This is a miniature license plate for the Lunar Roving Vehicle, otherwise known as the Moon Rover. It was flown to the moon in the pocket of Apollo 15 Mission Commander Dave Scott, and it was on him when he became the first person to drive a vehicle on the surface of another world.
The plate is made from aluminum alloy and measures in at 1.25″ x 0.75″, it has the faux-registration number “LRV 001” as well as the NASA logo and the Boeing logo – the company that made the Moon Rover.
Above Video: This is a short overview of the Apollo 15 mission that took place in 1971. It was the most ambitious mission to date, and the first with a Lunar Roving Vehicle.
History Speedrun: The Lunar Roving Vehicle
The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), commonly referred to as the Moon Rover or Moon Buggy, was a battery-powered, four-wheeled electric vehicle developed to extend the range of astronauts on the lunar surface during the later Apollo missions.
First used on the Apollo 15 mission in July 1971, the Rover marked a significant step forward in the field of lunar exploration by allowing astronauts to travel much farther from their landing site than they could when they were on foot.
Developed by Boeing in cooperation with Delco Electronics, the LRV weighed ~460 lbs (210 kgs) and could carry a payload of over 1,000 lbs (455 kgs), including two astronauts, their equipment, and their collected lunar samples.
The rover had a lightweight aluminum alloy frame, independent four-wheel suspension, and wire mesh wheels with titanium chevrons for traction on the Moon’s regolith (the fine dust on the surface). Power was provided by two 36 volt silver-zinc potassium hydroxide non-rechargeable batteries. The LRV could reach a maximum speed of roughly 8 mph (13 km/h), though typical operating speeds were slower due to safety concerns.
Apollo 15, the first mission to use the LRV, launched on July the 26th, 1971, and landed on July the 30th in the Hadley-Apennine region, near the Apennine Mountains and Hadley Rille on the lunar surface. This area was chosen for its high concentration of geological features which had piqued NASA scientists’ interest.
A small number of these miniature license plates for the Lunar Roving Vehicle were made. They were flown to the moon in the pocket of Apollo 15 Mission Commander Dave Scott, and it was on him when he became the first person to drive a vehicle on the surface of another world.
The crew consisted of Commander David Scott, Lunar Module Pilot James Irwin, and Command Module Pilot Alfred Worden. Scott and Irwin spent a total of 18.5 hours on three separate moonwalks, using the LRV to cover 17.5 miles (28 kms) of lunar terrain – by far the most of any astronaut on the Moon’s surface before or since.
The rover significantly increased the capabilities of their surface operations – it allowed Scott and Irwin to collect over 170 lbs (77 kgs) of lunar samples from multiple geological features that would have been inaccessible on foot. One of the mission’s most famous scientific returns was the “Genesis Rock,” a piece of anorthosite believed to be over four billion years old, offering insights into the Moon’s early crust formation.
In addition to transporting astronauts and samples, the LRV was also a mobile platform for scientific equipment. It carried a television camera that could be remotely controlled by Mission Control in Houston, allowing Earth-based observers to view the rover’s movements and the astronauts’ activities in real time. It also held tools for soil mechanics, a lunar drill, and devices for measuring solar wind and magnetic fields.
The success of the LRV contributed directly to the achievements of Apollo 16 and Apollo 17, the latter of which also used versions of the vehicle. Each LRV was left on the Moon at the conclusion of its mission – all three remain there to this day, their aluminum frames and instrumentation slowly deteriorating under extreme temperature fluctuations and micrometeoroid impacts.
The “LRV001” Lunar Rover License Plate Shown Here
The miniature license plate you see here was made for the first LRV, and as mentioned higher up, it was flown into space and onto the surface of the Moon in Mission Commander Dave Scott’s left space suit knee pocket. A small number of these plates were made as mementos, and this is the first one we have seen come up for sale.
The license plate comes with an engraved plaque that reads: “Flown to the lunar surface aboard ‘Falcon’ (Apollo 15)/ July 26 – August 2, 1971/ David Scott – Commander/ Alfred Worden – CMP/ James Irwin – LMP”.
Commander Scott had these license plates on his person when he became the first person in history to drive the LRV, or any vehicle, on the surface of another world.
This license plate is now due to roll across the auction block with Heritage Auctions with a 7.75″ x 9.75″ signed photograph of Scott and an engraved plaque that reads: “Flown to the lunar surface aboard ‘Falcon’ (Apollo 15)/ July 26 – August 2, 1971/ David Scott – Commander/ Alfred Worden – CMP/ James Irwin – LMP”.
If you’d like to read more or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions
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