This is a full-size model of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) prototype. The LRV is a battery-operated space exploration vehicle designed to move across the Moon’s surface. Three LRVs were deployed with Apollo 15, 16, and 17 (1971-1972) and are still on the lunar surface. It is popularly called the Moon buggy, a play on the term dune buggy.

Built by Boeing in 17 months, each LRV has a mass of 460 pounds (210 kg) without payload. It can carry a maximum payload of 1,080 pounds (490 kg), including two astronauts, equipment, and lunar samples. The LRV was designed for a top speed of 8 miles per hour (13 km/h), although it achieved a top speed of 11.2 miles per hour (18.0 km/h) on its last mission, Apollo 17.

Each LRV was carried to the Moon folded up in the Lunar Module’s Quadrant 1 Bay. After being unpacked, each was driven an average of 30 km without major incident.

Pictures:

•Apollo 16: A photograph of Apollo 16 astronauts Charlie Duke (foreground) and John Young, along with a team of NASA engineers, inspecting their rover as it’s being prepared for flight.

•LRV Deploy: An illustrated sequence showing how astronauts deploy a lunar rover from a lunar module.

•LVR John Young: Works at the LRV near the LM Orion on Apollo 16 in April 1972.