Apollo Lunar Module SHELAB and LTV

Apollo LM Labs

Mission Profile

Apollo Lunar Module SHELAB (Scientific-Hardware Equipment Lunar Application Bay) and LTV (Lunar Test Vehicle) were concept studies from the late 1960s exploring how the Apollo Lunar Module's descent stage could be repurposed as a mobile scientific laboratory for extended lunar surface stays. These concepts envisioned stripped-down or adapted LM descent stages serving as mobile bases, equipment carriers, or science platforms during extended Apollo missions. Neither was developed beyond the concept stage as the Apollo program was curtailed before the extended stay missions that would have used such equipment were funded. They represent the ambitious vision for a longer-term Apollo scientific presence that was never realized.