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In 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon and utter the famous phrase “It's a small step for man, but a big step for humanity.”. However, a mission that does not have the same spotlights is Apollo 15, responsible for taking the first of a series of vehicles suitable for locomotion on the surface of the Moon, the moon buggies. This would not be Man's first small step, but still responsible for humanity moving great distances on our natural satellite. e59b
The Apollo 15 mission, in 1971, was responsible for debuting the first lunar rover known as Lunar Roving Vehicle or, simply, Moon Buggy. The functions of the first car to land on the Moon are extremely basic, however, it demanded a huge effort of study at the time due to the difficulty of getting around on lunar soil considering the gravity less than that of our planet. But after all, what are these vehicles and what were their uses in missions?
The creation and features of Moon Buggy 5t2t5p
Tested on uneven ground on Earth in NASA projects, the Moon Buggy was conceived by guesswork and trial using projections of what the lunar terrain looks like, all without the accuracy of current engineering to stipulate how the vehicle would behave in low gravity and in a vacuum.
Even before humanity set foot on the Moon, projects for vehicles for locomotion on the natural satellite were already being thought of. In the early 60s, the director of the Marshall Space Flight Center from NASA claimed the need to build a vehicle that would allow displacement on the Moon and revealed that there were already studies being done by institutions such as Boeing, General Motors and several other engineering companies.
Without accurate data about the soil and conditions of the site, much of the Moon Buggy creation project was made from estimates without the necessary foundation that we have today. Finally, in 1964, NASA signed a contract with Bendix and Boing using General Motors laboratories to build what would be the first car suitable for lunar soil.
Despite all the problems faced at the time, the first means of transport made for locomotion outside planet Earth was successfully created. The Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle or Moon Buggy is a vehicle that uses battery electric and is specially made for low gravity operations on the Moon. The car is capable of traveling long distances in such a way as to facilitate the work of astronauts during missions to our natural satellite.
The first proposed version of the LRV (Lunar Roving Vehicle) resembled a tractor with large wheels, weighing about 10 tons, and later a pressurized cabin. Finally, there was a need to cut costs for the transport of this vehicle and its final version has 210 kg of mass, developed with the aim of carrying up to 490 kg, considering that the weight is influenced by the variation of the gravitational force, that is, the resulting weight force on these vehicles while on a mission to the Moon was substantially less than a vehicle carrying 490 kg of mass on terrestrial ground.
With two batteries that provided a voltage of 36 volts and a capacity of 121 ampere hours, the vehicle was able to reach a maximum speed of 13 km/h and a range of 92 km. For this locomotion, an electric motor of 0,18 kW was used with the driver of the car using a joystick to control the vehicle.
In addition, the Moon Buggies had several equipment that would be used to capture images and that would be useful to enable a safer trip for their crew. Its design was carried out considering different problems that included mobility, vehicle power, navigation, communication between the Moon Buggy and other astronauts on the mission, thermal protection against radiation from celestial bodies and its entire control system that should be simple enough. to assist astronauts during their journey.
These vehicles had the function of allowing greater mobility of the astronauts, allowing it to be possible to drive in the vicinity of the landing site to carry out geological observations, collect samples of rocks and soils and other diverse scientific experiments. One of the scientific instruments carried by the vehicle was a gravimeter, used for measuring and mapping the gravitational field.
Aiding both in the mobility of astronauts and in the displacement of scientific research equipment, the vehicles have become essential in the last missions of exploration of the Moon.
What missions were they used in? h2eh
Despite the countless efforts in the elaboration of these vehicles, there were not many occasions when they were used due to the high cost of transporting them and the fact that such missions took place at a time of crisis due to the expenses generated during the Cold War, which made it impossible to investment in this type of mission. Let's see which missions used Moon Buggies and how:
Apollo 15 5n6f13
The first mission to use the vehicle was Apollo 15, from the Apollo project, carried out by NASA. This was the fourth moon landing and the first intended to spend a longer stay on the lunar surface. The mission was launched by the Saturn V rocket on July 26, 1971, ending twelve days later on August 7, with lunar exploration being carried out for 4 days in between.
The vehicle's journey during exploration was towards the Hadley channel, with the car being extremely road tested and demonstrating an accurate navigation system. At other times of this mission, there were two new tours visiting Mount Hadley and again the channel for the collection of rock samples.
Apollo 16 e5t5h
The Apollo 16 mission was the penultimate time that humanity set foot on the Moon and the second time that Moon Buggies were used. Like its predecessor, the trip was made with the intention of staying for a longer period.
The lunar rover's trips had a total distance covered of 26 kilometers and were made in the visit to the Stone Mountains and the North Ray Crater, being carried out on the way the collection of geological samples much older than those acquired in the previous missions.
Apollo 17 6i6z49
Being the sixth and last manned mission to reach the Moon from the Apollo Project, the Apollo 17 mission was completed in December 1972. Being the mission that remained on the lunar surface for the longest time, Apollo 17 is until today the last manned trip out of Earth orbit.
The Moon Buggy was used on three trips through the Taurus-Littrow Valley in this mission. Such trips lasted a little over 7 hours each and during the lunar module's departure from the Moon, the vehicle was responsible for filming its takeoff towards Earth.
What is the future of lunar vehicles? h4460
The series of missions responsible for the future of space exploration is named after Apollo's sister in Greek mythology, Artemis. The Artemis program aims to establish a permanent base on the Moon and for that one of NASA's promises is the use of a new type of lunar vehicle to replace the Moon Buggies, after years of use in most of the agency's space activities.
Responsible for exploring hundreds of kilometers of the Moon's surface in individual, month-long missions, NASA is developing the Lunar Electric Rover. With a pressurized cabin and the shape of a truck with 12 wheels, the vehicle can be used as a dwelling, allowing astronauts to sleep in their internal environment for up to 14 days and even having toilet facilities — after all, fulfilling the basic needs is something important too.
In addition, another project announced in 2019 revealed a new vehicle that would be being developed by Toyota, in partnership with the Japanese space agency Jaxa, with the expectation that the vehicle will be ready to go to space in 2029. .6 meters wide, the future lunar car would be an SUV with a pressurized cabin capable of carrying up to four engers. The vehicle will have a fuel cell to generate its own energy for the electric motor batteries, allowing for a range of up to 5,20 kilometers.
See also:
We did a full article about the future of space exploration and a video telling why humanity has not gone to the moon more in recent decades. Check out the content below:
Sources: NASA, Wired e A Brief History of the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
