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The U.S. Apollo 15/Decade of Achievement Commemorative Stamps: 1971
Apollo 15/Decade of Achievement, 8 cents, Scott Catalog Nos. 1434 and 1435, Issued in 1971
The crew of Apollo 15 were: David R. Scott, Commander, Alfred M. Worden, Command Module Pilot, and James B. Irwin, Lunar Module Pilot. Apollo 15 was launched July 26, 1971 just over two years following Apollo 11 lunar landing. The Apollo 15 lunar landing by Scott, and Irwin took place July 30, 1971. The Lunar Module of Apollo 15 arrived on the Moon carrying with it the first lunar rover driven by the crew on the lunar surface. The Apollo 15 crew returned to earth August 7, 1971, with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
This pair of stamps was issued on August 2, 1971 to commemorate a decade of US space achievements culminating with the accomplishments of Apollo 15. The stamp pair is called se tenant; in this case the design of the stamp is expressed on an attached pair of separable postage stamps.
The stamps were printed with a combination of offset, and engraved printing processes to achieve remarkable coloration and clarity of image in the design. In the design, on the left of the pair, a stylized Earth is visible from the lunar surface with a bright sun. In the design for the right side stamp of the pair, the lunar rover with two astronauts seated, travels the lunar surface. The image, especially for the left stamp would not be correct, astronomically, but it makes for a rather stunning stamp design.
The Apollo 15 stamp pair was designed by well known space artist Robert McCall you may also visit the late artists studio site at McCall Studios.
This issue would be the last stamp issued to commemorate project Apollo during the program, which would continue with two more landings, that of Apollo 16, and Apollo 17.
The landing of Apollo 15 in the Hadley Rill area on the lunar surface presented a great opportunity for collecting samples of lunar materials in a scientifically interesting place on the surface.
While on the lunar surface astronauts Scott, and Irwin drove a total of 27.8 kilometers, with the rover providing the means to carry themselves, their equipment, and collected samples.
A color television camera mounted to the rover also provided a means to provide mission managers, scientists, and engineers with a means to understand the lunar environment better, and better support the crew. Since the camera was also remotely operated from Earth, a final mission operation was to provide an image of the launch of the return portion of the Lunar Module as it left the lunar surface to bring crew, ands lunar samples on their rendezvous with the orbiting Command Module for the return to Earth.