Why the Lunar Module Looked So Much Like a Moon Bug

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Jul 19

2019

by Mirela Tanc

(article by Elizabeth Howell) No seats? No problem. Throwing away seating was just one of the innovative design compromises NASA made to get astronauts safely on the lunar surface for the first time on July 20, 1969.Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin softly landed on the Sea of Tranquility 50 years ago this month inside the lunar module. This spacecraft was like nothing anyone had seen before. Instead of smooth sides, there were bumps and jagged edges and antennas. The shape was so strange that the Apollo 9 crew called their lunar module "Spider," because of the outstretched legs that made it look like a creepy-crawly creature.Why the strange shape? It was a weight-saving measure, pointed out Dick Dunne. Starting his career as a riveter for Grumman Aircraft Engineering (which became known as Grumman Aerospace and is now called Northrop Grumman), Dunn eventually worked his way up to a senior position in public affairs before retiring. "If we could get an ounce off, we were happy," he told Space.com.