Earth's Atmosphere and
Beyond
Pioneers and innovators

James Irwin
1930-1991

    James Irwin was one of the first men to use a lunar rover to move around on the moon and collect samples of the surface with the help of the rover to be studied here on earth. He was selected as a crew commander of the Lunar Module (LTA-8). He was one of the lunar module pilots for Apollo in 1971.
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
  		 Irwin was on the first mission to explore the moon's Hadley Rille and Apennine Mountains. While on this trip Irwin and fellow astronaut David R. Scott stayed on the surface of the moon for over 66 hours, setting a new record for lunar surface stay times. 
 
 

 

 
 
  		 Irwin and Scott also logged over 18 hours outside the lunar module while collecting lunar surface samples and performing a selenological inspections. Irwin made three separate trips away form the lunar module and moved around on the earth's surface in the "Rover-1". The Apollo 15 mission that he was one was the first to use the "Rover-1". 
 
 

 

 
 		 The "Rover-1" was a faster way to travel on the earth's surface. This vehicle kept the astronauts from using up their oxygen from walking and also allowed for the transfer of larger amounts of surface material back to the lunar module.

 
 
 
 

    James Irwin was only the eight person to walk on the moon. He went on to receive many awards and medals for his work with NASA and the Air Force. Before dieing in 1991 of a heart attack he even started  a church and gave much of his time to spreading the Christian religion.


 
 
 

By: Kevin Webb
 
 

References:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jbirwin.htm
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/irwin-jb.html
http://www.thespacerace.com/irwin.html