Editing Lunar Roving Vehicle (section)

=== Lunar Roving Vehicle Project ===
[[File:Moon Buggy Ap16-KSC-71PC-777.jpg|thumb|[[Apollo 16]] astronauts in the 1-g trainer]]

During 1965 and 1967, the Summer Conference on Lunar Exploration and Science brought together leading scientists to assess NASA's planning for exploring the Moon and to make recommendations. One of their findings was that the LSSM was critical to a successful program and should be given major attention. At Marshall, von Braun established a Lunar Roving Task Team, and in May 1969, NASA approved the Manned Lunar Rover Vehicle Program as a Marshall hardware development. The project was led by [[Eberhard Rees]], Director of Research and Development at Marshall, who oversaw the design and construction of the rover,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nae.edu/28690/Dr-Eberhard-F-M-Rees |title=Dr. Eberhard F. M. Rees |website=nae.edu |publisher=[[National Academy of Engineering]] |access-date=2024-02-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/people/eberhard-rees/ |title=Eberhard Rees |website=nasa.gov |access-date=2024-02-20}}</ref> with [[Saverio "Sonny" Morea|Saverio Morea]] acting as project manager.<ref name=":0" />

On 11 July 1969, just before the successful Moon landing of [[Apollo 11]], a [[request for proposal]] for the final development and building the Apollo LRV was released by Marshall. Boeing, Bendix, Grumman, and Chrysler submitted proposals. Following three months of proposal evaluation and negotiations, Boeing was selected as the Apollo LRV prime contractor on 28 October 1969. Boeing would manage the LRV project under Henry Kudish in [[Huntsville, Alabama]]. Kudish was replaced the following year in 1970 by LRV Project Manager Earl Houtz. As a major subcontractor, the General Motors Defense Research Laboratories in [[Santa Barbara, California]], would furnish the mobility system (wheels, motors, and suspension); this effort would be led by GM Program Manager Samuel Romano and<ref>From the Moon to the Balloon, New Jersey's Amazing Aviation History, HV Pat Reilly, 1992</ref> [[Ferenc Pavlics]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://old.pulispace.com/en/education/space-moon-and-the-hungarians/100-interview-with-ferenc-pavlics-lead-developer-of-the-apollo-lunar-rovers|title=Interview with Ferenc Pavlics, lead developer of the Apollo Lunar Rovers|first=Ádám|last=Csillag|website=www.pulispace.com}}</ref> Boeing in [[Seattle, Washington]], would furnish the electronics and navigation system. Vehicle testing would take place at the Boeing facility in [[Kent, Washington]], and the chassis manufacturing and overall assembly would be completed at the Boeing facility in Huntsville.<ref>"Lunar Roving Vehicle," MSFC press release, 29 October 1969; ''Marshall Star'', 3 November 1969</ref>

[[File:Apollo15LunarRover2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Apollo 15]] – Commander [[David Scott (astronaut)|David Scott]] drives the Rover near the LM ''Falcon'']]

The first cost-plus-incentive-fee contract to Boeing was for $19,000,000 and called for delivery of the first LRV by 1 April 1971. Cost overruns, however, led to a final cost of $38,000,000, which was about the same as NASA's original estimate. Four lunar rovers were built, one each for Apollo missions 15, 16, and 17; and one used for spare parts after the [[Canceled Apollo missions|cancellation of further Apollo missions]]. Other LRV models were built: a static model to assist with [[human factors]] design; an engineering model to design and integrate the subsystems; two one-sixth gravity models for testing the deployment mechanism; a one-gravity trainer to give the astronauts instruction in the operation of the rover and allow them to practice driving it; a mass model to test the effect of the rover on the LM structure, balance, and handling; a vibration test unit to study the LRV's durability and handling of launch stresses; and a qualification test unit to study integration of all LRV subsystems.<ref name="ApolloVehiclesNASA">{{cite web |date=15 November 2005 <!-- "last updated" date at the bottom of the page --> |title=The Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle |url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_lrv.html |access-date=16 May 2010 |publisher=[[NASA]]}}</ref> A paper by Saverio Morea gives details of the LRV system and its development.<ref name="Morea1988">Morea, Saverio F.; [https://web.archive.org/web/20100527104907/http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/lunar/LRV_Historical_Perspective.pdf "The Lunar Roving Vehicle – Historical Perspective"];  Proc. 2nd Conference on Lunar Bases and Space Activities, 5–7 April 1988; NASA Conference Publications 3166, Vol. 1, pp. 619–632.</ref>[[Image:Apollo 16 LM Orion.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[John Young (astronaut)|John Young]] works at the LRV near the [[Apollo Lunar Module|LM]] ''Orion'' on [[Apollo 16]] in April 1972.]]LRVs were used for greater surface mobility during the Apollo [[List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types|J-class]] missions, [[Apollo 15]], [[Apollo 16]], and [[Apollo 17]]. The rover was first used on 31 July 1971, during the Apollo 15 mission.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/27/science/lunar-rover-apollo-nasa.html |title=50 Years Ago, NASA Put a Car on the Moon |first=Rebecca |last=Boyle |date=July 27, 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=July 30, 2021}}</ref> This greatly expanded the range of the lunar explorers. Previous teams of astronauts were restricted to short walking distances around the landing site due to the bulky space suit equipment required to sustain life in the lunar environment. The range, however, was operationally restricted to remain within walking distance of the lunar module, in case the rover broke down at any point.<ref name="TALRV_NASA">[http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_lrv.html "The Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle"], NASA Document.</ref> The rovers were designed with a top speed of about {{convert|8|mph|km/h|abbr=on|0}}, although [[Eugene Cernan]] recorded a maximum speed of {{convert|11.2|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, giving him the (unofficial) lunar land-speed record.<ref name="Lyons1988">Lyons, Pete; "10 Best Ahead-of-Their-Time Machines", ''Car and Driver'', Jan. 1988, p.78</ref>

The LRV was developed in only 17 months and performed all its functions on the Moon with no major anomalies. Scientist-astronaut [[Harrison Schmitt]] of Apollo 17 said, "The Lunar Rover proved to be the reliable, safe and flexible lunar exploration vehicle we expected it to be. Without it, the major scientific discoveries of Apollo 15, 16, and 17 would not have been possible; and our current understanding of lunar evolution would not have been possible."<ref name="TALRV_NASA"/>

The LRVs experienced some minor problems. The rear [[Fender (vehicle)|fender]] extension on the Apollo 16 LRV was lost during the mission's second [[extra-vehicular activity]] (EVA) at station 8 when [[John Young (astronaut)|John Young]] bumped into it while going to assist [[Charles Duke]]. The dust thrown up from the wheel covered the crew, the console, and the communications equipment. High battery temperatures and resulting high power consumption ensued. No repair attempt was mentioned.

The fender extension on the Apollo 17 LRV broke when accidentally bumped by [[Eugene Cernan]] with a hammer handle. Cernan and Schmitt taped the extension back in place, but due to the dusty surfaces, the tape did not adhere, and the extension was lost after about one hour of driving, causing the astronauts to be covered with dust. For their second EVA, a replacement "fender" was made with some EVA maps, duct tape, and a pair of clamps from inside the Lunar Module that were nominally intended for the moveable overhead light. This repair was later undone so that the clamps could be taken inside for the return launch. The maps were brought back to Earth and are now on display at the [[National Air and Space Museum]]. The abrasion from the dust is evident on some portions of the makeshift fender.<ref>[https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/RP-1994-1317.pdf NASA Reference Publication 1317, Jan 1994, Sullivan, Thomas A. "Catalog of Apollo Experiment Operations" pg. 68 "Experimental Operations During Apollo EVAs: Repairs to Experiments,"] NASA Document.</ref><ref>[https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/21apr_ducttape/ "Moondust and Duct Tape,"] NASA Document.</ref>
[[File:Moon Landing 1971 Issue-8c.jpg|thumb|upright=1.32|right|{{center|The Lunar Rover Vehicle depicted on the [[U.S. Space Exploration History on U.S. Stamps|Space Achievement]] Decade Issue of 1971}}]]

The [[Apollo TV camera|color TV camera]] mounted on the front of the LRV could be remotely operated by [[Mission Control Center|Mission Control]] in pan and tilt axes as well as zoom. This allowed far better television coverage of the EVA than the earlier missions. On each mission, at the conclusion of the astronauts' stay on the surface, the commander drove the LRV to a position away from the Lunar Module so that the camera could record the ascent stage launch. The camera operator in Mission Control experienced difficulty in timing the various delays so that the LM ascent stage was in frame through the launch. On the third and final attempt (Apollo 17), the launch and ascent were successfully tracked.

NASA's rovers, left behind, are among the [[List of man-made objects on the Moon|artificial objects on the Moon]], as are the [[Soviet Union]]'s uncrewed rovers, ''[[Lunokhod 1]]'' and ''[[Lunokhod 2]]''.