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On This Day in 1971: First Lunar Roving Vehicle Used on Moon
July 30, 2023 at 04:45 PM EDT
By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Matt Mehallow
52 years ago today on July 31, 1971, the first use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle occurred during the remarkable Apollo 15 Moon landing mission.
Apollo 15 was launched on July 26, 1971, aiming to successfully complete the fourth human landing on the Moon. It was the first “J series” Apollo mission, which meant longer time was spent on the surface and in lunar orbit as well as more focus on science operations than the earlier Apollo missions.
Apollo 15 landed on the Moon on July 30, 1971. While Apollo 15 was the fourth mission to land a crew successfully on the Moon, it featured many new technologies and achieved many firsts. Technologies developed for Apollo 15 included new suits, which were more flexible and had longer life support capabilities, as well as the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), a rover capable of speeds up to 15 kilometers per hour.
The LRV was an electric vehicle designed to operate in the low-gravity vacuum of the Moon and to be capable of traversing the lunar surface, allowing the Apollo astronauts to extend the range of their surface extravehicular activities (EVAs).
The rover was 12.9 feet long and 6 feet wide and each wheel had a diameter of 2.6 feet. The LRV had a mass of 210 kilograms and was designed to hold a payload of an additional 490 kilograms on the lunar surface. The frame was made of aluminum alloy 2219 tubing welded assemblies and consisted of a 3-part chassis which was hinged in the center so it could be folded up into a compact package and hung in the Lunar Module quad 1 bay. The rover automatically unfolded as the astronauts pulled it out.
With these advancements, astronauts Commander David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin were able to travel more than eight times the distance traveled during the previous Apollo mission, for a total of 27.8 kilometers in 3 hours, 2 minutes of driving time. This distance was accomplished over the course of three EVAs, totaling 18 hours and 13 minutes from hatch open to hatch close on each EVA. During this time, the crew explored the Hadley-Apennine region, which included Hadley Rille, a large channel carved out by lava flows. They also tested the new equipment and set up lunar surface scientific experiments. The longest single traverse was 12.5 kilometers and the maximum range from the lunar module was 5 kilometers.
On August 7, 1971, Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott, Alfred Worden and James Irwin ended their mission with a splashdown in their Command Module Endeavour in the Pacific Ocean. The mission lasted 12 days, 7 hours, and 12 minutes, marking the longest Apollo mission to that time.
Apollo 15 utilized the full extent of technology of the day, highlighted by the most powerful addition of rover. The stripped-down “spacecraft on wheels” gave the astronauts the range and time to achieve the goals of the Apollo campaign.
Sources: NASA
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Story Image: This week in 1971, Apollo 15 became the first mission to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle. The LRV was a lightweight, electric vehicle designed to operate in the low-gravity vacuum of the Moon. (NASA)
Apollo 15 was launched on July 26, 1971, aiming to successfully complete the fourth human landing on the Moon. It was the first “J series” Apollo mission, which meant longer time was spent on the surface and in lunar orbit as well as more focus on science operations than the earlier Apollo missions.
Apollo 15 landed on the Moon on July 30, 1971. While Apollo 15 was the fourth mission to land a crew successfully on the Moon, it featured many new technologies and achieved many firsts. Technologies developed for Apollo 15 included new suits, which were more flexible and had longer life support capabilities, as well as the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), a rover capable of speeds up to 15 kilometers per hour.
The LRV was an electric vehicle designed to operate in the low-gravity vacuum of the Moon and to be capable of traversing the lunar surface, allowing the Apollo astronauts to extend the range of their surface extravehicular activities (EVAs).
The rover was 12.9 feet long and 6 feet wide and each wheel had a diameter of 2.6 feet. The LRV had a mass of 210 kilograms and was designed to hold a payload of an additional 490 kilograms on the lunar surface. The frame was made of aluminum alloy 2219 tubing welded assemblies and consisted of a 3-part chassis which was hinged in the center so it could be folded up into a compact package and hung in the Lunar Module quad 1 bay. The rover automatically unfolded as the astronauts pulled it out.
With these advancements, astronauts Commander David Scott and Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin were able to travel more than eight times the distance traveled during the previous Apollo mission, for a total of 27.8 kilometers in 3 hours, 2 minutes of driving time. This distance was accomplished over the course of three EVAs, totaling 18 hours and 13 minutes from hatch open to hatch close on each EVA. During this time, the crew explored the Hadley-Apennine region, which included Hadley Rille, a large channel carved out by lava flows. They also tested the new equipment and set up lunar surface scientific experiments. The longest single traverse was 12.5 kilometers and the maximum range from the lunar module was 5 kilometers.
On August 7, 1971, Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott, Alfred Worden and James Irwin ended their mission with a splashdown in their Command Module Endeavour in the Pacific Ocean. The mission lasted 12 days, 7 hours, and 12 minutes, marking the longest Apollo mission to that time.
Apollo 15 utilized the full extent of technology of the day, highlighted by the most powerful addition of rover. The stripped-down “spacecraft on wheels” gave the astronauts the range and time to achieve the goals of the Apollo campaign.
Sources: NASA
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Story Image: This week in 1971, Apollo 15 became the first mission to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle. The LRV was a lightweight, electric vehicle designed to operate in the low-gravity vacuum of the Moon. (NASA)