50 years ago, today Apollo 15 lifted the first lunar rover to the moon. It is the world’s most expensive car and GM’s first EV. And it carried paper maps, like this one.
After three days of driving about, it still retains traces of moon dust and some handwritten numerical references. I purchased it from Astronaut Dave Scott who writes that “this map was attached to a Rover post with a large clip. The Map contains traces of lunar dust and was exposed to the temperature extremes, radiation, and Solar Wind on the surface of the Moon. It has been in my personal collection since returning to Earth.”
It was during this second EVA that Dave Scott and Jim Irwin recovered the ‘Genesis Rock,’ a large sample composed primarily of anorthite and formed in the early stages of the solar system, at least four billion years ago. it is arguably one of the oldest samples the astronauts brought back and one of the most scientifically important of the whole Apollo program.
For the anniversary, Earl Swift’s new book, Across the Airless Wilds, traces the history of the rover’s development and achievements, pushing human exploration to its farthest point to date. Some of the Apollo engineers recommend that NASA simply brush off and update those designs for Artemis. “If we went to the Moon today,” one Apollo engineer said, “you could go with the same vehicle—don’t change a thing about it.” — a ’69 Classic!
• Built in 17 months for $40M, but 2x over budget.
• 1HP, 4 redundant electric motors, 460 lbs., carries twice its weight
• On the first Apollo 15 drive, they covered more ground than all prior Apollo missions combined. Apollo 11’s footsteps would fit in a football field. The rover missions covered 56 miles in total, and gathered ¾ of the moon rocks of Apollo, including the most scientifically important.
The book has a wonderful passage summering this particular EVA 2: “Apollo 15’s lead flight director, Gerry Griffin, called the second EVA ‘the greatest day of scientific exploration, certainly, that we in the space program have ever seen — and possibly of all time.’” (p.244)
Apollo 15 reinforced the idea that seatbelts are important even on the Moon. Irwin noted that the buggy rose and fell like a bucking bronco and fishtailed like a speedboat when Scott attempted ‘high-speed’ 6-mph turns. 
New book cover 
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