You have to love the unbridled enthusiasm with which Scott first acknowledges the rock, and the conspiratorial pauses that follow. But it only gets better from there.Scott: Oh, there's some vesicular basalt right there, boy. Oh, man! Hey, how about…? Let's just hold on one second, we've got to have…
Irwin: Okay; we're stopping.
Scott: Let me get my seatbelt.
Allen: Roger; mark that you stopped.
Scott: It keeps coming off.
Irwin: Why don't you hand me your seatbelt?
Scott: Just a minute.
Irwin: Then get off. (Pause)
Scott: If I can find it. (Pause) There it is. (Pause) If you'll hang on to it here for a second.
Irwin: Okay, I've got it. (Long Pause)
[Unbeknownst to Houston, Dave has stopped to pick up a piece of the basalt.]
Irwin: You know, Joe, these small fresh craters that we've commented on, whatever caused them must create […] or indurate the soil into the rocks (that is) creates its own rocks (regolith breccia), because there's just a concentration of rocks around the very fresh ones (craters). And by 'small' I'm talking about may be a foot to three feet diameter.Allen: And are you moving again?
Irwin: No, we're stopped here, Joe. I'll let you know when we move.
Allen: Roger. (Long Pause)
The way Irwin casually diverts Allen's attention by expounding on his surroundings is pretty hilarious in retrospect. The secretly obtained basalt was not discovered until Apollo scientists stumbled on it in the mission's rock boxes, prompting Scott to fess up to his hijinx.Of course, that was not the only time the Apollo 15 crew bent the rules a little. A more famous example is the postage stamp scandal that erupted in the wake of the astronauts' return, when it was discovered that the men had taken unauthorized stamp covers to the Moon, for resale.But for the most part, the mission that debuted the first lunar road trips was so productive that NASA called it the "most successful manned flight ever achieved" at the time. Scott and Irwin took the LRV out for two more drives on August 1 and 2, notching the rover's odometer up to a mission total of 27.8 kilometers (17.3 miles).In an era when road trips were becoming the trendiest way to explore our planet, the adventurous crew of Apollo 15 took the tradition to the next level.Allen: Rog, Jim. Sounds very plausible.
Irwin: …And create the (lost under Joe) breccia.
Scott: Okay, ready to hand me my (seatbelt)…
Irwin: Yeah. (Pause) Get it (probably the piece of basalt)?
Scott: Yep. (Long Pause)
[Dave has finished getting the sample and is getting seated. The sampling has probably taken about a minute and 40 seconds.]