Wheels on the moon

There is a past with wheeled vehicles—both robotic and with human passengers—riding on the lunar surface. And, if all goes well, more wheeled vehicles will roll across the moon in the future.

Lunakhod 1: First, but no cosmonauts aboard.

Apollo and Lunakhod

The first wheeled lunar rover was the unmanned Soviet Lunakhod 1. It was carried to the surface by Luna 17 in 1970. The vehicle explored the Sea of Rains with an array of four TV cameras and a number of scientific instruments.

The Americans came in second with wheels on the moon. But the American lunar rover carried two astronauts. In 1971, Dave Scott and Jim Irwin became the first people ever to ride on wheels on another world. The next two Apollo crews also rode rovers.

After the Apollo moon landings came to an end, the Soviets sent  Lunakhod 2 to the moon. In its journeys (in 1973), this vehicle covered a lot of ground—about 23 miles!

The Apollo 15 crew brought a sporty set of wheels with them.

Looking ahead

NASA’s successor to the Shuttle program (called Constellation) includes plans to send people back to the moon—and a new set of wheels with them. The next lunar rover is planned to be bigger and more sophisticated than the Apollo “lunar buggy”.

Another interesting prospect—an unmanned lunar rover visiting the Apollo 11 landing site. One private company plans to send such a craft, and send back high-definition images. Whether or not they can pull it off is a question.