On Apollo 15 the astronauts, David Scott and James Irwin in the Lunar Lander "Falcon" and Alfred Worden piloting the Command Module "Endeavour," really got down to the work of exploration.
They set down near the large peaks of the lunar Apennines and close to a gorge called Hadley's Rille that was 1,181 ft (360 m) deep. The Apollo spacecraft had been modified to allow a much longer stay on the Moon and the return of a much larger sample load of 220 lbs. (100 kg). The astronauts also were able to take samples from as deep as 7.7 ft. (2.36 m).
During this mission a lunar rover was used for the first time, letting the explorers travel much greater distances than before. Traveling at an average speed of 2.5 mph (3-4 kmh) with a top speed of 8.7 mph (14 kmh), the rover carried the astronauts 3.73 miles (6 km) from their landing position.
While on one of the EVAs, they found a solid crystal of anorthosite, measuring about four inches (10 cm) across. It was dubbed the "Genesis" rock in reference to the fiery birth of the Moon. While in orbit Worden conducted several experiments and even managed to launch a small lunar satellite. On the return trip the crew conducted 2 EVAs. The rest of the journey home was otherwise uneventful, except for the failure of one of the Command capsule's three parachutes to deploy, resulting in the none too gentle Apollo equivalent of a "belly flop" for the ship as they hit the Pacific Ocean.
