- Year
- c. 1968–69
- By
- Grumman
- Provenance
- Unboxed. Overall yellowing to the white plastic, consistent with age.
- Section
- Apollo · Models and Artifacts
- Shelf
- L0
- Catalog
- Catalog F · NASA Missions
A contractor’s desk model of the Apollo Lunar Module, made by Precise Models, Inc. for Grumman — the LM’s prime contractor, based at Bethpage, New York — and distributed as a company memento.
It stands on a round black glass base bearing the Grumman script logo, the NASA insignia, and the words “LUNAR MODULE.”
Later editions of the model added Neil Armstrong’s “one small step” line to the base; its absence here dates this example to before the Apollo 11 landing in July 1969.
The two-piece model separates into ascent and descent stages, as the real Lunar Module did: the ascent stage carries a steerable S-band dish antenna, several rod-type VHF antennas, a forward docking hatch, and two triangular windows; the descent stage stands on four spidery landing legs ending in round footpads, with the forward leg carrying the astronauts’ egress ladder and porch below a panel lettered “UNITED STATES” beside a US flag decal. The model measures six inches tall and ten inches across the base.
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The Grumman Lunar Module Model ›
Eight views of the contractor's desk model
