Large flown double-sided 10.5 x 16 cue card used inside the Lunar Module during preparations for the third EVA of Apollo 15, consisting of two cards taped together at the center, with one side headed “EVA 3 Prep” and the other headed “POST EVA 3,” signed and certified in blue ink, “Flown to the lunar surface aboard the lunar module ‘Falcon’ during Apollo 15, July 26-Aug 7, 1971. Dave Scott, Apollo 15 CDR.” This cue card was attached to the internal Alignment Optical Telescope (AOT) support bracket of the spacecraft by the taped upper tab during the EVA preparations and post-EVA periods. The activities covered by the card include: preparing equipment for EVA-3, donning the Portable Life Support System (PLSS), PLSS communications check, the final systems preparation, connecting the Oxygen Purge System (OPS), and donning the helmet and gloves; the EVA-3 Prep period continues on the reverse side with the final pressure integrity check of the suit, PLSS, helmet, and gloves, cabin depressurization, and the final preparation for egress. The cue card was then stowed for use at the conclusion of EVA-3 after the crew had reentered the LM Falcon, which then initiated the “POST EVA 3” period. Due to the complexity and number of activities required for both performance and safety, the cue card replaced a detailed written checklist, and was essential to minimize the time required for all of the EVA-3 Prep tasks, which, excluding the prior donning of the space suits, required approximately two hours. In fine condition, with cue cards neatly detached.
Accompanied by a detailed signed letter of provenance from Scott, in part: “I hereby certify that the large double-sided ‘EVA 3 PREP’/’POST EVA 3’ Cue Card included with this letter was used on the lunar surface aboard the Falcon Lunar Module during Apollo 15…As the mission commander…I was in charge of the handling, use and dissemination of the Flight Data File (FDF), as such, this…Cue Card has been in my personal collection since NASA presented it to me upon our return to Earth.” Upon exiting the LM to begin the first EVA of the Apollo 15 mission, Commander Scott became the seventh man to walk on the moon, and then, alongside LMP Jim Irwin, conducted the first test drive of the Lunar Roving Vehicle. On August 2nd, the crew exited the Falcon to embark on their third and final lunar surface EVA. After taking publicity photos with the American flag, Scott and Irwin drove to the ALSEP site to retrieve a faulty core sample drill, and then navigated to the main target of their last EVA—Hadley Rille. Extensive exploration and specimen collection at the site verified the pervasive layering on the side of the 1,000-foot deep canyon, with hi-resolution photographs later affirming this important aspect of lunar evolution. Once they returned to the LM at the conclusion of EVA-III, Commander Scott performed what is probably the most famous experiment to ever be conducted on the moon: he simultaneously dropped a hammer and a feather to the surface. They hit the ground at the same time, proving Galileo’s centuries-old theory of falling objects in a vacuum. A truly remarkable surface-flown piece that proved vital to the success of the Apollo 15’s historic final EVA. From the personal collection of Dave Scott.
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