This NASA-approved shirt features the main control panel of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) better known as the “Moon Buggy”.
The Moon Buggy has the unique distinction of being the first manned-automobile to ever turn a wheel on a celestial body other than the Earth.
This t-shirt is the first in a series that Silodrome will be developing with full NASA approval, each t-shirt will feature either a vehicle or a control panel from the earliest days of spaceflight to the modern day.
The Moon Buggy Control Panel t-shirt has the famous NASA “meatball” logo on the front left chest area and the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) control panel on the back.
The Moon Buggy Control Panel
A T-shaped hand controller situated between the two seats controlled the four drive motors, two steering motors and brakes. Moving the stick forward powered the LRV forward, left and right turned the vehicle left or right, pulling backwards activated the brakes.
Activating a switch on the handle before pulling back would put the LRV into reverse. Pulling the handle all the way back activated a parking brake. The control and display modules were situated in front of the handle and gave information on the speed, heading, pitch, and power and temperature levels.
Navigation was based on continuously recording direction and distance through use of a directional gyro and odometer and inputting this data to a computer which would keep track of the overall direction and distance back to the LM. There was also a Sun-shadow device which could give a manual heading based on the direction of the Sun, using the fact that the Sun moved very slowly in the sky.
Additional information courtesy of NASA
About The T-Shirt
T-shirts are a wardrobe staple for many of us, instead of buying and wearing mass-produced sweatshop t-shirts we wanted to offer an alternative – 100% of all profits generated from these t-shirt sales goes directly to keeping Silodrome online.
Silodrome is an independent website with no corporate overlords, these sales will ensure that the site survives and thrives as we all roll further into the 21st century.
Each of these t-shirts is made from an exceptionally comfortable 60/40 blend of cotton and poly. The fabric is both combed and ringspun for a soft texture and a premium feel.
Warranty, Satisfaction & Returns
The talented team at Bonfire in Richmond, Virginia will be handling all printing, shipping, and returns. If you’re unhappy with your t-shirt, the team at Bonfire have industry leading customer support ready to fix any issues and solve any problems.
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
