Apollo 15

The words

1. Al Worden

   Al Worden was Apollo 15’s command module pilot. While Scott and Irwin explored the surface, he conducted lunar observations and photography from orbit, extending the mission’s science beyond the landing site.

   NASA: Apollo 15’s surface exploration (opens a new tab)

2. Apennines

   The lunar Apennine mountains rose beside Apollo 15’s landing area. Scott and Irwin flew over the range during their descent, then explored the nearby plains and mountain slopes with the rover.

   NASA: Apollo 15’s surface exploration (opens a new tab)

3. Captain Cook

   Apollo 15’s command module took the name Endeavour from the ship that carried Captain James Cook on scientific voyages in the eighteenth century. The spacecraft’s name linked lunar exploration with an earlier sea expedition.

   Orloff: Apollo 15 spacecraft names (opens a new tab)

4. Deep Space EVA

   EVA means extravehicular activity: work outside a spacecraft.

   On the journey home, Worden left Endeavour to retrieve film cassettes from cameras in the service module. Apollo 15 made this the first spacewalk performed between the Moon and Earth.

   NASA: Apollo 15 mission details (opens a new tab)

5. Endeavour

   Endeavour was Apollo 15’s command module. Falcon docked with it after leaving the surface, reuniting the crew before the return flight and Worden’s retrieval of the orbital camera film.

   Did you know?

   Falcon referred to the U.S. Air Force Academy’s mascot. Apollo 15’s three astronauts all served in the Air Force, and their lunar module’s name reflected that shared background.

   NASA: Apollo 15 mission details (opens a new tab) · Orloff: Apollo 15 spacecraft names (opens a new tab)

6. Falcon Feather

   Scott dropped a falcon feather beside a geological hammer near the end of Apollo 15’s final moonwalk. They reached the surface together because the Moon’s near-vacuum offered virtually no air resistance.

   NASA: the hammer-and-feather demonstration (opens a new tab)

7. Galileo

   Scott’s hammer-and-feather demonstration illustrated Galileo’s conclusion that objects fall alike without air resistance. On Earth, air slows a feather much more than a hammer; the lunar setting made their shared acceleration visible.

   NASA: the hammer-and-feather demonstration (opens a new tab)

8. Genesis Rock

   Lunar sample 15415 became known as the Genesis Rock. Geologists studied it for clues to the Moon’s ancient crust, although it was not the oldest rock returned by the Apollo astronauts.

   NASA: the Genesis Rock sample (opens a new tab)

9. Hadley

   Hadley Rille, a lunar canyon, lay beside Apollo 15’s landing area near the Apennines. Scott and Irwin drove to its rim to photograph the opposite wall and collect geological samples.

   NASA: Apollo 15’s surface exploration (opens a new tab)

10. Jim Irwin

    Jim Irwin explored the Moon with David Scott using Apollo 15’s electric rover. The vehicle carried them on three traverses, letting the pair reach more widely separated geological sites than walking alone.

    Did you know?

    The rover’s tires were woven from metal wire, with titanium strips providing traction. Its wheels had no rubber air-filled tires like those on an ordinary car.

    NASA: the lunar rover and its wheels (opens a new tab)

11. Lee Silver

    Geologist Lee Silver coordinated field training for Scott, Irwin and their backups. Trips to volcanic terrain helped prepare them to examine and collect lunar rocks during Apollo 15.

    Did you know?

    Some exercises included a simulated science support room in Houston. Scientist-astronauts acted as capsule communicators, helping the field crews rehearse the exchanges they would use during lunar exploration.

    NASA: Apollo 15’s geology training (opens a new tab)

12. Scott

    David Scott commanded Apollo 15, the first mission to drive a rover on the Moon. He and Irwin used it to collect samples and document geological features beyond their landing craft.

    NASA: Apollo 15 mission details (opens a new tab)

13. SIM Bay

    SIM stood for Scientific Instrument Module.

    This equipment compartment in the service module held instruments and cameras for studying the Moon from orbit. Its camera film had to be retrieved outside the spacecraft before the journey ended.

    NASA: Apollo 15 mission details (opens a new tab)

14. Spur Crater

    During their second rover excursion, Scott and Irwin stopped at Spur Crater. Among the samples they collected there was a white crystalline rock later given the name Genesis Rock.

    NASA: Apollo 15’s surface exploration (opens a new tab)

15. Statuette

    Scott left a small statuette and memorial plaque on the Moon to honor astronauts and cosmonauts who had died in the line of duty. The memorial was described publicly after the flight.

    NASA: Apollo 15’s surface exploration (opens a new tab)