This Day

December 19, 1972 – The final Lunar Roving Vehicle is left on the moon

The final manned mission to the moon, Apollo 17, began its journey home on this day in 1972, leaving behind the last Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The LRV acted as ground transport for astronauts and equipment, allowing for otherwise impossible research and exploration. The departure of Apollo 17’s crew saw the third and final LRVs abandoned on the moon

.

Apollo 17’s crew, Commander Eugene Cernan, Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt, Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans and five mice, utilized the LRV to travel as far as 20.1 kilometers in a day. They (probably not the mice) traveled as far as 7.6 kilometers from the lunar module landing craft. Schmitt stated that without the machine, “the major scientific discoveries” and “our current understanding of lunar evolution” would have been out of reach.

Photo: Apollo 17 mission, 12 December 1972. Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, commander, makes a short checkout of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) during the early part of the first Apollo 17 Extravehicular Activity (EVA-1) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site.

Brian Corey

Recent Posts

March 26, 1879 – Othmar Ammann, NYC bridge designer, is born

Othmar Ammann may not be a familiar name to most, but if you live in…

6 days ago

The History of the Arizona Automotive Industry

Lucid Air by Mr.choppers - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=138255918 Arizona may not be…

6 days ago

March 25, 1930 – Larry Shinoda, designer of Corvettes and Mustangs, is born

Larry Shinoda (Ford) Lawrence Kiyoshi Shinoda was born on March 25, 1930, in Los Angeles,…

1 week ago

March 19, 1999 – Ford establishes Premier Automotive Group

2000 Land Rover Discovery, from the year Ford purchased Land Rover. Ford Motor Company's Premier…

2 weeks ago

March 18, 1858 – Rudolf Diesel’s birthday

On this day in 1858 Rudolf Diesel, would later patent the type of engine by…

2 weeks ago

March 17, 2006 – The last Chevrolet SSR is built

On March 17, 2006, Chevrolet built the last example of one of the most unconventional…

2 weeks ago