One aspect of the lunar landings that has always fascinated me is the dust. The lunar dust, specifically, and its properties that NASA and the astronauts found so frustrating. I would presume by the time of the Apollo program, NASA and Omega were familiar with how the Speedmasters would handle zero-gravity and the pressures associated with space flight. They wouldn't have been familiar with the impact of the lunar dust on the watches. Has anyone come across a good write up/discussion of the effect the lunar dust had on the Speedmasters worn on the moon? Was the dust able to infiltrate the watch at all or mar the crystal?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.jo...ster-moon-watches-you-should-try-to-land/amp/ This blog post seems to have some thoughts on the subject. I can’t confirm source credibility but it was a quick read.
Well, the silver-white dial Alaska Project Speedmaster , based on astronaut feedback, came in an extra outer case to protect the chronograph during bumpy rides on the Lunar Rover, which as we know, kicked up some dust... However by 1970, Apollo 18 to 20 were cancelled and the Alaska Speedmaster never made it to the Moon... Apollo 20 (Jan 4, 1970), Apollo 18 & 19 (Sep 2, 1970)... However Alaska II made it into the Russian manned Salyut-6 program and the 1978 Alaska III radial dial Speedmaster was used onboard STS-2 (Columbia Nov 1981) to at least STS-65 (Columbia July 1994)
@NDLaw2009 Very fine Moondust kicked up from the regolith surely had the annoying opportunity to contaminate and infiltrate the Moonwalkers' A7 spacesuits Although astronauts complained of eye irritation, some even had the feeling it penetrated their digestive & respiratory tracts, to answer Your specific question, I think lunar dust didn't penetrate into the watches... unless the hesalite popped. Interesting information can be learned from the Apollo 12 & Surveyor 3 bacterium contamination & survival event
Dust on earth is subject to movement and abrasion - air movement etc causing the particles to rub together and wear into smaller and smaller particles with smooth edges that can slide their way into the tiniest of places. But bits of rock in a place where there's no atmosphere are not moving, ever. They just don't move for millions of years. They just sit there. They don't rub and wear and they keep all their sharp edges. Get them in your underwear eyes or lungs and it'll be pretty uncomfortable. But they probably wouldn't find their way into your speedy. All those 'unround' bits of dust also explain how that astronaut's footprint is still going be there right where it was 50 years ago. Sharp/rough dust doesn't roll. Try that with our common 'earth dust' and the footprint falls in as soon as you take your foot away.
From an Air and Space article published back in 2015 regarding the NASM watches. It talks a bit about lunar dust and the watches.
Upon return to the command modules, it was noted that the atmosphere inside Had a faint aroma similar to that of gunpowder. That apparently was noticed when the command module was serviced by the NASA Tech responsible for unloading the lunar sample cases. The same dust material that had deposited on to the crews eva suits tended to shed into the CM. Reports of physical irritation rang true from the crew members as this material would cause mild throat and upper respiratory discomfort. My favourite quote from the HBO series from the Earth to the Moon was... “Tell the crew not to get any lunar dust on the experiments instruments”. This from the Senior Scientific Geological Investigator...to the Capcom at mission control. (Perhaps he didn’t get out of the Lab Much). The Lunar surface is a sea of Fine regolith. I’ve always found the photo of Gene Cernan looking very tired In front of his very dirty Eva suit as testament to the sticking power of Lunar dust.