The first rover on the Moon was Soviet

Long before NASA's rovers, another machine was the first to drive on an alien world. In 1970, the Soviet Union landed a remote-controlled rover on the Moon, driven in near real-time by a team on Earth dealing with a 4-second command delay. This is the story of Lunokhod 1.

DESIGNED FOR THE MOON The 756 kg Lunokhod 1 was an eight-wheeled vehicle, standing 1.35 meters high and powered by solar cells on the inside of its hinged top lid^[1]. It was delivered to the Moon's Sea of Rains by the Luna 17 lander on November 17, 1970^[1].

THE 'SEDENTARY COSMONAUTS' A five-man team of 'drivers' on Earth commanded the rover, contending with a minimum 4.1-second delay for every action^[1]. These crews, known as 'sedentary cosmonauts,' were carefully selected from hundreds of candidates to navigate the lunar surface from thousands of kilometers away^[1].

A RECORD-BREAKING MISSION Designed for just three lunar days (about 21 Earth days), Lunokhod 1 operated for 322 days^[1]. It traveled nearly 10 km, returned over 20,000 TV images, performed 25 soil analyses, and used its penetrometer at 537 different locations^[1]. What an overachiever!

END OF THE ROAD Lunokhod 1 also carried a French-supplied laser reflector to help measure the Earth-Moon distance with high accuracy^[1]. After an incredible 11-month career, controllers held their final communication session with the pioneering rover on September 14, 1971^[1].