In 1972, Apollo 17 carried astronauts Eugene Cernan and Jack Schmitt to the Moon. Folded up in their spacecraft, they carried with them the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) - a battery-powered four-wheeled rover developed for the Apollo program to aid in lunar exploration. Lunar expeditions needed a method to maximize the astronauts’ efficiency. This could only be achieved by a vehicle that could navigate the Moon’s complex and challenging terrain.
During Apollo 17’s lunar expedition, Eugene Cernan’s hammer caught the rear fender, accidentally breaking it off. With the nearest repair shop thousands of miles away, a makeshift replacement was crafted by the astronauts from duct-tape, clamps and lunar maps.
From cardboard, duct tape and maps and found objects, Buckland has crafted a replica of the LRV as tribute to the ingenuity of NASA and the historic achievements of Cernan and Schmitt on Apollo 17 which would be the final lunar mission.
“8:36 P.M. EST, December 12, 1972: Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt braked to a stop alongside Nansen Crater, keenly aware that they were far, far from home. They had flown nearly a quarter-million miles to the man in the moon’s left eye, landed at its edge, and then driven five miles into this desolate, boulder-strewn landscape. As they gathered samples, they strode at the outermost edge of mankind’s travels. This place, this moment, marked the extreme of exploration for a species born to wander.”
Swift,E. (2021). Across the airless wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings.
LRV (Across the Airless Wilds)
2025
Cardboard, steel, wood, found objects, duct tape, lunar maps
1100 x 2300 x 3000mm
During Apollo 17’s lunar expedition, Eugene Cernan’s hammer caught the rear fender, accidentally breaking it off. With the nearest repair shop thousands of miles away, a makeshift replacement was crafted by the astronauts from duct-tape, clamps and lunar maps.
From cardboard, duct tape and maps and found objects, Buckland has crafted a replica of the LRV as tribute to the ingenuity of NASA and the historic achievements of Cernan and Schmitt on Apollo 17 which would be the final lunar mission.
“8:36 P.M. EST, December 12, 1972: Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt braked to a stop alongside Nansen Crater, keenly aware that they were far, far from home. They had flown nearly a quarter-million miles to the man in the moon’s left eye, landed at its edge, and then driven five miles into this desolate, boulder-strewn landscape. As they gathered samples, they strode at the outermost edge of mankind’s travels. This place, this moment, marked the extreme of exploration for a species born to wander.”
Swift,E. (2021). Across the airless wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings.
LRV (Across the Airless Wilds)
2025
Cardboard, steel, wood, found objects, duct tape, lunar maps
1100 x 2300 x 3000mm