This Contour Interval 10 Meter Map was used while driving the Lunar Rover. It was necessary to safely maneuver the Lunar Rover over the Moon’s surface as there were no landmarks to give the astronauts any idea of what was immediately ahead of them. This map is one of the rarest and most important maps in the history of both cartography and human scientific exploration.
In the letter of certification, on the left, Commander Gene Cernan writes: “This Contour Interval 10 Meter map bearing trace lunar dust, was especially important as it clearly shows our rover’s second EVA route. It was on this route that we found a moon rock that nearly 4.5 billion years old (and one of the oldest ever returned to Earth) along with orange soil which was evidence of early lunar volcanic eruptions! During those excursions, this map spent over 22 hours outside on the lunar surface within the 1/6 gravitational field of the Moon, while being exposed to the temperature and vacuum of deep space. This historic map endures as one of the few maps ever actually used on the lunar surface itself, and is also a rare example of an astronaut flight-certified artifact returned from the surface of the Moon!”
The second Apollo 17 Lunar Rover excursion revealed the most important discovery of all the Apollo missions to the surface of the Moon.
The discovery of orange soil at Shorty Crater excited Moonwalkers Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt as well as Mission Control in Houston, as it was proof of volcanic activity on the Moon at one time. The excitement is apparent in the following quotes from the Lunar Surface Journal transcript:
•Schmitt – “It’s all over!! Orange!!!”
•Cernan – “Hey, it is! I can see it from here!”
•Schmitt – “It’s orange!”
•Cernan – “Wait a minute; let me put my visor up. It’s still orange!”
•Schmitt – “Sure it is! Crazy!”
•Cernan – “Orange!” Oh, man, that’s incredible!”
•Schmitt – “Okay, Gene, we’re going to have to…”
•Cernan – “That’s incredible.”
•Schmitt – “You need to get a down-Sun color…”
•Cernan – “That’s incredible.”
Post-mission quote: “They have a camera in the back room, and what it showed is that, when the call came over, everyone sort of jumped up in the air, and there was just total loss of control in the back science room.”
In his book, Last Man on the Moon, Eugene A. Cernan wrote, “In years to come, experts would say the orange soil was one of the most surprising discoveries of the entire Apollo program.”
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From “Mooncollector” Jim Ruddy lifetime collection, When Jim turned 82 and his health was failing, he wanted to bundle his collection of lunar surface artifacts together in a single sale to someone who would care for them, and so he contacted me. I agreed to procure the collection and spent some time with him discussing each artifact at his home in Palm Springs. He was meticulous and carefully framed each precious treasure. Soon after I added this to the FV space collection in 2015, he passed away.
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