Shepard Next to Modular Equipment Transporter - GPN-2000-001147

The Modular Equipment Transporter (MET) was a two-wheeled, hand-pulled vehicle that was used as an equipment hauling device on traverses across the lunar surface. Designed after

Apollo 12 Apollo 12 (November 14–24, 1969) was the sixth crewed flight in the United States Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. It was launched on November 14, 1969, by NASA from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commander Charles ...

astronauts

Pete Conrad Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. (June 2, 1930 – July 8, 1999) was an American NASA astronaut, aeronautical engineer, naval officer, aviator, and test pilot who commanded the Apollo 12 mission, on which he became the third person to walk on t ...

and Alan Bean had difficulties lugging their equipment significant distances to and from their

Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed s ...

, the MET primarily functioned as a portable workbench with a place for hand tools and their carrier, cameras, spare camera magazines, rock sample bags, environmental sample containers, and the portable

magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, ...

with its sensor and tripod. It was carried on the 1971

Apollo 14 Apollo 14 (January 31February 9, 1971) was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to Moon landing, land on the Moon, and the first to land in the Geology of the Moon#Highlands, lunar highlands. It was the las ...

mission and was planned to be used on

Apollo 15 Apollo 15 (July 26August 7, 1971) was the ninth crewed mission in the Apollo program and the fourth Moon landing. It was the first List of Apollo missions#Alphabetical mission types, J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon and a greate ...

, but was used only on Apollo 14 since Apollo 15's mission was changed to be the first to employ the motorized

Lunar Roving Vehicle The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) is a Battery electric vehicle, battery-powered four-wheeled Rover (space exploration), rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program (Apollo 15, 15, Apollo 16, 16, and Apollo 17 ...

, which transported both astronauts and equipment. Astronauts nicknamed the MET "the rickshaw". It was pulled using a pulling bar at the front. The majority of the payload of the MET consisted of part of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP)., including a portable

, as well as various tools and space to transport samples. The performance of the MET was described as "adequate". In fact, astronauts

Alan Shepard Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he became the List of Apollo astronauts#Apollo astr ...

and

Edgar Mitchell Edgar Dean "Ed" Mitchell (September 17, 1930 – February 4, 2016) was a United States Navy officer and United States Naval Aviator, aviator, test pilot, Aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer, Ufology, ufologist, and NASA astronaut. ...

were disappointed by the MET's performance. During one of the traverses they had to carry the MET together because it was too difficult to pull it through the rough lunar terrain. The two nitrogen-filled rubber tires on the MET were the first tires on the Moon. They were designed by

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is an American multinational tire manufacturer headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Goodyear manufactures tires for passenger vehicles, aviation, commercial trucks, military and police vehicles, motorcycles, recreati ...

and called Experimental Lunar Tires (XLTs). The biggest challenge for Goodyear was that NASA specifications required the inner tube be inflated to 1.5 psi on the Moon surface; a difficult task. A tire with 1.5 psi on Earth has an inflation pressure of 16.2 psi on the Moon because atmospheric pressure (14.7 psi) is not a factor there. Goodyear solved the gauge pressure problem by having NASA partially inflate the inner tube with nitrogen so that on the Moon it reached 1.5 psi. The tire maker gave the synthetic rubber tube a special coating to improve gas retention. These tires worked well for the small MET rickshaw. The later

demanded wheels or tires that could handle a much greater weight and could travel much farther than the MET. NASA went with

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

and they designed a wire-mesh wheel that didn't allow lunar dust to get stuck in the wheels.

Design criteria

''Data from Operator's Manual By General Electric''

Dimensional limits

*Max. MET Weight (Empty): 30 Earth lbs *Max. Payload Capability: 340 Earth lbs *Workable height: 30 in *Stowage Envelope:

Operation specifications

*Nominal Pulling Speed: 4-7 mph *Nominal Draw Bar Pull: 3-5 mph *Design Traverse 20,000 ft *Capable of Traversing: up to 4" Diameter Rocks *Tire Temperatures: **-60 °F on deployment **0 °F to 200 °F when parked **70 °F average when rolling *Tire Pressure: 1.5 psia

Items stowed on MET

''Data from Operator's Manual by General Electric''

References

{{Apollo program Apollo program hardware Apollo 14