Background
The instrumentation and experiments that would comprise ALSEP were decided in February 1966. Specifically, the experiments, institutions responsible, and principal investigators and coinvestigators were:
- Passive Lunar Seismic Experiment: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Frank Press; Columbia University, George Sutton; Georgia Tech, Robert Hostetler
- Lunar Tri-axis Magnetometer: NASA Ames Research Center, C. P. Sonett; Marshall Space Flight Center, Jerry Modisette.
- Medium-Energy Solar Wind: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, C. W. Snyder and M. M. Neugebauer.
- Suprathermal Ion Detection: Rice University, J. W. Freeman, Jr.; Marshall Space Flight Center, Curt Michel.
- Lunar Heat Flow Management: Columbia University, M. Langseth; Yale University, S. Clark.
- Low-Energy Solar Wind: Rice University, B. J. O'Brien.
- Active Lunar Seismic Experiment: Stanford University, R. L. Kovach; United States Geological Survey, J. S. Watkins.
The ALSEP was built and tested by Bendix Aerospace in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The instruments were designed to run autonomously after the astronauts left and to make long term studies of the lunar environment. They were arrayed around a Central Station which supplied power generated by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) to run the instruments and communications so data collected by the experiments could be relayed to Earth. Thermal control was achieved by passive elements (insulation, reflectors, thermal coatings) as well as power dissipation resistors and heaters. Data collected from the instruments were converted into a telemetry format and transmitted to Earth.
Read more about this topic: Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package
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