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July 25, 2016 - The First Parking Job on the Moon

The First Parking Job on the Moon  Astronaut David R. Scott kicks up a dusty cloud of lunar regolith during Apollo 15, the fourth crewed landing and first of three missions to utilize the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). Launched forty-five years ago this week, Apollo 15 took three days to reach the Moon. Astronauts Scott and James Irwin landed the lunar module Falcon at Hadley Rille on July 30, leaving Alfred Worden in lunar orbit in the command module Endeavour. The LRVs greatly extended the range that Apollo astronauts could explore, with Scott and Irwin traversing a total of 27.8 km (17.3 mi) in three hours of driving time over the course of three EVAs. Scott and Irwin departed the lunar surface on August 2, leaving the Falcon’s descent stage, five science packages, and the LRV behind.

Image credit: NASA

Weekly Calendar

July 25-31, 2016

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

 

Moon phase Monday 25

1978: Viking 2 orbiter ceases operation
1984: Svetlana Savitskaya becomes first woman to walk in space
2000: Zvezda Service Module docks with International Space Station

Moon phase Tuesday 26

Last Qtr Moon 7:00 PM ET
Uranus 3° north of Moon

1958: Explorer IV launched
1971: Apollo 15 launched, fourth lunar landing mission, first mission to use lunar rover
2005: STS-114 Discovery launched

Moon phase Wednesday 27

Moon at perigee

Moon phase Thursday 28

Delta Aquarid meteor shower

1851: First photo of total solar eclipse
1964: Ranger 7 lunar probe launched
1973: Skylab 3 crew launched on 59-day mission

Moon phase Friday 29

Aldebaran 0.3° south of Moon
Delta Aquarid meteor shower

1985: STS-51F Challenger launched

Moon phase Saturday 30

Mercury 0.3° north of Regulus
Uranus appears stationary

1965: SA-10 launched, last Saturn 1 vehicle
1971: Apollo 15 lands on Moon

Moon phase Sunday 31

1969: Mariner 6 flies by Mars
1971: First vehicle driven on Moon by Apollo 15 astronauts Scott & Irwin
1992: STS-46 Atlantis launched
1999: Lunar Prospector mission ends

Suggestions for new history dates or better links? Corrections for errors on this page? Please e-mail me.