Rare Goodyear XLT (Experimental Lunar Tire) synthetic rubber tire designed to roll the MET (Modular Equipment Transporter) during the EVAs of the Apollo 14 mission. The tire measures approximately 15.5″ in diameter with sidewalls to either side marked: "Goodyear, Made in U.S.A., 232424, 4.00-8, XLT." Inner wheel section bears an affixed original Goodyear tire insert: "Goodyear, First on Earth, First on the Moon." In fine condition. Accompanied by a letter or provenance from the son of the original owner: "My father gave me this tire some number of years after he retired from the Goodyear...[he] worked in a department with responsibility for Government Sales. This team served the various branches of the US Military. They sold tires, tank track, hoses etc...really anything that Goodyear could produce from rubber. At some point, the tire was discovered in a samples-closet and made available to my father."
Designed after Apollo 12 astronauts Charles Conrad and Alan Bean had difficulties lugging their equipment to and from their Lunar Module, the MET was a two-wheeled, hand-pulled vehicle that primarily functioned as a portable workbench with a place for hand tools and other items like cameras, spare camera magazines, rock sample bags, environmental sample containers, and the portable magnetometer. Nicknamed 'the rickshaw,' the MET was carried on Apollo 14 and intended for use on Apollo 15, but was ultimately left off when the Apollo 15 mission employed the Lunar Roving Vehicle. In addition to carrying critical EVA equipment, the MET also stowed some specialized sporting gear—CDR Alan Shepard stored a six iron golf club head, which he attached to the handle of an excavation tool to famously smash a golf ball into lunar orbit. A decidedly rare and unusual piece of American space history, this marks the first XLT we have ever offered.
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