For more information please contact Nicole Wahlberg, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Evergreen Aviation Museum, 503-434-4006 or email nicole.wahlberg@sprucegoose.org.

 

FOR RELEASE

Feb. 21, 2006

 

New Space Exhibits Join Museum Collection

 

Lunar Module and Lunar Rover at Evergreen Aviation Museum

MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – Tues. Feb 21, Two new space vehicles – the Lunar Module and the Lunar Rover– have recently been added to the exhibit at the Evergreen Aviation Museum. Both pieces were fabricated by craftsmen at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson, Kansas.

The 25 foot tall Lunar Module joins the Museum’s exceptional collection of “big” craft including the famous Spruce Goose and the Titan II SLV Missile and can be seen 7 days a week for normal admission prices.

Designed for the single purpose of landing American astronauts on the Moon, the Apollo Lunar Module (LM) spacecraft is one of the most unique, complex and costly pieces of hardware ever devised by humankind. The LM was the portion of the Apollo spacecraft that landed on the Moon and returned to lunar orbit. Intended to carry two astronauts, the LM consisted of two stages: the decent stage and the ascent stage.

The LM journeyed to the Moon docked to its “Mother Ship”. During lunar orbit, the LM separated from the “Mother Ship” and began its powered descent to the Moon’s surface. The spacecraft’s two stages worked as a single unit during decent to the lunar surface, but only the lighter weight upper ascent stage, carrying the two astronauts, blasted off from the Moon. Since the LM did not incorporate a protective heat shield, none ever returned to Earth in one piece. After a completed mission, the crew either sent the LM crashing back to the lunar surface, or allowed it to burn up during re-entry through the Earth’s atmosphere.

The Boeing Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) extended the range of the Apollo astronauts’ extravehicular activities. Operating in the low-gravity vacuum of the Moon and capable of traversing the lunar surface, the LRV is unique among U.S. spacecraft because it does not fly!

Prior to its development, astronauts had to conduct all their lunar exploration on foot, which proved to be exhaustive and limiting. The LRV extended their exploration range 10 times the radius of more than 6 miles. Only three roamed the Moon’s surface driven by the crews of Apollo 15, 16 and 17 and all three remained behind at mission’s end with only about 25 miles on the odometer.

 

The Evergreen Aviation Museum is best known as the home of the world’s largest wooden airplane, the Spruce Goose, SR-71 Blackbird and Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat.  In addition, there are more than 60 historic aircraft and exhibits on display, along with aviation artwork, traveling displays, the newly remodeled Spruce Goose Café and the museum store.  The Evergreen Aviation Museum’s hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily except when it is closed for Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Easter. An extensive museum store and friendly café add to the Museum experience. The Museum is located at 500 NE Captain Michael King Smith Way, across the highway from the McMinnville Airport and about three miles southeast of McMinnville, Ore., on Highway 18. Regular visitor admission is required. Call (503) 434-4180 for more information, and visit www.sprucegoose.org.

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