Link to the video with sound
During the Apollo 16 mission in April 1972 the crew were tasked with putting the Lunar Roving Vehicle through a series of tests to asses its capabilities.
Commander John Young drove the electrically powered rover through a series of maneuvers—including S-turns, hairpin turns, hard stops, and acceleration to "high" speeds of roughly 6–11 mph (10–18 km/h)—while Charles Duke (lunar module pilot) filmed it with a 16 mm camera from a safe distance.
Original Source Footage: Apollo Flight Journal / Moonpans
by Busy_Yesterday9455
13 Comments
what I would give to be there
The way the tires kick up dust is really cool.
I’d be too scared to ride that, you hit a rock or a small dune and it could go drifting into space. 😬
Let’s kick up some dirt
So is it still on the moon? If so would it be possible to fix it and drive it again?
Insane fact: lunar dust rises in perfect ‘rooster tails’ because of the Moon’s 1/6 gravity. This video is one of the best pieces of evidence that we really landed on the Moon.
It’s still incredible to me that they literally took a buggy to the Moon and drove it around, whereas in 2026 we’re making tentative orbit-only missions.
We were a much braver and solid people back then.
This is bullshit
The new rainbow road track is coming along nicely.
If the next mission lands on the moon, perhaps they will encounter the vehicle. What the vehicle looks like now after 50 years.
If you’ve any fascination with the lunar rover, I recommend you read “Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings” by Earl Swift. A really detailed account of the design and operation of the rover and its role in the missions it participated in.
It seems like the horizon should be further away.
Fuck that is cool