General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

3

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Synthetic (possible) model with some metal attachments.

Dimensions

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

Length

11.2 cm

Width

11.0 cm

Height

8.9 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

PRECISE

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Ohio

City

Elyria

Context

Country

United States of America

State/Province

Texas

Period

ca. 1967-1970

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. In 1966 NASA shortened the name to “Lunar Module (LM),” and this contractor’s model depicts the final LM design. While Grumman was the main contractor for the LM, they employed subcontractors, including the Canadian company, Héroux Machine Parts Limited (now Héroux-Devtek), who built the LM’s landing gear legs. This 1:40 scale LM model was given to executives and employees at Grumman and NASA to commemorate the spacecraft and honour those who worked on it. This particular model originally belonged to Canadian engineer Owen Maynard and illustrates his close association with the Apollo Program as he was integral in the design and development of the Apollo spacecrafts, especially the LM. Maynard was the first person at NASA to start working on the design of the LM in 1961 and worked closely with Grumman as the manager of the LEM Systems Office. Maynard eventually became Chief of Systems Engineering for the Apollo Office in 1964, where he had a close hand in all aspects of the Apollo Program.

Function

To illustrate the appearance of the Lunar 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. The LM attached to the Apollo Command and Service Module, but once in lunar orbit, the LM detached and flew a two-person crew to the Moon’s surface. After launching from the Moon’s surface, the LM would reattach to the Command Module, returning the astronauts to Earth, leaving the descent stage portion of the LM on the Moon’s surface. Contractor models, such as this 1967 LM model illustrating Grumman’s final LM design, served as a communication tool and as promotional material. They could be used to quickly illustrate complex design ideas for wide audiences, and were given out to executives at Grumman and NASA.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

None apparent

Missing

Appears complete

Finish

Off-white painted body with painted areas of black and grey, and black, silver-coloured, and brass-coloured attachments.

Decoration

N/A