Loading up

Before a traverse, the rover had to be loaded with all the items the crewmen would need. The rear chassis panel had a fixture for a pallet of tools. This was loaded with items such as hammer, tongs, rake, shovel, core tubes and sample bags. There were bags under the seats for cameras, film magazines, rock samples and other ancillary items. A bag containing a hose was hung from the seat backs to help a crewman in case of an emergency. This buddy secondary life support system (BSLSS) allowed the two men to share cooling water in case the cooling system on one PLSS failed. If it had to be used, it would mean the immediate end to the EVA and the crew would return to the LM. There was no need to share oxygen because each crewman had a spare supply of this in their OPS.