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EVA-3 Closeout

Corrected Transcript and Commentary Copyright © 1997 by Eric M. Jones.
All rights reserved.
Scan credits in the Image Library.
Video credits in the Video Library.
Except where noted, audio clips by Roland Speth.
Last revised 16 June 2014.

 

[John has just parked the Rover at the LM at the end of EVA. As per instructions from Houston, he did not take the time to change the LCRU switch before making the drive. Consequently, the comm signal has a lot of static.]
MP3 Audio Clip ( 10 min 56 sec )

169:51:11 Young: Want me to re-align that LCRU (meaning the high-gain antenna), Houston?

169:51:14 England: That would be fine, John.

169:51:21 Young: Okay. (Pause)

169:51:29 Duke: Did you say my SCB's about full, John?

169:51:32 Young: Yep.

169:51:33 Duke: Okay. Let me get yours off your back right now so I can go use it to sample with.

169:51:37 Young: Okay. (Pause)

169:51:41 Duke: Okay. I got it.

169:51:45 Young: GCA me (garbled), Charlie.

[John is asking Charlie to help with the high-gain alignment. GCA is "ground controlled approach".]
169:51:46 Duke: Okay. Wait a minute. Okay. You got to come right. A lot. More, now...More. Now up. Now right. (Static fades) Okay, right...You see them?

169:52:02 Young: No.

169:52:03 Duke: Okay, right. Okay, right. They ought to be in there now.

169:52:08 England: Yeah, we're getting a picture.

169:52:11 Young: Maybe I don't...(listens)

169:52:14 Duke: Let me...

169:52:15 Young: I can't do nothing with it.

169:52:18 Duke: Okay. (Static; Pause)

169:52:29 England: We lost it again.

169:52:30 Duke: Got to go down a little more. No. (Static fades) Wait a minute.

169:52:xx Young: (Garbled; Static; Pause)

169:52:49 Young: Man, I don't see them. (Garbled) see them?

169:52:52 Duke: Pretty far up there.

169:52:55 Young: Okay, I got them about in azimuth.

169:52:58: Duke: Need to go down.

169:53:01 Young: Oh, yeah. I see them; and you need to come more to your...There you go. You ought to have one... (Pause) I can't see it. It's not...(Pause)

169:53:25 Duke: (Garbled) know how to do it.

169:53:29 Young: Now, you just tilted the whole works, Charlie.

169:53:31 Duke: Yeah, I know it. Wait a minute. I'll go get it from this side. Push it over towards me, John. Give me the handle.

169:53:44 Young: Okay. (Static fades) This way.

169:53:54 Duke: Okay. Pull it...Dadgum. (How come) we're having so much trouble with it this time? Hey, you got a signal that's about...

[TV on. Charlie is in view at the left front of the Rover and is looking at the LCRU signal-strength meter. Fendell pans left.]
169:54:05 England: Hey! There, we've got a picture.

Video Clip ( 2 min 21 sec 0.6 Mb RealVideo or 21 Mb MPEG )

169:54:07 Duke: ...(a signal strength of) 3.1, 3.2. (Stops to listen) Leave it there; that's good enough.

169:54:12 Young: (Garbled)?

169:54:13 Duke: Just leave it. It's 3.2...That's 3.2.

169:54:16 England: Yeah, let's just live with that.

169:54:17 Duke: Okay, it (meaning the signal strength)'s going down. That's 3.5, John. It looks good.

169:54:23 Young: Okay.

[As Fendell reaches the counter-clockwise stop, Charlie comes into view and goes to the CDR seat. Apparently, he put John's SCB on the seat while he was helping with the antenna alignment. He picks up the SCB and goes to the back of the Rover.]
169:54:24 Duke: Okay. (We) spend 20 minutes adjusting the TV and then turn it off (when John drives out to the final parking place). (Pause) Going back out to the right, here, (to sample).
[As Charlie goes off-camera to the left, John comes into view at the right and goes to the CDR seat. He reaches in, gets the dustbrush, and goes out of view to the right, headed from the front of the Rover.]
169:54:42 Young: Yeah, I want to dust it. (Long Pause)
[The TV picture jiggles as John dusts the front of the Rover. Fendell pans right. John dusts the TV lens.]
169:55:16 England: Okay. And, John, when you're ready, I've got a new UV-(camera) setting.

169:55:20 Young: Okay. We'll reset the UV.

[John crosses the field-of-view from right to left.]
169:55:23 England: And, Charlie, you can continue sampling for about five more minutes, and then we'll have to load up.

169:55:31 Duke: Okay. That's about three samples. I'll be about out of bags then, anyway.

169:55:38 England: Okay. (Pause)

169:55:49 Young: Okay, with the new UV setting...Wait a minute. (Pause)

[Fendell finds Charlie, who is north of the LM. He is spinning a sample bag to seal it. He has already taken a cross-Sun stereopair of "before" photos from the north, AS16-117- 18833 and 18834. The sample is 60275, a 255-gram, glass-coated breccia which is shown in Figures 18A and 18B in the Professional Paper. Charlie has the scoop planted and has John's SCB standing upright nearby.]
169:56:01 Duke: Tony, I'll say one thing, that the character of the regolith has really changed between here and Stone Mountain and...

169:56:09 Young: Okay, Houston...

169:56:10 England: Okay.

169:56:11 Young: ...I'm going to reset.

169:56:12 England: Okay, and your azimuth is 275, and the elevation is 66.

169:56:20 Young: 275 and 66. All righty.

Video Clip ( 2 min 35 sec 0.7 Mb RealVideo or 23 Mb MPEG )

169:56:25 Duke: Okay; there's a grab sample in 18.

169:56:27 England: Okay. Bag 18.

169:56:33 Duke: Well, it's partially documented, I should say, not a grab sample.

[Charlie goes to the SCB and leans to his left to open the top. He drops bag 18 into the SCB and then picks up the SCB. He takes an "after", which is AS16-117- 18835.]
169:56:36 England: Right. We've got it on TV. The big eye's on ya!

169:56:44 Duke: The big eye!

[Charlie grabs the scoop, turns to his right, and heads off-camera to the left. Fendell pans to follow and doesn't actually lose sight of him.]
169:56:46 Duke: Okay. There's a neat rock. Right there. Doesn't look like a breccia.
[Charlie plants the scoop and hops around to a position a couple of meters north of it.]
169:56:54 Young: Okay, 275...

169:56:56 England: Roger.

169:56:57 Young: ...and 66.

169:56:58 England: Okay. That's affirmative.

169:57:01 Young: Boy, I hope this baby works.

[Charlie takes a cross-Sun stereotriplet from the north, AS16-117- 18836, 18837, and 18838, stepping to his right between the first two frames but moving only slightly - perhaps not moving his feet - between the second and third. He then gets a sample bag off his camera and opens it.]
169:57:03 England: Okay, Charlie. After this rock, we'd like you to start closing out.

169:57:10 Duke: Okay. I'll do it. (Pause) Bag number 19, Tony.

169:57:20 England: Okay. Bag 19.

[Charlie gets the scoop and lifts the sample without difficulty.]
169:57:31 Duke: And, Tony, the last one I pick up is a(n) igneous rock, no breccia.

169:57:37 England: Hey, outstanding!

169:57:38 Duke: I am not kidding. And it's got lath crystals in it and a black matrix, but it is not basaltic.

169:57:50 England: Outstanding, Charlie. (Pause)

[This sample is 60315, a 788-gram crystalline rock. In Houston, Flight says, with some satisfaction, "How's that for timing, there, Experiments?"]

[Charlie drops the bag.]

169:58:01 Duke: Well, it was going in bag 19; it's not anymore.

169:58:04 Young: I'll come over and help you, Charlie.

[Charlie plants the scoop and opens another bag.]
169:58:05 Duke: No, I got it, John. It's in bag number 20, Tony.

169:58:09 England: Okay; bag 20.

[John comes into view at the right side of the TV picture.]
169:58:13 Duke: He wants us to close out now, John.

169:58:16 Young: Okay.

169:58:21 Duke: Okay. I guess we're through with those samples. (Pause)

[Charlie picks up the SCB and then throws away the unused sample bags. He is facing the Rover and, with a flick of his right wrist, sends them sailing off-camera, to our left, in a very flat trajectory.]

[John stands and looks at his checklist, which is on his right forearm. He is probably looking at page CDR-46. He reaches across with his left hand and appears to stroke the surface of the page with his fingers.]

[Charlie grabs the scoop and heads for the LMP seat. Fendell follows.]

169:58:30 Young: (Chuckles as he looks at the checklist) Houston, this dust is just like an abrasive. Any time you rub something, you can no longer read it. And that's what's happened to our RCUs and our...(pause) every piece of gear we've got. In other words, it's a mistake to rub something to clean it off.

169:58:52 England: Understand.

169:58:53 Young: Big mistake. (Pause)

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169:59:00 England: Okay, we're starting a little bit ahead of time on the closeout here, and we'd like you to take your time and make sure we get everything.

169:59:10 Young: Okay. So would we.

169:59:12 Duke: You can bet we're not going to leave anything.

169:59:16 England: Good show. (Pause)

[Charlie appears to throw the extension handle off-camera to the right and stands for a moment, watching it.]
169:59:28 Duke: (To himself) Okay. (To Houston while he works at the LMP seat) Okay, Tony. The core tubes are going in bag (SCB) number 7.

169:59:36 England: Okay. Core tubes in bag 7. (Pause)

[Charlie picks up SCB 7 and we watch him as he inserts a core tube into one of the internal sleeves.]
169:59:47 Duke: And it's hardly got any rocks in it. John, you want to off-load mine?

169:59:52 Young: Okay. (Long Pause)

[Charlie turns to face the back of the Rover, possibly to get some light on his cuff checklist.]
170:00:07 Duke: (Looking at his checklist) (Garbled) here. "EMU malfunctions," I don't want that page.

170:00:15 England: (Making a mis-identification) We're with you, John.

[John joins Charlie at the LMP seat and bends down to release the bottom of the SCB on the right-hand side of Charlie's PLSS.]

[Ulli Lotzmann provides a TV still showing John on the left with the red CDR strip on his helmet and Charlie on the right wearing John's OPS with the CDR strips on the back.]

170:00:18 Duke: Okay, LRV config...We got...(Stops to listen)
[John now removes the SCB from Charlie's PLSS.]
170:00:22 Young: (Hearing Tony) Huh? (Pause) Okay, Charlie, here you go.

170:00:25 Duke: (Turning to see what John is doing) Okay.

[As Charlie turns, sunlight falls on the right-hand side of his helmet. He reaches up and extends the side visor.]
170:00:26 Young: What we gonna do with it? Put it on...
[John places the SCB on the LMP seat.]
170:00:27 Duke: Just put it in there, and I'll fill up the rocks.

170:00:30 Duke: Want to pull my PLSS tool carrier?

170:00:32 Young: Better believe it.

170:00:34 Duke: (Correcting himself) (My tool ) harness.

170:00:35 Young: Best day of my life.

170:00:37 Duke: Okay. (Pause)

[John releases the tool harness strap from the fastening on the right-hand side of Charlie's PLSS. He starts to go around behind Charlie, who simultaneously turns to his left to help get it unwound. John ends up between Charlie and the LM, holding the harness. John then presents the right side of his own PLSS so that Charlie can return the favor. They both drift off-camera to the left.]
170:00:42 Duke: (I'll) get yours. I'm glad we didn't have an emergency; (chuckling) "quick release pin".

170:00:56 England: And...

170:00:57 Duke: There you go. That's the one that we couldn't get snapped inside...

170:01:00 England: John...

170:01:01 Duke: John ...

170:01:01 England: ...you might try to keep a hold of the sample bags for when you go out and park the Rover. We may have you pick up a rock and put it on the LPM.

[John crosses the field-of-view from left to right, carrying his Hasselblad. Charlie comes into view briefly, but with his back to us.]
170:01:11 Young: Oh, yeah. I forgot all about that. (Pause) You want me...I'll take my camera with me, too.

Video Clip ( 2 min 47 sec 0.7 Mb RealVideo or 25 Mb MPEG )

170:01:21 England: Rog.

[Fendell zooms in on the UV camera, which is beyond the ladder. Charlie returns to the LMP seat and picks up an SCB.]
170:01:22 Young: Charlie's camera 1. You got any pictures left?

170:01:28 Duke: Yeah; have you?

170:01:29 Young: No.

170:01:30 Duke: You out completely?

170:01:31 Young: No, no. I'm on frame 150. I guess I got enough to cover it.

170:01:34 Duke: Oh, you got enough. Yeah. You're not gonna drive out there yet, are you?

170:01:39 Young: Oh, no.

170:01:41 Duke: Okay. (Long Pause)

[Charlie takes the SCB off-camera to the right, while Fendell examines the UV camera.]
MP3 Audio Clip ( 10 min 12 sec )

170:01:56 Duke: (To himself) (Tried to) put it in my teeth. (Pause)

[What Charlie may be saying is that he was trying to hold too many things and, without thinking, brought something up toward his mouth so he could hold it with his teeth. His helmet, of course, got in the way.]

[The TV picture jiggles as one of them works at the Rover.]

170:02:02 Young: You got some bags, Charlie?

170:02:05 Duke: They...I threw them away, John. They said they were through with them. They're down...

170:02:08 Young: Okay. Well, here's one right over here.

170:02:09 Duke: They're down to the left of the LM, there.

170:02:11 Young: Here's one right over here. (Long Pause)

170:02:24 Duke: Okay. I('ve) got to go get that SRC. (Long Pause)

[As Fendell pulls back on the zoom, John comes into view from the right, carrying an individual sample bag toward the LMP seat.]
170:02:42 Young: Okay. (I'll) just leave it under your seat. Okay?

170:02:44 Duke: Okay. (Long Pause)

[John goes to the back of the Rover.]
170:03:02 Young: Okay. (Reading CDR-46) "Reset the far UV; PLSS tool carrier; unload CDR; cosmic ray experiment: white ring to table." (going off-camera to the left) Okay, Charlie, I'm gonna be working on the table here for a second.

170:03:16 Duke: Okay. Fine.

[Fendell pans left to find John.]
170:03:17 Young: I've got to get rid of this LCRU pallet so I can stick the...(Pause)
[Fendell finds John as he makes his way around the north LM footpad, headed for the east footpad. He stops there for a moment and then continues around to the south side of the spacecraft, which is where the cosmic ray experiment is deployed.]

[At about this time, Charlie places a photo of the Duke Family on the surface and takes three photos, AS16-117- 18839, 18840, and 18841.]

170:03:29 Duke: Hey, Tony.

170:03:30 England: Yeah, Charlie.

170:03:34 Duke: Is Stu (Roosa) around?

170:03:36 England: Yeah, he's right here.

170:03:38 Duke: If he is, tell him...(listens) If he is, tell him 'Sixty-Four Charlie' just topped the Mount Whitney event.

[Duke - "'Sixty-four Charlie' (64-C) was our test pilot school class. He and I went to test pilot school together. The class climbed up to the top of Mt. Whitney (in California) and everybody had a ball. And that's what I was referring to: it (meaning the exploration of the Descartes landing site) was better than the Mt. Whitney event."]

[In January 2011, Ulli Lotzmann realized that photos AS16-117-18842 and 18843 show a piece of Beta Cloth on which Charlie has written "64-C" to honor the third class of 1964 at the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School. Ulli also located a photo - possibily a graduation photo. In his book Moonwalker, Charlie mentions that the class started with fourteen members. The photo shows twelve pilots. Charlie is standing, third from the left. Al Worden (Apollo 15 CMP) is standing on the far right. Stu Roosa is kneeling, fourth from the left. And Hank Hartsfield (Apollo 16 Support Crew and CSM CapCom) is immediately right of Roosa. In Moonwalker Charlie mentions three of the others: Sam Armstrong, who is standing on Charlie's left in the picture; Joe Wuertz, who is on Charlie's right; and Pete Hoag, who is on Al Worden's right. I also found a bio of "Duke" Fredricks, who is on Wuertz's right at the left end of the line; and Jerry Larson, who is kneeling in front of Charlie. In a February 2011 exchange of e-mail, Charlie identified the pilot kneeling on the right as Gary Moore, but said that the class had "lost track of him". Two of the signatures remain uncertain: Floyd Stoorep(?), kneeling on the left; and "Windy" Hull, kneeling, second from the left.]

[As Charlie mentions in his book Moonwalker (page 206), he also placed a medallion commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Air Force. Photos 18844, 18845, 18846, and 18847 show the medallion. Charlie mentions the Air Force Anniversary at 170:19:51 but had certainly put it out prior to 170:11:42.]

[Journal Contributor John Muse helped me think about the Duke Family and medallion photo sequence.]

[Fendell is panning to the left - clockwise - looking for John.]

170:03:50 England: Okay, we'll do that.

170:03:57 Young: Crypt code on the Moon.

170:03:59 England: Okay. He evidently knows what you're talking about. (Pause)

Video Clip ( 3 min 01 sec 0.8 Mb RealVideo or 27 Mb MPEG )

170:04:08 Young: (To himself) Uh-uh.

[Fendell reaches the clockwise pan limit and, not finding either John or Charlie, reverses direction. The TV picture jiggles as Charlie works, off-camera, on the CDR's side of the Rover.]
170:04:10 Duke: Okay. (Long Pause) (To himself) Got that ETB to left floorboard? Load ETB, left side. (Garbled) (Long Pause) The (garbled, possibly "hot rock") is already in the spacecraft. (To Houston) Man, Tony. You don't know how much fun this has been.

170:05:16 England: I can tell, Charlie. Yeah, I think it's been obvious in your voice how much fun it's been. (Pause)

170:05:29 Duke: (lost under Tony)

170:05:29 England: Okay, Charlie, any time you put anything in the spacecraft, would you call it off?

170:05:37 Duke: Okay. I'm putting things in the ETB right now.

170:05:45 England: Okay. Could you call it off as you put it in there? We'll keep track...Or, help you.

170:05:50 Duke: Okay. All the film that we brought out, except the mag on the DAC and the two mags on the camera. Magazine F and magazine Echo are still on the cameras. John's seat bag is empty of film.

[Fendell finds Charlie working at the CDR seat.]
170:06:09 Young: Okay, Houston, the cosmic ray experiments plate will not pull out.

170:06:17 Duke: Oh no.

[Charlie picks up the ETB and goes around the back of the Rover and off-camera. Fendell is at the counter-clockwise pan limit.]
170:06:21 England: Okay, we copy that.

170:06:24 Young: There isn't even a strap to pull it out with.

170:06:28 England: If you hold it upright and shake it, do you think it will come out the bottom?

170:06:36 Young: Want me to do that?

[Fendell pans clockwise.]
170:06:37 England: Yeah, why don't you try that?

170:06:38 Duke: Why don't you pull and let me hold the thing. (Pause)

[There is some microphone noise that suggests that John tries Tony's suggestion of holding the cosmic ray experiment upright and shaking it.]
170:06:49 Young: No.

Video Clip ( 3 min 33 sec 0.9 Mb RealVideo or 32 Mb MPEG )

170:06:52 Duke: John, let me suggest something. Let me hold it - the frame - and you pull on it. (Pause)

170:07:04 Young: Here we go.

170:07:06 Duke: Moved, didn't it?

170:07:07 Young: Yeah, but there's no string to hold on to.

170:07:10 Duke: How about your pliers?

170:07:12 Young: Hey, there you go.

170:07:14 Duke: Okay, can you reach them? You want me to get them for you?

170:07:15 Young: Yeah.

170:07:19 Duke: Move your arm up. (Pause) Okay. There you go.

[Fendell finds Charlie, who is facing south and holding one end of the cosmic ray frame. John is off-camera to the right and, as we watch, Charlie shakes and pulls the frame while John pulls on the 'removable' plate.]
170:07:28 Young: Get it so I can get the thing open. So I can get the first frame out, then we can get it. (Pause) I don't know, it may gonna be a struggle all the way.

170:07:48 Duke: I didn't see it move at all.

170:07:49 Young: It moved...It looked as though it came out some. (Pause) Okay. (Pause)

170:07:57 Duke: Is it coming?

[Off-camera, John drops his end of the frame. Charlie takes a couple of steps toward John, probably, to put the experiment in reach.]
170:07:59 Young: Pulling the thing off.

170:08:02 Duke: Let's hit it a couple of times. Let loose. Looks like to me the thing is so...This thing is hot, I'll tell you.

[Fendell pans right to get the cosmic ray experiment centered. Charlie is at the left in the TV picture, holding the frame, and John is at the right, gripping the plate with the pliers. The frame is roughly two meters long. While Charlie holds the frame tightly, John pulls with the pliers and we see the plate slide out about a foot.]
170:08:14 Duke: There it comes.

170:08:16 Young: There we go, there we go.

170:08:18 Duke: Hot dog! It broke it loose.

[John pulls the plate out a few more inches, at which point it folds up, rather like an airplane flap.]
170:08:19 Young: Yep.

170:08:20 Duke: I think you got it now, babe.

[John loses his grip on the experiment, leaving Charlie to control its entire weight.]
170:08:20 Duke: Woop! It's getting heavy.

170:08:25 England: Good show. Good work, Charlie.

[John re-gains his grip on the experiment and Charlie walks it toward the left, John guiding, so that the frame can rest on the MESA while John works on it and Charlie goes back to his tasks.]
170:08:27 Duke: (To John) Can you stick it back in there (on the MESA)?

170:08:28 Young: Yeah.

170:08:30 Duke: (To Houston, as he heads for the LMP seat) Hey, that...Thanks for those pliers, boy. We'd have never done it. I could feel that through my gloves. Okay.

[Charlie goes toward the Rover but, after a few steps, stops and raises his right arm to get some sunlight on his checklist. He then rotates his wrist, perhaps so he can look at his watch. He goes to the LMP seat. Only the right-hand side of his PLSS is visible. John is at the MESA with his back to us.]
170:08:40 Young: Okay. The first panel is black at 180 degrees F.

170:08:44 England: Okay. We copy that.

[John has just looked at a patch called a tempa-label. It has a series of spots which change from white to black at successively higher temperatures. A detail from Apollo 16 training photo KSC-71P-111 shows a tempa-label on the handle of a UHT.]
170:08:49 Young: It's on the back, and it was, of course, facing right into the Sun. (Pause)

170:09:03 Duke: Okay. I got the magazine off the DAC, Tony.

170:09:08 England: Okay.

[Charlie turns to his left slightly, undoubtedly to get some sunlight on his checklist.]
170:09:10 Duke: (Reading) "ETB; DAC magazine T to DAC." Okay. (To Tony) You don't want me to put any magazine T on the DAC, do you?

170:09:19 England: No. If it's out of battery (power), there's no point.

170:09:24 Duke: Yeah, we're not gonna do that Descartes Olympics thing.

170:09:30 England: No. Okay. So let's not put anything on the DAC.

[Jones - "Were you planning to run the 16-mm camera when you were doing the Descartes Olympics? What was the Descartes Olympics?"]

[Duke - "Well, we was (sic) just going to screw around, really, You know, Dave had been able to drop the hammer and the feather and we were going to do the Descartes Olympics because it was an Olympic year. John was supposed to do a long jump and I was going to do a high jump - which I ended up doing and falling over backwards and that really got my attention. But I didn't remember that we told anybody about that, but I guess it was in there somewhere."]

[We looked at the checklist.]

[Duke - "(Reading) 'LRV placement and Grand Prix.' I don't remember us supposed be having a Grand Prix. 'LCRU, switch 1; plus and minus 15 volts, DC prime; perform Grand Prix; reset Nav as follows: 085...' But I said an Olympics."]

[The "Grand Prix" entry was probably a contingency in case they hadn't been able to do the Grand Prix early. We found nothing in the checklist indicative of the Descartes Olympics. See, however, the note at 170:20:33.]

170:09:32 Young: Okay, the temp(erature) plate (also known as a "tempa-label") on the top one...(Stops to listen to Tony)

170:09:36 Duke: Okay. I'm just gonna leave it on the...

170:09:38 Young: The "temp" plate on the top one is black at a 160 degrees F.

170:09:42 England: Okay.

170:09:44 Young: And the A "temp" plate on the top is black at 120 and gray at 160.

170:09:54 England: Okay.

170:09:55 Young: So it must have stayed relatively cool.

170:09:57 England: Good show. (Pause)

170:10:04 Duke: Okay, Tony. That thing (meaning the frame of the cosmic ray experiment) was hot, I tell you. When I had the frame, after 5 or however many minutes there, I could start feeling it through my gloves.

[Charlie goes off-camera to the left, going to the left side of the MESA.]
Video Clip ( 2 min 52 sec 0.7 Mb RealVideo or 25 Mb MPEG )

170:10:17 England: Rog. We got that.

170:10:18 Duke: John, those pliers are going to hang you up. You want me to unsnap 'em?

170:10:23 Young: Yeah.

[Charlie reaches down to get the pliers, which appear to be attached to the left side of John's suit at, or just below, waist level.]
170:10:24 Duke: Okay. They're unsnapped. No, they aren't, either. You want them unsnapped?

170:10:28 Young: No, just throw it back in there.

170:10:29 Duke: Okay, give it here.

170:10:31 Young: Fix the whole works. (Pause)

[John steps to his right, away from Charlie, who is still trying to free the pliers.]
170:10:35 Duke: Wait a minute, wait, wait. It's going to get hung up...Climbing up. Let me Velcro that down. Okay, you got it. (Reading) Okay, H; I'm gonna take the mags off. (Garbled) to MESA.
[John goes to the right end of the MESA, leans to his right - perhaps even kneeling - and reaches into the ETB.]
170:10:51 Young: (To himself) Okay. Cosmic ray detector bag...

170:11:01 Duke: (Reading) Dust; motion...(To Houston) Okay. No more...(Pause)

[Charlie goes off-camera to the left. John rises and brings the detector bag to the center of the MESA and starts to bag the detector plates.]
170:11:10 Duke: Okay, Tony; we're not doing any Grand Prix anymore, are we?

170:11:13 England: Negative.

170:11:18 Duke: You're clipping badly, Tony. Say again?

170:11:20 England: Negative. No Grand Prix.

170:11:25 Duke: Okay, I'm gonna retrieve the cosmic ray (means "solar wind") now. (Pause)

[Fendell pans left to find Charlie.]
170:11:32 England: Okay. The solar wind. Rog.

170:11:35 Young: Charlie, I just retrieved it (meaning the cosmic ray experiment).

170:11:38 Duke: I don't mean the cosmic ray, I mean the SWC.

170:11:42 England: Rog. We understand. (Long Pause)

[Charlie takes four documentary photos of the SWC prior to retrieving it. These pictures are AS16-117- 18848, 18849, 18850, and 18851.]

[In frame 18849, the bright/white area on the surface just up-Sun of the staff is undoubtedly a diffuse reflection of the Sun.]

MP3 Audio Clip ( 11 min 52 sec )

170:11:59 Duke: Oh, just like in training.

170:12:05 Young: Okay. Cosmic ray detector is bagged, and as near as I can tell, there's no thumbprints on it...on any of the plates. (Chuckles)

170:12:18 England: Okay.

170:12:20 Duke: This thing's got a mind of (it's own)...It's wild, Tony! (Pause)

170:12:27 Young: (Off-camera, throwing something, possibly the cosmic ray frame) Look at that, Charlie. Clean across the crater.

[Fendell finds Charlie beyond to the U.S. Flag. He has the SWC staff and has it raised at shoulder height, getting ready to throw it like a javelin.]
170:12:32 Duke: Here goes the javelin throw!
[Charlie throws the javelin from left to right. He imparts a slight rotation as he releases it and, as it goes off-camera to the right, it is traveling horizontally but it pointing at the ground. It looks to me that it would have travelled about 20 meters.]
170:12:35 England: Wow!

170:12:36 Duke: Won't win any world's record, but...

[Charlie heads for the Rover, carrying the SWC sheet. He uses a sideways hopping motion, leading with his left foot. He may be doing this to keep the SWC sheet in the sunlight as he tries to roll it up more completely.]
170:12:38 Duke: Okay, Tony. This thing, when it wound up, I tried to...It got away from me, and it tore just a little bit, but I think we'll be able to get it in the bag. (It tore) up at the upper part.
[Fendell has been panning to the right to try to keep Charlie in view. But, as Charlie gets close to the Rover, Fendell can't keep up and Charlie goes off-camera to the right.]
170:12:55 Duke: Didn't wind up like a window shade.

170:12:59 England: That's okay; it'll work fine that way. Doesn't make any difference.

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170:13:04 Duke: Okay; I got it wound up.

[As Fendell continues to pan to the right, the javelin comes into view.]
170:13:12 England: And, John, I understand there's a tempa-label on the CRE (Cosmic Ray Experiment) bag. Did you get that?

170:13:26 Young: No, I'll get it later.

170:13:28 England: Okay.

[A tempa-label has a series of spots which change color from white to black at successively higher temperatures. A detail from Apollo 13 training photo 70-H-103 (scan by Frederic Artner) shows a tempa-label on the handle of a fuel-transfer tool.]

[Fendell finds Charlie at the left side of the MESA. As per LMP-37, he has put the SWC sheet in a special bag that was stowed in the MESA and is closing that bag. Charlie moves to the Rover where he will put the SWC bag in the ETB (Equipment Transfer Bag). Fendell pans right and finda John at the right side of the MESA with his back to us. and Charlie at the LMP's LRV seat.]

170:13:29 Young: In fact, I'll get it right now. Okay. It's all okay.

170:13:40 England: Okay. Understand.

170:13:42 Young: (Garbled) little. (Pause)

170:13:53 England: Okay, Charlie; and remember (to get) the drum on the penetrometer.

170:14:02 Duke: Yup. Thank you.

170:14:04 England: Okay. (Long Pause)

[John turns toward the MESA and Charlie goes to the back of the Rover to get the penetrometer drum. Fendell follows Charlie. John joins Charlie at the back of the Rover to get a rock bag off the gate.]
170:14:20 Young: Okay, Charlie. I put the big rock bag on the ladder hook.
[A bag can be seen hanging from the Apollo 17 ladder hook behind the lefthand side of the bottom rung in AS17-134-20482.]

[We see Charlie remove the penetrometer drum.]

170:14:25 Duke: Okay. (Pause) Actually worked, Tony. It (meaning the penetrometer drum) came off.

170:14:32 England: Good show.

[Charlie goes behind John on his way to his set so he can put the drum in the ETB.]
170:14:35 Duke: (To John) Did you get the big rock out of the footpad?

170:14:38 Young: Yeah.

170:14:39 Duke: (Did) you get old Muley ( 172k ) out of there? (Long Pause)

[Fendell follows ]
170:14:54 Young: (Picking up a rock bag near the ladder) Okay, Charlie. Is this bag here for to go inside?

170:15:00 Duke: (Turning to look) I didn't put it there.

170:15:02 Young: That's one that was there from last time.

170:15:03 Duke: Is it empty?

170:15:04 Young: Yeah, it's SCB-2. I'll throw that under the LM.

170:15:07 Duke: Okay. (Pause)

[Charlie picks up a rock bag he had in the footpan.]
170:15:14 Duke: This bag is pretty full. We got two full rock bags and one that's partially full, John.

170:15:20 Young: Okay.

170:15:21 Duke: (picking up another rock bag) We got (numbers) 4 and 6 are full, and 7 has got two core tubes and a...(Heading for the ladder with the two bags) Excuse me.

170:15:28 Young: Okay.

170:15:30 Duke: Man, this (LM) shadow is almost gone.

170:15:35 Young: (Now at Charlie's Rover seat) Are those core tubes...(Do) they got anything in them?

170:15:37 Duke: Yeah! Sure do.

170:15:38 Young: Good job. (Pause)

[John goes behind the Rover and out of the field-of-view to the right. Charlie stands behind the Rover, in view, and adjusts his Hasselblad.]
170:15:45 Duke: Okay, are you finished...Let me get one more picture of you dirty.

170:15:51 Young: Okay.

170:15:52 Duke: Okay. Turn around.

170:15:57 Young: Wait a second, Charlie.

170:15:59 Duke: Okay.

[I originally thought that Charlie took two pictures of John at this point, AS16-117- 18852 and 18853. However, those two pictures show John at the LMP seat and, at this point, John is somewhere on the other side of the Rover. Charlie actually takes the pictures at about 170:17:37. My thanks to Andy Chaikin for helping me get it right.]

[While Charlie waits for John, he decides to report the cotents of the ETB as per the last line on LMP-37.]

170:16:00 England: Are you sure you want a record of that (meaning John's dirty suit)?

170:16:01 Duke: Okay, Tony. I've got the magazine from the...(Stops to listen)

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170:16:10 England: Go ahead, Charlie.

170:16:11 Duke: Got the DACs, all the mags...(Stops to listen) Say again.

170:16:16 England: I just said go ahead, Charlie.

170:16:20 Duke: Okay. (Going to his seat) Only thing we don't have in the ETB that I see is the CRE (Cosmic Ray Experiment), and that's going in right now.

170:16:27 England: Okay.

170:16:30 Duke: What...Tony, what...(Pause as he takes the ETB to the MESA) Hey, John, you're taking a camera with a magazine out with you (to the final Rover parking spot)?

170:16:37 Young: Yes, sir.

170:16:38 Duke: Okay. (Long Pause)

[Fendell pans left and finds Charlie at the MESA.]
170:16:50 Young: Okay, Houston. I got one more rock here that I was looking at out of the window of the lunar module. And I got plenty of pictures of it (from the LM window) so you...
[AS16-113-18301 is one of John's out-the window picture.]

[John comes into view carrying a rock at appears to be about 25 cm across. This is sample

170:16:58 Duke: Put it in the big rock bag. (Seeing the size of the rock) Oh, it'll go in that ETB.

170:17:01 Young: Yeah.

170:17:02 Duke: Right there.

170:17:04 Young: It's not all that big. (Long Pause)

[John takes the rock to the LMP seat. We can see Charlie putting something - probably the Cosmic Ray Experiment - into the ETC, which is hanging from the front edge of the MESA. For the next few minutes, John will be working with the film cassettes from the UV Astronomy Camera.]
170:17:25 Duke: (To Houston) Okay, I'm gonna put magazine Foxtrot (aka Mag 117) into the ETB, and it's got 130 frames exposed.

170:17:33 England: Okay. (Pause)

[Charlie hasn't yet put the Mag 117 into the ETB and is probably reporting what the frame count will be after he takes two pictures of John, who is still working at the LMP seat. Charlie goes out of the field-of-view to the right to get the two pictures of John]
170:17:37 Duke: Hey, John.

170:17:38 Young: Yeah.

170:17:40 Duke: Take a look.

[John turns to face Charlie, who takes AS16-117- 18852 and 18853. These are the last useful frames on the magazine. Note the bright, rectangular pattern on the high-gain antenna. The pattern is sunlight reflected by the mirrored tiles on the top of the TV camera]
170:17:43 England: Okay, Charlie; you should have...(Pause) Charlie; you should have...

170:17:56 Duke: What did you say, Tony?

170:17:57 England: ...seven Hasselblads and three DAC magazines...Actually be six in there right now; one's still on John's camera.

170:18:09 Duke: Okay. Stand by. (Long Pause)

[Charlie has returned to the MESA. He removes Mag Foxtrot/117 from the Hasselblad and puts the magazine in the ETB. John to the ladder and puts something down. He then turns toward Charlie and examines his cuff checklist.]
170:18:32 Young: Where's the bag that the good old UV (having trouble finding the right word)...
[Charlie throws the Hasselblad he was working with off camera to the left.]
170:18:41 Young: Hey, Charlie, did you throw my (Hasselblad) camera away?

170:18:43 Duke: No, I didn't throw your camera away.

170:18:44 Young: Where is it? (Pointing toward the Rover) Over there?

170:18:46 Duke: Yeah.

170:18:47 Young: Okay. (Pause)

170:18:50 Duke: The bag that the what? (Pause as John turns a page on his checklist)) The UV (film cannister) bag is upstairs (in the cabin). Just bring the cassettes.

170:18:59 Young: All right.

170:19:00 England: That's right.

[At some point prior to driving out to the VIP site, John takes a picture of the UV camera, AS16-116- 18708 and one that shows Charlie working at the Rover, 18709.]
170:19:03 Duke: Okay, Tony. (looking in the ETB to make sure they have everything) We('ve) got one, two, three, four, five, six Hasselblad (magazines); three DACs; an SWC; and a CRE; the maps; various other things.

170:19:24 England: Okay. And the penetrometer drum.

170:19:29 Duke: Yeah, and that's in there, too.

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170:19:31 England: Okay, good show. Sounds like you got it all.

170:19:35 Duke: Okay, John; your mags go in there, John, and that's it.

[John has been turning and reading checklist pages to make sure he hasn't forgotten anything.]
170:19:39 Young: Okay. Let me drive this (Rover) up the hill (to the VIP site about 100 meters east of the LM).

170:19:41 Duke: Okay.

[John goes around the back of the Rover to his seat and Carhlie follows him.]
170:19:47 Young: Bearing 265.

170:19:51 Duke: Tony, a special salute from me to the United States Air Force on their silver (25th) anniversary this year. (Pause) From one of the boys in blue that's pretty far out right now.

170:20:08 England: You bet you, sir. That's outstanding. (Long Pause)

[Fendell has panned to the clockwise limit and finds John at at his Rover seat. Charlie comes into view from the right and goes to the back of the Rover.]

[Note that Charlie has to have put out the Air Force medallion sometime before he put Mag Foxtrot in the ETB. Perhaps he has just moved it. John puts his Hasselblad on his RCU bracket.]

170:20:24 Duke: (Looking at his wristwatch, which has been in stopwatch mode since the start of the EVA) Okay, John. We got 4 hours and 15 minutes or so.

170:20:32 Young: Okay.

[John rubs something on his left wrist. He may be examining an abraded surface.]
170:20:33 Duke: No, my watch stopped. How about that? Hm. Okay. Let's see. (Looking at his checklist) Except for...I'll start taking the...As you turn...The LRV configure, you're gonna do. Let's see. The DAC; driving; SWC; astro actions, we're gonna bypass. Okay. We got to clean the EMUs and stow antennas before you drive off.

[The EVA started at 165:31:16, so they are about 4 hours 50 minutes into the EVA. That suggests that Charlie's watch - or at least the stopwatch function - hasn't been operating for about 35 minutes.]

["Astro Actions" may be a cryptic reference to the Descartes Olympics.]

170:21:04 Young: (After reviewing his own checklist) Okay.

170:21:07 Duke: I guess.

170:21:09 Young: Here's the old dustbrush.

[John reaches into the cloth-lined enclosure under one of the seats and pulls out the dustbrush.]
170:21:12 Duke: I'll tell you what, why don't you park the Rover while I make sure everything's under the LM, and we'll dust when we get back. Okay?
[John brushes off his checkist. Charlie is still at the back of the Rover.]
170:21:21 Young: Okay. Yeah, I'll bring the dustbrush.

170:21:24 Duke: Okay. (Joining John) And I'll just take a couple of SCBs and take them in...(Reaching for the dustbrush) Here, I'll bring...Oh, you got to get that, don't you.

170:21:29 Young: You got to get that LPM (Lunar Portable Magnetometer) out there.

170:21:31 Duke: Oh, that's right; yeah.

[John will make a final set of magnetometer reading at the VIP site and will need the dustbrush to clean both the LPM and the Rover. Charlie goes toward the LM, out-of-view to the left.]
170:21:33 Young: Okay. I'm gonna park the Rover (at the VIP site), Houston. I think we got everything out of it there is to get, okay?

170:21:37 England: Okay. It sounds good. We think so, too.

[John grabs either the back of his seat or the geopallet behind it with his right hand and starts a series of four jumps, getting higher with each one and letting go of the Rover near the top of each jump after the first. He does the fourth one with his hand completely off the Rover. On this jump, he is off the ground for about 1.85 seconds which, on the Moon, means he reached a height of 0.69 meters or 2.3 feet. Before he finishes his next transmission, he does another jump from a spot a bit closer to the TV and is off the ground for about the same length of time.]
170:21:44 Young: We were gonna do a bunch of exercises that we had made up as the Lunar Olympics to show you what a guy could do on the Moon with a backpack on, but...

170:21:57 England: For a 380-pound guy, that's pretty good.

[John has moved behind the Rover and, immediately after saying "They threw that out," does a final jump that may be the highest of the series, although not higher by more than a few centimeters. Because he is mostly hidden by the Rover, timing of this jump is more uncertain that the prior jumps.]
170:22:01 Young: ...they threw that out. Yeah, I jump flat-footed straight in the air, 300... 170:22:08 Duke: (Commenting on John's jump) About 4 feet.
[As John completes his last jump, Fendell pans left and finds Charlie, who does a short jump and then tries a big one.]

[In his book, Moonwalker, Charlie says "I decided to join in and made a big push off the moon, getting about four feet high. 'Wow!', I exclaimed. But as I straightened up, the weight of my backpack pulled me over backward. Now I was coming down on my back. I tried to correct myself but couldn't, and as my heart filled with fear I fell the four feet, hitting hard - right on my backpack. Panic! The thought that I'd die raced across my mind. It was the only time in our whole lunar stay that I had a real moment of panic and thought I had killed myself. The suit and backpack weren't designed to support a four-foot fall. Had the backpack broken or the suit split open, I would have lost my air. A rapid decompression, or as one friend calls it, a high-altitude hiss-out, and I would have been dead instantly. Fortunately, everything held together."]

170:22:08 Duke: (Doing his own jump and realizing he's going over backwards) Wow!

[In a slow-motion replay of Charlie's jump, his backward rotation is clearly visible. He may have reached a height of 0.81 meters or 2.7 feet. As he comes down, he is leaning back as much as 20-30 degrees and, although he lands on his feet, he can do nothing to stop falling backwards onto his PLSS.]
170:22:14 Young: Charlie!

170:22:15 Duke: That ain't any fun, is it?

170:22:17 Young: That ain't very smart.

170:22:18 Duke: That ain't very smart. (Apparently trying to get onto his hands and knees) Well, I'm sorry about that.

170:22:23 Young: Right. Now we do have some work to do (brushing Charlie's suit). (Pause)

170:22:32 Duke: (Apparently unable to turn over) Agh! How about a hand, John? There we go. Okay.

[Although Charlie is hidden by the Rover while he tries to get up, when John does give him a hand and he rises, it does appear that he was still facing up.]
170:22:37 Young: Okay. I want to park the Rover.

170:22:38 Duke: Okay. I'm gonna start upstairs then.

170:22:42 Young: Well...No, you're too dirty to go up there.

170:22:44 Duke: I'm not going in! I'm just taking some bags up, okay?

[We see the Rover shake as John stands beside the Rover, facing forward, grabs hold of something, jumps up, and pulls himself sideways into his seat. The Tv camera is aimed such that we see his right shoulder and part of his PLSS as he settles into the seat.]
170:22:46 Young: Okay. (Pause) (To Houston, once he's seated) Okay. Do you want the LCRU to switch 1 when we start out there, right Houston? (Pause)
[John doesn't wait for an answer but swings his legs out of the Rover, pushing himself upright, possibly off the outboard handhold. Fendell started panning right as John moves but doesn't quite keep up enough to show us the dismount in detail.]
170:23:04 England: (Answering John) Yes, that's affirmative.

170:23:06 Young: Do you read? Over. (Hears Tony as he goes to the LCR at the front of the Rover) Okay. Going to switch 1. (Static)

[TV off.]
170:23:18 Duke: Okay, Tony. I'm going to be taking the SCBs up onto the porch.

170:23:31 England: Okay, Charlie. (Long Pause)

 

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