NASA’s Apollo 15 Captures Earth’s Crest Over the Lunar Horizon

NASA Space Technology

The Apollo 15 mission in 1971 marked a major advancement in lunar exploration with the debut of a sophisticated lunar rover. Astronauts Scott, Worden, and Irwin carried out extensive scientific experiments and explored new terrain during this groundbreaking journey.

This view of the Earth’s crest over the lunar horizon was taken on July 29, 1971, during the Apollo 15 lunar landing mission. Astronauts David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a Saturn V launch vehicle.

Designed to explore the Moon over longer periods, greater ranges, and with more instruments for the collection of scientific data than before, Apollo 15 included the introduction of a $40 million lunar roving vehicle (LRV) that reached a top speed of 10 mph (16 kph) across the Moon’s surface.

NASA Space Technology Apollo 15 Lunar Roving Vehicle — This photograph, taken during the Apollo 15 mission on the lunar surface, shows Astronaut David R. Scott in the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) for the return trip to the Lunar Module, Falcon, with rocks and soil collected near the Hadley-Apernine landing site. Apollo 15 was the first mission to use the LRV, a lightweight, battery powered electric car that provided the astronauts with improved mobility. Overall, the LRV enabled the Apollo 15 crew to log a record 18 hours, 37 minutes of exploration, traversed a total of 17.5 miles, and returned stunning live TV images to Earth. The LRV was designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Credit: NASA/MSFC

Upon landing on the Moon at the Hadley-Apennine site, Scott and Irwin conducted four spacewalks, including three excursions using the LRV, for a combined total of 19 hours. Worden remained in orbit aboard the command module Endeavour.

See more photos from the Apollo 15 mission.

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