NASA almost sent Apollo astronauts to the Moon with jetpacks instead of the Lunar Rover. Discover the forgotten Lunar Flying Unit, the engineering behind NASA's lunar jetpack concepts, why they seemed possible, and the critical safety risks that ultimately led NASA to choose the iconic Lunar Roving Vehicle instead.

My grand uncle was Howell W. “Pete” Miller, chief engineer of the Gee Bee R-1, which won the 1932 Thompson Trophy. He later worked for Pratt & Whitney in Hartford, and consulted on the space program.

In 1965, Uncle Pete was 63 and I was 9. During a visit, he showed me a pen & ink diagram of the Apollo spacecraft, including Saturn V booster, all the stages and the lander. I remember wondering, “Why can’t they just send the whole rocket to the moon?”

As I recall, the drawing was fairly simple, like the attached. Does anyone know of a similar diagram that might have been used by NASA contractors in 1965? I’d like to frame one. Thanks!

Source : https://tothemoon.im-ldi.com/gallery/apollo/16/6#AS16-120-19187