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Discussion » Questions » Science and Technology » Do you think the three Lunar Rovers from the Apollo missions that were left on the moon would still work?
Element 99

Do you think the three Lunar Rovers from the Apollo missions that were left on the moon would still work?

Posted - July 13, 2022
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Responses


  • 52954

     

      Perhaps not fully functional, maybe less than 15% operational throughout all of their various systems, especially if their main power is from batteries. I doubt the battery would still remain charged this long. The tires may have already lost their air and/or the synthetic “rubber” deteriorated by now. Wiring and its insulation probably fell apart long ago. Etc.
    ~

      July 13, 2022 9:55 AM MDT
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  • 13260
    Even if they do, who would use them?
      July 13, 2022 10:10 AM MDT
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  • 10469
    If they were American made, no.  American made products come with a specific warranty expiration date (e.g. 60 days, 90 days, 1 year, 5 years - limited).  On the very day after that warranty expires, so does the product.  This is to ensure that American union workers have jobs.
      July 13, 2022 11:48 AM MDT
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  • 1926
    Nope, The batteries are not rechargeable and the UV light from the Sun would destroy all plastic on the Land rovers. 
      July 13, 2022 3:54 PM MDT
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  • 13260
    Land Lunar
      August 2, 2022 5:36 PM MDT
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  • 10054
    Did we really leave our trash on the moon? 

    Remember the PSA from the 70s with the American Indian with the tear streaming down his cheek because of litter? That deeply imprinted on me, I think.
      July 13, 2022 4:54 PM MDT
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  • 10541
    Yeah those ads imprinted on me too. Bet he would be crying buckets of tears these days. Cheers! This post was edited by Nanoose at July 13, 2022 5:48 PM MDT
      July 13, 2022 5:27 PM MDT
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  • 10054
    We've made quite a mess of things, I'm afraid. 
      July 13, 2022 5:32 PM MDT
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  • 52954


      I recently read that concerning the actor who portrayed that character, it was discovered that he’s not Native American at all, he was born in Italy. After having earned tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars on his career, the bulk of of which from the anti-pollution ads, he packed up and moved back to Italy in his retirement. It did not specify whether or not the ancestry information became known before or after his retirement and/or before or after his departure from the US.
    ~

      July 13, 2022 6:13 PM MDT
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  • 10054
    Not surprising, is it? Not all that many American Indian actors, especially in the 1970s! 

    He did a good job in those ads!


      August 2, 2022 6:49 PM MDT
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  • 52954
    Duplicate post. 
      August 2, 2022 11:16 PM MDT
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  • 13260
    But it's not as if moon junk did harm to anyone.
      August 2, 2022 5:38 PM MDT
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  • 10054
    I still don't like it! 

    :)
      August 2, 2022 6:50 PM MDT
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  • 10541
    Yeah I think they would just have to give them a dusting off and they would be good to go. Cheers!
      July 13, 2022 5:21 PM MDT
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  • 44239
    They would make really cool golf carts.
      July 13, 2022 5:49 PM MDT
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  • 16265
    Nope. The volatiles would have long since bled out of all the plastic and rubber parts, even if the batteries could be recharged.
      July 14, 2022 4:10 AM MDT
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  • 3684
    It's unlikely they'd have been designed with future use in mind so deterioration would not have matter.

    What a contrast with the deep-space probes that not only work fully when new, but keep working long after their expected service life - a great tribute to the scientists and engineers who designed them, and the technicians who made them.
      August 2, 2022 5:28 PM MDT
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