IVA/EVARetired🇺🇸
Apollo A7LB
Designation: A7LB
The suit Gene Cernan wore on the last Moon walk in 1972 — the most capable Apollo suit, designed for driving the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
About This Suit
The Apollo A7LB was a major upgrade to the A7L, introduced for the J-class missions (Apollo 15–17) that featured the Lunar Roving Vehicle. The critical addition was a waist joint and improved neck joint that allowed astronauts to bend at the waist and look down — impossible in the rigid A7L torso — enabling them to sit in the rover's seats and conduct more natural geological sampling. The life support connectors were relocated to a triangular chest pattern for rover clearance. At 26 material layers (up from 21), it offered enhanced thermal and micrometeoroid protection. Gene Cernan's A7LB from Apollo 17 was the last suit worn on the lunar surface on December 14, 1972, and remains so to this day.
Key Features
- 1Added waist joint enabling astronauts to sit in the Lunar Roving Vehicle
- 2Improved neck joint allowing the wearer to look down — impossible in A7L
- 3Life support connectors relocated to triangular chest pattern for rover clearance
- 426 material layers (vs. 21 in A7L) — enhanced thermal and micrometeoroid protection
- 5PLSS upgraded with extended O₂ and battery capacity for longer EVA sortie times
Historic Missions
1971
Apollo 15
First use of Lunar Roving Vehicle; first extended-duration surface exploration
👨🚀 David Scott, James Irwin
1972
Apollo 16
Descartes Highlands; Young and Duke covered ~27 km by rover
👨🚀 John Young, Charles Duke
1972
Apollo 17
Cernan and Schmitt — last humans on the Moon; Cernan's suit last worn on lunar surface Dec 14, 1972
👨🚀 Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt
Engineering & Research Highlights
- ◆Proved that waist joint mobility dramatically increases scientific productivity on planetary surfaces
- ◆Set the design precedent for lunar EVA suits needing seated mobility — directly influencing AxEMU hip/knee joint design