The recent revelation that was the American Tarheel Project SWORD dealers catalogue I've been pondering the possible origin of that strange and huge disco ball on a stand to the right.
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More to the point, I've been pondering the spidery base it has and I believe its this... the surface lander baseplate of the Moon Prospector concept shown here in 1961 in Newsweek a cover painted by Jo Kotula. You can just see half of it behind the Prospector.
Here's a much clearer NASA concept drawing, where the baseplate is very distinct, the legs spread out like a spider. NASA called it an Impact Absorber, a device to assist in landing the Prospector - the Roving Vehicle - on the Moon as part of the SURVEYOR programme. It would have made a great toy accessory [anyone care to make one?]
The bendable legs are even clearer in this related 1960 NASA concept, the Stationary Packet, where the Prospector has yet to disengage from the plate and rove.
The bent legs are almost a mirror image of those beneath the big 'disco' ball on the Tarheel SWORD cover above.
I can't ID the Tarheel disco ball and its lollipops but I think this explains their spidery base.
What do you reckon readers?
