Apollo 15’s David Scott and James Irvin first drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) on this day in 1971. Scott and Irvin traversed 27.8 km in 3 hours, 2 minutes of total driving time. As a testament to the hands-on technology of the era, here’s a description of how the LRV was deployed:

Deployment of the LRV from the LM quad 1 by the astronauts was achieved with a system of pulleys and braked reels using ropes and cloth tapes. The rover was folded and stored in quad 1 with the underside of the chassis facing out. One astronaut would climb the egress ladder on the LM and release the rover, which would then be slowly tilted out by the second astronaut on the ground through the use of reels and tapes. As the rover was let down from the bay most of the deployment was automatic. The rear wheels folded out and locked in place and when they touched the ground the front of the rover could be unfolded, the wheels deployed, and the entire frame let down to the surface by pulleys. The rover components locked into place upon opening. Cabling, pins, and tripods would then be removed and the seats and footrests raised. After switching on all the electronics the vehicle was ready to back away from the LM.

Learn more at NASA’s LRV page.

Apollo_15_Lunar_Rover_and_Irwin

lunarapollo17