The Mobile Geological Laboratory
In the early 1960s, as preparations were being made for the upcoming Apollo missions to the Moon, NASA considered various ways that astronauts might be able to explore and investigate the lunar surface. Among these concepts was the ambitious Mobile Laboratory, or MOLAB for short. The large four-wheeled rover, in addition to providing mobility, would offer a temporary habitat for the astronauts while also serving as a science laboratory. A prototype was built and tested in the New Mexico desert, but at 8,200 pounds, the GM-built MOLAB was seriously bulky; getting it to the Moon wouldn’t be easy or cheap. The prototype was eventually loaned to the U.S. Geological Survey, which used it to map mineral deposits and take soil samples.
