Next week will mark the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 15—the fourth crewed mission to reach the moon. Launched on July 26, 1971, Apollo 15 became the first Apollo mission to carry a lunar roving vehicle (LRV) to the lunar surface. While the command module pilot, Alfred Worden, remained in orbit around the moon, the commander, David Scott, and the lunar-module pilot, James Irwin, set down on the Hadley-Apennine landing site. The two astronauts later unfolded and deployed the 460-pound LRV (among other gear and experiments), and over the next three days they drove it about 17 miles (28 kilometers) across the lunar landscape. When they were done, they parked the “moon buggy” a short distance from the lunar module, where it still sits today—the first of three rovers left on the moon by Apollo missions. Gathered here are images of the development, training, and deployment of the first vehicle driven by humans on the surface of another world.
Apollo’s First Lunar Rover, Driven 50 Years Ago
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![A lunar rover is seen parked on the lunar surface.]()
Read moreThe lunar rover sits in its final parking place, seen in this composite image made on August 3, 1971. On their final day on the moon, the commander, David Scott, parked the lunar roving vehicle (LRV) a short distance from the lunar module (LM) landing craft, positioning it so the television camera on the front pointed toward the LM to monitor its liftoff in a couple of hours. The light-colored square on the ground behind the rover is a small plaque, placed by Commander Scott, inscribed with the names of 14 astronauts and cosmonauts known to have died while developing human space flight. Before he left, Scott also placed a small Bible with a red cover on the control panel of the rover, just visible in this image. #
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![Two men drive a prototype vehicle on sand.]()
Read moreThe astronauts Jack Lousma, seated, and Gerald Carr test an early prototype of the rover, during a mobility test near Pismo Beach, California, on August 13, 1970. #
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![Men train to drive on the moon using a simulator and video screen.]()
Read moreThe Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott (left) and James Irwin practice navigational maneuvers in the lunar roving vehicle simulator, assisted by the astronaut Joseph P. Allen IV, a support-team member, on July 25, 1971. #
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![A man uses a crane to move a huge model of part of the lunar landscape.]()
Read moreA large model was built, depicting the planned landing area for Apollo 15. Meant to be used for video feedback for the landing simulator, the model was also used as a low-fidelity stand-in shown on the video screen of the lunar rover simulator seen in the previous photo. The model was mounted to the ceiling of a large room, and computer-controlled cameras moved along its surface, mimicking the moves made by the simulators. #
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![Two men drive a rover trainer through a scrubby landscape.]()
Read moreThe astronauts James Irwin and David Scott train in the Mojave Desert near China Lake, in a lunar rover simulator, on April 29, 1971. #
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![Two men drive a rover trainer through a cratered landscape on Earth.]()
Read moreDave Scott and Jim Irwin practice on a rover simulator at Cinder Lake crater field in Arizona on November 2, 1970. #
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![Reporters crowd around two men sitting on a prototype of the lunar rover.]()
Read moreThe astronauts Dave Scott and Jim Irwin brief reporters about the lunar rover at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on May 6, 1971. #
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![A fully suited astronaut practices with a large drill (on Earth).]()
Read moreDave Scott practices with the drill at Cape Canaveral, with a rover simulator in the background. #
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![Two men in space suits sit in a lunar rover, alongside a landing module, in a large white room, surrounded by technicians.]()
Read moreThe astronauts Irwin and Scott sit in the LRV during a fit check at Kennedy Space Center, alongside the lunar module. The rover was designed to fold up into a small package to be stored for the trip to the moon. #
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![Several men work alongside a folded rover being loaded onto a lunar module.]()
Read moreDavid Scott assists during a rover fit check on April 1, 1971. The rover is in its folded configuration, being raised into position on the lunar module. #
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![A view of the Earth from space]()
Read moreThis view of Earth was photographed by the Apollo 15 crewmen as they sped toward the fourth lunar landing, after lifting off from Earth on July 26, 1971. The spacecraft was 25,000 to 30,000 nautical miles from Earth when this photo was made. #
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![An astronaut stands on the moon between the lander and rover.]()
Read moreThe lunar-module pilot, James Irwin, is seen standing on the moon behind the rover, parked beside the lunar module named, "Falcon." #
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![An astronaut pilots the rover on the moon.]()
Read moreThe commander, David Scott, pilots the rover during the second extravehicular activity (EVA). Hanging just in front of his right hand is a traverse map—an overhead photo of the landing site. #
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![An astronaut pushes against the rover on a hillside.]()
Read moreThe astronaut James Irwin holds the rover to keep it from from sliding downhill during the second Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity on August 1, 1971. Apparently, both of the rover's rear wheels were off the ground. The rover was parked facing downhill on a 15-to-20-degree slope. Commander Scott took this photograph as he was performing other tasks while Irwin held the rover. In the foreground, a lunar rake lies atop a mound. #
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![Both rover and lander are seen among distant mountains on the moon.]()
Read moreAfter deploying apparatus for several lunar surface experiments, James Irwin captured this image of the rover and distant lunar module, with the mountains of the Swann Range in the background. #
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![An astronaut works near the rover on the moon.]()
Read moreJames Irwin works alongside the rover during an EVA at the Hadley-Apennine landing site on July 31, 1971. The shadow of the lunar module is in the foreground. #
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![An astronaut salutes beside an American flag, the lunar module, and rover.]()
Read moreJames Irwin gives a salute while standing beside the deployed United States flag at the Hadley-Apennine landing site on August 1, 1971. The flag was deployed toward the end of EVA-2. Hadley Delta in the background rises approximately 4,000 meters (about 13,124 feet) above the plain. The base of the mountain is approximately five kilometers (about three miles) away. #
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![The rover is seen in the distance, through struts on the lunar module.]()
Read moreA final look at the rover, seen in the distance, through struts on the lunar module, sitting in its final parking place, where it remains to this day #
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![A view of the moon from space]()
Read moreAfter several days on the moon, the Apollo 15 astronauts return home, looking out their window on the trip back to Earth. #
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