Lunar Roving Vehicle. Illustration of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), a battery-powered four-wheeled vehicle used on the Moon in the last three missions of the Apollo space programme, in 1971 and 1972. The LRV was transported to the Moon on the Apollo Lunar Module. It could carry one or two astronauts plus equipment and lunar samples, and extended their range of activity. The rover was designed with a top speed of about 13 kilometres/hour, but recorded a maximum speed of 18 kilometres/hour on the Moon. The LRV was popularly known as the moon buggy. Three LRVs remain on the lunar surface.