9/2/2023 0 Comments Nasa lunar rover![]() It can also cross, again from a standing start, 28-inch crevasses, even if both front wheels rest across the crevasse. So let's not quibble over a few million.Īs a result, the LRV was designed to negotiate, from a standing start, step-like obstacles 1-foot high with both front wheels in contact. And let's remember it went from a blank sheet of paper to NASA delivery in just 17 and a half months while the space suits alone took 60 months. ![]() And, what's more, they would be rechargeable.īut here's the thing: neither of these electric cars, nor any others you'll find on the highway, are capable of ferrying two astronauts, scientific equipment, and lunar soil and rock samples for around 78 hours straight some 238,900 miles from Earth in near vacuum at one-sixth of our gravity. Or you could you go wild with 1,051 Founders Series Tesla Roadsters (if they ever materialize) just like Elon Musk's personal one he shot into space. For the same money you could treat yourself to 6,655 Tesla Model 3s and still have spare change. This makes the LRV the definitive wallet-shattering single-use purchase, vehicle or otherwise. Once these batteries are flat, though, the buggy becomes useless.Īlso, at a final cost of $38 million for the four lunar rovers that were built for Apollo missions 15, 16, and 17 (the additional rover was used for spare parts), the buggy's total bill comes to a thumping $262.8 million in today's money. That's the same as driving from San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge to the city of San Jose. But it did achieve a heady 11.2 mph on its last mission, Apollo 17, at the end of 1972.įull range from the two 36-volt silver-zinc potassium hydroxide non-rechargeable batteries with a charge capacity of 121 amp hours each (a total of 242 Ah) is just 57 miles (92 km). Of course, these days we’re used to modern electric cars delivering impressive top speeds, but back in the 1970s the lunar buggy was designed to max out at just 8 mph traversing the moon's rugged surface. ![]() It can carry a max payload of 1,080 pounds (490 kg), including two astronauts, equipment, and lunar samples. ![]() Photograph: NASA/Underwood Archives/Getty Imagesīuilt by Boeing and General Motors for the last three missions of the Apollo program, the moon buggy is fantastically lightweight compared to modern electric vehicles, clocking in at just 460 pounds (210 kg) Earth weight (this translates to 77 pounds, or 35 kg, once on the moon). Astronaut Charles Duke Jr, Apollo 16 lunar module pilot, salutes the US flag at the Descartes landing site during the mission's first extravehicular activity on the moon, on April 21, 1972. ![]()
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