Moon Minor

Dateline 1st April 2001, and the pace of technology moves on.

NASA have announced that next year, the Hubble Space Telescope, which is normally used to probe deep space, observing events that took place at the very dawn of the universe, will turn it's powerful lens towards the moon.

Once focused on our nearest neighbour, it will begin mapping and geological analysis, that will tell us more about the moon than the heroic manned flights of the late sixties and early seventies. The telescope is so powerful that at such "close range" it will be able pick out items as small as a 3/8" Whitworth ring spanner.

Under an international agreement, the photographs and results will be made available throughout the world, and this has prompted NASA to make some astonishing revelations about the famous "Lunar Rover" which was used on the final missions, to ferry the astronauts around the Moon's surface.

A total of $40 million dollars was paid to Boeing to build three flight models and eight test vehicles, but only a few months before the first launch, fundamental flaws with the steering were discovered, which could have jeopardised the mission. A cheap alternative had to be found quickly, and Boeing engineer Wm. Maurice Jnr. who as a student in Britain had used a Morris Minor as daily transport, suggested that one of these tough little cars would make the ideal alternative.

Small and light enough to fit into the lunar exploration module, the Minor was an obvious choice. American cars of the time were all far too big, and a Japanese car was out of the question in view of Pearl Harbour.

An Austin A30 was also considered, but because of the bulky space suits that the astronauts had to wear, the car had to be a convertible, and Austin only made a few so none could be found in time. Testing in the Arizona desert alongside the Boeing Lunar Rover, revealed that the Minor was ideally suited to the job.

A few modifications were needed to prepare the car for its unusual role. Reduced spring rates, because of the lower gravity, a compressed air supply for the engine to run in the airless environment, special jets and needles in the SU carburettors, a specially developed "Moon Dust " air filter, and a higher poundage radiator cap.

All this was carried out under a cloak of secrecy, as it would have been hugely embarrassing to admit to the waste of all that tax payer's money on an abortive project. In 1970 after only 10 weeks development the Minor was loaded aboard Apollo 15 for its quarter million mile flight to the moon.

Another amazing fact that can be revealed here for the first time, is the origin of the name "Lunar Rover".

In the late sixties, scientists were carrying out experiments to investigate Einstein's theory that "worm holes" in space, cause distortions in the space time continuum, which let observers see into the future. One of the things they discovered was that by the year 2000, when all would be made public under the "30 year" rule, Morris would be part of the Rover Group, so just to prove their predictions, they renamed the car "Rover1".

On arrival, the Minor performed impeccably, apart from Commander Dave Scott having to use the starting handle, on account of the American made battery going flat.

Photographs taken on the moon, had the Minor air brushed out and replaced with pictures of the Lunar Rover electronically superimposed. Now after months of negotiations, we have managed to obtain, through our contact inside NASA, copies of actual un-retouched photographs, taken on the Moon, and one of them is reproduced here.

This shows James Irwin with the car, probably loading some Moon rocks into the boot, which was roomier than usual as it was not considered necessary to take the spare wheel. (No PK screws lying around on the moon's surface.)

By the time Apollo 16 was ready in 1971,the snags with the Lunar Rover had been ironed out and these were successfully used on Apollo 16 and 17. The original car remains unique, and to this day stands "gathering dust" on the Moons surface. Ironic when you consider that is the reason why it went there in the first place.

It will probably remain on the moon's surface until the end of time, an eternal tribute to the superiority of British Engineering. There are no plans to return the car, but who knows, with the steadily increasing value of these cars, (it was a genuine convertible), and the falling cost of space travel, it may be economically viable some time in the future to return it to earth.

Anyone thinking of buying the car would have to be very careful though, although it has only 6,538 miles on the clock, it's been to the Moon and back!

J.M.