NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems’ Program Manager Shawn Quinn captured this image of the Hadley–Apennine region of the moon including the Apollo 15 landing site (very near the edge of the shadow of one of the lunar mountains in the area). Image is a crop of a full frame image. Apollo 11, 16 and 17 landing sites are also visible in this image. Hadley–Apennine is a region on the near side of Earth's Moon that served as the landing site for the American Apollo 15 mission, the fourth crewed landing on the Moon and the first of the "J-missions", in July 1971. The site is located on the eastern edge of Mare Imbrium on a lava plain known as Palus Putredinis. Hadley–Apennine is bordered by the Montes Apenninus (often referred to as "Apennine Front"), a mountain range, and Hadley Rille, a meandering channel, on the east and west, respectively.

S71-02257 (June 1971) --- An enlarged Lunar Orbiter photograph showing the Apollo 15 landing area in the Hadley-Apennine region on the lunar nearside. The overlay identifies numerous lunar features in the area.

S71-33432 (1 July 1971) --- These alternative traverses can be carried out on foot. They will be used if the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) becomes inoperative. This artist's concept showing part of the Hadley Rille and several of the Apennine Mountains was excerpted from "On the Moon with Apollo 15: A Guidebook to the Hadley-Apennine Region," by Gene Simmons. Artwork by Jerry Elmore.

AS15-84-11250 (31 July-2 Aug. 1971) --- A telephoto lens view of the prominent feature called Silver Spur in the Hadley Delta region, photographed during the Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Hadley-Apennine landing site. The distance from the camera to the spur is about 10 miles. The field of view across the bottom is about one mile. Structural formations in the mountain are clearly visible. There are two major units. The upper unit is characterized by massive subunits, each one of which is approximately 200 feet deep. The lower major unit is characterized by thinner bedding and cross bedding.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Apollo 15 Lunar Module Pilot James B. Irwin deploys the Suprathermal Ion Detector Experiment during a training exercise at the Kennedy Space Center. Mission Commander David R. Scott is working in the background on the simulated lunar surface, a replica of the Moon's Hadley-Apennine region. They will be launched to the Moon no earlier than July 26, 1971, along with Command Module Pilot Alfred M. Worden.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Apollo 15 Lunar Module Pilot James B. Irwin will be making his first space flight when he is launched to the Moon with astronauts David R. Scott and AlfredN. Worden. Irwin and Scott will conduct three traverses of the Moon's Hadley-Apennine region while Worden maintains the command module in lunar orbit and conducts experiments. They will be launched to the Moon no earlier than July 26, 1971.

S71-40085 (July 1971) --- An enlarged Lunar Orbiter photograph of the Apollo 15 landing area in the Hadley-Apennine region on the nearside of the moon. The overlay indicates the location of the numerous informally-named surface features. These names will facilitate understanding the verbal descriptions from the astronauts during their lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA). This is an August 1967, Lunar Orbiter V photograph of Site 26.1.

S71-00166 (June 1971) --- A close-up view of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). Apollo 15 will be the first mission to employ the services of the LRV. Astronauts David R. Scott, commander; and James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, will move about the lunar surface in the Hadley-Apennine region in their four-wheeled vehicle while astronaut Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot, remains with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) in lunar orbit. A television camera, which can be controlled remotely from the ground (front), and a motion picture camera (rear) are among the gear on the LRV.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Apollo 15 Commander David R. Scott operates the battery-powered Lunar Surface Drill during a training exercise at a man-made replica of the Moon's Hadley-Apennine region at the Kennedy Space Center. During his upcoming mission, scheduled to begin no earlier than July 26, 1971, Scott will drill to a depth of about 10 feet to obtain lunar surface core samples and conduct the Heat Flow Experiment. This experiment is designed to measure the rate of heat loss from the interior of the Moon. Lunar Module Pilot James B. Irwin will accompany Scott on the surface while Astronaut Alfred M. Worden will pilot the Command Module while in lunar orbit.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Apollo 15's Saturn V rocket lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at 9:34 a.m., EDT, July 26, 1971, on a lunar landing mission. Aboard the Apollo 15 spacecraft are astronauts David R. Scott, commander, Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot, and James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot. While Apollo 15 astronauts Scott and Irwin will descend in the lunar module to explore the moon's Hadley-Apennine region, astronaut Worden will remain in lunar orbit with the command module. For more information, visit http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo-15/apollo-15.htm Photo credit: NASA

AS17-148-22717 (7 Dec. 1972) --- This view of a portion of Earth was taken from the Apollo 17 spacecraft following trans-lunar insertion during the final lunar landing mission in NASA's Apollo Program. The visible land mass is the southern two-thirds of the African continent, with Madagascar at right. A portion of Antarctica is visible at bottom frame. Onboard the Apollo 17 spacecraft were astronauts Eugene A. Cernan, commander; Ronald E. Evans, command module pilot; and Harrison H. Schmitt, lunar module pilot. While astronauts Cernan and Schmitt descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Challenger" to explore the Hadley-Apennine region of the moon, astronaut Evans remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "America" in lunar orbit.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Apollo 15's Saturn V rocket lifts off from Launch Pad 39A at 9:34 a.m., EDT, July 26, 1971, on a lunar landing mission. Aboard the Apollo 15 spacecraft are astronauts David R. Scott, commander, Alfred M. Worden, command module pilot, and James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot. While Apollo 15 astronauts Scott and Irwin will descend in the lunar module to explore the moon's Hadley-Apennine region, astronaut Worden will remain in lunar orbit with the command module. For more information, visit http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo-15/apollo-15.htm Photo credit: NASA

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Apollo 15 Commander David R. Scott operates the battery-powered Lunar Surface Drill during a training exercise at a man-made replica of the Moon's Hadley-Apennine region at the Kennedy Space Center. During his upcoming mission, scheduled to begin no earlier than July 26, 1971, Scott will drill to a depth of about 10 feet to obtain lunar surface core samples and conduct the Heat Flow Experiment. This experiment is designed to measure the rate of heat loss from the interior of the Moon. Lunar Module Pilot James B. Irwin will accompany Scott on the surface while Astronaut Alfred M. Worden will pilot the Command Module while in lunar orbit.

This is a photo of the Apollo 15 Lunar Module, Falcon, on the lunar surface. Apollo 15 launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on July 26, 1971 via a Saturn V launch vehicle. Aboard was a crew of three astronauts including David R. Scott, Mission Commander; James B. Irwin, Lunar Module Pilot; and Alfred M. Worden, Command Module Pilot. The first mission designed to explore the Moon over longer periods, greater ranges and with more instruments for the collection of scientific data than on previous missions, the mission included the introduction of a $40,000,000 lunar roving vehicle (LRV) that reached a top speed of 16 kph (10 mph) across the Moon's surface. The successful Apollo 15 lunar landing mission was the first in a series of three advanced missions planned for the Apollo program. The primary scientific objectives were to observe the lunar surface, survey and sample material and surface features in a preselected area of the Hadley-Apennine region, setup and activation of surface experiments and conduct in-flight experiments and photographic tasks from lunar orbit. Apollo 15 televised the first lunar liftoff and recorded a walk in deep space by Alfred Worden. Both the Saturn V rocket and the LRV were developed at the Marshall Space Flight Center.

This montage depicts the flight crew patches for the manned Apollo 7 thru Apollo 17 missions. The Apollo 7 through 10 missions were basically manned test flights that paved the way for lunar landing missions. Primary objectives met included the demonstration of the Command Service Module (CSM) crew performance; crew/space vehicle/mission support facilities performance and testing during a manned CSM mission; CSM rendezvous capability; translunar injection demonstration; the first manned Apollo docking, the first Apollo Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA), performance of the first manned flight of the lunar module (LM); the CSM-LM docking in translunar trajectory, LM undocking in lunar orbit, LM staging in lunar orbit, and manned LM-CSM docking in lunar orbit. Apollo 11 through 17 were lunar landing missions with the exception of Apollo 13 which was forced to circle the moon without landing due to an onboard explosion. The craft was,however, able to return to Earth safely. Apollo 11 was the first manned lunar landing mission and performed the first lunar surface EVA. Landing site was the Sea of Tranquility. A message for mankind was delivered, the U.S. flag was planted, experiments were set up and 47 pounds of lunar surface material was collected for analysis back on Earth. Apollo 12, the 2nd manned lunar landing mission landed in the Ocean of Storms and retrieved parts of the unmanned Surveyor 3, which had landed on the Moon in April 1967. The Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) was deployed, and 75 pounds of lunar material was gathered. Apollo 14, the 3rd lunar landing mission landed in Fra Mauro. ALSEP and other instruments were deployed, and 94 pounds of lunar materials were gathered, using a hand cart for first time to transport rocks. Apollo 15, the 4th lunar landing mission landed in the Hadley-Apennine region. With the first use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), the crew was bale to gather 169 pounds of lunar material. Apollo 16, the 5th lunar landing mission, landed in the Descartes Highlands for the first study of highlands area. Selected surface experiments were deployed, the ultraviolet camera/spectrograph was used for first time on the Moon, and the LRV was used for second time for a collection of 213 pounds of lunar material. The Apollo program came to a close with Apollo 17, the 6th and final manned lunar landing mission that landed in the Taurus-Littrow highlands and valley area. This mission hosted the first scientist-astronaut, Schmitt, to land on the Moon. The 6th automated research station was set up, and 243 ponds of lunar material was gathered using the LRV.