Apollo 17 s Lunar Rover
Credit & Copyright: Apollo 17,
NASA
(Image scanned by Kipp Teague)
Explanation:
In December of 1972,
Apollo 17
astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent about
75
hours exploring the Moon's
Taurus-Littrow valley while colleague
Ronald Evans orbited
overhead.
Cernan and Schmitt were the last humans to walk or ride on the
Moon - aided in their
explorations by a
Lunar Roving Vehicle.
The skeletal-looking
lunar rover was just over 10 feet long,
6 feet wide and easily carried astronauts, equipment, and rock samples
in the Moon's low gravity (about 1/6 Earth's).
In this
picture, Cernan stands at the back of the rover which
carried the two astronauts in lawn-chair style seats.
An umbrella-shaped high gain antenna and TV camera are mounted in the front.
Powered by four 1/4 horsepower electric motors, one for each
wheel,
this rover was driven a total of about 18 miles across
the lunar surface.
Its estimated top speed was a blazing 8 miles per hour.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
