Lunar Rover drives on the moon during Apollo 15 mission on July 31, 1971.

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On July 31, 1971, the Boeing-built Lunar Rover Vehicle is deployed for the first time, one day after the Apollo 15 lands on the moon. The four-wheeled electric cart, which could accelerate to nearly 9 m.p.h. on level ground, transports astronauts David Scott and James Irwin on three days of exploration in the vicinity of the moon's Hadley Rille and Apennine Mountains.

The Lunar Rover performed flawlessly and was employed on the following and final Apollo 16 and 17 missions. The three Rovers remain parked (overtime?) on the lunar surface.

Sources:
Lunar and Planetary Institute, NASA (http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo.html).

By Walt Crowley, July 15, 1999

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Apollo moon buggy, designed and built by Boeing in Kent, WA
Courtesy NASA