In the Mountains of the Moon

Exactly 40 years ago today, a mammoth Saturn V rocket boosted Dave Scott, Jim Irwin, and Al Worden from earth to space, their destination the moon. Three previous moon landings had occurred; but no mission was like their mission, Apollo 15.

Apollo 15 would be first and significant in many ways. Unlike previous missions, Apollo 15's lunar module Falcon was equipped with a Lunar Roving Vehicle. More commonly called the "Rover", it was the first ever car on the moon. Unlike previous missions, Apollo 15 did more than visit the moon. Scott and Irwin didn't just collect a few rocks and head home. Instead, they set up camp at Hadley Rile (on the moon) for three days, using the Rover and other equipment to execute the most lunar geology to date. Above them in lunar orbit, Al Worden (in command module Endeavour) studied the moon at large, and in a big way helped choose the landing site for the final Apollo mission, Apollo 17.

More than any mission before them, Apollo 15 concentrated on lunar geology, study, and science. As you probably have figured out by now, it is my favorite mission ever! And since Apollo 15 is turning 40 today, I am especially excited. I've love to write a series of articles on Apollo 15, however I don't know if I'll have the time to do that. Anyways, included with this article is a very nice half-hour long NASA documentary on Apollo 15. It gives a very nice summery and overview, even though I don't agree with them on how the moon was formed! I will be featuring Al Worden's autobiography Falling to Earth in the September 2011 edition of Armchair Astronaut, but if you would like to learn more  about the mission before I find the time to tell you, below is a list of books and websites to check out.

~Photobug

P.S.--Remember, come to my actual blog to view this video.

List of books and websites on Apollo 15:

--Wikipedia

These books may not focus entirely on Apollo 15, but certainly give major coverage to the mission:

--Footprints in the Dust: The Epic Voyages of Apollo, 1969-1975 edited by Colin Burgess

--A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin

--Two Sides of the Moon : Our Story of the Cold War Space Race by Dave Scott and Alexei Leonov