Year Inducted: 1989
The Lunar Roving Vehicle was developed and built by Boeing Aerospace for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Apollo Program under the direction of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The vehicle was designed to transport two astronauts and scientific equipment during exploration of the lunar surface.
The first Lunar Roving Vehicle was used by astronauts Dave Scott and Jim Irwin on July 31 and August 1 and 2, 1971, during the Apollo 15 mission to the Hadley Rille area of the moon. Rovers two and three were used in Apollo missions 16 and 17 respectively.
Boeing was awarded the assignment to build the Lunar Roving Vehicle after competing in a design competition where design studies were performed on several types of specialized spacecraft for travel on the moon’s surface.
Eight Lunar Roving Vehicle test units were completed before the manufacture of the first flight model. These were used for a variety of tests that would lead to the final lunar vehicle. Program management and engineering work for the vehicle were performed at the Boeing Space Center near Seattle, Washington, and at Boeing facilities in Huntsville under the direction of chief engineer Eugene G. Cowart. Final assembly of the vehicles was done at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center.
The first flight–model Lunar Roving Vehicle was delivered to NASA on March 15, 1971, less than 17 months from the formal signing of the contract awarding the assignment to Boeing. This is believed to be the shortest development, design, qualification and manufacture cycle of any major item of equipment for the Apollo space program.
The 462–pound Lunar Roving Vehicle provided transportation for the astronauts, scientific equipment and lunar samples collected during lunar excursions. The driver operated the vehicle using a hand control somewhat like an aircraft control “stick” rather than a steering wheel. The vehicle was equipped with the capability to move both forward and backward at variable speeds, up to eight miles per hour on a smooth surface, as well as to carry loads equal to twice its weight on earth.
The Lunar Roving Vehicle was proven to be very reliable. This was due to simplicity in design and operation, as well as redundancy. The vehicle was normally steered by both the front and rear wheels; however, if one steering mechanism failed, it could be disconnected and the vehicle could complete the mission using only the remaining steering system. This was proven in Apollo 15 when a problem developed with the front steering mechanism and the astronauts completed their mission using rear steering only.
This unique vehicle, which allowed astronauts to spend large amounts of time on the lunar surface while saving energy, oxygen and water, significantly aided the scientific aims of the missions.
