Apollo training sites

Note: All information and photographs came from Schaber, Gerald G. 2005. The U.S. Geological

Survey, Branch of Astrogeology-A Chronology of Activities from Conception through the End of

Project Apollo (1960-1973). U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 2005-1190.

The headquarters of the Branch of Astrogeology, United States Geological Survey (USGS), was relocated  from Menlo Park California to Flagstaff in 1963. This was largely due to the availability of the telescope at Lowell Observatory to assist with mapping the surface of the Moon. Beginning in the mid to 1960s to the early 1970s, astronauts in the Apollo program trained at numerous sites across the Western United States, Hawaii, Alaska, Minnesota, and Canada. There were also sites in northern Arizona. These sites were located around Flagstaff, near Cottonwood in the Verde Valley and at Grand Canyon National Park, Sunset Crater National Monument, Meteor Crater, Merriam Crater, and on the Navajo and Hopi Reservations. Schaber's 2005 report includes a table listing all of the sites and the dates they were used. Out of all the sites used, those in the Flagstaff region were used most often. Training included geological mapping exercises, the collection of geologic samples, operating lunar rover vehicles, and conducting surveys and other activities, often while in actual space suits. The cinder fields northeast of Flagstaff proved to be the ideal location for this.

The area of the Moon where the lunar module was to land was created in the vast cinder area south of Sunset Crater National Monument. met anyone familiar with it. I stumbled across the site when I was out mapping logging railroad lines. There are two sites, shown in the image below. The northern site is completely within the Cinder Hills Off-highway vehicle area (OHV) and the southern site is partially within this area. The City of Flagstaff dump is directly west of the southern site

I had seen some brief descriptions of the training location east of Flagstaff but Schaber's 2005 report had not yet been published and I hadn't .

Unfortunately, the northern site has been heavily impacted It is surprising to me that this unique area wasn't considered important enough to preserve. I visited the southern site a decade or so ago and it was in somewhat better shape. It had been fenced off but the fence was down in several places and off-road vehicles and driven into the site. I was in the area again in August 2017 doing some fieldwork directly across the road. The Forest Service had put up a new fence and had some smaller signs describing the importance of the area. It was good to see that this irreplaceable site is now being conserved.  The signs state that this is "the only remaining astronaut training area". That isn't entirely correct although it may be the only protected astronaut training area.

Below is an image of the northern site. The OHV tracks crisscrossing the site are clearly visible. 

The image below is of the southern site.

Here are several photos taken during training exercises.

"MOLAB at Merriam Crater (northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona) in 1966; USGS photo. USGS Open-File Report 2005-1190, Figure 023c."

"Tim Hait and David Schleicher in spacesuit during first Apollo Field Test-13 at Cinder Lake Crater Field #1 with simulated LM ascent stage mockup on ramp in background; USGS photo P463, F11067199 USGS Open-File Report 2005-1190, Figure 050b."

"Grover parked on rim of large crater in Cinder Lake Crater Field; Jim Irwin (l) and Dave Scott (r); NASA photo AP15-S70-53283 [1]. USGS Open-File Report 2005-1190, Figure 081d." 

I had read that there was a training site, the Black Canyon Crater Field, in the Verde Valley. I did a web search for it and came across a newspaper article (https://www.verdenews.com/news/2010/sep/08/moonstruck-verde-valleys-contribution-to-the-spac/) that provided enough information for me to quickly find the site on Google Earth. I made a trip south to check it out and was able to find several craters and a large square area that had been cleared and surfaced with gravel. Below is an historic image showing the crater field. The square feature that I found is visible.

"Aerial view of the Black Canyon Crater Field after shooting; photo courtesy of Red Bailey. USGS Open-File report 2005-1190, Figure 072d."

2017 image of a portion of the Black Canyon Crater Field. Red circles have been placed around several of the craters.

The larger craters had filled in with catclaw which make them stand out from the surrounding terrain.

Other information:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/cant-make-it-to-the-moon-head-to-arizona-instead-180952821/

 https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/2014/07/19/flagstaff-moon-crater-astronaut-training-apollo/12880145/

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/01/when-we-blew-up-arizona-to-simulate-the-moon/267456/

https://www.lpi.usra.edu/science/kring/lunar_exploration/CinderLakesCraterField.pdf
This is a very interesting link. It has information on all the training sites in northern Arizona. It does incorrectly state that the Black Canyon Crater Field has been covered by a housing development. The site was said to have over 300 craters and there aren't many still visible so it seems that a good portion of the site may have been developed. There is a development less that .5 miles north of the craters I located. I emailed Dr. Kring (he put together the Powerpoint found at the above link) and sent him pictures I took of the crater field. He was happy to find out that at least some of the field still exists. He mentioned that he has not been to the site and was told that it no longer existed.




https://www.lpi.usra.edu/science/kring/lunar_exploration/CinderLakesCraterField.pdf