General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Wood model with brass alignment pins.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

17.1 cm

Width

17.0 cm

Height

15.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Space Technology

Category

Models

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Grumman

Country

United States of America

State/Province

New York

City

Bethpage

Context

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Texas

Period

ca. 1963-1970

Canada

As part of the Apollo Program’s mission of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth, NASA requested proposals for a Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) in July 1962 from eleven U.S. aerospace companies. Out of the nine proposals submitted, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Cooperation won the contract in November 1962, signing it in January 1963. This small wooden model depicts an early LEM design. It is not the first LEM design, as it has only four legs, where the design that won Grumman the bid in 1962 featured five legs, but it is still an early design as it has the very round shape characteristic of Grumman’s early LEM designs. This small wooden LEM model is very rare and originally belonged to Canadian engineer Owen Maynard and illustrates his close association to the Apollo Program as he was integral to the design and development of the Apollo spacecrafts, especially the LEM. Maynard was the first person at NASA to start working on the design of the LEM in 1961 and worked closely with Grumman as the manager of the LEM Systems Office. During the development of the LEM, Maynard brought this particular model home and shared it with his family, explaining that this was the spacecraft that would be landing on the Moon.

Function

To illustrate the appearance of a proposed Lunar Excursion Module as one of the spacecrafts of the Apollo Program.

Technical

The Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), eventually known as the Lunar Module (LM), was a series spacecraft designed to land a two-person crew on the Moon’s surface as part of the Apollo Program from 1969-1972. This 1963 wooden LEM model by Grumman features four legs, two docking hatches and is spherical in shape. The final LM would similarly feature four legs, which helped simplify the design and save on weight, but the spherical shape would change significantly. This small wooden model served as a communication tool and proof of concept during the design and development of the LEM. The simple wooden design allowed for faster manufacturing and gave engineers the opportunity to quickly illustrate the main design features of the LEM.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

None apparent

Missing

Appears complete

Finish

Dark brown wood model with brass-coloured metal pins.

Decoration

N/A