Driving on the Moon

Nearly obscured by earlier Moon landings – especially Apollo 11 – Apollo missions 15, 16 and 17 had the most significant scientific and exploration return of all their predecessors. Their astronauts stayed longer on the Moon and went further to collect samples and conduct experiments – courtesy of the remarkable lunar roving vehicle, LRV.

These lunar excursions 50-or-so years ago in fact mark the apogee of human exploration – no humans have been as far from the Earth since. Earl Swift’s new book Across the Airless Wilds examines the triumph of these missions and of their LRVs, the engineering marvel that made the difference.

RiSAus editor-in-chief Ian Connellan – a true Apollo tragic – talked to Swift about the final three Apollo missions, and the LRV – the extraordinary invention that pushed human exploration to unsurpassed limits.

Across the Airless Wilds is released in Australia as an e-book today, and will be available in Australian bookshops in October. The first-edition hardcover book is released in the United States today.

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