Apollo Lens Brush
Copyright © 2007 by the Editors of Working on the Moon.
Last revised 18 July 2012.
NASA Image S70-32726 is a pre-flight photo of the Lens Brush
flown on Apollo 13.
Scan courtesy NASA Johnson. (Click on the iamge for a
larger version.)
| Description of the Lens Brush from NASA's Handbook of Pilot Operational Equipment. Scan courtesy Ulli Lotzmann. |
The lens brush was first flown on
Apollo 13 and first used on Apollo 14.
The following comes from the early stage of Apollo 15 EVA-2:
142:51:19 Scott: There. Get the lens brush out. Try to take care of those lens. (Pause) Hey, that works pretty good.The following is from the Apollo 15 Technical Debrief:142:51:31 Irwin: Work good?
142:51:32 Scott: Man, does it ever. Bright and shiny.
[Scott, from the 1971 Technical Debrief - "We used the lens brushes on the cameras, and they were very good."][Irwin, from the 1971 Technical Debrief - "On the TV, also."]
[Scott, from the 1971 Technical Debrief - "On the TV also. That lens brush is really a good brush. It cleaned it off very well. The (large) dust brush to clean off the suits seemed to work pretty good. It got the gross dirt off. It didn't get everything. I guess it also worked quite well on the LRV and the LCRU mirrors. (It) cleaned them off pretty well."]
[Scott, from a 1996 letter - "'Lens brush' and 'dust brush' are specific nomenclature to identify the different brushes."]
References to the Lens Brush
Mission |
Phase or Activity |
Time, Image, or Source |
Notes |
| Apollo 14 |
EVA-2 close-out |
135:24:38 |
Al Shepard cleans the TV
lens after catching the cable with his foot and toppling
the camera. |
| Apollo 14 |
EVA-2 MET loading |
131:24:57 |
Al uses the lens brush to
clean the traverse map after dropping it. |
| Apollo 14 |
EVA-2 MET loading |
131:29:56 |
Al uses the lens brush
again, possibly to clean the 16-mm DAC (Data Acquisition
Camera) |
| Apollo 14 |
Mission
Report
Page 9-11 |
"The little dust that
accumulated on the modular equipment transporter could
easily be removed by brushing. The lunar map collected
dust and required brushing or rubbing with a glove to make
the map useable." |
|
| Apollo 15 |
Station 1 at Elbow Crater |
122:16:23 |
When Ed Fendell pans the TV
camera up-Sun, the view degrades because of light
scattered off dust on the lens. During the 1991
mission review, Dave Scott commented that a lens cap might
have been appropriate. While reviewing the TV at
122:26:09, he commented that Houston should have had them
dust the lens. |
| Apollo 15 | Station 2 | 122:41:58 | While he and Jim Irwin are examining the Station 2 boulder, Dave suggests that, "We ought to check the dust on the lens of these (Hasselblad) cameras." They don't do so at this time. At 122:46:50 Dave asks Jim, "Is my (Hasselblad) lens too dirty to use?" Jim replies, "I don't see any dust on it at all." At 123:16:17, Jim is about to take a second pan and wonders if there is a lot of dust on his lens. Dave replied, "Didn't look bad, Jim. I just looked at it." They are becoming conscious of the need to examine the camera lenses. |
| Apollo 15 | EVA-1 ALSEP deployment | 124:32:29 | After Dave parks at the ALSEP deployment site and turns on the TV, we see that the lens is dusty. During the 1991 mission review for the ALSJ, Dave again commented that Houston should have told the crew to dust the lens. That won't happen until they reach Station 6, their first EVA-2 geology stop. |
| Apollo 15 |
EVA-2 traverse preparations |
142:51:19 |
Dave uses the lens brush to
clean the Hasselblad lens: "Hey, that works pretty good
... Bright and shiny ... I'll tell you that lens brush
really does the trick." They had not brushed the
Hasselblad lenses during EVA-1. The A16 and A17
crews will check their lenses regularly. |
| Apollo 15 | Station 6 | 143:55:47 | Shortly after Dave and Jim
arrive at Station 6, CapCom Joe Allen asks them to dust
the TV lens but then defers the request until 144:41:42,
at the end of the Station. Jim will dust both the TV
and LCRU a few minutes later, at 144:48:14
just before they leave Station 6. At that time, he
uses the big dust brush to clean the LCRU and then
uses the lens brush on the TV lens. Fendell gets TV
of both. Jim does the TV lens cleaning at
about 144:49:43.
The
improvement in picture quality is significant.
Because Jim isn't sure which brush they should use on the
TV lens, he asks Dave before doing anything. |
| Apollo 15 | Station 7 at Spur Crater | 145:32:05 | Since the time Jim cleaned the TV lens at Station 6, they have driven only 400-500 meters at low speed. There doesn't appear to be much dust on the TV lens. |
| Apollo 15 |
LM after EVA-2 Traverse |
147:21:29 |
Joe wants Dave to clean the
LCRU and the TV. Dave asks if they want the lens brushed
or the mirror on the top. Joe confirms that they
want the lens cleaned. "All righty. It takes a
couple different brushes. I hate to put this big brush on
that lens." Joe replies "You read it correctly." |
| Apollo 15 |
Technical Debrief extract |
160:25:00 |
Mention of using the lens
brush on the Hasselblad cameras and the TV. Dave
said," That lens brush is really a good brush. It
cleaned (the TV) off very well." |
| Apollo 15 | EVA-3 traverse preparations | 164:02:07 | Dave and Jim clean each other's Hasselblad lens. |
| Apollo 15 |
Station 9a at Hadley Rille |
165:20:46 |
Joe requests that they dust
the TV lens. We see Dave in the TV record doing the
dusting. There was considerable dust on the lens at
Station 9, as can be seen in the TV record at 165:02:51. |
| Apollo 15 | EVA-3 close-out | 167:26:33 | Joe tells Dave to take both the large dust brush and the lens brush to the VIP site. The TV camera is getting hot and they hope that brushing the radiator and lens will help. |
| Apollo 16 |
ALSEP |
122:41:46 |
After a fall, Charlie uses
the lens brush on the Hasselblad he is
using. John is using the other camera and checks that lens. "It looks clean." |
| Apollo 16 |
Station 4 |
144:17:54 |
Charlie notices that the TV
lens needs dusting. He gets the lens bursh from
under John's seat and cleans the lens |
| Apollo 16 |
Station 8 |
146:42:38 |
John uses the lens brush to
clean Charlie's Hasselblad lens. |
| Apollo 16 |
Final LRV parking place |
170:26:53 |
CapCom Tony England
specifically asks John to use the lens brush to clean the
TV (aka "Gotcha") lens. Charlie does the dusting at
170:44:30,
after a reminder from Tony |
| Apollo 16 |
Station 1 EVA-1 Close-out Station 6 Station 8 Station 9 Station 10 Station 13 |
123:14:14 125:15:24 146:09:54 146:45:12 147:56:33 148:58:07 168:21:38 |
(All) John uses the dustbrush - rather than the lens brush - on the TV lens. |
| Apollo 17 |
Cabin Prep for EVA-1 |
LM
Lunar Surface Checklist page 2-1 |
They stow two lens brushes
in the Equipment Transfer Bag (ETB). |
| Apollo 17 |
LRV deployment | 117:43:52 | Cernan: "Man, I got so much dust over my
visor already, I got to wipe it off. Get that lens
brush; I want you to dust me off a little later, Jack." Jack is incredulous, thinking that the lens brush is much too small to use on Gene's visor. Capcom Bob Parker hurriedly jumps in to tell them NOT to use the dustbrush or a glove. |
| Apollo 17 |
LRV Loading |
LMP-11 |
Jack stows the two lens
brushes under Gene's Rover seat. |
| Apollo 17 |
LRV Loading |
119:03:39 | Gene is about to drive the the ALSEP
deployment site and still has a dirty visor. Jack is
already out at the ALSEP site, so Gene tries to clean a
small part of his visor and only makes matters
worse. Evidence in the TV record indicates that he
went around to his seat, probably to get a lens brush. |
| Apollo 17 |
EVA-1 Close-out |
123:31:39 |
While packing the ETB with
used film magazines and loose rocks, Jack says, "Let's
see. We better take those dust brushes (probably
meaning the lens brushes) up there (to the cabin)."
This is a sensible departure from the cuff checklist,
given how dirty everything got after they lost a fender. |
| Apollo 17 |
Station 2 |
142:49:54 |
Even before they get a TV
picture, Houston tells the crew that the TV lens will need
to be dusted. When a picture is received, blobs of
dust can clearly be seen on the lens. Jack gets a
lens brush from under Gene's seat and hands it to
Gene. We get a brief glimpse of it in the TV.
Gene cleans Jack's Haselblad lens and then his own.
Gene dusts the TV lens at 142:50:53 |
| Apollo 17 | EVA-2 Close-out |
147:38:43 |
Jack puts the lens brushes
in the ETB. |
| Apollo 17 |
LRV Final parking place |
170:06:10 |
Cernan: "Bob, how's your TV lens? I
don't have a lens brush. It looks good from
here. I don't want to use this (big dustbrush)
unless you think so." Houston looks at a patch of bright soil to see if the lens is clean enough and decides that it is. |
