Lunar Excursion Module Simulator (LEMS)

Built in 1965, the simulator is a crewed rocket-powered vehicle used to familiarize the Apollo astronauts with the handling characteristics of a lunar-landing vehicle. The simulator was built at Langley Research Center as part of the Lunar Landing Research Facility (LLRF) and is the original trainer used at the NASA Langley Research Center in the 1960s by Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and 22 other astronauts who were preparing for their trip to the moon. The simulator, which weighs in at a hefty 8,900 pounds, allowed astronauts to experience piloting problems they would encounter in the last 150 feet of descent to the surface of the moon.

Type

LEMS

Kind

Trainer

Location

Virginia Air & Space Center, Hampton, Virginia

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