gordo. (Pause)

160:28:19 Fullerton: Challenger, the name of the game today is to stay with the EVA prep timeline (see Surface 5-8). We're not going to talk much to you, except to bug you a little and stay on your back to keep with the timeline, if at all possible. We'd like to get out on time. Over.

160:28:40 Cernan: Okay, Gordo. That's been our motive all along, and we will stay with it. As of right now, we're one hour behind. Is that correct?

160:28:50 Fullerton: That's affirmative. Although, if you stay on the normal timeline, that's fine with us. We don't need to gain any, but we just don't want to lose any from where we're starting now.

160:29:03 Cernan: Yeah. Understand. Understand. (Pause) (Yawning; to Jack) Good. How are you this morning?

[Long Comm Break. The planned wake-up time was 159:25 and the planned start of the EVA was 162:40. Houston woke them up at 160:25 - an hour late - and they will start the EVA at 163:32 - only 52 minutes behind. Because of padding built into the timeline leading up to launch on Day 4, they will start this third EVA in great shape.]

160:34:52 Schmitt: Houston, Challenger.

160:34:54 Fullerton: Go ahead, Challenger. (Pause)

160:35:03 Schmitt: Okay, Gordy. Crew status is good, in case you hadn't noticed. We haven't kept an itemized accounting of the food...(there) weren't enough blanks on the paper to do that. But we have ate...(correcting himself) have eaten, pardon me. We have eaten just about everything in the various meals. I guess the shrimp was the only thing we didn't really eat. And we've been drinking a lot of water and all the juices and tea and stuff, so I think we're in pretty good shape there. Commander had a Seconal last night, and he slept 3 good and 3 intermittent hours. LMP had no medication and had 6 good hours of sleep. If you've got some lift-off time data, well, I'll copy it.

[Fullerton reads the following list of lift-off times slowly and very carefully.]

160:37:03 Schmitt: (Read back much quicker) Okay; rev 38: 162:22:52; 164:21:24; 166:19:55; 168:18:27; 170:16:59; 172:15:31. And what is our present rev?

160:37:21 Fullerton: That's a good question. Let's see here. (Pause) We're working on rev 37. (Pause) Ron just went by you about ten minutes ago on rev 37.

[The crew first entered lunar orbit by firing the Command Module engines over the lunar Farside. Evans has completed a bit more than half of the current revolution. Gene and Jack are about to start eating breakfast. Forty-five minutes are allotted in the flight plan for each of the meals.]

[Long Comm Break.]

160:41:40 Fullerton: Okay. There hasn't been a lot of news, but I'll read you what we've got. Former President Truman is still holding on. His heartbeat, breathing, and temperature all became unstable yesterday, but then he improved again. A Methodist minister in Kansas City said, "He's a rugged guy who's hanging in there and he's going to make it." The headlines were full of reports of the find of orange dirt and the rest of your adventures yesterday. Internationally, the U.S. and North Vietnam held intensified secret peace talks, and Henry Kissinger prepared to return to Washington, probably this afternoon, I understand, after a final session with Le Duc Tho. The French press said a compromise was in the works on the withdrawal of North Vietnamese troops from the South.

The Houston Rockets (basketball team) lost to Buffalo up in Buffalo last night, but the hockey team, the Aeros, took a 6 to 4 win over the Alberta Oilers. Really, that's about it on the news, except maybe for the weather, which finally broke. A cold front cleared out the drizzly rain last night, and for the first time since you've launched - that I can remember anyway - we've been able to look up and see the Moon, directly. It's a pretty sight as always. That's not much of a report, but that's about all we have. Over.

160:43:32 Cernan: Okay; thank you. What's the date today?

160:43:36 Fullerton: It's Wednesday - let's see - Wednesday, the 13th of December.

160:43:46 Cernan: Thank you.

160:43:48 Fullerton: Right now, it's about 1:35 in the afternoon (Central Standard Time). (Pause)

160:44:00 Cernan: Okay; just took a quick peek up there. I can't really see too much of the North American continent. South America looks pretty good. And it might be my eyeballs rather than the clouds up there, but it looks like most of the clouds are up into the north-central part of the southeastern United States.

160:44:24 Fullerton: I have a satellite picture here, and that's about the way it looks.

[A Starry Night view of Earth from Taurus-Littrow at 1335 CST on December 13, 1972 ( 18k ) shows South America dominating the sunlight portion of Earth with Antarctica on the left and the southeastern U.S. on the right. This image is, of course, cloudless.]

[Schmitt - "I remember that Gene was looking at the Earth through the rendezvous window. You couldn't see it out the front unless you got down and most of the time we were standing. The suits were on the engine cover, so you'd just stand and lean. In one-sixth g it was no big deal to stand forever."]

[Cernan - "There wasn't much room to sit anywhere, except on the suits, and that was one thing we didn't want to do (because of the danger of getting dust into the zippers and rings.)"]

160:44:50 Fullerton: I'll get you an answer on that. Couple of questions. First of all, the Surgeon would like Biomed Right.

[That is, the Surgeon wants to look at Jack's biomedical data.]

160:45:07 Cernan: Hands are in good shape, Gordo. No problem.

[Schmitt - "I doubt if anybody on the Moon would have told the doctors if there was a problem, just to make sure that there would be no glitches on getting out for the third EVA. Our hands and fingers were sore from the lifted fingernails. If you touched them, they were very sensitive. I don't recall that there was continuous ache. I think it was only when you hit your nails on something. I wore thin nylon liners in my gloves to try to protect my fingernails. Without the liners, I was uncomfortable with my sweaty hand against the rubber. We didn't have the water cooling out into the fingers - just up to the wrist. You're hands didn't get hot, but you did perspire."]

[NASA photo S72-56081 shows the crew preparing to cut a cake aboard the recovery carrier, Ticonderoga. Note the blood under the nails of Jack's middle and ring fingers.]

[Cernan - "As I've said, I don't remember my fingernails giving me as much of a problem as blisters on my knuckles. I've got such a fat hand. But I do remember that the lunar dust penetrated well down into the quick. It took three, four, five, six weeks for the lunar dust to grow out. So the dust was able to get in there; I just don't remember any pain from the fingernails being lifted off. My main recollection is of my knuckles being rubbed raw."]

[Cernan - "If you go from the extremes of the first EVA to the third EVA, I can tell you that when I was working with my hands out in the Sun, I could feel the heat penetrate during that third EVA that I could not feel during the first EVA. Sun angle did have a significant effect. I don't know if the data show that we used more cooling in our PLSSs during that third EVA."]

[Gene's feedwater consumption rates for the three EVAs were 1.572, 1.339, and 1.566 pounds per hour. Jack's figures were 1.508, 1.326, and 1.589 lb/hr. The dominant factor determining the differences from day to day is the workload, rather than the Sun angle. On the first day, they spent most of their time deploying the ALSEP and, consequently, worked fairly hard. On the second day, they spent a considerable amount of time on the Rover and got plenty of rest between the geology stops. On this third day, they will spend much of their time doing geology on the slopes of the North Massif and the Sculptured Hills. The work will be challenging and they will have briefer drives between the stops.]

[They have completed the last task on Surface 5-8. Just after the second EVA, they filled the PLSSs with oxygen and then had let them settle before giving them a top-off charge just before going to sleep. Now they are doing a second top-off charge to ensure the longest possible EVA. Not surprisingly, this procedure was added to the checklist for Apollo 15, the first mission to attempt a seven-hour EVA. Note that there is no water top-off, suggesting that they are confident that there wasn't a significant volume of gas added to the water tank during the filling procedure.]

160:46:42 Fullerton: Okay. (Pause) Say I have a few words on the Command Module trajectory that might be of interest, although it doesn't affect your procedures any. (Pause as Fullerton waits for an expression of interest)

160:46:59 Schmitt: Go ahead.

160:47:00 Fullerton: Okay. The command module orbit somehow is missing all the mascons. And it's not degrading into a circular (orbit) like we thought it would. It's just staying where it was, about a 70 by 50 (nautical miles high and low point above the lunar surface).

[Schmitt - "The Lunar Orbiter team discovered mascons in the Doppler tracking data. They found that the lunar gravitational field is not uniform; and, specifically, that there are concentrations of mass under the most circular - i.e., the youngest - of the large basins and mass deficiencies under the rims of those basins - notably Serenitatis, Nectaris, Crisium, Imbrium, Orientale. The computer model that fits is one that has the mantle of the Moon - at about 60 kilometers depth - slightly raised under the basins and with a bit of a deficiency around them. It's like an incipient water splash. The rebound from the impact that formed the basin has caused the mantle beneath the center of the impact to rise slightly. Plus, the effect of that little rise is accentuated by the flat plate of dense material represented by the lunar mare. As I remember, the lunar mare has density of about 3.4 grams per cubic centimeter, whereas the surrounding highlands have a compacted density of about 2.9. So it's a significant contrast. One of the more interesting aspects of it is that the old, irregular mare basins don't have mascons. And that suggests that between the formation of the old, irregular basins and the young, circular basins, something fundamental changed in the lunar crust. It became stronger - a lot stronger - so that, in the younger basins, there was no compensation for (or relaxation as a result of) these density differences as apparently there was early on. And the change presumably occurred over a fairly short period of time around 3.9 billion years ago when most of the young, circular basins formed. There's a lot of controversy raging about whether all of the 45 to 50 basins formed at just about the same time. I'm of the belief that that can't have happened, in part, because you have this very distinct strengthening of the crust beneath the mascon basins."]

[The net effect of the mascons is generally a circularization of an elliptical orbit and an overall loss of orbital energy. Indeed, because of the effects of mascons, no object can stay in lunar orbit for more than a few months without engine burns to episodically increase orbital energy.]

[Schmitt - "The flight dynamics people anticipated that, because of the micro accelerations and decelerations associated with the mascons along the path of the Command Module, you would get a perturbation of the orbit. So, after Ron dropped us off, he had a burn that put him into an orbit which, upon perturbation, would become a 60-mile circular orbit by the time we were ready to launch. They thought they could predict how the mascons would perturb the orbit - clever people, these Americans - but the mascons wouldn't co-operate. Their gravitational model was not sufficient to make those predictions. The main reason (for the inadequacies of the model) was that they couldn't track spacecraft as they orbited over the Farside and, consequently, they didn't have any information about Farside mascons. One of my reasons in proposing a Farside landing on Apollo 17 - when I tried to persuade NASA to let us land in Tsiolkovsky - was that you'd have to put together a communications system; and that would allow you to track the Farside orbits and gain additional knowledge about the Farside mascons. I suspect that there aren't very many. Tsiolkovsky is probably one of the few, because there just aren't many young, fresh, circular basins on the Farside. I suspect they've all compensated except for Tsiolkovsky and one or two others."]

["After the crew was finalized in the fall of '71, for the second time I tried to persuade Chris Kraft and others that we ought to consider a Farside landing. I had brought it up before - after Apollo 13 - as the culmination of the last four missions going to the places where everybody always wanted to go: Tycho, Orientale, the North Pole, and the Farside. I had fun trying to justify that mission to people. But everybody was so wrapped up in proving that they could survive the Apollo 13 failure and get Apollo 14 landed, that it didn't get much play. I worked it for a while, anticipating that just one more landing wouldn't help the politics of the space program very much. I wanted to build up to some sort of crescendo that would not only provide good science but would provide public interest. When I brought it up again in August or September of 1971, I went so far with the Lunar Mafia - the group of people at JSC who thought up these 'dumb' things to do on their own time - as to work out how to do it. Some of the guys in Flight Control were able to track down a couple of on-the-shelf Tiros satellites that could act as communications satellites. The plan was to place those, with a single Titan launch, at the Farside libration point. There's a libration point about 30,000 miles behind the Moon where things will stay, at least for a while, if you put them there. Except in very weird circumstances, satellites at the libration point would give you a direct link with Earth; and the two satellites gave you redundancy. It was a great plan. TRW quoted a price of about $80 million and I had added a $20 million contingency. And we had other plans. In one, as you went around the Moon in the Command Module, you'd drop off a bunch of small communications relay satellites, rather like the current Iridium scheme. (Laughing) But, finally, Chris called me in and said 'Shut up; quit talking about this. We're not going to spend a hundred million dollars to put a communications satellite behind the Moon for the last mission.' I'm not sure where the numbers came from, but the marginal cost of building the hardware for an Apollo mission was about $250 million and I was told that operational costs - to run the centers and the tracking stations, etc. - were about the same number."]

[Cernan - "Aside from the cost and the probability of having to delay the flight, management simply wasn't going to take the risk of sending us to the back side of the Moon. It would have been a challenge and would have been worthwhile doing, but we still had a lot to learn about the front side. I was involved in discussions at the level of Chris Kraft and George Low and it quickly became obvious that it wasn't going to happen. Jack used to go on crusades like this and get other people involved and go into the details of how to do it and what it was going to cost. And that was good. But Jack used to have the habit of pushing people and pushing people without knowing - politically or diplomatically - when to quit. And, finally, Chris got fed up."]

160:48:38 Cernan: Okay. Sounds like a good rendezvous posture.

[Very Long Comm Break as they finish their meal.]

[The audio clip currently in the ALSJ jumps from here to 163:12:27.]

[Because the Moon slowly rotates about its own axis while it orbits the Earth, it rotates under the plane of the Command Module orbit which stays fixed in space. Consequently, each time the Command Module makes it's closest approach to the landing site, the distance increases. In doing a plane change, Evans will apply a carefully calculated amount of lateral thrust at a particular point in his orbit such that his new orbital plane will pass directly over the landing site at the expected time of lift-off.]

[Schmitt - "The normal rendezvous procedure was for the LM to be active and rendezvous with the CSM. And a CSM rescue would have been the case of where, for some reason, all the LM could do was get to orbit; and then it would have been a CSM-active rendezvous which would, of course, have taken lots more CSM fuel."]

[Cernan - "The LM had to get into some minimum, sustainable orbit. For a normal launch time, most likely it would have been a fuel problem that would have forced a Command Module rescue. For example, if your ascent engine shut down early and you got close to orbit and you had to expend most of your RCS fuel to get into that sustained orbit then, obviously, you would have done it. You would have used all the fuel you had to get into orbit; and then you'd rely on the Command Module to come get you. I always felt that a Command Module rescue was a remote possibility, although one that you had to maintain a fuel reserve for. The reason I say that it was a remote possibility is that, in most cases, you would have done the rendezvous even without the radar. The Command Module had a Doppler device and other systems to give us information and there was manually- and computer-derived information. The LM was a much better rendezvous vehicle than the CSM and, unless there was a fuel problem, there was little chance of having to do a Command Module rescue. And, even in the case of a fuel problem, the chances of you getting just high enough that, if the ascent engine shut down early, you had enough RCS fuel to add the amount of velocity to get a sustained orbit were small. You had to get into an orbit that wouldn't decay in five or six revs. And if you only got into an orbit that would decay in one or two revs, it would have been all over. The rescue was a time-consuming process. Now, for an emergency situation - which I always thought would have to have been a fairly catastrophic situation - it would have been a manual launch because of the inertial navigation system being powered down. You couldn't sit on an emergency on the lunar surface, but you could sit on an emergency once you got into orbit, because the Command Module did have that capability to come down and get you."]

["Of course, there were other reasons why we might have had to leave the lunar surface early. We could have been perfect but there could have been a problem with the Command Module which said 'guys, the Command Module's going to have to go home pretty quick, so you'd better get your ass off the lunar surface and get back there or he's going to go home without you. God forbid there had been an Apollo 13-type problem while the Lunar Module was on the surface, because I don't think any of us would have gotten home. But there might have been some other kind of problem in the Command Module: Ron could have gotten sick, a fuel cell could have gone out, you could have lost redundancy in your ability to start the Service Propulsion engine. And I guarantee you that, if you lose the redundancy to fire that engine, the ground is not going to allow you to stay there for three days. They're going to take you off the surface, you're going to rendezvous, and your going to come home. So it wasn't just a potential problem on the surface that we had to be prepared for; it was the other spacecraft as well. And that's always going to be the case with lunar travel. You've got to look at the entire system, not just at yourself. The suits, the backpacks, the amount of fuel you're using. One effects the other. If we'd blown one of our suits for some reason, had gotten in safely, and had gotten back to orbit but with only one good suit, we would have blown Ron Evans' EVA. With only two good suits, you couldn't depressurize the Command Module and all of that data that Ron had up there (in the SIM Bay) would have been lost. It wouldn't have been an emergency situation, per se, but it is typical of how interdependent the two spacecraft were."]

[Jack's next call indicates that they are ready to start Surface 5-9. They have picked up about 4 minutes.]

161:21:41 Fullerton: No, I don't think there is, Jack. Although I do have a write-in for the Lunar Surface Checklist, and one that you really don't need to write in on the prep card. Over.

161:21:58 Schmitt: Go ahead.

161:22:00 Fullerton: Okay. Page 5-10 on the Lunar Surface Checklist. The reason for this change is to prevent cabin pressure from increasing. It got up to 5.7 yesterday. And it will also prevent Water Sep spindown like happened yesterday, if you happen to have the return hose blocked against the wall outlet there. The change is to write in on the upper left corner of 5-10, just prior to "Suit Isol(ation Valve), Actuator Override (to) Suit Disconnect." Write in "Pressure Reg's A and B to Egress." And then down five lines, where it says "Cabin Gas Return (Valve), Egress," change it to "Cabin Gas Return (valve), Auto; Verify." Over.

[Normally, they would have the pressure regulators in the Auto position in order to maintain cabin pressure. Because of the slow leak seen for a while the previous night, Houston is asking them to turn the regulators off and use the Suit Circuit to add oxygen to the cabin as necessary. After they put the Suit Isolation Valve to Suit Disconnect, they will attach oxygen hoses to the suits and re-position the Suit Isolation Valve to Suit Flow. Oxygen will then flow from the Suit Circuit into the suits and then, through the open neck ring, into the cabin. By positioning the Cabin Gas Return Valve to Auto, any resulting pressure differential will open the valve and let oxygen flow from the cabin back into the Suit Circuit. Prior to performing the suit integrity check, they will put the Cabin Gas Return Valve back in Egress.]

161:23:18 Fullerton: That's right. And the only other change I have has to do with matching - just like yesterday - matching the purge valves to the OPSs to maximize the OPS capability. And we can just call you when you get to that point. Or if you want to write it down, you need 211 and Geno needs 208.

161:23:45 Schmitt: Okay. We've got that.

161:23:48 Fullerton: Okay. That's all. (Long Pause)

[See the discussion prior to EVA-2 preps at 138:10:36.]

[Schmitt - "What comes to mind is that the bags for each meal were stacked together and taped. So what I was probably using was that tape. It was tape on plastic or whatever those bags were made of; so, when you pulled the tape off it was still good. Boy! I'd forgotten that that was what I used. But it certainly was better than grey (duct) tape because it was thinner. And the grey tape may have still been out in the Rover, anyway. Actually, I'm surprised that the ground hadn't come up with a fix, because that was a major deficiency in that second EVA."]

[Bob Parker joins the conversation.]

161:25:25 Schmitt: Go ahead.

[Their next tasks are to prepare their equipment for suit donning. They are on Surface 5-9.]

161:26:38 Parker: The initial activity...Remember, we're going to have to take explosive package 5 with us, and we'll stick it under the LMP seat, and I'll remind you in real-time when we get down on the ground on that one. And number 5 - the 3 pounder - will be deployed at Station 10, and again I'll remind you about that in real-time, so you don't have to bother to write it in on your checklist.

161:26:59 Parker: "Planned traverse proceeds as normal. We're expecting to spend about an hour and twenty minutes at Station(s) 6 and 7; and the suggestion is that we may end up wanting to spend that totally at the split boulder at Station 6. But, of course, the option still exists to visit more than one place and sample other boulders if it seems feasible and attractive and desirable." They're suggesting additional 500-millimeter photographs, especially if it seems that we can use those to document tracks and sources of the sampled boulders; for instance, at Station(s) 6 and 7."

[At 165:44:50, Jack will use the 500-mm lens to take an impressive mini-pan of the source region for the Station 6 boulder. Comparison with photos taken at the LM allow identification of boulders in the source region and, in an enhanced version of Jack's mini-pan, the upper part of the boulder track.]

161:28:02 Parker: "Station 10 continues nominal. We're still interested in sampling the blocks and also interested in trenching to try and see if we can say something about the dark mantle/light area relationship and, perhaps, (we will do) the nominal coring. We're going to deploy EP-5 there; and, other than that, they (the planned EVA and the one the Backroom now wants Jack and Gene to do) are basically the same. If we have the time during that close-out...and you'll note we have enlarged the close-out, somewhat, at the LM, based on our experience the last two nights, particularly for dusting. But also, if time permits, in that time we might try and use up the extra double core, if there is one, in the dark mantle near the LM or do some trenching near the LM. But that's only if time permits at the very end, depending upon how the consumables run out."

161:28:56 Parker: They want to call attention to two particular things here. One, since you guys really haven't gotten any very big rocks so far, they're recommending, they say here, and I quote: "The value of large individual samples has been demonstrated. We recommend that several football-sized samples of a uniform igneous rock be collected at Station 9 or 10." I'll pass that on as that. "Another point of interest is the 1- to 20-millimeter size section of the regolith, the dark mantle, the lithology. Then, any observations or collections you can make pertinent to that would be of interest in trying to determine the relationship of the dark mantle to the subfloor units - the gabbro - underneath."

[Schmitt - "The surface of the dark mantle at the 17 site looks young relative to the age that was actually measured because it such fine-grained material. When you get an impact you may get a little of the regolith breccia - that we used to call 'instant rock' - but, for the most part, you're just distributing fine-grained materials - the Dunkirk Effect. You form a crater and then the crater subdues immediately because of the slumping of the fine-grained material. In World War II, when the Germans tried to bomb the British Expeditionary Force that was evacuated from Dunkirk, the sand absorbed the effects of their bombs. Unless they got a direct hit on somebody, very few people got hurt. If the British had tried to evacuate from a rocky coastline, they never would have made it. I just coined the name: the Dunkirk Effect. I don't know why I thought of it; but, basically, the impacts in the mantle were hitting into a great big sandpile and, unless they were really big ones and were getting down to the underlying basalt and threw up some rocks, the craters were not going to look fresh in the terms that we think of when they hit hard rock. The age of a surface is based on the number of craters that you see and, in this dark mantle, craters three to five times the thickness of the mantle tend to disappear very fast and not even be counted. So you count fewer craters of a given size. If you could do it accurately, you'd probably see a knee in the curve. In the large crater fraction, the counts would match the old age. And then there would begin to be a fall off as you got smaller and smaller."]

161:30:04 Schmitt: Yes.

[Cernan - "This is typical of Parker and Schmitt. Jack would normally elaborate and this abrupt "Yes" was his way of getting back at Bob."]

161:30:48 Schmitt: Well, (on) the second one, it's not in a major depression. But it is maybe a...It's a little dish, maybe a third of a meter deep. I imagine it will help a little bit. That's why we picked it. Just a second. (Pause) I'm not sure we understand your first question very much.

161:31:10 Parker: Okay. We have a feeling that when you...

161:31:12 Cernan: Bob, don't you have the mileages?

161:31:14 Parker: Roger. But there's again some confusion on that.

161:31:16 Cernan: Can't you pinpoint that?

161:31:18 Parker: Yeah, and those mileages also seem to indicate that...We had that callout; remember, you drove back by and you said you saw the flag (on the charge deployed at the star of the outbound drive), and then you said you actually saw the charge itself first. And it was some time after that you said you deployed the charge. And we have the opinion from both that and the mileage that you probably deployed the second charge closer to the ALSEP than the first one. Do you have any sort of a feel for that?

[On the outbound leg of the EVA-2 traverse, they passed south of the ALSEP just before the range clicked to 0.4 kilometers - a range of about 350 meters from the SEP transmitter - and placed the first charge (EP-4) prior to the click to 0.6 km (a range of about 550 meters) at a bearing position of 083. On the inbound leg, they spotted the "Italian flag" on EP-4 at a time of 147:01:36 and they placed the second charge (EP-8) at 147:03:19 just after the range indicator clicked down to 0.4 (a range of 350 meters) at a bearing of 081. The dialog then suggests that they approached the ALSEP from the southwest. This is the information available to Houston at the moment. Analysis of the locator photographs indicate that the second package (EP-8) was placed about 300 meters from the LM and 440 meters from the SEP transmitter. The first package (EP-4) is 550 meters from the SEP transmitter. Therefore, they deployed the second package closer to the ALSEP - about 140 meters versus 225 - and a bit further south.]

161:32:05 Parker: Okay. Copy that.

161:32:06 Cernan: ...as far as the position of it. Bob, we're looking for them out there now, as a matter of fact. We can't see them from here.

161:32:14 Parker: Okay. We'll let it go at that. And that's all the questions and comments we have on today's traverse. We'll have a few real-time things on the surface, which I won't bother you with (now). A possible fix to the Surface Electrical Properties (flapping dust cover) and a possible trip back to the surface gravimeter, which is still having its problems. But I'll talk with you guys in real-time on those when you get on the surface, rather than bothering you with them now.

161:32:39 Cernan: Hey, Bob. How far should that last charge be from the ALSEP?

161:32:43 Parker: They want it about 300 to 400 meters. (Long Pause) And, Gene, you gave 0.2 for range (to the SEP transmitter) when...

161:33:23 Cernan: Bob, I (garbled)...(Listens)

161:33:24 Parker: ...you got back to the LM. And I guess the question would be: Did you ever go through zero on the way back to the LM? If you were at 0.2, and we think 092 was the bearing, then the LM is right where it thought it was, and we were just a little confused by our distances. They don't quite hold together.

161:33:47 Cernan: No, I don't think I ever went through zero, because I initiated at the SEP.

[The SEP transmitter is east of the LM. Clearly, it is Houston that is confused.]

161:33:53 Cernan: And, nah, I didn't go through zero.

161:33:54 Parker: Okay.

161:33:55 Cernan: I'm positive.

161:33:57 Parker: We copy that. Okay. We'll work on that.

161:34:00 Cernan: This is something to think about. It's not that far out there. You know, if there is any question about that thing damaging the ALSEP...It's just hard for us to recall how close they were. And we sort of thought you had them pinpointed for us. But, if you want it 3 to 400 meters, you might think about a late drive out there, just to make sure (garbled under Bob) ALSEP.

161:34:22 Parker: No. We thought about that. We don't want to do that. No, we don't want to do that. So we'll take care of it. Don't worry about it now. That's all we have. Press on with the prep.

161:34:31 Schmitt: Hey, Bob; this is Jack. I can see the charge with the binocular (means "monocular"). It's out almost behind a rock that's between us and the LM, but I can see it. (Chuckles) I mean, a rock between it and the LM. I can't give you any idea, though, how far it is.

161:34:57 Parker: Okay.

[Journal Contributor Ulli Lotzmann notes that the 10x40 monocular was manufactured by Leitz, Germany, and modified by NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) Houston.]

[Gene is correct. From their perspective, the charge on the left is EP-8, the one they emplaced at the end of the EVA. It is closer to the LM than EP-4, which they deployed at the start of EVA-2.]

161:35:57 Parker: Okay. Copy that. And...

161:36:01 Schmitt: But we'll keep our eyes open.

161:36:01 Parker: ...I'll talk with the Backroom about Stations 6 and 7. We'll get with you on that when you get there. And press on.

[Comm Break]

[Schmitt - "We hadn't planned to range along the base of the South Massif and didn't. And, in retrospect, we didn't do too badly in getting a fair variety at Station 2. Each of the three or four rocks we looked at in some detail was different. What we didn't get was which one was most representative. "]

161:37:47 Fullerton: Okay, Jack. And it looked good.

[Comm Break]

[As indicated at 161:31:18, the second package (EP-8) is about 140 meters from the geophone module. The first package (EP-4) is farther west and is about 225 meters from the geophone module. If Gene's 300 meters refers to the distance of the second package to the geophone module, his distance estimate is way off.]

161:40:11 Cernan: Yeah, I've got both of them with the monocular now. And the second one, the last one we deployed, is quite a bit farther out than the first one.

161:40:22 Fullerton: Okay. I think that's what they want to hear. (Long Pause)

161:40:54 Cernan: Gordo, I guess it's half again or maybe even twice as far away as the first one we deployed. So we're going to forget it.

161:41:03 Fullerton: Okay, Geno. That sounds good. (Pause)

161:41:11 Cernan: And, Gordo, I'm going off the air also here for about 10 minutes. It'll speed things up a little bit.

161:41:17 Fullerton: Okay. Fine.

[Very Long Comm Break. They are getting out of the Constant Wear Garments, into the Liquid Cooled Garments, and then the suits.]

[Cernan - "During these long comm breaks we were just busy doing things. You could always listen but, unless you were on VOX, it was sometimes inconvenient to key the switch to tell what you were doing. It was more efficient to just get it done. You know they're there and that you can talk to them if you need to."]

161:52:54 Fullerton: Okay, CDR. You're loud and clear.

[Long Comm Break. It appears that they are working partly in parallel, rather than getting Jack into his suit first and then Gene.]

161:57:47 Fullerton: Jack, you are loud and clear.

[Very Long Comm Break. By the end of this break, they are both in their suits. While Jack does the battery management, Gene may be getting unneeded items stowed and out of the way.]

162:26:28 Schmitt: Hello, Houston. How do you read Challenger?

162:26:30 Parker: Okay. We have high bit rate now. You're Go on the battery management.

162:26:38 Schmitt: Okay.

[Comm Break]

[Comm Break. Next, they will report their PRD readings, as per Surface 6-1.]

162:29:58 Parker: Copy that, Gene. (Long Pause)

162:30:44 Cernan: And Jack's is 24138.

162:30:49 Parker: Roger. Copy that.

[Comm Break. They are now on Surface 6-2.]

162:33:43 Parker: Okay. Copy that. Very good.

[Long Comm Break. By now, they've done the OPS checkout, have donned their watches and wrist mirrors, and have gotten the helmets, gloves, and LEVAs out into easy reach so that, once they have the PLSSs on, they can get at the other gear without having to do much turning or bending.]

162:41:01 Parker: Copy that.

162:41:07 Cernan: I'm sorry, Bob, (for not having noticed the change in CapCom).

[Long Comm Break. They have just finished the left-hand column of Surface 6-2. First, they will get Jack into his PLSS and then Gene into his.]

162:49:44 Parker: We copy that, Geno. And we copy the forward hatch unlocked, right?

162:49:53 Cernan: Yeah. Sure do.

[Cernan - "My PLSS was stowed on the port bulkhead at my left shoulder with the (U.S.) flag outboard so that I could just back into it. I'm almost positive that Jack's was stowed on the floor by the hatch with the flag up and the surface that interfaces against the body down against the deck. There were some interim stowage bags hanging in front of the Commander's PLSS which we just threw in the back to get them out of the way."]

[Long Comm Break; static.]

[At the end of PLSS donning, they put on their RCUs and connect the PLSS control cables to it. These steps are on Surface 6-3.]

162:54:06 Cernan: (Faint) Roger, Bob. We're checking. (Long Pause)

162:54:41 Parker: (Static clears) Okay, Challenger. We have you back loud and clear.

162:54:50 Schmitt: Okay, Houston. That's...(Listens) Okay. It looks like I might have hit the Yaw knob on the steerable (antenna) with the PLSS.

162:54:54 Parker: Okay. Copy that. (Long Pause)

[Cernan - "He had a signal strength meter and control knobs for pitch and yaw so that he could tweak up the signal. He must have hit one of the knobs."]

162:55:29 Schmitt: Bob, that doesn't jibe with what my needles say. I've got a two-zero and five-zero.

162:55:43 Parker: Leave them there. We'll check with you.

162:55:48 Schmitt: That's minus five-zero.

[Comm Break]

162:58:30 Schmitt: We're at 3.8. It's not quite as good as it was. We had about 3.9, I think.

162:58:35 Parker: Okay. Ed (Fendell) thinks maybe you're on a sidelobe, and he's suggesting a Pitch of fourteen - one-four - and a Yaw of plus eight. Over.

162:58:46 Schmitt: Okay. I'll try it.

[Cernan - "On the surface, our antenna pointing didn't change but, throughout the flight when we changed attitudes, they would give us pitch and yaw for the (high-gain) steerable. This was true in the Command Module, too. If we were behind the Moon, they'd have given us a pitch and yaw so that when we came around the limb, we'd pick them up immediately."]

[Comm Break; static]

163:00:40 Parker: Okay, we noticed that. Let's just leave her there, please. (Pause) Go to Slew, please.

[Schmitt - "All through this prep, it sounds like we had a pretty good rest. Compared with how we sounded at the end of the second EVA, it had obviously done us some good. Geno may not sound as rested as he has at other times, but I sound pretty normal."]

[Cernan - (Tongue in cheek) "Once you experience the responsibility of command, you realize that you never get as much sleep as the crew does. The crew's welfare comes first, before your own personal comfort."]

[Comm Break.]

[By the end of this break, they have both PLSSs on and both RCUs connected and are about to start the comm check with each other and with Houston. As they come back on comm, they are doing the last two lines on Surface Checklist page 6-3. Recall that they aren't actually using the Surface Checklist but, rather, cue cards which they have mounted on the panel at the front of the spacecraft. The cue cards contain the same steps as do the pages in the Surface checklist.]

163:04:09 Cernan: Okay. (On) your PLSS comm, Audio breaker, Closed. Okay, PLSS PTT Main right, verify, and go Mode (switch) A.

163:04:21 Schmitt: Okay.

163:04:22 Cernan: Okay, I got you. You'll get the tones (on), vent flag, press flag, and O flag.

163:04:26 Schmitt: Okay.

163:04:27 Cernan: Call Houston and give them your O2 reading.

163:04:30 Schmitt: Okay, Houston. This is the LMP on Mode A and my oxygen is nine-four (that is, 94 percent).

163:04:42 Parker: Copy that, Jack, you're loud and clear.

[Jack is unable to hear Houston in this configuration.]

163:04:52 Cernan: Yeah. I hear that too, but it's loud and clear here. Okay, I'm going mine open. (Pause)

163:05:03 Parker: And LMP PLSS data looks good down here. (Long Pause)

163:06:01 Cernan: (Hearing the PLSS warning tone) Yeah. There's the tone. There's a press flag and a vent flag.

[The flags indicate that the suit is unpressurized and that the sublimator is not in operation. They also show that the warning system is working.]

163:06:06 Cernan: And O2.

163:06:08 Schmitt: (Garbled) you're loud and clear.

163:06:10 Cernan: Okay. Okay, I cannot hear Houston but, Houston, this is CDR with 91 percent.

163:06:18 Parker: Roger, CDR. And, LMP, we read the CDR loud and clear. We have good LMP medical data.

[Now, it is Gene who can not hear Houston. They are near the top of the right-hand column of Surface 6-4.]

163:06:30 Cernan: Okay, you go B and I'll go A.

163:06:34 Schmitt: Okay, going to B.

163:06:38 Cernan: Okay, how do you read me?

163:06:39 Schmitt: You're loud and clear. Houston, this is the LMP in Bravo. How do you read?

163:06:44 Parker: Roger. We read the LMP loud and clear.

163:06:49 Cernan: Okay, Bob. And how me?

163:06:50 Parker: Read you loud and clear also, Gene. And we have good medical data on you, Gene.

163:06:56 Cernan: Okay, Jack, let's go AR.

163:06:58 Schmitt: Okay, going to AR.

163:07:01 Cernan: Okay, Houston, how do you read CDR?

163:07:03 Parker: Loud and clear on AR.

163:07:09 Schmitt: And the LMP?

163:07:10 Parker: Also loud and clear on AR.

163:07:14 Cernan: Okay, Jack, Squelch VHF B, full decrease.

163:07:18 Schmitt: Decrease.

[They have finished the comm check and are about to start the ECS reconfiguration steps on Surface 6-5.]

163:07:21 Schmitt: Yup.

[They are circulating LM water through the LCGs.]

163:07:24 Schmitt: It's verified.

163:07:25 Cernan: Suit Fan Delta-P, Open, and Suit Fan number 2, Opened.

[They are shutting off the fans in the Suit Circuit and a sensor that detects a pressure difference across the fans when they are in operation.]

163:07:30 Cernan: Okay, (because the fans are off), we should get a (caution) light in about one minute. Stand by for that. Okay, Suit Gas Diverter (Valve) to Pull - these are "verify" - Pull-Egress.

163:07:38 Schmitt: Okay, Pull-Egress.

163:07:39 Cernan: Cabin Gas Return (Valve), Egress.

163:07:40 Schmitt: Okay, Houston. You want us to go by the checklist now on the ECS system?

[Jack is remembering the troubles they had before the rest period with a small leak in one of the Demand Regulators. After testing, Houston had them open and close the valve in an effort to get it to reseat. It did and the leak disappeared. This is a good example of the attention that he and Gene paid to details that Houston sometimes forgot. There is nothing like being the person on the spot to focus one's attention.]

163:07:53 Schmitt: Say again. You didn't come through.

163:07:55 Parker: Roger. As per the checklist.

163:07:55 Schmitt: Okay, Egress on Cabin Gas Return (Valve).

163:08:00 Cernan: Okay, that's Suit Gas Diverter (Valve), Egress; Cabin Gas Return (Valve), Egress.

163:08:03 Schmitt: Egress and Egress.

[Here, they are isolating the ECS Suit Circuit from the cabin.]

163:08:05 Schmitt: Auto.

[The relief valve will open only if the Suit Circuit pressure exceeds 4.3 psi, dumping the excess oxygen into the cabin and, thereby, out the hatch and/or one of the dump valves. They are about to begin the right-hand column of Surface 6-5.]

163:08:11 Schmitt: Okay, that's done.

163:08:13 Cernan: Your hoses are stowed?

163:08:14 Schmitt: They're stowed.

163:08:15 Cernan: Okay, connect your OPS hose, and I'll get you (purge valve) number 211.

163:08:19 Schmitt: Let me turn around so I don't...

163:08:20 Cernan: Okay.

163:08:21 Schmitt: That'll do it. Keep hooking this water hose here.

163:08:24 Cernan: (Purge valve) 211 is yours. 208 is mine. (Pause)

163:08:35 Cernan: Okay, the (purge valve connector) pin is in. It's closed, you're in Low Flow. Believe it or not, it still works.

[Schmitt - "There were two settings on the valves. Low Flow was for make-up and High Flow was for use if you had a hole in the suit."]

163:08:44 Cernan: Yeah, I do. (Pause)

163:08:57 Schmitt: Okay, are you through with it?

[Cernan - "It isn't in the check list but, while I was putting in his purge valve, he might have taken the water gun (photo by Mick Hyde) to get a drink, just to saturate himself." See, also, the confirming statement at 163:11:51.]

163:09:08 Cernan: I can get down there, if you can't, Jack.

[Cernan - "I don't know if he dropped the water gun or I dropped one of his hoses."]

163:09:18 Cernan: I'll get it; I can reach it. (Pause) Okay, let's get your OPS hose. (Pause) OPS hose. OPS hose, it's way down here. That's your water hose. Here's your OPS hose. (Pause) Now, let's get the dust cover on it. The OPS hose is going in. I verify its locked and the lock-lock is in. Cover's up, and we'll take another look at them. Okay. (Pause)

163:09:56 Schmitt: Okay, we got the Master Alarm. Water Sep(arator warning light). (Garbled) pre-amps. Sluggish one.

[At 163:07:25 they'd turned off the fan in the ECS suit circuit and here, two minutes later, the Caution-and-Warning System is confirming that the centrifugal water separator has spun down and is no longer operating. As with other instances, this is primarily a test of the warning system.]

[Cernan - "Maybe someone would think, 'Master Alarm! Emergency lift-off'! But, with all these reconfigurations, we'd get them periodically."]

163:10:29 Schmitt: Okay.

[As shown in Figure I-23 in the EMU Handbook, the PGA diverter valve is part of the oxygen inflow connector and gives them the option of directing the PLSS oxygen flow entirely into the helmet (the vertical position) or partly into the suit torso (the horizontal position). Generally, the astronauts put the diverter valve to horizontal only when they were in the cabin and were trying to dry the suits out a little. In the hoizontal position, used in the cabin, all the incoming oxygen stream is divided between a duct leading to the helmet vent and a duct leading the vents in the torso. In the vertical position, used outside, all the oxygen goes to the helmet vent. Figure I-10 from the EMU Handbook shows the layout of the ducts.]

163:10:31 Schmitt: Vertical.

[They are now finished with Jack's purge valve, his OPS hose, and his PGA diverter valve. They will now repeat the procedure for Gene.]

163:10:32 Schmitt: It's your OPS hose time. (Garbled)...

163:10:40 Cernan: Put it on top. I put yours on top. That's probably as good as anything. I'm not sure it makes any difference.

[They are talking about hose routing under Gene's right arm.]

163:10:55 Cernan: Okay.

163:10:56 Schmitt: And the comm? (Garbled) Here it is. That one's locked, verified.

163:11:00 Cernan: Here's the purge valve; and it's number 208, I hope.

163:11:06 Schmitt: No, you wanted 211.

163:11:07 Cernan: No. I wanted 208. I want 208 and you want 211.

163:11:12 Schmitt: No. I'm sorry. That's what I copied down.

163:11:15 Parker: Roger. 211 for the LMP

163:11:15 Cernan: Verify that, will you, Bob?

163:11:17 Parker: 211 for the LMP.

163:11:18 Cernan: That's right. That's...(Listens)

163:11:23 Schmitt: Okay. That's what he's got. Somehow I copied the wrong one.

163:11:24 Cernan: Okay, give me 208. Same thing we had yesterday.

163:11:26 Schmitt: Well, I didn't remember from yesterday, and that's what I thought Gordy said. Okay. That's in, locked, verified.

163:11:40 Cernan: On Low?

163:11:42 Schmitt: On Low and the pin's in.

163:11:45 Cernan: Okay.

163:11:47 Schmitt: Let me check this one. Good. Locked.

163:11:48 Cernan: Okay.

163:11:49 Schmitt: All right.

163:11:51 Cernan: Okay. We just had our drink. You can turn (the) Descent Water (valve), Off.

163:11:55 Schmitt: Okay, Descent Water is Off.

163:11:56 Cernan: And my hand lub(ricant) is all prepared.

163:11:59 Cernan: You get the scissors in the ETB? I think we finished up with that.

163:12:04 Schmitt: They're in there.

163:12:05 Cernan: Okay. Position mikes.

163:12:08 Schmitt: Okay.

163:12:09 Cernan: Okay. Here we go again, let's take a look at it. (Reading) "PLSS Fan (switch) will come On. Don helmets and LEVAs. Drink bag, position. Lower LEVA protective visor, and secure tool harness straps." Let's verify the following, then we'll go ahead and put your PLSS Fan, On, and get your helmet, and you can put mine on.

[The tool harness straps attached to the outside of the LEVA on either side of the helmet. The attachment on the right side of Gene's helmet is visible in AS17-140- 21390 taken early in this EVA and, also, in the formal, flag-and-earth portrait AS17-134- 20387 taken at 118:26:38.]

[Cernan - "I think that these straps were attached there so that we could do a quick release in case we had to get in (the cabin) in a hurry."]

[Next, they do steps at the top of 6-6 - verifying all their suit connections - before completing the helmet donning at the bottom of 6-5.]

163:12:50 Cernan: Okay. And vertical on the (PGA) Diverter Valve.

163:12:52 Schmitt: That's right.

163:12:55 Cernan: Okay, let me take a check (of Jack's connectors). Comm is locked and covered. OPS is locked (pause) and covered. PLSS exhaust is locked and covered. Inlet is locked and covered. You're vertical. Purge valve is locked and Low. Okay, let me get your helmet here.

163:13:24 Schmitt: Let's look at one thing here, Geno.

[For the next half minute or so, they are probably checking the sunshades of Jack's LEVA.]

163:13:34 Schmitt: That shade. (Garbled) mean to check it.

163:13:40 Cernan: That's what mine looks like. They're all stiff. Mine is a little stiff, too, it'll come, if you pull. If need be, I can pull it down for you.

163:13:48 Schmitt: Yeah. Okay.

163:13:49 Cernan: I can get that one up and out of the way. Okay. As soon as I get this (helmet) over your head, you can put your PLSS fan on. Okay, now, let's watch out for all your paraphernalia (food stick, drink bag, microphones) there. (Pause) Can you pull that stuff away from there? (Pause)

[To get something out of the way, Jack would have to use his teeth.]

163:14:45 Cernan: Well, not yet. Let me undo this. (Pause)

163:14:55 Schmitt: (Garbled) problem?

163:14:56 Cernan: I just want to make sure I get my fingers on this thing, and make sure it's locked. (Pause) (Garbled) Do it.

163:15:10 Schmitt: That's it.

163:15:11 Cernan: There, that got it. (Pause) Okay, that should have it. Get your fan on here in a minute. Okay, you got your (PLSS) fan on?

163:15:32 Schmitt: Fan's On.

[The fan control is on the RCU.]

[Cernan - "When you snapped your helmet in, there was an L-shaped lip and you wanted to make sure that overlapping piece was flush. So, when you felt all the way around, if it wasn't snapped in properly, you could feel it. If it wasn't flush, that would indicate that it had gotten in kattiwampus (meaning, out of alignment or out of kilter) - that it may have locked the front but it didn't snap in and lock in the back. It was easier for us to feel each other's and it was very important to get the helmet on right. So we double verified it, just like we verified all those things. You don't want to go out with half a spacesuit. You don't want to have one little flaw, one little leak that might compromise your safety or your ability to get the job done."]

[Cernan - "The LEVA didn't shift around very much, but it did have a little lock to keep it in place."]

163:16:00 Cernan: Okay, let's pick mine up. (Pause)

163:16:05 Schmitt: Okay. (Long Pause) Okay, you ready?

163:16:41 Cernan: Uh-huh. (Pause) See if you can feel that rim all the way around.

163:16:51 Schmitt: Wait a minute.

163:16:53 Cernan: What (are you doing)?

163:16:55 Schmitt: Well, let me...Either you...(Long Pause)

163:17:16 Parker: And, Geno, we don't see your fan on yet.

163:17:22 Cernan: It'll come on, Bob.

163:17:23 Schmitt: There, it's locked.

163:17:24 Cernan: Okay, are the engage marks marked?

163:17:26 Schmitt: Well, they are now.

163:17:27 Cernan: Okay.

163:17:28 Schmitt: That's in alignment only.

163:17:30 Cernan: Okay, Bob, my fan's on. (To Jack) It is locked? Look good to you?

163:17:34 Schmitt: Yeah. Fine.

163:17:36 Cernan: Okay. Get the LEVA locked. (Pause) The curtain (meaning the thermal covering at the back of the LEVA that covers the neck) down in the back?

163:17:45 Schmitt: Yeah. Velcro...(Pause) Okay. Looks good.

163:18:02 Cernan: (Finding his place on Surface 6-6) Okay, where are we here? Verify white dots plus EVA decals and then you can don your gloves.

163:18:05 Schmitt: Okay.

[They are going to verify that they haven't hit any circuit breakers or switches.]

163:18:16 Schmitt: Okay.

163:18:14 Cernan: We don't need those.

163:18:17 Schmitt: Okay. EVA decals, white dots.

163:18:23 Cernan: Okay, Urine Line Heater's going to come off, and the breaker's out. (Pause) Okay.

MP3 Audio Clip ( 12 min 28 sec )

163:18:37 Schmitt: Okay, I'm ready except for (turning off the) LCG pump.

[They are staying on LM water for cooling for as long as possible. Jack will turn off the LCG pump at 163:23:15. They won't turn on their PLSS cooling until the hatch is open at 163:25:31.]

163:18:42 Schmitt: Okay.

[Comm Break]

[Cernan - "We each had a stainless steel mirror on a Velcro strap. Mine was on my right wrist. The mirror was as much a part of the spacesuit as the watch was. We wore mirrors from Gemini right on through the whole program. It was the only way you could see the connectors on the front of your suit and, as I remember, things were written backwards so you could read them in the mirror. You could use the mirror to see things above you, behind you. We found it was invaluable in Gemini but they were afraid of glass so we had polished stainless steel mirrors. It was a square mirror, maybe three by three inches."]

[The watchband on Gene's right wrist is visible in AS17-134- 20380 taken at about 118:23:20. There appears to be a similar strap on Jack's right wrist in AS17-134- 20425, part of Gene's Station 1 pan. The Apollo 17 packing list includes a "wrist mirror" for each of them. The wrist mirror is described on page 8.16-1 in the NASA Johnson document Handbook Of Pilot Operational Equipment For Manned Space Flight. The mirror was made of polished stainless steel and was 3.5 x 3.2 x 0.1 cm in size. It had two slots so it could be threaded on the watchband. A labelled detail from an Apollo 16 photo shows a wrist mirror on John Young's watchband.]

163:20:35 Schmitt: You all set?

163:20:36 Cernan: Well, I got my left hand. Got the left hand. Now, let's see what I can do with the right hand. (Pause)

163:20:49 Schmitt: Almost tempted to take those cover gloves off today.

[The cover gloves are fingerless and are worn to protect the suit glove. Gene and Jack had planned to discard the cover gloves at the end of the first EVA but, because the cover gloves were getting worn, it seemed prudent to leave them on and postpone damage to the suit gloves for as long as possible.]

163:21:33 Parker: Gene, you dropped out there right in the middle. (No answer; Long Pause)

163:21:47 Parker: Challenger, Houston. You dropped out there. (Long Pause)

163:22:10 Cernan: Okay, Bob. How do you read now?

163:22:12 Parker: Loud and clear, Gene.

163:22:15 Cernan: Okay, I hit the VOX switch on my audio panel.

163:22:16 Schmitt: You did!?

163:22:20 Cernan: Yeah, when I picked up my glove. Okay, Bob, the only thing I said - a little point of interest - I wore the RTV off the...Not all of it, but right through to bare metal on the hammer sometime in the previous 2 days. No problem; it just interests me.

[Details from two photos of Gene taken late in EVA-3 shows, AS17-134-20478 and 479, show an area on the hammer handle where the RTV has worn off. ]

[Cernan - "I used the hammer so much that, in some spots on the handle, I literally wore off the RTV coating. You can surmise anything you want from that: I was squeezing it to death; or I was holding it loose and it was slipping back and forth in my hand; or whatever."]

[The Room Temperature Vulcanizing silicone rubber used to coat the Apollo 17 hammer handle was usually referred to simply by the acronym RTV. An RTV wrapping was added for Apollo 17, undoubtedly because of the problems the Apollo 16 crew had losing their grip on the hammer.]

163:22:48 Cernan: Yes, sir! I'll tell you, we have become very respectful of the dust.

163:22:54 Parker: Copy that.

163:22:55 Cernan: Oh, yeah, cover gloves, yeah...We've also got the wrist dust covers on, too.

163:23:03 Parker: Roger. Strike a blow for Mason jar rings.

163:23:04 Cernan: And what's left of the cover gloves.

[Mason jars are a brand of canning jars with rubber rings to provide the necessary airtight seal. Bob is saying that protection of the wrist seals is valuable.]

[Like the RTV coating on the hammer handle, Gene's cover gloves are very worn. He and Jack will discard their cover gloves during the Rover preps on this EVA, at 163:48:11.]

163:23:12 Schmitt: I'm on.

163:23:13 Cernan: And locked?

163:23:14 Schmitt: And locked.

163:23:15 Cernan: Well, I got my thing on; I want to make sure I'm locked again. (Pause) Yeah, I am. I took it off again. Well, I was. Talking and you just do things...Okay. (Reading cue card, same as Surface 6-6) "Don EV gloves...(skipping forward in the checklist) Cover (wrist rings)..." Okay. PGA biting? No. Okay. "LCG cold as required", and then "LCG Pump (circuit breaker), Open". I guess you can open it. (Pause) And disconnect the LM...

163:23:42 Schmitt: Okay. LCG pump.

163:23:45 Cernan: ...Water hose.

163:23:46 Schmitt: And I got a tone but that's because I turned my oxygen on briefly.

[Here, Jack is putting a little pressure in his suit to keep it from collapsing around him because of breathe-down. Gene will put a little pressure in his suit at 163:24:54. The Apollo 12 crew had noted this problem in their post-mission technical debriefing and suggested this fix. Gene and Jack will fully inflate the suits for the pressure integrity check at 163:26:46.]

163:23:52 Schmitt: Okay, Pump (breaker)'s Open. (I'll) turn around here and help you.

163:23:55 Cernan: You can take the water off.

163:23:58 Schmitt: Water's off. Or the pump's off. Okay, your (LM) water (hose)'s off.

[Next, Jack will connect Gene's PLSS water hose.]

[And, then, Gene connects Jack's PLSS water hose.]

163:24:49 Cernan: Hold on. (Pause) Okay. And it locked, and your (dust) cover's on. I got to zap my PGA. Wait a minute, I'm biting here.

163:25:14 Schmitt: Okay. Well, let me try to stow this (LM water hose). (Pause)

163:25:32 Cernan: Okay. (Pause) "Verify your PLSS (feed)water's Min when you get a chance."

163:25:38 Schmitt: Okay, that's verified. Did that a minute ago.

163:25:41 Cernan: And mine's verified and your (PLSS LCG) pump on.

163:25:47 Schmitt: Okay, Pump's going On.

163:25:52 Cernan: Mine On. "Pressure Reg(ulators) A and B to Egress."

163:25:54 Schmitt: Okay, they are Egress.

163:25:57 Cernan: Okay, pressure integrity check. (Pause) Ready?

[They are now at the top of the right-hand column of Surface 6-6.]

163:26:06 Cernan: Okay. (Pause)

163:26:13 Schmitt: Awful lot of line there, isn't there?

163:26:15 Cernan: Uh-huh.

[Schmitt - "There were some gold-colored, yard-long lines connected to the utility lights and, since the clamps were outside on the fender, the lines may have been dangling. Or, I could have been referring to the LM hoses."]

163:26:27 Cernan: (Garbled)

163:26:30 Schmitt: Okay. All right. You happy?

163:26:32 Cernan: Yep. "Pressure Regs A (and) B, to Egress."

163:26:35 Schmitt: They are Egress.

163:26:36 Cernan: Okay. Put your PLSS O2 water (means oxygen)...

163:26:40 Schmitt: No.

163:26:42 Cernan: ...On, now. Mark it.

163:26:43 Schmitt: PLSS O2, On?

163:26:45 Cernan: PLSS O2, On. Right?

163:26:46 Schmitt: Okay, it's on.

163:26:47 Cernan: Okay, and mine's on. We'll wait till it builds us up. Press flag should clear at 3.1 to 3.4 (psi), O2 flag'll clear at 3.7 to 4.0. (Pause) Okay, I'm coming up (in pressure). (Pause) Hope the old suit integrity is just as good as it has been. I don't see why not. (Long Pause)

[Schmitt - "I will always be surprised that the suits held up as well as they did to the abuse we gave them. Just think about what we were doing and the dust environment we exposed them to. We tried to clean the bearings and plug the holes (that is, the connectors) and things like that; and they really did well, just like everything else we had in the Apollo program did better than anybody ever expected it to. And I think that just goes back to the motivation of the people who were building it and testing it and flying it. It makes a lot of difference if people believe it's the most important thing they're going to do in their lives and they don't want to be responsible for screwing it up."]

163:27:50 Schmitt: Yep. (Pause) About 3.5 now.

163:28:03 Cernan: Yeah, me too. (Pause) Okay, let me know when you are up.

163:28:12 Schmitt: I think I'm up; I'm 3.8.

[Next, they will turn off the flow of oxygen into the suits so they can check for pressure integrity.]

163:28:24 Schmitt: I got it

163:28:26 Cernan: (Turning off his oxygen for the integrity check) Okay, mine's Off.

163:28:27 Schmitt: Mine's Off.

163:28:27 Cernan: Mark it. We wanted decay for 1 minute.

163:28:32 Schmitt: Okay, I started at 3.83 (psi).

163:28:35 Cernan: Okay. That's about exactly where I was. (Pause) Another 45 seconds to go.

163:28:43 Schmitt: Okay.

163:28:44 Cernan: So far, it looks as tight as it was yesterday. (Long Pause) Another 30 seconds. (Pause)

163:29:11 Schmitt: Maybe lunar dust is a good sealant. (Pause)

[After getting out of their suits the night before, they cleaned and lubricated the zippers, seals and connectors as best they could. Under the conditions, it is not surprising that they weren't able to get everything completely clean. Consequently, there was still some dust in the connectors and mixed in with the lubricant. Jack is marveling that the suits aren't leaking more than they are.]

163:29:32 Schmitt: 2.70? 3.70.

163:29:34 Cernan: 3.70.

163:29:35 Parker: Understand 3.70.

163:29:37 Schmitt: Okay, LMP was (3.)83 to 70.

163:29:49 Cernan: Okay, Jack. You can get your O2 on.

163:29:52 Schmitt: It's on.

163:29:53 Cernan: Okay. Can you move to the left - a little bit to your left? I got to get in front here.

[Schmitt - "Gene was going to lean down to get the hatch. I was facing him and he wanted me to lean toward the rear of the spacecraft to maximize the room he'd have to get down. It was tough to get down there and get a hold of the hatch."]

[Cernan - "Once we had the suits up to 3.8, we moved around like tin soldiers (meaning very stiffly). 'You move a little bit, and I'll move a little bit.' From this point on, where you've got two people with the pressurized suits and the PLSSs on and the hoses on, a guy moving six inches left or right or six inches fore or aft meant a great deal to the ability of the other guy to reach something."]

163:29:58 Cernan: Okay, let me turn this (cue card) over.

[They are in the middle of the right-hand column of Surface 6-6.]

163:30:05 Cernan: Okay, stand by. (Pause) Okay, Heck of a time to have to turn the checklist over. Okay, we've got a Go for depress. On (circuit breaker panel)16, Cabin Repress (breaker), Open, and Cabin Repress Valve, Closed.

163:30:17 Schmitt: Okay.

[Jack is still facing Gene. The Cabin Repress valve is on his left and the circuit breaker panel is on the wall behind him.]

163:30:20 Schmitt: Okay, stand by. Can you give me a little room to...

163:30:24 Cernan: Let me...Okay, how's that?

[Jack needs to turn around to get the circuit breaker and Gene is probably leaning back to give him room to get around.]

[Cernan - "I can see in my mind Jack turning a little bit so that he could see the circuit breaker panel, and then his PLSS is hitting me right smack in the face."]

163:30:34 Cernan: Okay. Now, why don't you face the wall over there and move in as close (to it as you can) and I'll get the overhead valve.

163:30:38 Schmitt: Wait a minute, I've got to close the (ECS) Repress valve. You got it all right. Okay, it's Closed and I'll get where I was yesterday.

163:30:47 Cernan: Okay.

163:30:49 Schmitt: How's that? (Pause)

[Cernan - "Jack is getting as far over on his side (and as far forward) as he can, so that I can get back and up to get the overhead valve."]

[Training photo KSC-72PC-540 shows the overhead valve at the upper right.

163:30:58 Schmitt: Okay.

163:31:01 Cernan: I've got to get my PLSS...

[Gene is now turning to his right, putting his PLSS against the circuit breaker panel on the left wall so that he can reach up with his right arm.]

[Cernan - "The shoulder bearing really restricted your movements and I may have even been up on my tiptoes to get high enough. If we had been in a round room or a square room it might have been different. But we were in a room with all kinds of shapes and corners in our way. And we, ourselves, were very bulky and non-conforming shapes."]

163:31:07 Cernan: Well...

163:31:09 Schmitt: Okay, wait a minute.

163:31:13 Schmitt: I can turn with my back to the wall and you might have a little more...

163:31:16 Cernan: Well, I think...I feel like I'm hooked on something. Wait. I can't turn either way. Stay where you are. (Pause) There. Okay. (Pause; straining to reach) Okay, the safety (pin on the overhead valve is pulled)...Oh, boy, I'm glad I'm not an inch shorter. Okay, coming down, Jack. You ready?

163:31:45 Schmitt: Go ahead, to 3.5 (psi).

163:31:48 Cernan: Okay, it's Open.

163:31:49 Schmitt: Okay, 4.5 - 4 - Stand by. Mark.

163:31:56 Cernan: Auto.

163:31:57 Schmitt: Okay, at 3.5.

163:31:59 Cernan: Can you read the checklist?

163:32:02 Schmitt: Okay, I can. Okay. Open, Auto. 3.5. Cuff checklist...(Realizing his error) Ah. (Chuckles) (I mean that the) cuff gauge does not drop below 4.6. It hasn't.

163:32:15 Cernan: Mine's good.

163:32:16 Schmitt: Have to put your (left?) hand down. I can't read it (the cue card).

163:32:18 Cernan: Okay.

163:32:19 Schmitt: "Cabin is holding at 3.5. And suit circuit is locked up at 4.5 and PGA is decaying greater than 4.5." (It's) 4.6. Okay. Okay, Bob, I'm starting my watch (as per 6-7).

163:32:43 Parker: We're Go.

163:32:44 Schmitt: Okay. You can go to Open (on the overhead dump valve).

163:32:51 Cernan: Okay, it's Open.

163:32:53 Schmitt: Okay, and (suit) pressure is going up. And the next step is, when you can, open the forward hatch.

163:33:02 Cernan: Okay, my suit's relieving. (Pause)

163:33:09 Schmitt: (Cabin pressure is) down to almost 1.5 now. (Pause)

163:33:22 Schmitt: One psi. (Pause)

MP3 Audio Clip ( 21 min 39 sec )

163:33:35 Cernan: Okay, my (suit) relief valve just seated at 5.3. Okay, where are we?

163:33:41 Schmitt: We're at point five (0.5 psi).