Spacecraft on Wheels: NASA's LRV

While only four were built, the two seat, one horsepower electric roadster that the press dubbed “the moon buggy” was the most popular automotive model on the planetary body on which it was designed to drive and one that, those who drove it say, changed everything.
Image credits: NASA
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Script by THG
#history #thehistoryguy #NASA

[@rwj1313]

My father worked for von Braun as a NASA electrical engineer. My next-door neighbor had the WiFi name RVR DRVR. I spend way too much of my time debunking moon landing deniers and one night I was explaining some aspect of how the batteries on the Lunar Rover maintained their temperatures and it occurred to me that RVR DRVR stood for ROVER DRIVER. I knew that my next-door neighbor was not an astronaut so he was probably a rover engineer. A few days later a strong windstorm knocked over a portion of Mr. Johnson's fence. My father and I walked over to his house and I had the opportunity to ask him. There were just over 100 or so engineers who worked on the rover and my neighbor was one of them. His son David is a friend of mine and was at my house a few nights ago looking at Saturn through my telescope. Love this video. From Huntsville thank you!

[@Sneakycat1971]

You can't convince me they landed on the moon in 1969 or anytime after that. .

[@georgettewolf6743]

@@Sneakycat1971Throughout history, those who won’t see have been much more dangerous than those who can’t see.

[@tygrkhat4087]

@@Sneakycat1971 Why?

[@flashgordon6670]

All that lovely stuff and tracks the astronauts left behind on the moon, surely you’d think they could be seen with strong telescopes and satellites?

[@Sherwoody]

@@flashgordon6670one of the most powerful telescopes on earth capable of looking at the moon, the Hale telescope at Mount Palomar cannot resolve lunar features smaller than 100 meters across. Footprints aren’t going to show.

[@davecaron1213]

I once worked for the gear systems division of the USM Corporation in Wakefield MA. I did all the initial machining of every harmonic drive unit used on the Lunar Rovers. I sometimes look up at the moon and remember there are twelve drive units up there that I held in my hands. Great video.

[@882952]

Wow, that is a great idea - that about 235,000 miles away, on a body you can still see today, those drive units are still up there, just waiting. What a feeling it must be for you that, as you say, you held them in your very hands once. And as far as the mechanics of them goes, they're probably in perfectly usable condition still! As a child I watched the astronauts drive the rovers and thought how incredible it was that this was unfolding right before my eyes.

[@kmlammto]

My uncle produced collars that were used on the lunar modules in his machine shop. If I remember correctly, they are clearly visible on the legs, but I am not positive which pieces were his work and which were produced elsewhere. His machine shop was later asked to grind some glass for eyeglasses on his fully automated lathe. As an experiment for a major lens producer. Up until then, every lens was ground by hand. His experiment allowed for the automation that gives us Lens Crafters, My Eye Doctor and other chain glasses makers.

[@aemrt5745]

Love hearing these accounts. It shows how much effort went into this. The three astronauts on each mission were the top of a pyramid consisting of hundreds of thousands of workers at thousands of companies.

[@briansturges2658]

That's so cool your craftmanship touched the Moon and is still there- what a rare privilege.

[@kph220]

My late uncle Don was literally in rocket science. He worked on part of the moon buggy. Here is part of his obituary " At Hazeltine Don designed many projects for NASA, including the design of the electronics control system for the " moon buggy", the Lunar Rover used on Apollo 15 (A test model of the Lunar Rover is on display in the National Air and Space Museum). He was responsible for the electronic design of the display system for the FAA air traffic control system, the Mariner C Solar Plasma detector on its journey to Mars, the Identification system for the SAM - D Missile system. Don did research in high-speed digital logic, as well as many other interesting projects." He later left Hazeltine and worked for Ford Aerospace on many military contracts until retirement. RIP uncle Don.

[@WackyAmoebatrons]

I know a Don who told me about work on the mesh wheels. He was married to Nancy and lived in Ann Arbor. The same Don?

[@flashwashington2735]

What!!? Are you eight years old? Literally means what it says. Try: aerospace engineering and astrodynamics. But uncle Don probably wasn't even that. Elsctronics, navigation controls being called avionics.

[@kph220]

@@WackyAmoebatrons Nope, Candlewood Lake before moving to the west coast.

[@GJones462-2W1]

Would have loved to have met Don. He sounds like one of those guys that you grab a beer with, and just let him talk, and become amazed at all the things he was involved with, places he went, people he met, and made the things that have changed ALL our lives for the better! Endless hours I would have spent learning about it all. Thanks, Don, and indeed, rest in peace. You definitely deserve it! Thanks for the story, KPH.

[@Andrewm714]

My grandfather (always called him Grandpap) was a welder who worked on the structure that falls away when the Apollo 11 launched. His name was Howard Ray. In his spare time he liked to weld small bits of scrap metal into other objects, Model T cars and farm equipment like tractors and pickup trucks.

[@veryunusual126]

Wow, you're grandpa was awesome😮😮

[@flashgordon6670]

All that lovely stuff and tracks the astronauts left behind on the moon, surely you’d think they could be seen with strong telescopes and satellites?

[@zounds010]

@@flashgordon6670 No. The best telescopes we have, can only see stuff larger than 100 meters. You need a spacecraft in orbit of the moon to see the landing sites. Luckily we have several of those: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, Chandrayaan-2, Selene.

[@Andrewm714]

Thank you - indeed he was. I have a photo of him with Grandma sitting at their kitchen table, her listening while he plays the guitar. Sure miss them both.@@veryunusual126

[@aemrt5745]

Pretty cool!

[@RetiredSailor60]

I'm 60 years old and remember watching the whole Apollo program from start to finish. Captivated my mind and imagination.

[@aemrt5745]

Awesome! I am jealous!

[@johntabler349]

I think it was Alan Shepherd who talked about sitting in this space vehicle on a launch pad with this incredibly powerful rocket beneath them and thinking " every part and component on this rocket was built by the lowest bidder"

[@robertviens6104]

Haha Funny. In my experience, The highest bidder isn't always the best choice. It often means that the Higher Ups drive nicer Cars!

[@RCAvhstape]

I love the terrifying idea of being 5 miles away from your spacecraft, out of sight behind the hills, on an alien world with nothing but a spacesuit and an off-road vehicle to keep you alive. Sounds like the ultimate wilderness adventure.

[@metalicminer6231]

It proves they didn't go, that's suicide, and there's never any fear or trepidation in their voices, no checking they have enough pressure in the suits, no checking their oxygen or carbon dioxide levels, no mention of being too hot or too cold, it's all fiction..

[@aemrt5745]

Indeed. Those guys were true pioneers. If you look at their bios, they were steel eyed test pilots. Going on such an adventure is the ultimate adrenaline rush. I have met several of the astronauts and have worked in the space program (though too young for Apollo). My conclusion is the astronauts and fellow Engineers are extremely sharp and brilliant. There is a lot behind the phrase, "having the right stuff".

[@corneliuscrewe677]

They were always within the walking distance limits of their suits. They would drive out to the furthest point and work their way back. That way they always had enough oxygen to get back if they had to walk.

[@RCAvhstape]

@@corneliuscrewe677Yes, but it's a 5 mile walk, in an environment with no air, and your suit must not fail. So it's still pretty edgy.

[@corneliuscrewe677]

@@RCAvhstape No question about that. You gotta remember our society was not so risk averse back then. The possibility of someone dying out there was very very real, which is one of the reason test pilots were recruited.

[@JeffBishop_KB3QMT]

The Axles for the Moon Rover were produced by Rockwell International Corporation Axle Plant in New Castle, PA. Before those axles were shipped out, just about everyone available to them in the plant wrote their names on them with a paint marker. I wasn't working there at the time, but both my father and brother's names, as well as many others, are written on those axles.

[@dennismckee7934]

July 20 should be a holiday - landing astronauts on the moon and returning them to Earth safely is an accomplishment worth celebrating - and the basis for taking a day to celebrate science. Thank you again for a great and meaningful episode.

[@737smartin]

Great idea! I second the motion.

[@BTScriviner]

That would be great. Too bad too many Americans don't celebrate science anymore.

[@thomashughes_teh]

The operation of the Lunar Rover on the surface of The Moon is so far the most legendary off roading excursion in human history.

[@TechnologistLive]

Legendary? Alleged is likely a better word to use here.

[@thomashughes_teh]

@@TechnologistLive You are Jealous.

[@zounds010]

@@TechnologistLive Despite 50 years of trying, no moon landing denier has come up with a single piece of evidence that shows the Apollo landings were faked.

[@PervertedThang]

​@@TechnologistLiveNot alleged. You need to look up what that word means, because you're using it incorrectly.

[@aemrt5745]

Though Oportunity and Perciverance on Mars rank up there too!

[@larryjohnson1966]

So the technical knowledge learned on the Moon gave me my layout for my motorized wheelchair. It has a seperate motor for each rear wheel. Thanks for the History Lesson.

[@jonathanstancil8544]

In the documentary series Moon Machines, produced around 2007, Sam Romano and Ferenc Pavlics, who were GM employees working on the design in cooperation with Boeing, who actually produced the LRV, are interviewed and tell the story of their development and even demonstrate their scale model which is remote controlled and can fold up in the same manner as the operational models did.

[@sammysmirh3889]

That was a great documentary!!!

[@edwardpate6128]

I love the scene where they drove the radio controlled model with the GI Joe astronaut in it into Werner von Braun's office.

[@randyshoquist7726]

It can be viewed here on YT. Search for "moon machines rover." The whole series is excellent.

[@johnfun3394]

I bet the feeling the astronauts got driving on the moon is the same one I had riding my Honda 50 for the first time along the American River trails in 1970’s when I was 10. I can almost remember.

[@rcmedia9516]

They never drove on the moon though.

[@tracytrawick322]

​@rcmedia9516 Bullshit. Let me guess, the Earth is flat.

[@tracytrawick322]

I had the Honda 70, it was great fun. But my similar sensation was the first time I came out of the water on a new fiberglass slalom water ski - I was in orbit while on the surface of Lake Hamilton. And my thumbs up meant faster, not "a ok" LOL

[@md_vandenberg]

@@rcmedia9516 Get bent.

[@bower31]

@@rcmedia9516 "Uh nuh uh"

[@trickydicky2908]

The model they showed to Von Braun was a working, RC, model. They drove it into Von Braun's office. THAT'S, how you sell an idea.

[@captlazer5509]

With a GI Joe figure for the astronaut. It sold the idea!

[@D_Rogers]

I love the rooster tails that the moon buggy kicks up! :) Dusty regolith burnouts in a vacuum look just a little bizarre.

[@andycorbett3052]

I believe that the first motorized vehicle (Un-manned), to operate on the moon was the soviet Lunokhod 1, which roamed the surface for approximately 320 days back in 1970 to 71. I would imagine that the switch to un-manned rovers was an attempt to save face on behalf of the soviets, once being beaten to the moon by NASA. They did not have a working booster that could get a manned payload there so switched to something they could achieve. As an aside, later versions of these machines were also used in the clean up of Chernobyl for a while before they succumbed to the radiation. The story of the NASA rover is amazing, and I remember as a child watching the images from the rovers as they traversed the moon surface. How they came up with a design that could be stowed for the journey to the moon and then deployed by an astronaut wearing a cumbersome space suit is simply amazing. Love the channel, keep the content coming.

[@davidconnell1959]

We lived in Huntsville in 1968 because my father and uncle were involved with the program. I had a book that NASA made - a children’s book about landing on the moon. Wore it out waiting for the real thing to happen. This episode makes me very happy. Thanks, HG!

[@andrewspruell8498]

The book was We Came in Peace.........wore out my copy also..my wife got me another a few years back.

[@flashgordon6670]

All that lovely stuff and tracks the astronauts left behind on the moon, surely you’d think they could be seen with strong telescopes and satellites?

[@PervertedThang]

​@@flashgordon6670 Why are you repeating the same thing over and over?

[@flashgordon6670]

Bc I need several opinions to gauge what the real truth is. Unlike you, I don’t just believe whatever I’m told to think and all the propaganda you’ve been brainwashed with.

[@flashgordon6670]

@@PervertedThang That silenced you didn’t it?

[@watcherofwatchers]

My Granddad was an engineer for Boeing and was apparently deeply involved in the wheel design. Unfortunately, he died before I was old enough to appreciate this and have the surely fascinating discussions that could have been.

[@RocketTCoyote]

Dr. Harrison Schmidt came to Midland, MI to visit Dow Corning: maker of the silicone-based lubricants used in the LRV. Petroleum-based lubricants would have evaporated in the airless vacuum.

[@paulkinzer7661]

I'm a few years older than you, and I remember absolutely loving the LRV as a kid. What impressed me as much as the exponential expansion of the bits of the moon the astronauts could explore was the way it was the way it was stowed on the Lunar Module, and then unloaded on the surface of the moon. The video shows one coming out of its tiny space, and it still seems almost magical (which is always a sign of amazing engineering). To learn how quickly it came into being just adds to the amazement I still feel. I've always wanted to bring a spare battery up there and then drive one of those things!

[@uriituw]

It’s amazing that not only did they land a man on the Moon, but they drove cars around-and also repaired said cars. Awe inspiring!

[@metalicminer6231]

They really have fooled you 😂

[@uriituw]

@@metalicminer6231 Oh, "they"! You might be a conspiracy theorist.

[@6862ptc]

​@@metalicminer6231Your ridiculous conspiracy theory is offensive to those who worked on the lunar missions.

[@JeffDeWitt]

@@metalicminer6231 Oh... so you are one of THOSE people. Did you even watch this video? If so how do explain the behavior of the dust?

[@metalicminer6231]

@@uriituw it's easier to fool someone than it is to convince them they have been fooled..

[@Baldharlow]

Another great THG episode! I'm a child of 2 NASA (JSC) employees and still love all things space. I just completed Swift's book so this offering was quite timely. Thank you!

[@BlasphemousBill2023]

Thanks, I enjoyed it very much! I saw a prototype or a mock up of the rover in 1968. My father took me to a family event at the General Motors tech center in Warren Michigan. There was a lot excitement about it! My dad, ever the engineer said it wasn’t practical :) I thought it very cool!

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I just imagined a far-future entertainment program about antiques where the LRVs on the moon are recovered as some kind of "barn find".

[@ChrissiX]

Love today's tie. Reminds me of Eddie Van Halen's guitar.

[@sproctor1958]

Nice. I learned a few things today, and I used to keep up with the Apollo program pretty well as a kid. Grew up within about 90 miles of the Cape, never saw a launch in person, but lived close enough to see the false _"Dawn"_ and rising _"Star"_ of many a night launch from my front yard. When the Eagle landed, I was almost 11 years old. By the time Apollo 17 launched, "Outer Space was Commonplace" and local news coverage of actual details became part of the background "noise" instead of headlines or front page. You bring out details and imagery that otherwise would have remained part of the _(Lunar)_ dust of History... and it should be remembered. Thanks!

[@bobuncle8704]

A most excellent episode. I wish I’d seen this a few weeks ago. Some “man has not been on the moon” ranter was going on and on about how there was no way they could have gotten the Rover onto the moon. Their claim was that this was one of the greatest proofs that all the moon landings were fake.

[@kspencerian]

NASA made an animation that showed exactly where it was transported and how: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWm5pX9rac6ojcUsi=FnTEe-9RWFPuPsoo

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

Don't argue with idiots.. You can't win and they can't think.

[@johneverson2433]

“We chose to go to the moon before the end of this decade and the other things not because it is easy, but because it is hard.”

[@mikewithers299]

Quote from JFK. The man had a vision. I got to see it unfold on TV at night after school

[@johnpotter8039]

I was very busy in the early 1970s, working my way through UCLA as a commuting student. I missed every bit of the real-time TV coverage of the lunar rovers through the last Apollo mission. I saw a few snips here and there over the years. I had always been acutely interested in space from the 1950s. I was delighted to see this episode and so many scenes of the vehicle in action.

[@1locust1]

15:36 Grand image from the Apollo days. The initial broadcast images of Armstrong stepping out onto the surface of the moon were gray and ghostly but the later photographs were spectacular.

[@aemrt5745]

Hard to beat a 70mm format Hasselblad, even with today's digital.

[@Nicksonian]

Brilliant! Some of the images are stunning! I was 12 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. A half century later and I still can’t get enough about the missions.

[@aemrt5745]

You probably know this. Arizona State University has an incredible archieve of the Apollo images. They scanned the Hasselblad transparencies and negatives. Have spent hours looking.

[@Nicksonian]

@@aemrt5745 Oh my, I didn’t know. Thanks.

[@jdos2]

Absolutely NOTHING so American as taking a car to the moon and driving it around. Thank you for covering this!

[@tahlulabang]

My grandpa built a house for James Irwin who was the first rover pilot on Apollo 15 and he has a dozen original NASA mission photos all autographed from him

[@flashgordon6670]

And he lives where exactly? What’s his address so I can send him a complimentary free clock and where in his property is he likely to keep those NASA mission photos, is there a safe?

[@PervertedThang]

​@@flashgordon6670 Shoo, troll.

[@tahlulabang]

@@flashgordon6670 The house he built was somewhere in Colorado and that's as much as I know about the house The pictures are on the wall in my aunt's house and I have them as the background on my tablet

[@flashgordon6670]

@@tahlulabang Most intriguing and what’s aunt’s address?

[@tahlulabang]

@@flashgordon6670 1 2 3 Fake Street USA

[@HappyHands.]

i always look at the LRV as the finest example of America's love for the Automobile. ""Hey lets put a car on the moon!".... "OKay!"

[@DSlyde]

I really enjoyed this video. I love THG generally but this was just a nice video to sit down with a cup of tea and listen to while the rain came down, so thanks for a nice break after a hard day.

[@danield2685]

The fact we went there and actually went riding around the moon on a moon buggy is one of the coolest things humans have ever done in all of human history. Look up there like oh yeah we went there and drove around on it multiple times. What a mind blowing concept.

[@mattcolver1]

Earl Swift's book "Across The Airless Wilds" is a fascinating read. I recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the development of the Lunar Rover.

[@aemrt5745]

Thank You for the excellent video. Regarding minimalist design, it is actually one of the more challenging criteria to Engineer, and very common in Aerospace.

[@floundergearjam]

History Guy - I love your content...and I love your ties.

[@MikeGratis]

I really enjoyed watching this video. Back in the day, my family owned a Chevrolet Dealership, and having connections at General Motors, I remember my Granddad showing us informational literature about the development of the LRV. As a kid I can remember thinking I'd rather have an LRV than any other vehicle on our lot - Of course, not realizing it would be useless on Earth. 😆 Then again, I also can remember watching 2001: A Space Odyssey at the movie theater in 1968 and thinking THAT was where we'd surely be by then. 🤔 Boy, was I really bummed out when 2001 rolled around and we were nowhere near making any of that a reality.... 😒

[@ScottMyersOfTheEarth]

STAR TREK BARBIE in the background!! Cool!

[@dragonflyhill5748]

My cousin was on the team that designed the moon rover.

[@christophermahon1851]

I saw one of the test versions in Huntsville only yesterday. Such a cool, little thing. Thanks for the history, guy!

[@AdamJRichardson]

Nice! Earl Swift's book is terrific: Goes into the geeky detail but is a very engaging read and puts you back in that world, he's an excellent writer.

[@RedSoxDad01]

As an excitable 8 year old already obsessed with all things automotive, the lunar rover excited me like few other things could. Thank you for the reminder of that sweet time.

[@williamchartrand6333]

I’m commenting today to wish THG a very happy “National Bow-Tie Day”!!! I love watching all your episodes!

[@brianingle7535]

As always, sir, absolutely fantastic content. I absolutely love this channel. Thank you

[@bavondale]

thank you for the vid. nothing about astronauts, only engineering. the true hero of the space program

[@andyharman3022]

I was a kid during the Apollo program. I saw the Apollo 13 ordeal on tv when I was sick at home from school. I wrote a report in 6th grade all about the Apollo rocket. I went to engineering school and became a mechanical engineer, and have 40 years professional experience. I revel in the idea of designing machines to accomplish novel tasks in harsh environments and love finding solutions to rare problems. GM and other high-powered engineering companies spent 15 years and millions of dollars to think through the problems and to design lunar vehicles. But the thing that really amazed me was finding out that DUCT TAPE WORKS IN OUTER SPACE!

[@joezephyr]

Wonderful! The first jeep on the moon :)

[@benn454]

It was built by GM and Boeing, so actually the first Blazer on the moon.

[@SimonAmazingClarke]

I was three and a half when Neil and Buzz landed on the moon. I don't remember that flight but I remember watching later launches on the news while they were up there. Definitely history worth remembering

[@yomommaahotoo264]

And I remember the tooth fairy leaving me a quarter under my pillow. It MUST have been real....Einstein.

[@wsrichardson5796]

@@yomommaahotoo264 👎🤡

[@CNCmachiningisfun]

@@yomommaahotoo264 Grow up, princess!

[@yomommaahotoo264]

@@CNCmachiningisfun Folks- go watch the many videos on Apollo Detectives proving the apollo hoaxes.

[@theccieguy]

The floating dry docks of WW2 is history that deserves to be remembered.

[@dougb3699]

An enjoyable snippet into the advancement of technology

[@mspysu79]

The LRV has one feature you overlooked, it had a completely new TV camera system, and it was developed by RCA Aerospace with some help from RCA Broadcast and RCA Semiconductor. The camera had a new and more sensitive image-sensing tube that provided better contrast than the earlier tubes developed at Westinghouse. The camera was also fully remote-controlled with a Pan/Tilt head and motorized zoom/focus lens all controlled by NASA MC. This is how we got the shot on Apollo 17 of the LEM taking off, On 15 the rover was parked in the wrong position, on 16 the timing was not right but on 17 it all came together. The remote control of the camera allowed the ground control to continue using the camera to look at things on the moon without astronauts until the batteries in the LRV went dead. RCA had also developed a new converter for the CM/LEM and rover TV signals it was a completely digital converter system that replaced Apollo 11's optical converter and Apollo 12/13's analog converter, the converter as well as the newly developed cameras were used on SkyLab and also on the Apollo-Soyuz docking.

[@RRaquello]

The pan/tilt head on the Apollo 15 camera broke down. If you watch the videos of the EVA's, it was a progressive problem that got worse as the mission continued, and it was much discussed between the astronauts & Houston. I think it was a gearing mechanism and that the heat was the cause of the problem. By the end of the third EVA it wasn't working at all and the astronauts had to tilt and pan it by hand after parking the rover and just leave it in one position. When it came to the lift off of the LEM, they decided not to try and capture it because they wanted to keep the camera running as long as possible and didn't want to have the camera stuck in an up position pointing at nothing but the black sky. They also had problems with the 16MM film camera. The film of the rover driving around, what they called the "Lunar Grand Prix," is from Apollo 16. They did a "Grand Prix" on Apollo 15, with Jim Irwin filming Dave Scott, but the camera malfunctioned and they got no picture, so they repeated the whole thing on 16. They had an idea the camera wouldn't work because they had been having problems with it throughout the EVA, but they went ahead with the Grand Prix in hopes they'd get pictures. They didn't.

[@mspysu79]

@@RRaquello still better then Apollo 12 where Alan Bean accidentally pointed the camera at the sun, destroying the imaging tube.

[@RRaquello]

@@mspysu79 Yeah, that was a catastrophe. To make it worse, 13 failed to make the moon, the camera on 14 gave a pretty lousy picture, so it wasn't till 15 that they had a TV camera on the moon that produced a good color picture and that was 2 years after 11 and nobody was watching.

[@aemrt5745]

The entire Apollo program is a master study of incredible engineering design and project management. It was a perfect storm of America's best and brightest achieving a difficult goal.

[@TheCADDGUY]

My grandfather was on the design team for the LRV, he told me a few stories about it's design, the deployable radio dish is an inverted and converted umbrella, and the seats were simple aluminum beach chairs

[@theccieguy]

Floating dry docks of WW2 is history that deserves to be remembered!

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Eleven year old me watched Apollo 16 launch. In person. My parents -- with me in tow -- drove from our home in St Petersburg, Florida to Cape Canaveral to watch...👍 *_"Seems a thousabd centuries ago."_* *-- APOCALYPSE NOW [1979]*

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

Hey History Guy 🤓👋I took your advice and saw The B-52's this weekend. I couldn't have gone wrong either way 💯

[@philipmorgan1438]

I doubt that I can do justice to this but I think Dale Shellhorn of Boeing deserves mention and credit as the lunar rover project manager at Boeing. I worked with him subsequently as he was the Boeing manager for the Boeing contract with West Virginia University for its Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit system. Besides being overall Program Manager, Boeing designed and manufactured the 75 totally automated (driverless) vehicles required for the system. Like the lunar rover, MPRT vehicle was electrically powered and actively steered. I have no idea how much of the lunar rover found its way into the MPRT but Shellhorn showed brilliance in the engineering of both vehicles for their intended uses. MPRT is still running safely in Morgantown after 48 years. 👏

[@suecox2308]

Fascinating video as always. I've often been curious about the Rover's tires and your explanation was great.

[@frankgulla2335]

Thank you, THG, for another great video on a small but clearly important element of the Apollo program. I was in college during Apollo and so many of the details slipped by me since I was focused on my studies. Thanks for filling me in.

[@cerberus2881]

I'm old enough to have watched live our every endeavor on the Moon!

[@aemrt5745]

AWESOME! Glad you are seeing Artemis too!

[@billmudd9915]

I did enjoy, you sir and history are priceless thank you .If you don't know where you came from you will never know where you're going.

[@garybrown1404]

ALWAYS watch any THG video! EXCELLENT research, backstory & presentation! CAN NOT recommend more highly, (watch, & you will learn)

[@joeverna5459]

Fascinating lunar footage. Thanks

[@RubenKelevra]

2:57 I love the idea of the contractor. Why didn't they went with a hovercraft 😂😂😂😂

[@outdoorfreedom9778]

During the space program I was working for Douglas AS. I was 18 when I went to work there. As people started to complain about the money we launched into space I would inform them that there was almost no money left in space. The money was all left right here on earth. Only hardware went off into space. I was in the Army the night of the first Moon Landing watching it on a small B&W tv set.

[@fairwinds610]

I watched it in the TV lounge of my barracks on Treasure Island Naval Schools Command. It turns out that most ETs (Electronics Technicians) in the Navy were space cadets.

[@rickbrandt9559]

Highway Wildflowers says it all, the trail of history to today with objects left along side,rovers like the pioneers crossing the plains.

[@BasicDrumming]

I appreciate you and thank you for making content.

[@joezephyr]

Fantastic! Your best video for a while thank you.

[@williamscoggin1509]

I remember watching them driving around on the moon in the buggy. Look like a wild ride! 👍🏻

[@nelsonbergman7706]

Thanks for the great video. I had forgotten about the Moon Rickshaw. Another interesting post by THG.

[@mikejetzer4155]

Strictly speaking, the ABMA became the Marshall Space Flight Center, not the Marshall Space Center. If you're looking for a plain "space center", you need to go to Houston, home of the Johnson Space Center.

[@TooLateForIeago]

I love the old moon base concept art showing cranes placing man-high aqueduct pipes in trenches. How much water or sewage did they think they'd be moving?

[@GeneralJackRipper]

Underground pipes would be an ideal base structure. Strong, cheap, and protected from the space environment.

[@haroldhenderson2824]

Most of the buried structure would be for living in. Shielded from most of the harsh solar wind (cosmic rays) by the lunar soil covering them. Almost as good as the 62 miles (100 km) of air we have on Earth.

[@jocktulloch3499]

There was a story about brainstorming for a navgation system for the rover, since the moon has no magnetic field a compas wouldn't work. Finally in an amazing leap of insight, someone said, there will only be one set of tire tracks there, so if you get lost, just turn around and follow your tracks back to base.

[@lauriesue2244]

My husband and I had the privilege of eating with the buggy project supervisor who worked in Kent, WA in the 60’s and 70’s. What exciting times back then, which we hope the new generations are beginning to grasp and appreciate.

[@M8Stealth]

We need to take some fresh Milwaukee M18 batteries to the moon and drive the buggy around again.

[@Channelscruf]

The most trusted historian on KZbin just destroyed the Moon conspiracy nuts. Delicious. Also, great video.

[@gonebamboo4116]

Just take a close look at the moon's surface directly below the LEM's engine nozzle where there should be a blast crater. Tells you all you need to know. Van Allen radiation belts, astronaut body language at press conferences as well as conflicting testimonials about noise, lost telemetry, etc.

[@chloehennessey6813]

@@gonebamboo4116stop. Every astronaut takes radiation. They time the passage to take the least amount. Pick up a telescope you effing Neanderthal.

[@aemrt5745]

Yep. Its actually pretty easy to dismantle all the conspiracy theories. I am an Engineer and have worked in the space program (though too young for Apollo). Every single one of the theories is an utter joke. It is really sad people fall for that nonsense.

[@gonebamboo4116]

@@aemrt5745 in This is good, I hope you can help. Can you help me to know the approximate velocity of exhaust gas as it exits the rocket engine of the LEM please?

[@aemrt5745]

@@gonebamboo4116 It is interesting. Your comment to me is shadow banned (I had to find it). I also notice you reply with the same response elsewhere in this thread. I have wasted my time answering theorists questions before. The result? They either ignore the reaponse that destroyes their arguments, or throw insults. I do not bother any more, because it is dogma to you guys, and facts / logic do not work.

[@TerryClarkAccordioncrazy]

Your view of history is so wide and so fascinating.

[@RockinRobbins13]

Level Earth Observer: the gift that keeps on giving!

[@skyserf]

Good Morning History Guy

[@CodyBrumfield1]

I was really curious recently about the Michaud plant in New Orleans that has been in operation since the 60’s. Maybe too specialized for a general history channel but it’s history I’d like know for the first time and then remember.

[@rollinwithunclepete824]

July 16 is my birthday... I'm not telling saying which one occurred on July 16, 1969 except to say it was greater than my 5th. Thanks Lance!

[@RRaquello]

Unfortunately, since the TV camera was mounted on the rover, besides about a five second shot of Dave Scott driving the rover away after they unloaded it on Apollo 15, there was no live TV shots of the rover driving around on the moon. When driving from station-to-station, they had to shut the TV camera off until they reached the next station, the switch it back on when it was parked and aim the antenna so it could send pictures back to earth. Whenever you see the rover driving, it's always on 16MM film that wasn't seen till the astronauts returned home where it could be developed. One of the more ingenious features of the rover was the cooling system for the batteries. It had to be light weight, so there couldn't be a dedicated cooling system. Instead they packed them in paraffin. As the batteries heated up, the paraffin would melt, absorbing the heat, and then when it was parked, as the paraffin solidified it would disperse the heat accumulated. A very low-tech solution for a high-tech problem.

[@aemrt5745]

Incredible and very clever engineering. As an Engineer, I look up to them and their work. It is inspiring.

[@M8Stealth]

MOLAB looks like the Wienermobile

[@steveaustin2686]

LOL

[@mikewithers299]

🤣🤣🤣

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

George Barris had designed prototypes for this vehicle. I saw the blueprints in the 80's!

[@ninjaswordtothehead]

I watched a documentary years ago where one of the lead designers showed the little RC rover model they used to convince von Braun to greenlight the project. He even had the original big GI Joe he had "borrowed" from his son to be the astonaut. It folded up and everything. It is an amazing piece of engineering.

[@markpimlott2879]

"...the USGS blew craters into a volcanic cinder field outside Flagstaff Arizona to create..." a realistic test site. 'Say what? 'Fantastic research, production, images and narration otherwise as always History Guy!! Thanks very much for your wonder-filled contributions to world 🌎 (& space) history and geography! 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦 🍁 🇨🇦

[@aemrt5745]

I'll bet someone at the USGS had a bunch of explosives from previous seismic testing and rock clearing, and (like a hammer seeing everything as a nail) saw an obvious method of simulating craters!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Yes- it is called “crater field” and it is near Sunset Crater National Monument. There are some pictures of the blasting here: www.azcentral.com/picture-gallery/travel/arizona/road-trips/2019/06/29/apollo-11-moon-landing-flagstaff-arizona-meteor-crater-lowell-observatory-cinder-lake-crater-photos/1603863001/

[@tobingallawa3322]

Assembled the model for this, lunar lander and a Saturn V that was about 2 feet tall

[@ArKritz84]

I recommend the LEGO Saturn V and LM.

[@Redmenace96]

Me, too. Always a fan of the Saturn V, but I hear that Musk is making a rocket bigger and with more thrust. Saturn V is the pinnacle of engineering and human endeavor. Am I a bad guy if I root for failure? I'm too old for my hero to be taken away from me! When you are no longer number one? You become a lightly viewed History Guy 20 min segment😓 😢😢

[@RRaquello]

@@Redmenace96 Theoretically, at least, the Russian N1 rocket was already bigger & with more thrust than the Saturn V. Unfortunately every N1 that was launched blew up. The most remarkable thing about the Saturn rockets is that every space vehicle launched in the Saturn series was a success. None of them blew up. Not the Saturn, Saturn 1B or Saturn V. That's more impressive than mere statistics about thrust.

[@h.dejong2531]

@@RRaquello The success of the Saturn was down to the fact that NASA could afford to build huge test stands where they could test-fire every stage of the Saturn V. The Russians didn't do this, and resorted to testing their stages by flying them instead. Those failures were not unexpected (they thought they'd need up to 14 launches to get the bugs out of the rocket).

[@RRaquello]

@@h.dejong2531 That sounds more expensive than doing it the way NASA did it. Plus it's bad publicity, though at the time the failures were hushed up so they remained just rumors for many years.

[@jsl151850b]

12:58 *Also.... they could just follow their tracks back to the LEM.* *There was one mission where the front steering failed and it had to be steered by the rear wheels.*

[@KevinT3141]

They could, but depending where they had already been it wouldn't be the shortest/quickest route back.

[@kspencerian]

The steering wheel failure was on Apollo 15, first use of the LRV. But later the issue cleared and all was good to go.

[@williamjensen365]

Amazing how many people have some kind of personal connection to the space program. My uncle owned the company that made those remarkable mesh wheels.

[@aemrt5745]

In my 50s. Became an Aerospace Engineer. Was taught and mentored by Apollo Professors and Engineers. Worked on Artemis. Was inspired by the awesome people who accomplished Apollo.

[@scholasticendeavor]

Kent, WA considers it to be one of their biggest claims to fame that the rover was built here. There's a children's playground based on it, it's on banners around town and they have a 1:1 model they keep inside the stadium.

[@passdasalt]

Imagine the balls to drive that thing 5 km from your base on the moon? I stress about getting a flat tire on my ebike in my own suburb.

[@hotrodandrube9119]

I think he said miles, which would be 8 km, which is even crazier!

[@m1t2a1]

The moon buggy in Diamonds Are Forever isn't on the list. It's pretty cool though, even when a wheel fell off.

[@reallyseriously7020]

Amazing to see these sharp and clear color pics. No idea they existed. Having only seen the blurry b&w footage. Thanks History Guy!

[@aemrt5745]

Back in the day, we only saw 2nd and 3rd generation analog copies of the photographs, motion picture film, and video. The limitations of the tech caused the copies to be of much lower quality than the originals. Now, digital copies have been made of the media and they are amazing. An example is the 70mm Hasselblad transparencies and film. There are online archives (including from Arizona State Univ) of HD scans of the originals. They rival digital in their clarity. Well worth looking into.

[@mattgeorge90]

Excellent episode!

[@NoahSpurrier]

The Lunokhod 1, a motorized vehicle, was operated on the Moon before Apollo 15.

[@chloehennessey6813]

Did a man drive it?

[@NoahSpurrier]

@@chloehennessey6813 No, but that requirement was not specified. Only a motorized vehicle was specified. Also, this video began the topic of motorized vehicles on the Moon by introducing the recent ISRO Pragyan Moon rover, which is also unmanned, so any distinction of being manned or unmanned was not clearly established if that had been the intent. From the video transcript: “This week attention was brought to Earth's only natural satellite as India successfully landed an unmanned probe including a lunar rover vehicle on the moon and that brings to mind the Apollo 15 Mission which 52 years ago this month was the first to operate a motorized vehicle on the moon…” I love The History Guy, but everyone makes mistakes. I was merely setting the history straight.

[@zounds010]

@@chloehennessey6813 Yes, via remote control from Earth.

[@RRaquello]

Who cares?

[@NoahSpurrier]

@@RRaquello Do you care?

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

Back in the Saddle Again Naturally!

[@larryfromwisconsin9970]

Interesting. In 1979 I was an Army soldier at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. We got a left over LRV and didn't really know what to do with it. We knew we couldn't sit on it, it was designed only for 1/6 gravity. The plan was to make it an unmanned security drone for driving around the Fort's ammunition storage facility. I guess if all the LRVs are accountable then it must have been recovered for a museum.

[@h.dejong2531]

What you got was probably one of the training vehicles. These looked like the LRV but were built for use on Earth.

[@jamesgomez9074]

Finally something I find interesting!!! Thank you!!!