Lunar Roving Vehicle

LRV

Mission Profile

Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is NASA's electric-powered four-wheeled rover used by Apollo astronauts on the Moon during missions Apollo 15, 16, and 17 between 1971 and 1972, enabling geological traverses far beyond walking range from the lander. Built by Boeing with a maximum speed of about 13 km/h, the collapsible LRV stowed in the lunar module descent stage quadrant and deployed on the surface, weighing only 210 kg but carrying up to 490 kg of crew, equipment, and samples. The three Apollo LRVs collectively drove 90 km of lunar surface and extended the scientifically productive range of each mission to tens of kilometers, enabling sample collection from diverse geological units. The Apollo 17 LRV holds the lunar land speed record of 18 km/h set by Gene Cernan.