{"id":62582,"date":"2025-12-26T23:14:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T22:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=62582"},"modified":"2026-01-11T22:49:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T21:49:10","slug":"the-design-and-operation-of-the-three-rover-vehicles-that-reached-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/12\/26\/the-design-and-operation-of-the-three-rover-vehicles-that-reached-the-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"The design and operation of the three Rover vehicles that reached the Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Space exploration has been driven by rockets and spacecraft of various designs, but it has also included wheeled vehicles.<\/p>\n

The furthest car park: the three wheeled vehicles that were abandoned on the Moon<\/a><\/rel>
\nThe Lunar Module: This was the interior of the first manned spacecraft to land on the Moon<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

During NASA's Apollo program, which put humans on the Moon, three Lunar Roving Vehicles (LRVs) were used.<\/strong> These were very lightweight, four-wheeled vehicles with electric motors. Popularly known as \"Lunar Rovers,\" they were used in the Apollo 15<\/strong> (LRV-1, July 1971), Apollo 16<\/strong> (LRV-2, April 1972), and Apollo 17<\/strong> (LRV-3, December 1972) missions.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
Astronaut David Scott driving the LRV-1 during the Apollo 15 mission in July 1971. This vehicle was abandoned on the Moon on August 2 of that year in the Apennine Mountains (Photo: NASA<\/a>).<\/div>\n

The LRVs were specifically designed for lunar gravity<\/strong>. They weighed 209 kg and were folded into the lunar descent modules, measuring 90 cm high, 150 cm wide, and 170 cm long before deployment. When deployed, they measured 3.1 meters long and 1.8 meters wide. They could reach a maximum speed of 14 km\/h<\/strong> and their batteries provided an autonomy of 78 hours.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
Astronaut John W. Young driving the LRV-2 during the Apollo 16 mission in April 1972. This vehicle was abandoned on the Moon on April 24 of that year in the Descartes Highlands (Photo: NASA<\/a>).<\/div>\n

The three LRVs were designed by the aerospace company Boeing<\/strong>, in collaboration with General Motors. Since wheels with rubber tires would have posed a risk of punctures on the lunar surface, the wheels were made with a steel mesh<\/strong>, with titanium components for contact with the surface. Each wheel had a diameter of 81.8 centimeters. Between the three vehicles, they traveled a total of 90.8 kilometers across the lunar surface<\/strong>, never straying more than 9.8 kilometers from the landing site.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan driving the LRV-3 during the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. This vehicle was abandoned on the Moon on December 14 of that year in Taurus\u2013Littrow (Photo: NASA<\/a>).<\/div>\n

Three years ago I already told you here about the places where these LRVs were abandoned<\/a>, which to this day remains the most distant and also the most exclusive wheeled vehicle parking lot. This Friday, Jared Owen<\/a> published one of his always interesting videos on the design and operation of these vehicles<\/strong>, explaining in detail how they were deployed and how they were used on the Moon:<\/p>\n