Apollo 15 launches subsatellite 1971

Shortly before the crew of Apollo 15 (Commander David Scott, Alfred Worden, James Irwin) left the moon after a successful mission, they launched a "subsatellite", the Apollo 15 Particles and Fields Subsatellite (PFS-1), August 4, 1971.  Its main objectives were to study the plasma, particle and magnetic field of the moon.  PFS-1 transmitted data until January 1973.  A series of failures resulted in the termination from the ground support.  It's assumed that it crashed on the moon sometime after that.

Remembering Apollo 15 astronaut Alfred Worden (1932-2020)

Alfred Worden, Apollo 15 astronaut, passed away March 17, 2020.  He was one of 19 astronauts selected by NASA in 1966. He served as Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 15 lunar mission.  the Guiness Book of World Records named him the Most Isolated human being for his 3 days alone in the command module.  When he was on the opposite side of the moon from David Scott and James Irwin, he was at least 2,235 miles away from any other human being.

Worden made seven guest appearances on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood between 1972 and 1975.

His memoir Falling to Earth: An Apollo 15 Astronaut's Journey to the Moon rose to #12 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List.

He passed away from a stroke March 17 in Sugar Land, Texas.

Happy birthday, Apollo 15 astronaut Alfred Worden

Alfred Worden, born February 7, 1932 in Jackson, Michigan, went to the moon on Apollo 15 July-August 1971.  He remained in the command module Endeavour in orbit above the moon while David Scott and James Irwin explored the lunar surface.

He said he spent "three wonderful days in a spacecraft all by myself" about his experience.  As a result of the  "stamp incident", he and the other Apollo crewmen never went into space again.

Apollo 15 launched 1971

Apollo 15 crew: Commander David Scott, CMP Alfred Worden, LMP James Irwin

Apollo 15, launched July 26, 1971, was the first time the lunar rover was deployed and used on the moon's surface.  The mission was the fourth one to land on the moon and the ninth overall manned mission.  Its crew consisted of Commander David R. Scott; Command Module Pilot Alfred M. Worden; and Lunar Module Pilot James B. Irwin.

They reached lunar orbit on July 30 and Scott and Irwin touched down later the same day (UTC) in the Hadley area.  They spent 2 days and 18 hours on the surface, during which time they conducted three EVAs and deployed the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) for its first use.

They returned to Earth August 7, logging in a total mission time of 12 days, 7 hours, 11 minutes, and 53 seconds.