Apollo Lunar Extravehicular Visor Assembly

Apollo 17 CDR Eugene Cernan during EVA practice.  Note red Commander’s stripe down center of helmet

Left – Apollo 11 early LEVA Center – Jack Schmidt at Taurus-Littrow with final version of LEVA Right – Late version LEVA.  NASA photo.
The Lunar Extravehicular Visor Assembly (LEVA) was designed to fit over the Apollo Pressure Helmet Assembly (aka Bubble Helmet), and latch into place.  The LEVA provided “visual, thermal, and mechanical protection to the crewman’s helmet and head.”  The LEVA was an elegant design, consisting in one assembly of a thermal cover, 2 visors, and 3 eyeshades. The 2 visors were layered over each other.  The inner “protective visor” was made of ultraviolet-stabilized polycarbonate plastic and filtered ultraviolet rays, rejected infrared and, in combination with the sun visor and pressure helmet, formed an effective thermal barrier.  The outer “sun visor” was made of high-temperature polysulfone plastic and filtered visible light and most ultraviolet and infrared rays.
The LEVA, like the EMU and most Apollo hardware, went through a few evolutionary steps. The first LEVAs worn on the moon on Apollo 11 featured the basic LEVA with side visors only.  Apollo 12 added the center eyeshade with viewport door.  Apollo’s 13 – 17 LEVAs featured side and center eyeshades, as well as a hard shell cover over the thermal cover on top of the LEVA.  The hard shell covering the LEVA ws added after it was discovered that micrometeoroids were penetrating the thermal covering of the LEVA.  The commander’s LEVA sported the red CDR stripe down the center from Apollo 13 on. Also of note, on Apollos 15 – 17 the surface crewmen wore the PLSS Tool Carrier Harness on their backpacks.  In order to facilitate dropping the harness off the PLSS to reenter the LM quickly in the event of an emergency, a pair of straps was attached with velcro to each side of the LEVA.  Click on photo below to see the straps.
Photo above and at top of page courtesy Kipp Teague’s Project Apollo Archive

NASA LEVA diagram Detailed diagram  showing all the  major parts of the  early LEVA
Front view.  Note  tabs to pull down  the various visors  and eye shades.  Also note image  of a smiling  Paul Kashuk  reflected in the  visor!Side view, with  side eyeshades  pulled downGreat photo!  Note  that Paul put tape  measures in the  photo.  Inside of  helmet is red and  the cowling flaps  on the bottom of  the LEVA are  shown.  Note the open latch on the  front.Side view.  Every  seam on the thermal  cover is visible.
Front view showing  the hinge mechanismLatch mechanism and EMU  helmet ringInside-the-helmet view of the hinge  mechanism
Luna Spacey

Luna Spacey

Luna Spacey, a distinguished space researcher, earned her Ph.D. in Astrophysics from MIT, specializing in exotic matter near black holes. Joining NASA post-graduation, she significantly contributed to the discovery of gravitational waves, enriching cosmic understanding.With a 15-year stellar career, Luna has numerous published papers and is currently spearheading a dark matter research project. Beyond her profession, she’s an avid stargazer, dedicated to community science education through local school workshops.Luna also cherishes hiking and astrophotography, hobbies that harmoniously blend her admiration for nature and the cosmos, making her a revered figure in both the scientific and local communities.

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