| Moon Mail
The Apollo 15 mission was the first to include the Lunar Rover, a wheeled vehicle that greatly expanded the range of lunar exploration. During their three days on the Moon, astronauts Dave Scott and Jim Irwin went on three excursions with the Rover.
At the end of the third trip, before re-entering the lunar module, Scott took out a cloth pouch. The envelope in the pouch carried two die proofs of the 8¢ 1971 stamps honoring the 10th anniversary of the space program. (One shows the Rover.) The stamps were issued the same day on Earth with a first-day ceremony at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.
Scott canceled the die proofs with a cancellation device and ink pad from the pouch, producing a postmark that reads UNITED STATES / ON THE MOON / AUG. 2 1971 / FIRST DAY OF ISSUE. The postmark was faint enough that he tried again directly below it. Scott also added dusty “thumbprints” with his space suit glove. These are believed to be the smudges on the left side.
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