Made in Kent – Lunar Rovers now designated historic landmarks

At its Kent-based Space Center, The Boeing Company designed, tested and built the four-wheeler vehicles used by NASA during Apollo Missions 15, 16, and 17 in 1971 and 1972. The Rovers made possible the most ambitious scientific missions of the Apollo Program, enabling astronauts to travel much greater distances and conduct understanding of lunar evolutionary history. These Lunar Rovers remain on the Moon.

In front of a standing room only crowd at Kent City Hall on July 25, 2019, the Lunar Rovers were designated Historic Landmarks by the King County Landmark Commission. California and New Mexico officials had already extended landmark status to objects and machines that had been created in those two states for the lunar expeditions. Now the King County designation will add new spots to the lunar landmark map: Apennine Mountains and Hadley Rille for Apollo 15 in 1971, the Descartes Highlands for Apollo 16 in April 1972, and the Taurus-Littrow Valley for NASA’s Apollo 17 finale in December 1972.