Apollo 15 (July 26 – August 7, 1971) was the fourth crewed mission to
land on the Moon. It was the first
J mission, with a longer stay on the
Moon and a greater focus on science, including the first
Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV).
David Scott and
James Irwin landed near
Hadley Rille and spent
18+1⁄2 hours on
extravehicular activity (EVA), collecting 170 pounds (77 kg) of surface material. At the same time,
Alfred Worden orbited the Moon, operating the sensors in the SIM bay of the
service module. During the return trip, Worden performed the first spacewalk in deep space. The Apollo 15 mission splashed down safely, with all goals accomplished, but was marred when it emerged that
the crew had carried unauthorized postal covers to the lunar surface, some of which were sold by a West German stamp dealer. The crew was reprimanded for poor judgment, and did not fly in space again. The mission also saw the collection of the
Genesis Rock, thought to be part of the Moon's early
crust, and Scott used a hammer and a feather to demonstrate
Galileo's theory that absent air resistance, objects fall at the same rate regardless of mass. This photograph, taken by Scott during an EVA on August 2, shows Irwin giving a military salute beside the U.S. flag. The
lunar module "Falcon" is in the center, with the LRV on the right.
Photograph credit: David Scott / Johnson Space Center; restored by Bammesk and Basile Morin