NACA And NASA, Part II
The Apollo 13 mission was aborted before the landing attempt, but the crew returned safely to Earth. The four subsequent Apollo missions (14 through 17) included successful Moon landings. The last three of these were J-class missions that included the use of Lunar Rovers. Apollo 17, launched December 7, 1972, was the last Apollo mission to the Moon. Mission commander Eugene Cernan was the last person to leave the Moon's surface. In 2008, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's SELENE probe observed evidence of the halo surrounding the Apollo 15 lunar module blast crater while orbiting above the lunar surface. In 2009, NASA's robotic Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, while orbiting 50 kilometres (31 mi) above the moon, photographed the remnants of the Apollo program left on the lunar surface, and photographed each site where manned Apollo flights landed. The Apollo program landed the first humans on Earth's Moon. Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20, 1969 with astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, while Michael Collins orbited above. Five subsequent Apollo missions also landed astronauts on the Moon, the last in December 1972. In these six Apollo spaceflights twelve men walked on the Moon.
THE new Range Rover compact 4x4 that will create another 1,000 jobs in Merseyside was last night named as the Evoque - and Victoria Beckham was named as the brand's new 'creative design executive'. The vehicle - first unveiled as the Land Rover LRX concept car - was unveiled last night at an exclusive 40th birthday party for Range Rover in the grounds of Princess Diana's former home at Kensington Palace. Land Rover managing director Phil Popham unveiled the new brand in front of celebrities including Zara Phillips, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Dragons Den star James Caan, Blur bassist Alex James and TV sports presenter Gabby Logan. In a cloud of dry ice, a crate was lowered to the ground before the new Range Rover was revealed to applause from the glamorous champagne-clutching crowd. Range Rover owner Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has already built more than 100 Evoques at the Halewood plant, which employs around 1,900 people.
A cynic could argue that the 2019 Land Rover Range Rover P400e PHEV is a compliance special for the well-heeled. But the reality is that adding an electric motor both keeps the world's flagship SUV a viable option for city dwellers in places like London and points toward the future of off-roading. Due to go on sale next summer in the U.S., the 2019 Range Rover PHEV pairs a 2.0-liter turbo-4 with a 13.1-kWh lithium-ion battery. Let's start with the obvious: European cities like London are increasingly considering and adopting tailpipe emissions-free zones in their central cores. On a Level 3 charger, the battery can be topped off in about three hours to provide a hair over 31 miles of electric-only driving. The PHEV marks the first application of the automaker's new 2.0-liter turbo-4 in the full-size Range Rover. Thanks to the electrified powertrain, it's not down on power. Total output is 398 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. That's good for a 0-60 mph sprint of 6.4 seconds and a top speed of nearly 140 mph.
After some major changes last year, the 2015 LR4 gets mostly incremental improvements for 2015: Side steps are now standard, while adaptive cruise control, a suite of smartphone apps and a wood-and-leather steering wheel are added to the options list. It seems like the premium SUV market is getting more crowded by the day, but probably no brand has more credibility than Land Rover for combining luxury with genuine ground-crunching capability. As appealing as the LR4 is, however, it's important to ponder how much you really need its formidable off-road capability. It's a big reason why the LR4 weighs nearly 3 tons, resulting in certain compromises in the areas of on-pavement maneuverability, performance and fuel economy. As such, there are a number of outstanding three-row crossovers that you might find just as luxurious and better everyday on-pavement companions. The Mercedes-Benz GL-Class is perhaps its closest competitor and comes closest to the LR4 in terms of third-row space, but it is more expensive.
