Apollo17 Commander Eugene A. Cernan is mounting the best transportationsystem seen on the Moon in the last four and one-half billion years.The Lunar Rover is a unique product of American ingenuity, designedand built to perform one task very well. That single task is to movetwo American astronauts, their equipment and collected lunar samplesswiftly and safely from one geologic site to the next in support oftheir exploration of the Moon.
Geneand his teammate, astronaut geologist Harrison “Jack” Schmitt,are glad they have a Rover. Their landing site, Taurus Littrowvalley, is large and there are a number of important sites to beexplored, way too many and too far apart to do so on foot. They areon a tight timeline and everything is going pretty much as planned.
Genehas been going full out with four-wheel drive and fore and aftsteering most of the time. The four electric motors, one on eachwheel, produced about seven miles per hour. This may not sound likemuch, but with boulders and craters all about, Gene and Jack thoughtit was just right. In fact, Gene reported he could feel the rear endbreak loose in about half of the turns.
Thesuspension system was outstanding. “I negotiated some relativelygood-sized rocks, 10 to 12 inches or so, head on, and the vehiclejust walked right over these rocks without any difficulty at all. Iknow I would not want to try that in my SUV here on Planet Earth.”
Gene added,“It's a vehicle that you have to drive to get accustomed to. It'sone you approach slowly and then you begin to peak out. Before longyou begin to live up to the Rover's maximum performancecapabilities. The only drawback I can see is that to design and buildfour of them cost NASA 38 million dollars back in the 1970s. Eachwould be about 53 million in todays dollars.”
Owna unique and beautiful piece of lunar history, Alan Bean's "GettingReady to Ride," is painted by the first and only artist to visitanother world. Each canvas is signed by the legendary Apollo 12astronaut, moonwalker and artist ― each a work of art, each ahistoric document, each your own personal connection to traveling inspace. Own a Fine Art Edition Canvas by astronaut and explorer AlanBean and you will never look at the Moon the same way again.
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