Apollo 15 postal covers incident
The Apollo 15 postal covers incident, a 1972 NASA scandal, involved the astronauts of Apollo 15, who carried about 400 unauthorized postal covers into space and to the Moon's surface on the Lunar Module Falcon. Some of the envelopes were sold at high prices by West German stamp dealer Hermann Sieger, and are known as "Sieger covers". The crew of Apollo 15—David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin—agreed to take payments for carrying the covers; though they returned the money, they were reprimanded by NASA. Amid much press coverage of the incident, the astronauts were called before a closed session of a Senate committee and never flew in space again.
A "Sieger cover"
The Apollo 15 crew. Left to right, David Scott, Commander; Alfred Worden, Command Module Pilot; James Irwin, Lunar Module Pilot.
Scott cancels an envelope on the Moon.
Apollo 15 Mission Commander David Scott
Apollo 15 was the ninth crewed mission in the United States' Apollo program and the fourth to land on the Moon. It was the first J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon and a greater focus on science than earlier landings. Apollo 15 saw the first use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
James Irwin salutes the United States flag on the Moon, August 2, 1971
Left to right: Scott, Worden, IrwinApollo program← Apollo 14Apollo 16 →
Gordon (right) and Schmitt during geology training
Commander David Scott takes a photograph during geology training in Hawaii, December 1970