![]() ![]() Each wheel had its own 0.25-horsepower motor. At one point a spare guard had to be fashioned out of a notebook cover because the original had been damaged. The rover kicked up the regolith and would not have been operable without the dust guards. The Moon's fine dusty regolith covered everything. An important feature was the dust guard for each wheel. The chevron-shaped treads were made of titanium. ![]() ![]() The wheels were a woven mesh about 23 centimeters (9 inches) wide that was made of zinc-coated steel strands with aluminum rims and disks. The suspension consisted of a double horizontal wishbone torsion bar. Communications were aided by a large metal dish antenna mounted on the back. Adjustable footrests, Velcro seat belts, and an armrest between the seats were important features. There were two foldable aluminum seats with nylon webbing. The frames were made of aluminum alloy tubing, and the chassis was hinged in the middle so that the rover could be folded up and fit in the lunar module. Each one weighed about 204 kilograms (450 pounds) and could carry about 454 kilograms (1,000 pounds). Rovers were sent on Apollo 15, 16, and 17. These rovers were built by the Boeing Company and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The primary purpose of the Apollo lunar rovers was to transport the astronauts, saving their energy and oxygen supplies for collecting rock samples to bring back to Earth. Under current conditions, the need has been for small robotic vehicles rather than a vehicle to transport humans. In forty-five years of spaceflight and exploration, there have only been six rovers: three Apollo mission lunar rovers, two Russian Lunokhods, and one Sojourner rover on Mars. ![]()
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