NASA's Apollo Lunar Surface Journal (ALSJ) records the details of each mission's period on the lunar surface as a timeline of the activities undertaken, the dialogue between the crew and Mission Control, and the relevant documentary records. Each photograph taken on the mission is catalogued there and each photographic sequence is also recorded. This page tabulates the Apollo 15 panoramas and, where appropriate, provides updated representations of the panoramas blended using more recent technologies than the originals.
Context Apollo 15 was the first of the Apollo program's "J" Missions which used an enhanced Lunar Module that was capable of supporting a 3-day stay on the lunar surface *and* the delivery of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV or "Rover") to the surface to allow the crew to extend the range of their exploration and to provide remote TV coverage. The crew are recorded as having been particularly enthusiastic about the scientific aspects of the mission and had actively sought additional training by the ground-based scientists in the months leading up to launch. Although the landing site had not been covered by High Resolution photography from the preceding Lunar Orbiter program, the proximity of Hadley Rille, was sufficient for it to be selected. Consequently, the mission's commander, Dave Scott proposed and actioned an additional EVA not long after the landing. This "Stand-up EVA" (SEVA) simply consisted of opening the LM's docking hatch on the top of the vehicle (i.e. not the door used to climb down to the surface) to gain a high vantage point from which to survey the area and assist in the planning of the subsequent EVAs. (This was the only mission to feature an SEVA.) In terms of photography, Apollo 15's crew proved to be as enthusiastic at that as they were about the science in general; they took a total of 1148 frames whilst on the Moon, a large number of which were components of almost 150 distinct panoramas. These range from seemingly mundane sequences of rock fields for post-mission analysis by teams of geologists, through to spectacular coverage of Hadley Rille and the surrounding mountains. Also, it is worth reminding the reader that, since Digital Photography was still several decades from becoming available, all of the images captured during the lunar missions were recorded on film and post-processed after their return to Earth. To assist in gaining bearings, the Lunar Module (LM) Falcon, landed with its door and ladder leg (AKA "+Z strut") pointing approximately 20° north of due west. The Sun's elevation was around 13° for the SEVA, 19°-22° for EVA 1, 31°-35° for EVA 2, and 42°-44° for EVA 3. The higher elevations of the Sun across the EVAs can be seen through the improvement in the quality of the panoramas; the Sun itself, and any resulting lens flair, are barely noticeable whereas they featured prominently in the proceeding missions.
Non-EVA (LM-based) panoramas As mentioned above, Apollo 15 was the only mission to feature a Stand-up EVA (SEVA).
EVA panoramas - EVA 1 The crew's priority on the first EVA was the deployment of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) which would enable them to drive rather than walk to remote locations. An added bonus was that the LRV was equipped with a TV camera that could be controlled remotely from Mission Control (unlike the tripod camera they also had); the quicker they got it set up, the quicker pictures would reach the science teams and the public at large. Consequently, they skipped the by-now "traditional" taking of "Tourist Shots" such as descending the ladder and saluting the flag at the beginning of the mission and pushed on to start exploring further afield. It took about 3 hours from exiting the LM to arriving at the first geology 'station' and the first panoramic shots.
EVA panoramas - EVA 2 It was during the second EVA that Scott discovered what became known as the "Genesis Rock". This anorthosite is believed to be a sample of the Moon's early crust, and the hope of finding something like it had been a major objective during the selection of the site for the mission. Although the ALSJ records the finding of this as a "Panorama", the recorded image is simply a collage of five disjoint images.
EVA panoramas - EVA 3 [So many panoramas were taken during the EVAs that they are better tabulated for each individual EVA] A large proportion of the EVA 3 panoramas were intended for subsequent geological analysis.
Key to table columns Mission Flight Number Time (MET) Time since lift-off (MET - Mission Elapsed Time) EVA # Moonwalk number Location Title as extracted from source (i.e. ALSJ/LPI) Astronaut Who took the images Magazine NASA film canister number Type Either Colour or Monochrome Start Frame First frame of the panoramic sequence End Frame Last frame of the panoramic sequence Alternate Panorama Unofficial panorama generated by a non-NASA organisation Source Where the panorama was sourced from (Typically ALSJ or LPI) Reference Panorama Image referred to by ALSJ/LPI for the given location ALSJ Alternate Alternate image(s) referred to by ALSJ/LPI for the given location Notes Additional detail
Post mission analysis The primary purpose of taking the panoramic images was to provide the context, or placement, of the activities undertaken during the EVAs. The initial analysis was presented in the Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report. The images continue to be revisited periodically with new, cleaner, representations of the panoramas after being processed by increasingly sophisticated software packages. Examples of these include LPI's Apollo Surface Panorama page, NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) 'Anniversary' Panoramas,, Mike Constantine's Apollo: The Panoramas, and Andy Saunders' Apollo Remastered.
See also Lunar Panoramic Photography - Apollo 11 Lunar Panoramic Photography - Apollo 12 Lunar Panoramic Photography - Apollo 14 Lunar Panoramic Photography - Apollo 16
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