the moon mystery?

Question

i saw a documentary on the discovery channel the other day it said that when they dropped an object on the surface of the moon
they heard bells
i couldnt watch the whole documentary
n its a mystery how they can hear sound in outer space as there is no air, does anybody know where can i find the documentary or any information on this?
i would really appreciate ur help
ive been tryin to look for it for days but couldnt find anything
thanks in advance

Answer 1

After leaving the lunar surface in the ascent module for return to the orbiting command module, the ascent module would fall back and crash onto the moon's surface where seismographs detected the impact. Such impacts made the moon "ring like a bell" on the seismographs, but it wasn't an audio sound that could be heard.

Answer 2

I believe you are referring to the Apollo moon missions. There were six successful moon landings, and during each mission a seismograph was left on the moon to measure and record "moonquakes". What they found was that the moon is exceptionally seismically quiet, meaning that the moon is essentially geologically "dead". However, during each Apollo mission, after the lunar module had returned to the command module and they had transferred the moon rocks and all of the stuff that they had brought up from the moon, they would then jettison the lunar module, causing it to crash into the moon. The resulting seismic jolt from the impact was quite unusual in that it caused a nearly pure tone of vibration. The geologists recording this phenomenon said that the moon "rang like a bell" because the vibratory tone was so pure. This was further evidence that the moon is geologically "dead" and has solidified into one solid piece of rock, (unlike the Earth). I hope this helps.

Answer 3

It is unlikely that anyone heard anything. Some vibration might have been felt through the spacesuit boots as the dropped object struck the surface. As you note, sound does not travel well in a vacuum.