MATERIALS COVERING THE LUNAR MODULE
LM-2 appears just as it would have during a moon-landing mission. Several materials cover the spacecraft to protect its inner structure from temperature and micrometeoroids. Specially designed materials maintain temperature balance inside the craft.

NICKEL-STEEL ALLOY
The black materials on parts of the LM are heat-resistant nickel-steel alloy, 0.0021072 millimeters (0.0000833 inches) thick. The black sheets absorb heat when exposed to the Sun and radiate to the blackness of deep space.

ALUMINIZED PLASTIC FILM
Not metal foil, these plastic films are thinly coated with aluminum, which reflects the sun's heat and insulates the spacecraft. The thin, gold-colored films are used in "blankets" of up to 25 layers. All of the plastic films protect the spacecraft from micrometeoroids.

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--  --  TIMELINE  --  --


Racing to Space
The Moon decision
To reach the moon
Apollo 11
Later Apollo missions
What we learned about the Moon
After the Apollo Program


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Created: 7/99