Rare Footage Of Astronauts Driving On The Moon In 1972

A short history of driving on the surface Moon 🚀🥰

Overshadowed by Apollo 11’s historic Moon landing in 1969, Apollo missions 15, 16 and 17 have slipped into collective obscurity, but those final three journeys to the lunar surface five decades ago still mark the pinnacle of manned space exploration.

No humans have been as far from the Earth since that trio of Moon landings in 1971 and 1972, which also had the greatest scientific return and range of exploration of all six human Moon landings.

On Apollo 17, which landed on the Moon in December 1972, astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison ‘Jack’ Schmitt, drove around 36 kilometres in their LRV, including a daring journey 7.6 kilometres (4.72 miles) from the lunar module.

There were three individual LRVs, widely known as Moon buggies, used on missions 15, 16 and 17, and they revolutionised Moon exploration.

Each of the three LRVs weighed between 209 and 213 kilograms, but on the Moon, with one sixth the gravity of Earth, they were as good as weightless, tipping the scales at just 35 kg.

Time and technology have moved on since the LVR made its last road trip on the Moon in December 1972. Currently the robotic Perseverance rover, which is almost unrecognisable against the LVR, is exploring the surface of Mars. But it was those three final Apollo missions that proved the value of rover vehicles in stretching the possibilities and the science of space missions.