science

Modular Equipment Transporter

Modular Equipment Transporter is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Modular Equipment Transporter rather than just read about it. In short: The Modular Equipment Transporter (MET) was a two-wheeled, hand-pulled vehicle that was used as an equipment hauling device on traverses across the lunar surface. Designed after Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean had difficulties lugging their equipment significant distances to and from their Lunar Module, the MET primarily functioned as a portable workbench with a place for hand tools and their carrier…

Key takeaways

Modular Equipment Transporter belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Modular Equipment Transporter to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Modular Equipment Transporter from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Modular Equipment Transporter (MET) was a two-wheeled, hand-pulled vehicle that was used as an equipment hauling device on traverses across the lunar surface. Designed after Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean had difficulties lugging their equipment significant distances to and from their Lunar Module, the MET primarily functioned as a portable workbench with a place for hand tools and their carrier, cameras, spare camera magazines, rock sample bags, environmental sample containers, and the portable magnetometer with its sensor and tripod. It was carried on the 1971 Apollo 14 mission and was planned to be used on Apollo 15, but was used only on Apollo 14 since Apollo 15's mission was changed to be the first to employ the motorized Lunar Roving Vehicle, which transported both astronauts and equipment. Astronauts nicknamed the MET "the rickshaw". It was pulled using a pulling bar at the front. The majority of the payload of the MET consisted of part of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP)., including a portable magnetometer, as well as various tools and space to transport samples. The performance of the MET was described as "adequate". In fact, astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell were disappointed by the MET's performance. During one of the traverses they had to carry the MET together because it was too difficult to pull it through the rough lunar terrain. The two nitrogen-filled rubber tires on the MET were the first tires on the Moon. They were designed by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and called Experimental Lunar Tires (XLTs). The biggest challenge for Goodyear was that NASA specifications required the inner tube be inflated to 1.5 psi on the Moon surface; a difficult task. A tire with 1.5 psi on Earth has an inflation pressure of 16.2 psi on the Moon because atmospheric pressure (14.7 psi) is not a factor there. Goodyear solved the gauge pressure problem by having NASA partially inflate the inner tube with nitrogen so that on the Moon it reached 1.5 psi. The tire maker gave the synthetic rubber tube a special coating to improve gas retention. These tires worked well for the small MET rickshaw. The later Lunar Roving Vehicle demanded wheels or tires that could handle a much greater weight and could travel much farther than the MET. NASA went with General Motors and they designed a wire-mesh wheel that didn't allow lunar dust to get stuck in the wheels.

Design criteria Data from Operator's Manual By General Electric

Dimensional limits Max. MET Weight (Empty): 30 Earth lbs Max. Payload Capability: 340 Earth lbs Workable height: 30 in Stowage Envelope: 28 in × 36 in × 8 in (710 mm × 910 mm × 200 mm)

Operation specifications Nominal Pulling Speed: 4-7 mph Nominal Draw Bar Pull: 3-5 mph Design Traverse 20,000 ft Capable of Traversing: up to 4" Diameter Rocks Tire Temperatures: -60 °F on deployment 0 °F to 200 °F when parked 70 °F average when rolling Tire Pressure: 1.5 psia

Items stowed on MET Data from Operator's Manual by General Electric

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Modular Equipment Transporter

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Modular Equipment Transporter claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Modular Equipment Transporter before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Modular Equipment Transporter ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Modular Equipment Transporter

In research: Modular Equipment Transporter appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Modular Equipment Transporter in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Modular Equipment Transporter is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Apollo 14, Apollo program hardware, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Modular Equipment Transporter outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Modular Equipment Transporter in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Modular Equipment Transporter means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Modular Equipment Transporter out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Modular Equipment Transporter in simple terms?

Why does Modular Equipment Transporter matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Modular Equipment Transporter?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Modular Equipment Transporter.