July 31, 1971 – Men drive on the moon

On this day in 1971 the astronauts of Apollo 15 became the first to use a lunar rover. Apollo 15’s crew included David R. Scott, commander; Alfred J. Worden, command module pilot; and James B. Irwin, lunar module (LM) pilot. The shuttle took off July 26 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and landed on the moon July 30.

During a lunar stay of 66 hr 54 min 53 sec, the astronauts were able to collect samples from the low dark plains (maria), the Apennine highlands, and the area along Hadley Rille, a long, narrow winding valley.

The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) was a battery-powered four-wheeled rover used on the Moon during the last three missions of the American Apollo program (15, 16, and 17) during 1971 and 1972. The LRV could carry one or two astronauts, their equipment, and lunar samples.