The Moon has captured the imagination of humans on the Earth for millennia.  In the 19th and 20th century, men wrote fantastic tales of actually going there to explore its mysteries.  Science fact soon caught up with science fiction. Technology and national will drove the Soviet Union and the United States to send probes there.  Geopolitical events launched the space race between the two countries, and the greatest prize was to land a man on the Moon and return him safely.  It would mean unimagined national prestige and proof of that country's technological prowess.

To get the necessary payload there and the crews would take a massive rocket. The Russians secretly worked on theirs, while the United States openly worked on its Saturn V. Overcoming all technical challenges, the first unmanned Saturn V was launched on November 9, 1967.  After another successful unmanned launch of the Saturn V, the United States made the bold decision to send the first manned crew on the third Saturn V to the Moon for Apollo 8. Apollo 9 and 10 validated the equipment that would need to go to the Moon and return the astronauts safely.

On July 16, 1969 Apollo 11 launched the crew toward the Moon with a rendesvous with destiny and history. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The Soviet Union had failed to develop their super booster, but pursued unmanned missions to the Moon, marked by the Lunokhod rover program.  America had even bigger goals in mind and NASA began a program to develop a rover the astronauts could drive on the Moon.

The Lunar Roving Vehicle would permit the Apollo crews to venture far from the lunar module and make even greater discoveries regarding the formation and composition of the Moon. Boeing won the contract to develop the rover and raced against a tight deadline to deliver LRV-1 in time for Apollo 15. That mission with Commander David R. Scott and James B. Irwin proved to be a stunning success thanks to the Lunar Roving Vehicle.  Apollo 16 and 17 proved the absolute need for a rover for crews to use on the Moon.  Future missions to the Moon will use even more capable rovers. Click on the links to the right to learn more about Apollo 15, 16 and 17.