Mighty Mt. Hadley: Apollo 15 Landing Site | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Mighty Mt. Hadley: Apollo 15 Landing Site | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

An oblique view, looking east-to-west over the Apennine Mountains towards Hadley Rille (upper left), north is to the right. A long shadow is cast by mighty Mount Hadley (center right). Nestled between the Apennines and Hadley Rille lies Hadley Base, the landing site of Apollo 15. For scale, the v-shaped trough of Hadley Rille is roughly 1 km wide

Hadley Base and Mountain Ranges: Notable features of the Apennine Mountain Range include Mons Hadley, Mons Hadley Delta and the Swann Range; north is to the right

NASA Apollo 15 Falcon lunar lander tilting toward the Apennine Mountains in August 1971; AS15-86-11600

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Wide Angle Camera (WAC) GLD100 elevation overlain on a hillshade model of the Hadley-Apennine region (purple and blue are lower elevations, reds and yellows higher elevations). The peaks of the Apennine Mountains rise more than 5 km over the mare plains in the Imbrium basin

Apollo mission planners selected an adventurous landing site for Apollo 15 in August 1971, one located on a relatively small patch of lava plains (mare). This site is nestled between the towering Apennine mountains to the east, attaining heights of 3-5 km (~10,000-16,000 ft), and the 200-m deep v-shaped valley (~650 ft) of Hadley Rille to the west.

The experience gained from the successful landings of the preceding Apollo missions afforded mission controllers confidence that a landing descending through a mountain range was possible, although it required a steeper descent angle (25° rather than 14°).  The Hadley Rille landing site also presented an opportunity to test the capabilities of the new lunar roving vehicle (LRV).

The Apennine Mountain Range formed during the Imbrium basin-forming event, and it was hoped these mountains contained materials from very early in the Moon's history (they did). As astronauts Irwin and Scott descended over the Apennines, they reported a floating sensation that resulted from glimpsing mountain peaks passing by the windows of the Lunar Module (LM). The descent was a complete success, and the LM set down near the planned site. Although, the astronauts were a little surprised to land with one foot-pad in a small crater, placing the vehicle on a slant.

Three EVAs (or traverses) were planned for Apollo 15 using the LRV, two allowed sampling part of the Apennine Mountain Range to the south and southeast and required long (multi-kilometer) traverses. Astronauts Scott and Irwin were accomplished field geologists.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has made a 3-D map of the Moon's surface at 100-meter resolution and 98.2% coverage (excluding polar areas in deep shadow), including 0.5-meter resolution images of Apollo landing sites.

LRO has been studying the Moon from up close since 2009, making it the longest-lived lunar orbiting mission ever. The orbiter has mapped the Moon’s surface and measured its temperature, composition, and radiation environment in unprecedented detail. Data from LRO enables NASA, and our international and commercial partners, to select locations on the lunar surface where spacecraft and astronauts can safely land. The orbiter is also helping NASA identify areas near the Moon’s South Pole with crucial resources like water and extended sunlight that provides power for equipment and supports exploration activities.

Learn more about LRO:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lro/

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
Text Credit: J. Stopar
Release Date: June 18, 2014

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