Zero Halliburton celebrates this towering achievement, the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, on its 50th anniversary, and reflects on our role to support the mission with a five-part series: Precious Cargo.
In 1938, businessman Erle Halliburton decided he needed a better travel case and an American icon was born. Crafted from aircraft-grade aluminum, Halliburton created cases that were more than a match for the rugged Midwest oil fields where he worked. By the 1960s, Zero Halliburton cases had earned a decades-long reputation for sophisticated design and capability. Years of refinement had resulted in cases that were airtight, moisture-proof, and dustproof, providing ultimate dependability and strength.
As NASA evaluated Apollo program requirements for transporting the most precious cargo in history, the capability and reputation of Zero Halliburton cases made them the perfect choice for the mission.
On May 25, 1961, President John Kennedy presented the country with a monumental challenge: to be the first to land a manned spacecraft on the moon and return safely to Earth. Breathtaking on its face, the proposal was even more daunting considering the Soviet Union held a commanding lead, in capability and actual accomplishment. Still, America embraced the challenge. NASA overcame staggering technological hurdles, delays, and tragedy, and in July of 1969, Apollo 11 was scheduled to be the first mission that would land on the moon.
The Apollo 11 mission, defined by the President of the United States, was “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth." NASA actually had an additional mission, just as important, and just as ambitious: Apollo 11 would return with the first samples ever collected from another planetary body.
The Apollo Lunar Sample Return Container (ALSRC) was created to carry lunar rock and soil samples back from the moon. It was made from aluminum, with a triple seal between the top and bottom halves. Designed by Zero Halliburton to be airtight, the case was closed under vacuum, surrounding the samples with the same atmosphere found on the lunar surface.
Two ALSRC cases traveled on the Apollo 11 mission. Each measured 9 1/4 in. × 1 ft. 2 in. × 1 ft. 7 in. The interior was lined with a specially designed aluminum mesh padding to protect the contents from damage during transit, reentry, and splashdown.
The two ALSRC “rock boxes” were stored in a compartment in the descent stage of the lunar module. During the walk on the moon, the boxes were removed, opened, and samples collected were placed inside. With help from Zero Halliburton, Apollo 11 successfully returned a priceless payload of 47.7 pounds of rocks and lunar material.
During the descent to the lunar surface, Armstrong and Aldrin realized the original landing site was filled with large boulders, making it too dangerous to attempt a landing. Armstrong began to manually pilot the LM, surveying the lunar surface to find an acceptable alternative. With less than 30 seconds of fuel left before they would have to abort the landing, and the onboard computer barking out overload alarms, Armstrong identified a clear area, and successfully piloted the LM to touchdown.
Armstrong set the lunar module down so gently that its shock absorbers didn't compress as they were engineered to. As a result, he and Aldrin had to hop 3.5 feet from the Eagle's ladder to the lunar surface.
Before the Surveyor and Apollo missions, a small group of scientists believed there would be very thick dust into which astronauts and their spacecraft might “disappear,” while the majority of scientists believed that there was minimal dust cover. It turns out the lunar surface actually is covered in a layer of dust many feet deep, with all but the very top compacted, cohesive, and easily able to support the LM and astronauts.
In Episode 2, we’ll take a deeper look into the Apollo 11 mission, examining the lunar sample cases, how they were engineered to withstand the overwhelming challenges of space travel, and the characteristics they share with today’s Zero Halliburton travel cases.
The difficulty of interplanetary space travel presents unprecedented challenges to the Apollo spacecraft and its occupants, like why if you’re going to bring lunar samples back, you also have to bring the lunar atmosphere back. Who saw that coming?
Zero Halliburton is proud to have been a part of the historic journey of Apollo 11. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of this monumental achievement, we’ve created a limited edition case, inspired by the containers that brought the most precious cargo in history back from the moon.
The Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Case shares the same DNA as the containers that brought the first lunar samples back. Tastefully engraved with the official NASA Apollo 11 50th anniversary logo, these cases are durable, secure, flawlessly crafted, and provide ultimate protection for your most precious cargo.
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