Planets and Moons ID: 4918

Apollo 15 Stand-Up EVA

Visualizations by Ernie Wright Released on July 30, 2021

Apollo 15 landed on the Moon at 5:16 p.m. Houston time (22:16 UTC) on July 30, 1971. Two hours later, Commander Dave Scott and Lunar Module Pilot Jim Irwin depressurized the cabin of the Lunar Module and opened the top hatch. Scott then stood on the ascent engine cover, poked his head through the hatch, and for the next 25 minutes described and photographed the terrain of their landing site in the Hadley-Apennine region. This was the stand-up extravehicular activity (SEVA), an opportunity to quickly survey and report on the lunar landscape they'd be exploring over the next three days.

For the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 15 mission, the video presented here uses elevation maps and images from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to visualize the Hadley-Apennine terrain. The camera pans across the Apennine mountains and Hadley Rille that border the region, then flies low over the surface to features that were explored up-close by the astronauts. The visuals are matched to audio excerpts of Commander Scott's descriptions during the SEVA.

Because of its unique timing, Apollo 15 was the only mission to include a stand-up EVA. It was also the first of three missions to bring a lunar rover, an electric Moon car that allowed the astronauts to travel a total of 17 miles (28 km) and collect 170 pounds (77 kg) of samples.

Pan: With the view centered on the landing site, the camera flies in a slow circle to show the features surrounding the lunar module. These include Mons Hadley to the northeast, 2.6 miles (4.1 kilometers) above the plain; Mons Hadley Delta to the south; St. George, a large crater in the side of Hadley Delta; Hadley Rille, 600 feet (200 meters) deep; Bennett Hill; Hill 305; the south secondary crater complex; and Pluton crater.

Visualization Credits

Ernie Wright (USRA):
Lead Visualizer

David Ladd (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.):
Lead Producer
Lead Video Editor

Noah Petro (NASA/GSFC):
Lead Scientist

Laurence Schuler (ADNET Systems, Inc.):
Technical Support

Ian Jones (ADNET Systems, Inc.):
Technical Support

Please give credit for this item to:

NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Music provided by Universal Production Music: "Spread Our Wings" – Ben Beiny

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Missions:
Apollo
LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter)

Data Used:

LRO/LROC/Narrow Angle Camera also referred to as: NAC

2013-04-21

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LRO/LROC NAC/Stereo DEM

Model - 2019-08-27

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LRO/Wide Angle Camera also referred to as: LROC WAC

Observed Data

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LRO/SELENE/LOLA/TC/DIgital Elevation Model also referred to as: SLDEM2015

Model

A digital elevation model of the Moon derived from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter and the SELENE Terrain Camera. See the description in Icarus. The data is here.

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