The lunar roving vehicle, or Moon buggy, was developed at the cost of some 40 million dollars. It was a collapsible vehicle made of aluminium. It had four-wheel drive, and was powered by battery-driven electric motors, one on each wire-mesh wheel. The wheels were fitted with 'mud guards' to prevent them kicking up the lunar dust. The lunar rover was steered by a kind of joystick, similar to that used in aircraft. The vehicle was fitted with a TV camera and communications antenna, which allowed direct transmissions to Earth and enabled the lift-off of the lunar module to be filmed. In total, the three lunar rovers carried astronauts over 90 km.
