Apollo Lunar Surface
Experiment Package (ALSEP)
Lunar Surface Magnetometer
(LSM)
Apollo 16 LSM at Descarte
Left - Diagram of LSM
Right - Apollo 15 LSM
Apollo Experiment Number: S 034
Apollo Missions: 12, 15, 16
Wt: 8.6 kg
Dim: 25 x 28 x 63 cm, stowed
Arms: ~ 3 feet long
"The purpose of the magnetometer was to measure the
magnetic field on the lunar surface and to determine from those measurements
some of the deep-interior electrical properties of the Moon. This experiment
also helped to elucidate the interaction between the solar plasma and the
lunar surface. The Earth's magnetic field also extends to the Moon's orbit.
Thus, as the Moon passed through the "bow shock" of the Earth it was detected
by the LSM."
(from: Catalog
of Apollo Experiment Operations, NASA RP - 1317, JSC)
With its' 3 gold booms extended ~35o above
the ground and spindly support legs, the LSM has always been to me one
of the neatest looking of the ALSEP experiments!
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