Apollo Program Missions' List

Neil Armstrong descending LM ladder on July, 20th 1969	Apollo 16 Lunar Rover Vehicle (LRV)
pictures courtesy NASA

The Original Lunar Missions NASA Timetable Since Apollo 15
By November 1967, NASA released the planned schedule for the Apollo missions to be flown in 1968 and 1969, a combination of unmanned tests and manned flights on both the Saturn 1B and Saturn 5 rockets, as the timetable was highly dependent on the next to come Apollo 4 flight and the assumed success of all subsequent missions. The flights in 1968 would consist of:

• Apollo 5 - first unmanned test of the LM in earth orbit
• Apollo 6 - second unmanned flight test of the Saturn 5 and CSM
• Apollo 7 - third unmanned test of the Saturn 5 and CSM
• Apollo 8 - second unmanned flight test of the LM in earth orbit
• Apollo 9 - first manned Apollo flight, a 10-day mission to qualify the CSM
• Apollo 10 - first manned flight on the Saturn 5. This mission would provide first manned operation in space with both the CSM and LM, including crew transfer from CSM to LM and rendezvous and docking

The five following flights in 1969 were to be manned Saturn 5 missions, Apollo 11 through 15, with the first four as lunar mission development flights or lunar mission simulations. It was thought that a lunar landing could not be attempted before Apollo 15, or on one of the subsequent missions. The real Apollo missions flown were far from that timetable. Late, until into April 1968, it was far from certain whether the Moon landing goal would be met by the USA, or whether the Soviets might beat them. On April 27, 1968, NASA Administrator James E. Webb approved the plan to fly the third Saturn V mission with a crew as he based his decision on the work of engineers who quickly understood and fixed the problems encountered during the Apollo 6 mission earlier in that month and Webb decision brought the Moon landing closer

Selecting 5 Landing Sites
On February 8, 1968, after two years of study, NASA’s Apollo Site Selection Board announced five potential landing sites for the first human lunar landing. Five 3 by 5-mile landing areas, chosen from an original list of 30 candidate sites, satisfied certain criteria in which astronaut safety was paramount. All five sites were within the 'Apollo Zone of Interest,' a area on the visible side of the Moon between 45 degrees East and West longitude and between 5 degrees North and South of the lunar equator. To select the five areas, the Board used high-resolution orbital photography returned by five Lunar Orbiters and surface data and photographs provided by Surveyors that landed in the general area of some of the sites. The Board had considered the following criteria to determine the suitability of the candidate sites: smoothness, cleared approach paths, least amount of propellant needed, allowing for a delay in the launch countdown, remaining within reach 'free-return trajectory,' that is a path that would allow a coast around the Moon and safe return to Earth without any engine firings should a problem arise on the way to the Moon, a sufficient Sun angle for illumination (giving a one-day launch window per month), a slope of the terrain less than 2 degree. The five sites were sharing into two sites in the Sea of Tranquility, one in Sinus Medii, and two in the Ocean of Storms. When the first lunar landing closed in, the list was shortened to three sites before one of those would be designated as the prime landing site

->Abb.: C, commander; CM, Command module; CP, Command Module pilot; CSM, Command and Service Module; KSC, Kennedy Space Center (then Cape Canaveral), FL; LM, Lunar Module; LP, Lunar Module pilot; SPS, Service Propulsion System. note: the Apollo program had the commanders really piloting the LM and not the crewmember who officially wore the title 'LM pilot.' As Edwin Aldrin Jr was the LM Pilot for the Apollo 11 mission, it was Neil Armstrong who flew the LM

(data NASA)

->The Pogo Effect and Other Troubles With the Apollo 6 Mission
Pogo occurred when a partial vacuum in the fuel and oxidizer feed lines reached the engine firing chamber causing the engine to skip. These oscillations then travelled up the axis of the launch vehicle resulting in intense vibration in the Command and Service Module (CSM) and causing some structural damage. The pogo problem was nothing new to the world of rocketry as early launch vehicles such as the Thor, and even the Titan II used for the Gemini program, had a similar experience, as did, to a lesser degree, the Apollo 4 mission. Marshall Space Flight Center Director Wernher von Braun conceded that the 'flight clearly left a lot to be desired. With [this problem], we just cannot go to the Moon,' as the perspective to place a crew on Apollo 8 made solving the pogo issue of a critical importance. NASA formed a Pogo Working Group comprised of more than a 1,000 government and industry engineers to come up with a solution capable of verification through ground testing. The Working Group organized a rigorous investigation, which determined the key to mitigating the pogo effect included ‘de-tuning’ the F-1 engine to change the frequency of the vibration it produced and filling the charged prevalve cavities on the liquid oxygen (LOX) feed lines with helium gas from the tank pressurization system. Injecting helium into those lines prior to ignition would effectively work as a shock absorber by holding engine pulses into LOX lines and the vehicle structure preventing the oscillations from traveling up and down fuel and oxidizer feed lines. Mathematical models were developed based upon previous flights and verified through a series of tests, while static test firings of first stages for upcoming missions were tested with pogo suppression hardware installed as, on July 15, Apollo Program Director and NASA Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight concurred with the group’s solution. The Pogo oscillation problems also affected the stacking of the Apollo 8, bringing to a de-stacking and repairs. However, the failure of the J-2 engines on the second and third stages presented more of a challenge. Early on, the team investigating the failure discovered a leak of liquid hydrogen gas at 70 seconds into the burning of the second stage in engine number 2. This leak in the bellows section of the Augmented Spark Ignitor (ASI) fuel line started as a small leak in a defect which eventually resulted in catastrophic failure. The investigation determined that unfortunately, the failure of engine two was compounded when, as combustion pressure began to fall, sensing equipment triggered the shutdown of a different engine, number three. The restart failure of the J-2 engine in the third stage was chalked up to the same defect in the ASI. How was such a major problem missed by engineers during testing? It turns out that during ground testing, frost on the lines from cold propellant temperatures had added a degree of extra protection from vibrations in the bellows section. Because this same process does not occur in the vacuum of space, fatigue cracks emerged. Vacuum tests of eight ASI lines at Rocketdyne facilities resulted in the failure of all eight, each time in the same bellows section. The fix required the removal of the bellows sections from subsequent lines and additional vacuum testing on all upper second and third stage engine flexible lines. Almost two years of Apollo spacecraft redesign and testing occurred, generally, after the Apollo 1 fire in January 1967

->August 1968 NASA Decisions
In August 1968, Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager faced that the Saturn V rocket performed extremely well on Apollo 4, its first test flight in November 1967, but during Apollo 6 five months later, it encountered several significant anomalies. Engineers found solutions to those problems and NASA management decided that on its third flight, Apollo 8, expected to occur before the end of the year, the Saturn V would carry astronauts. As the Apollo Command and Service Module (CSM) had performed well and was ready for its first crewed Earth orbital shakedown mission, Apollo 7, in October, the Lunar Module (LM) as far as it is concerned, performed well on Apollo 5, its first uncrewed flight in January 1968. The LM that would first carry astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center in June. But testing revealed numerous problems with the vehicle that indicated it wouldn’t be ready to fly until sometime in early 1969. Apollo 8 by late 1967, was considered to be the third uncrewed test flight of the Moon rocket as NASA in April 1968, transformed it into the first Saturn V to carry a crew and to test the Lunar Module (LM) and the Command and Service Module (CSM), in an Earth orbital flight. Preparations for the LM ran behind schedule, and in August NASA deleted that component from the mission and began to consider other options, including a lunar orbital flight. A final decision on a lunar mission was contingent upon Apollo 7 being successful. Deletion of the LM from the flight also led to a change of the crew who would fly Apollo 8. To complicate matters, intelligence reports indicated that the Soviets were close to sending cosmonauts on a trip around the Moon, possibly before the end of the year. In a meeting with other managers, the Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager exposed his proposal of sending Apollo 8 to the Moon, instead of an Earth orbital test of the LM. His rationale was that since the LM wouldn’t be ready before early 1969, to maintain the program’s momentum, a flight was needed to fill the gap after Apollo 7. Without a LM, another Earth orbital flight wouldn’t advance the program much. However, by sending Apollo 8 to the Moon NASA would gain valuable experience in navigation and communications at lunar distances. The plan was eventually approved by all NASA centers involved and NASA's chain of decision and the Apollo 9 planned crew swapped roles with the Apollo 8's. Apollo 8 was to fly on a circumlunar mission without a LM in December 1968 and the originally assigned Apollo 8 team of Commander James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott and Russell L. Schweickart would instead fly the Apollo 9 Earth orbital first LM test in early 1969. Assuming NASA directors, and ultimately President Lyndon B. Johnson agreed to the plan, NASA had only four months to prepare for the first human voyage to another celestial body. No formal decision about a lunar mission eventually would be made until after a successful Apollo 7 flight in October 1968, which would prove the space-worthiness of the Apollo Command and Service Module in Earth orbit. Until then, plans for a lunar mission were kept strictly within NASA. A formal announcement on August 19 stated only that the LM was no longer part of the Apollo 8 flight and that the agency was considering various mission objectives. Following tests in 1968, NASA engineers modified the spacecraft, included replacing the older version side hatch with an easier to open unified lightweight version, installing a docking probe to the forward tunnel to dock with the Lunar Module, and installing a high-gain steerable antenna needed for communications at lunar distances. Other changes were applied too in lesser equipments and procedures. The preparing of the Apollo 7 was also marked by that NASA Administrator James E. Webb unexpectedly announced that he would be resigning effective October 7, his 62nd birthday. In September 1968, NASA had also began preparing for the next two missions following Apollo 7, which were to use the larger Saturn V rocket to carry astronauts into space. Apollo 8, scheduled for December 1968, was at this time planned as an Earth orbital test of the Saturn V with the Command and Service Module (CSM), but NASA was considering other options for the mission, including a circumlunar flight as its objective was still under consideration, dependent on the success of Apollo 7. Apollo 9 was planned for early 1969 to be the first crewed flight of a Lunar Module (LM), in an Earth orbit test of all three principal Apollo spacecraft components. And Soviet pressure only increased through the fall as they flew two uncrewed Zond circumlunar missions, and US reconnaissance satellite imagery showed a large Saturn V-sized N-1 rocket undergoing testing on its launch pad at the Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The context thus was that of that the race to the Moon was heating up between the United States and the Soviet Union. Both powers were also recovering from tragic losses. Three Apollo 1 astronauts perished in a launch pad fire on Jan. 27, 1967 as that same year, a lone cosmonaut aboard Soyuz 1 died when the spacecraft crashed on April 24. Russia also made strides with that problem as cosmonaut Georgi T. Beregovoy's successful flight also added to pressure on NASA. With all this work to prepare for challenging space flights, NASA employees took some time out to celebrate the Agency's 10th anniversary on October 1. Several centers held open houses to commemorate the event. By October 8th, 1968, both the Apollo 7 and 8 missions were standing at their respective launch pad in the KSC, Complex 34 (along Cape Canaveral shores) and 39-A (one of both main pads of the KSC still used nowadays) respectively, and the preparation of the Apollo 8 mission kept there until launch. The NASA announced that the Apollo 8 mission would be a orbital flight around the Moon on November 12, 1968. Instead of delaying Apollo 8 for cause of that the Lunar Module could not be ready in time, NASA turned the Apollo 8 into acquiring valuable experience in navigation and communications at lunar distances. The flight plan for Apollo 8 called for a open-ended mission using commit points to advance to each successive goal. The crew assigned to the Apollo 8 mission, Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James A. Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William A. Anders, held a news conference in the auditorium at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now the Johnson Space Center in Houston, on November 16

Apollo 7	Oct 11th, 1968. Saturn 1B. 11:02 a.m. EDT. KSC (Complex 34)	Oct 22nd, 1968 7:11 p.m. EDT Atlantic Ocean	Donn Eisele, Walt Cunningham, Walter Schira (C)	Manned Command and Service Module test mission (SPS included). The Apollo 7 was the first American crewed flight since Gemini 12 in November 1966, and marked a resumption of human space flights halted by the Apollo fire in January 1967. Senior management from NASA Headquarters, the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), the Marshall Space Flight Center, and the Manned Spacecraft Center (now the Johnson Space Center) met at KSC on October 3 for the Apollo 7 Flight Readiness Review and gave the green light to the flight. That first crewed Apollo space mission was an engineering test flight, with its primary objectives to demonstrate the command and service module, or CSM, CSM rendezvous capability, crew performance and mission support facilities performance during a crewed mission. It was the first time astronauts flew aboard a Saturn V in its Saturn IB version. It was also the first U.S. three-person spaceflight and the first time astronauts were launched by a liquid hydrogen-powered rocket. Donn Eisele and Walt Cunningham belonged to NASA's 3rd class of astronauts as they flew for the first time. Apollo 7 was nicknamed 'The Walt, Wally and Donn Show,' from the names of crew. The flight was designated as open-ended depending on its progress in orbit but was expected to last 10.8 days, long enough to prove the spacecraft’s ability to carry out a lunar mission. The flight proper was preceded with a series of tests. The Command and Service Module was assembled with the Saturn IB launcher at the pad only. As one of the tests to certify Apollo 7 to carry out the first crewed Apollo mission, three astronauts participated in a 48-hour recovery test of an Apollo Command Module (CM) at sea, in the Gulf of Mexico. The test also checked how a Apollo spacecraft fared if the recovery of the capsule and crew were delayed for up to two days. The crew reported that while they did not 'recommend the Apollo spacecraft for any extended sea voyages' they encountered no serious habitability problems during the 48-hour test. The Apollo capsule used in this recovery test, CM-007A, served primarily as a module for crewed post landing tests as its instrument panel was just a mockup. Astronauts practiced escape exercises. A 6-day Countdown Demonstration Test (CDDT) also occurred a complete rehearsal of the actual countdown to exercise not only the launch team at KSC but also Mission Control at the Manned Spacecraft Center (controllers monitored the simulated countdown in the firing room of Launch Complex 34, in the reinforced concrete Blockhouse about 320 yards from the launch pad). Schirra reported the ascent to orbit was smooth, and smoother than his previous launches on Atlas and Titan rockets. About 15 hours into the mission Schirra reported that he had come down with a head cold as both other astronauts reported soon similar symptoms as headward shift of body fluids in space aggravated the congestion which remained for the rest of the mission, likely contributing to some of the tensions between them and Mission Control (that lately brought that crew flew the reentry into the Earth's atmosphere without their helmets to be able to accomodate with pressure increase, which the Mission Control reluctantly agreed). Crew flew 163 orbits as the mission scored a total flight time of 260 hours and 9 minutes, and TV broadcasted live. A simulated LM docking was performed using the spent S-IVB stage. The CSM SPS engine was used to slow Apollo for reentry on its Earth's orbit as 8 test-firings of the engine occurred flawlessly, giving the crew a real kick! Broadcasting live television from the spacecraft, the first television broadcast from inside an American spacecraft, consisted in that, three days after liftoff, the Apollo 7 camera was turned on, allowing Mission Control and viewers around the world to watch the crew in orbit. Eisele holded a sign which said 'From the lovely Apollo room, high atop everything, or 'Keep Those Cards and Letters Coming In, Folks.' Seven TV events occurred in total as they had to be timed with spacecraft passes over the continental United States, because only the ground stations in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Merritt Island, Florida, had the equipment to receive the signals and convert them into the proper format for broadcasting. In 1969 the Apollo 7 crew received a special Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for their TV broadcasts from space. One notable event that took place while they were in space was the wedding of Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of President John F. Kennedy, to Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis. For the first time, the crew could have hot meals including coffee available to them, using heated water to rehydrate packages of food, marking a significant improvement over earlier programs. To stay fit, astronauts spent time working out on a portable exercise device called the Exer-Genie. After the flight, Schirra described the Apollo CSM as 'a magnificent flying machine.' The flight generally, was so succesfull that Lt. Gen. Samuel C. Phillips, director of NASA's Apollo Program Office declared that Apollo 7 'accomplished 101%' of its planned objectives and that he considered that he had 'every confidence that the progress of this mission will let us accomplish [a lunar landing] by the end of next year,' as that much work still remained before NASA decided to send Apollo 8 on a lunar orbit mission. Mission landed southeast of Bermuda, less than 1.2 mile off target landing point. In support of Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission planned for October 1968, and other future missions, engineers needed to certify the Command and Service Module (CSM) to carry a crew. Part of that certification included conducting structural tests of the vehicle so it is not impaired by severe launch environments or the aerodynamic noise and vibration stresses expected during flight. The lunar mission vibration criteria were also verified. A manned test on February 10, 1968 was performed with Astronaut Gordon Cooper aboard Apollo CSM 105 and two mannequins to determine if crewmen would experience visual problems during the Saturn V launch low-frequency vibrations. Eventually only a bent strut in the vehicle was found like a default at that strut’s installation procedures were modified to prevent a recurrence during an actual flight. Apollo 7 became the second longest American spaceflight, a position it held until Apollo 15 in 1971 as the mission also passed the expected duration of a lunar landing mission, proving that the Apollo spacecraft and its crew could operate successfully for that length of time	10d 20h 9mn
Apollo 8	Dec 21st, 1968. Saturn V. 7:51 a.m. EST. KSC (Complex 39-A)	Dec 27th, 1968 10:51 a.m. EST Pacific Ocean	Frank Borman, James Lovell Jr., William Anders	picture NASA This mission was the program's first Moon test flight and first manned Saturn V. On October 28, 1968 NASA was still assessing three possibilities for the mission -- a Earth orbital flight deeper into space, a circumlunar fly-by, and a lunar orbit mission -- as a decision to be announced in mid-November. Preparations for the following two missions, Apollo 9 and 10, were well underway, and Apollo 9 was planned as the first crewed flight of the Lunar Module (LM) in Earth orbit in February 1969 and Apollo 10 most likely as a lunar orbit flight three months later. Astronaut Michael Collins, who was to be Apollo 8 Command Module Pilot had to undergo surgery for a bone spur in his neck and was replaced by NASA in August 1968 by backup astronaut James Lovell. Collins then joined the Apollo 11 mission like the Command Module Pilot. Apollo 8, initially, had been planned to conduct a low Earth orbit flight only, as recentest successes of Soviet unmanned probes or delays with the Lunar Module had NASA to decide, four months before launch only, that Apollo 8 should reach the Moon. Russian Zond 5 and Zond 6 in September and November 1968, respectively, had achieved the primary goal of looping around the Moon and returning to Earth. The mission thus turned into a scouting mission for the following ones as it was also a historic one. Lunar Module was a mock only due to delays about the real LM (the Apollo Lunar Module (LM) was vacuum tested in Houston by the fall of 1968 for lunar distances as earlier tests in May 1968 had certified the LM for Earth orbital missions). Amidst the atmosphere of the troubled times of the mid-1960's in the USA, NASA engineers huddled in sequestered, cinder block buildings and strategized with abandon and focused their collective efforts. The USSR had launched its Zond 5 and 6 lunar probes, urging the US program to keep the first at Moon. And astronauts were told they were going to the Moon. No single pair of eyeballs were to have ever been so far from Earth’s gravitational influence nor any human traveling so fast. On launch day, thousands gathered on nearby sandy beaches to watch the historic event, the first time humans were to reach to beyond Earth’s orbit. At launch, the crew felt the crushing forces of 3.9g. A select group of politicians, celebrities, and families and friends of the astronauts had been invited by NASA to attend the historic event. The primary Apollo 8 mission objectives included a coordinated performance of the crew, the command and service module and the support facilities. The mission also demonstrated trans-lunar injection allowing to reach to the Moon. All primary mission objectives were met. Apollo 8 was also the occasion to check how a crew could reenter the Earth atmosphere from a high-speed trajectory back from Moon, with a velocity clocked in at 24,696 mph, and heat-shield temperatures at 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. During the 66-hour coast to the Moon, the spacecraft was oriented with the SPS engine facing in the direction of travel, so the windows were pointed toward the Earth but just a few minutes before the insertion into lunar orbit, the crew had its first glimpse of the Moon. 69 hours, 8 minutes and 16 seconds after launch, the crew reached the far side of the Moon. The 4-minute insertion burn put the capsule into a elliptical 70-by-195-mile orbit, which was then circularized at 70 miles. A orbit around the Moon lasted about 2 hours. Apollo 8 was the first U.S. mission in which the crew members had mild motion sickness, similar to seasickness. The symptoms lasted few and did not affect the mission. Frank Borman (NASA's second astronaut group), Jim Lovell (idem) and Bill Anders (third astronaut group) thus turned the first humans to orbit a other world. In preparation for the launch, the astronauts had arrived at KSC on Dec. 10, the day after attending a state dinner hosted by President Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House to honor NASA's many accomplishments. The countdown began since Dec. 15. The translunar injection (TLI) occurred two hours and 50 minutes after liftoff, with the Saturn V's third stage fired, propelling the spacecraft to 24,208 mph. That was faster than any human had ever flown before. The firing of the spacecraft's service propulsion system (SPS) engine to place Apollo 8 in lunar orbit took place behind the Moon while out of contact with Earth. One had to wait for a long 37 minutes and 32 seconds until confirmation that Apollo 8 had entered the lunar orbit. Apollo 8 orbited 10 times at a altitude of about 60 miles. Astronauts reported that the lunar surface looked '[l]ike dirty beach sand with lots of footprints in it,' or '[was] a vast, lonely, forbidding-type existence, or expanse of nothing, that looks rather like clouds and clouds of pumice stone.' Also: "the vast loneliness up here of the Moon is awe inspiring, and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth [...] a grand oasis in the big vastness of space.' The crew entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1968 as they circled Moon 10 times. On Christmas Eve, astronauts issued a live television broadcast from space as the LEM pilot, William Anders, and other astronauts in turn, reading the first sentences from the book of Genesis. NASA had told them that on Christmas Eve, they would have the largest audience -millions- that had ever listened to a human voice, and to do something appropriate. The reading was made by reference to all religions which build upon Bible. The broadcast included too the first live images taken from space of the Moon's surface and the Earth, on Christmas evening as Apollo 8 too beamed the iconic 'Earthrise' image snapped by astronaut Anders and which would give humankind a new perspective on their home planet (the photo was rotated right from its original orientation -- which is seen here -- as the lunar horizon was approximately 421 nautical miles (780 kilometers) from the spacecraft; unnamed surface features on the left are near the eastern limb of the Moon as viewed from Earth). Several TV broadcast were performed as international TV broadcasting was a relatively new concept at the time. On Christmas morning, mission control waited anxiously for word that Apollo 8's 3-minute, 23-second engine burn to leave lunar orbit had worked as it also occurred above the Moon's far side. They soon got confirmation when Lovell radioed, 'Roger, please be informed there is a Santa Claus.' For the first time ever, men from Earth had visited the Moon and returned home safely. The Apollo 8 flight was a daring one as it was the third flight of the Saturn V launcher only. But the limit date to the promise of President Kennedy was nearing as intelligence service worried about how the Soviet N1 lunar program was advancing. The Trans Earth Injection was very precise as only one midcourse correction was needed. About 15 minutes before Entry Interface, a point 400,000 feet (about 75 miles) in altitude where the spacecraft began to encounter the outermost fringes of the Earth’s atmosphere, the crew jettisoned the Service Module and turned the Command Module (CM) around so its heat shield was facing in the direction of flight. At that point, there were traveling at 24,695 miles per hour, the highest velocity ever achieved by humans. The entry into the atmosphere imparted up to 7Gs force and temperatures outside the spacecraft reached 5,000 degrees. A sheath of ionozed gases formed around the capsule during reentry prevented communications between the spacecraft and Mission Control, resulting in a brief three-minute blackout period. At about 35 miles altitude, using the vehicle’s aerodynamic lift properties to minimize heating, the spacecraft actually raised its altitude back up to about 40 miles before resuming its descent. Two drogue parachutes opened at 23,000 feet altitude to slow the spacecraft to about 200 miles per hour, followed at 10,000 feet by the three main parachutes slowing the capsule to a splash at a mere 21 miles per hour. Back on the recovery ship, the astronauts took a call from President Lyndon B. Johnson who congratulated them on an outstanding mission, and relaying a message from the Soviets, who were 'very felicitous about the welfare of the astronauts.'. The next day, they took a helicopter to Hickam Air Force Base (AFB) in Hawaii and then boarded a transport plane back to continental USA Houston's Ellington AFB. TIME magazine designated three astronauts Men of the Year for 1968. The Apollo 8 capsule is now on display at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. In a trouble 1968 year worldwide, Apollo 8 achievements gave back hope for the future. The landing had occurred by night. Acting NASA administrator declared the mission 'a true pioneering effort' and that the USA were 'at the onset of a program of space flight that will extend through many generations' as some days they 'will be manning space stations, conducting lunar explorations and blazing trails out to the planets.' The United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp celebrating Apollo 8, with a view of the Earthrise above the Moon as the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) approved by 2018 the naming of two crater seen on the infamous view of our Earth take by the Apollo 8 mission, to mark by 2018 the 50th anniversary of the mission, and more specifically, the famous photograph	6d 3h 0mn 42s
Apollo 9	March 3rd, 1969. Saturn V. 11:00 a.m. EST. KSC (Complex 39-A)	March 13th, 1969 12:00 p.m. EST Atlantic Ocean	James McDivitt, David Scott, Russell Schweickart	Earth orbit manned Lunar Module test flight (rendez-vous, docking, separation). Stacking of the Apollo 9 Saturn V was completed in October 1968, with the Apollo spacecraft added in early December as that mission was the first crewed mission to test the all-important LM. As three crew developed sore throats and nasal congestion the launch countdown had to be halted. The most critical tasks were scheduled for the first five days of the mission to maximize the chances of accomplishing them, should a anomaly force an early end to the flight. The crew had to conduct the first extravehicular activity of the Apollo program, the only one scheduled before the spacewalk on the Moon’s surface, to test the reliability of the Apollo A-7L space suit and the Portable Life Support System (PLSS) backpack. Astronauts were also to test the capability of crews to transfer through open space, in case a malfunction with the transfer tunnel or hatches between the two spacecraft prevented an internal transfer. This was the only spacewalk experience and in-orbit vacuum test of the space suit before the Moon landing. 2 versions of the Apollo A7L space suit had been developped -- one for intravehicular activity (IVA), with a hose porting life support -- and one for extravehicular activity (EVA) which included the Portable Life Support System (PLSS) backpack. On its first uncrewed test flight, with Apollo 5 in January 1968, the LM had performed so well that NASA deemed a second unpiloted test flight unnecessary. The mission was designed to rehearse all the steps and reproduce all the events of the Apollo 11 mission with the exception of the lunar touchdown, stay and liftoff. It had to perform a engineering test of the lunar module and overall check of the launch vehicle and spacecraft systems, the crew, and procedures as all the objectives were successfully met. Apollo 9 was the second crewed mission to launch on a Saturn V rocket. Primary mission objectives included an Earth-orbital engineering test of the first crewed LM and an overall checkout of the launch vehicle and spacecraft systems, the crew and procedures. All prime mission objectives were met and all major spacecraft systems were successfully demonstrated. The Apollo 9 spacecraft, still attached to the S-IVB third stage was placed into a accurate orbit just over 11 minutes after liftoff as it was the heaviest crewed spacecraft placed into Earth orbit to that time, at 95,231 pounds. After launch, control passed from the Launch Control Center (LCC) to Mission Control at the Manned Spacecraft Center, now the Johnson Space Center in Houston where three teams of controllers worked in eight-hour shifts until splashdown. Three capsule communicators, or Capcoms, astronauts in Mission Control speaking directly with the crew succeded themselves during the mission. Two hours and 41 minutes after launch, the Command and Service Module separated from the S-IVB third stage and pulled a safe distance away and the four panels of the Spacecraft LM Adapter (SLA) that protected the LM during launch were jettisoned. The Apollo capsule was turned around to face the LM still attached to the S-IVB, and slowly closed the gap between the two spacecraft, completing a successful docking. About an hour later, springs ejected the docked spacecraft from the S-IVB. Ground controllers also took benefit from the flight as they twice restarted the S-IVB’s engine to simulate a Trans Lunar Injection, eventually sending the spent rocket stage into solar orbit. Then several engine burns proved the the controllability of the docked LM and CSM vehicles. Astronauts then entered into the LM and activated varied systems of which the engine of its Descent Propulsion System (DPS). Astronaut Schweickart experienced symptoms of space motion sickness. The main purpose of testing the LM engine was paradoxically to evaluate if it could serve as a backup in case of a problem with the Apollo capsule's Service Propulsion System (SPS)! On Flight Day 4, a spacewalk occurred out of both the Command Module and the LM, with a umbilical link or a life support system respectively. On Flight Day 5, flight tests were performed related to the LM's maneuvrability and to rendezvous with the CSM (the LM was brought up to a distance of 100 miles away), during which the LM's Descent Stage was jettisoned. After a successful rendezvous maneuver, astronauts jettisoned the LM. The crew then put to work Experiment S065 Multispectral Terrain Photography, a cluster of four Hasselblad 70 mm cameras pointed out the Command Module’s (CM) round hatch window, taking photographs simultaneously in four specific portions of the visible and near infrared spectrum. The experiment served as a precursor for the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS), later renamed Landsat, and for multispectral photography conducted aboard the Skylab space station in the early 1970's. Mission control decided to delay mission's splashdown by one day due to inclement weather at the planned time. A 11-second engine burn over Hawaii deorbited the crew. The capsule then separated from the service module and pointed its heat shield in the direction of reentry, with a 4-minute radio blackout occurring in the atmospheric layers. The capsule touched down 3 miles from the prime recovery USS Guadalcanal. The Apollo capsule was transported to North American Rockwell for postflight inspection. NASA also took profit of the return of Apollo to conduct a simulation of the whole recovery operations, of which the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF), with the Lunar Receiving Laboratory. 'We tested every possible thing that could be tested [in Earth's orbit],' one of the crew said	10d 1h
Apollo 10	May 18th, 1969. Saturn V. 12:49 a.m. EDT. KSC (Complex 39-B)	May 29th, 1969 12:52 p.m. EDT. Pacific Ocean	Eugene Cernan, John Young, Thomas Stafford	The crew for the Apollo 10 mission, scheduled for the spring of 1969, had been announced on Nov. 13, 1968. Possible scenarios for Apollo 10 ranged from an Earth orbital flight to a lunar orbit mission, depending on the success of the preceding two missions. On Mar. 11, 1969, NASA rolled the Saturn V rocket for the Apollo 10 mission to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center marking the first use of the second pad at Launch Complex 39. The assembly of the Apollo 10 Saturn V had taken place in the VAB’s High Bay 2, which required the rollout to occur from the rear of the building, loop around to the front and then make a left turn to reach Launch Pad B. The eight-day Apollo 10 mission, targeting a mid-May launch, was planned as a dress rehearsal of the Moon landing. The LM was to descend to about 50,000 feet above the lunar surface, and photograph the primary landing site for Apollo 11 in the Sea of Tranquility as except for the actual descent and touchdown to the surface, Apollo 10 would follow all the steps of the actual Moon landing mission. Stafford stated before the mission that Apollo 10 was to 'sort out all the unknowns and actually pave the whole way for the lunar landing mission.' Apollo 10 Command Module was featured with a color TV system in addition to the standard black and white cameras (color television broadcasts throughout the flight brought the experience into everyone's living rooms). A Flight Readiness Test (FRT) occurred April 7-10 1969 and followed by the Countdown Demonstration Test in early May. The crew also participated in simulations of the various phases of their mission, a water egress after splashdown training in the Gulf of Mexico. Apollo 10 eventually was a Moon rehearsal flight (first comprehensive lunar-orbital qualification and verification test of the lunar lander altogether with testing the work of flight controllers and control network). All operations were performed except real landing (on May, 22nd Stafford and Cernan entered LM and practised low lunar orbit passes as Young kept orbiting the Moon a an altitude of 60 miles. They descended down to 47,400 feet from surface during an 8-h flight; the crew also refined knowledge of the lunar gravity needed to calibrate the descent guidance system for a landing). 31 lunar orbits. TV images transmitted Earth as photographs were taken from the Apollo 11 landing site in the Sea of Tranquility. That flight was the first to make use of Launch Pad 39B as Apollo 10 set the record for the highest velocity attained to date by a piloted vehicle at 24,791 mph during reentry, and still holding as the capsule was descending to the Entry Interface. Apollo 11 first was placed into a 69- by 196-mile elliptical orbit around the Moon, then circularized at 69 miles, as Stafford radioed to Mission Control: 'You can tell the world that we have arrived,' as Cernan summing the lunar views the crew saw below them: 'It might sound corny, but the view is really out of this world.' They also saw how many features were lighted by Earthshine on the dark side of the Moon. During its 8-hour 10-minute solo flight the Snoopy LM met all planned objectives. Due to residual air pressure in the docking tunnel that couldn't be vented, Snoopy departed at a higher than expected speed as a fired engine sent it into a solar orbit after docking back. During their last day in lunar orbit, Stafford, Cernan, and Young took stereo images of the Apollo 11 landing site and treated the ground to a 24-minute color TV broadcast, showing views of the lunar surface including that landing site. The Trans Earth Injection (TEI), a 165-second burn of the Service Propulsion System (SPS) engine was successfully completed while the spacecraft was behind the Moon and out of communications with Earth. The TEI burn was so precise that the first planned midcourse correction during the coast to Earth was not needed. The crew conducted a small midcourse correction maneuver near Earth only, refining the path to reentry and Apollo 10 splashed down East of American Samoa, shortly before sunrise	8d 0h 3mn 23s
Apollo 11	July 16th, 1969. Saturn V. 9:32 a.m. EDT KSC (Complex 39-A)	July 24th, 1969 12:50 p.m. EDT Pacific Ocean	Neil Armstrong (C), Michael Collins (CP), Edwin Aldrin Jr (LP)	Landing mission. On March 5, 1969 U.S. President Richard M. Nixon had nominated Thomas O. Paine, Acting NASA Administrator since October 1968, to be NASA’s third Administrator as March 28, the USA learned of the death of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had been instrumental in the establishment of NASA in 1958. The primary goal of the first Moon landing mission was still a goal of advancing lunar space flight, in demonstrating that the Apollo spacecraft systems could safely land two astronauts on the surface and return them safely to Earth. Apollo 11 prime crew was formally announced on Jan. 9, 1969, for a flight which was scheduled for July of that year. Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin all were experienced astronauts, each having flown one Gemini mission. Hardware for the Apollo 11 mission began arriving at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in January 1969 too, like the LM, the command/service module or the Saturn V rocket’s S-IVB third stage. Apollo11 The official NASA document dated June 26, 1969, and signed by Apollo Program Director Lt. Gen. Sam C. Phillips and Associate Administrator for Manned Flight George E. Mueller, worded the primary objective to Apollo 11 like 'perform a manned lunar landing and return.' In case Apollo 11 was not successful at accomplishing the first Moon landing in July 1969, NASA was prepared to try again with Apollo 12 in September, and if that proved unsuccessful as well, with Apollo 13 in December. On June 11, Apollo Program Director at NASA Headquarters announced that it was NASA's intention to carry out the first human lunar landing during the Apollo 11 mission in July pending successful completion of all required preflight activities. The decision was based on the results from the successful Apollo 10 mission and the readiness of mission preparations for Apollo 11. At the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), engineers completed the Flight Readiness Test (FRT) on June 6 and followed by early July by the Countdown Demonstration Test (CDDT). Because of the limited availability of the vehicle, only Apollo Commanders used the single-seat Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV). Lunar Module Pilots as well as Commanders used the Lunar Landing Research Facility (LLRF). In the Mission Control Center (MCC) three teams of flight controllers working eight-hour shifts monitored all aspects of the mission, led by experienced flight directors. The Green Team, led by Clifford E. Charlesworth, was the first shift, on console during the launch and the first few hours of the mission. The second shift, Eugene F. Kranz's White Team, was on console during the Moonlanding, while the Black Team led by Glynn S. Lunney comprised the third team. Flight Directors Milton L. Windler and Gerald D. Griffin provided assistance as required as a team of astronauts intimately familiar with all aspects of the mission served as Capsule Communicators, or Capcoms, talking directly with the crewmembers in space. Lunar Module Eagle landed in the Sea of Tranquility at 4:18 p.m. EDT on July, 20th. The stacking of the mission's elements occurred since April 1969 as April 14, Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager George M. Low announced in a press conference that Commander Neil A. Armstrong would most likely be the first person to exit the LM and take humanity's first steps on the lunar surface and that Lunar Module Pilot Edwin A. Buzz Aldrin would follow about 20 minutes later. The primary rationale for this decision was logistical -- because of the way the LM's hatch opened inward, it would be difficult at best for Aldrin to exit first, as he would need to climb over Armstrong in the cramped quarters of the cabin, both of them wearing bulky spacesuits. Future moonwalkers also trained for their mission during April. The Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) fixed some troubles just prior mission's launch. Should anything have gone wrong during the first hours of the mission, Apollo 11 would have made an emergency splashdown in the Pacific Ocean about 1,600 miles southwest of Hawaii, where the USS Hornet carrier was ready since five hours before the Apollo 11 launch. Armstrong was first man to set foot on the Moon (same day, 10:56 p.m.). Neil Armstrong was likely chosen to be the first man on the Moon because he managed to regain control of the Gemini VIII capsule. "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind," he said when reaching the lunar soil. Surface exploration lasted 2½ h and 47 lbs of lunar material were collected. Apollo 11 science experiments to be deployed on the lunar surface were announced by November 1968, a passive seismometer, a laser ranging retro-reflector, and a solar wind composition experiment. The last only results would be brought home by mission's astronauts as both other could autonomously transmit or passively work. During their flight from Earth, the experiments were stowed in the Scientific Equipment Bay of the LM’s Descent Stage and crew manually retrieved the packages once on the lunar surface and deployed the experiments within 60 feet of the LM. It was NASA's DSS-1 antenna and tracking station which followed surface operations of Apollo 11. LM lift-off back to CSM occurred July 21st, 1969 1:54 p.m. EDT. Landing in Pacific Ocean was at 13° 30' N, 169° 15' E. When leaving the Moon's surface, the Apollo 11 crew were letting there the U.S. flag and a plaque, on the lower stage of the LM, bearing the inscription, 'Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.' With his experience like a test pilot, Neil Armstrong was able to retake the control of the LEM from the autopilot and avoid a field of lunar rocks. That left the LEM with only 30 seconds of fuel at landing! Following their mission, the Apollo 11 three astonauts performed a world tour more on Apollo 11	8d 3h 18mn
Apollo 12	Nov 14th, 1969. Saturn V. 11:22 a.m. EST KSC (Complex 39-A)	Nov 24th, 1969 3:58 p.m. EST Pacific Ocean	Charles Conrad Jr (C), Richard Gordon Jr (CP), Alan Bean (LP)	picture NASA Should Apollo 11 have not been successful in accomplishing the first lunar landing, Apollo 12 was prepared to attempt the first landing in September 1969. There were even backup plans that if Apollo 12 wasn't successful, Apollo 13 would try again in November. Once Apollo 11 accomplished the feat, Apollo 12 was pushed to November (and Apollo 13 to March 1970) and training switched to support a more expanded lunar surface program. Although the Apollo 11 mission did not find any evidence of harmful lunar microorganisms, NASA managers still planned to continue the postflight quarantine program for the Apollo 12. Apollo 12 was planning to stay on the lunar surface for about 35 hours, compared to Apollo 11's 21 hours, and conduct two surface Extravehicular Activities (EVAs) or spacewalks totaling more than 5 hours. On July 29, Apollo Program Director at NASA Headquarters announced that Apollo 12 would aim for a pinpoint landing in Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms) near where the robotic spacecraft Surveyor 3 had landed since two years and half, as during the first of their two excursions, the astronauts would deploy the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) and collect some lunar samples, and during the second they would visit Surveyor 3 and remove some equipment for return to Earth as well as collect additional lunar samples. Rollout to Launch Pad 39A of the Apollo stack occurred in early September. Aircraft carrier USS Hornet kept the prime recovery ship for Apollo 12. On April 10, 1969, NASA formally announced the crew for Apollo 12 as hardware for the mission had begun arriving at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) by March 1969. Landing in Ocean of Storms about 73 miles southeast of Lansberg Crater. Surface operations during 7h 45mn (in two walks). Landing was just near Surveyor 3 craft, the mission had a goal to land at. Items of this U.S. lander were brought back, as geological samples of interest were collected from a ray of Copernicus Crater. An aluminium foil caught solar wind particles. Beginning with the second Moon landing, astronauts deployed more sophisticated experiments as part of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) and conducted more extensive geological surveys around their landing sites. As the Saturn V launched amidst rain clouds, that auto-triggered a lightning which brought the onboard computer out. A launch team engineer eventually found that the fuel cells had to be connected back to solve the trouble. A small group of artists of the time, of which Andy Warhol, smuggled a thumb-sized chip of ceramics known as the 'Moon Museum' on the thermal blankets of the Apollo 12 LEM. Apollo 12 astronauts also performed, like Apollo 11 had, a world goodwill tour, dubbed the “Bullseye” Presidential Goodwill World Tour in reference to the pinpoint landing Conrad and Bean made in the Moon's Ocean of Storms, visiting 21 countries. check a detailed tale of the Apollo 12 mission (compiled from several texts at NASA)	10d 4h 36mn
Apollo 13	April 11th, 1970. Saturn V. 2:13 p.m. EST KSC (Complex 39-A)	April 17th, 1970 1:07 p.m. EST Pacific Ocean	James Lovell Jr, John Swigert Jr, Fred Haise Jr	With NASA announcement in January 1970 of the cancellation of the final Moon landing mission, Apollo 20 schedule for the remaining Moon landing missions were stretched out, lengthening the interval between flights from four to six months. Mission target was Fra Mauro. In October 1969, Apollo 13 had been scheduled for a March 12, 1970, launch to visit the Fra Mauro highlands region of the Moon, with a geological emphasis. The Fra Mauro region was located about 110 miles east of the Apollo 12 touchdown point. Geologists favored the Fra Mauro area for exploration because it formed an extensive geologic unit around Mare Imbrium, the largest lava plain on the Moon. Unlike the Apollo 11 and 12 sites located in the flat lunar maria, Fra Mauro rested in the relatively more rugged lunar highlands. The precision landing by the Apollo 12 crew and their extensive orbital photography of the Fra Mauro region gave NASA confidence to attempt a landing at Fra Mauro. Two days before launch mission managers decided to replace prime Command Module Pilot (CMP) Thomas K. 'Ken' Mattingly with his backup John L. 'Jack' Swigert because Mattingly had been exposed to German measles or rubella, to which he had no natural immunity. Backup Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) Charles M. Duke contracted the rubella virus that causes German measles during a visit to friends and caught it from the son's three-year-old, thereby exposing the rest of the crew. Prime crew Commander James A. Lovell and LMP Fred W. Haise as well as backup Commander John W. Young and CMP Swigert all had natural immunity to the disease. Swigert completed several days of last minute refresher training and integrated well with Lovell and Haise as the new crew of Apollo 13. Mission was interrupted by a Service Module oxygen tank blow up (April 13th, 1970) as craft was heading Moon ("Hey Houston, we've had a problem here"). Crew had to find refuge in Lunar Module until return in Earth orbit. The mission eventually was classified as a 'successful failure' because of the experience gained in rescuing the crew. more on the Apollo 13 disaster	5d 22h 54mn
Apollo 14	Jan 31st, 1971. Saturn V. 4:03 p.m. EST KSC (Complex 39)	Feb 9th, 1971 4:05 p.m. EST Pacific Ocean	Alan Shepard (C), Stuart Roosa (CP), Edgar Mitchell (LP)	As Fra Mauro (Apollo 13 mission) was of geological interest, Apollo 14 was directed to nearly the same place. As Apollo 14 original planned landing site at Littrow needed a training for a volcanic site, sending the crew at the Fra Mauro site needed subsequent training sessions. Apollo 14 also emphasized science observations from lunar orbit. That flight was a hard-fought return to flight for NASA's Apollo Program after the Apollo 13's failure. To honor the Wright brothers' accomplishment - - the U.S. inventors of flight - - Apollo 14 astronauts named their Lunar Module 'Kitty Hawk,' from the place in North Carolinia where they made their first flight. U.S. Air Force pilot Stuart Roosa and Naval aviator Edgar Mitchell were part of NASA's 5th group of astronauts. The descent to the Moon was plagued by two problems (a work-around reprogramming on the LM computer, or cycling the landing radar's breakers were needed). Surface operations astronauts traverse capability was improved due to the Modularized Equipment Transporter (a hand-drawn cart). During the mission, the commander's spacesuit was the first to use red stripes on the arms and legs and on the top of his helmet's sunshade, to better distinguish between him and LM pilot on the surface as identifier was used for the remaining Apollo missions, and the space shuttle missions further, and now on the ISS. Alan Shepard amusingly hit a golf ball on Moon. Docking the CSM to the Lunar Module required 6 tries over more than an hour and a half before the latches activated as a balky guidance system might have handicaped the landing. Crew, with two moon walks totaling 9h 21 mn, explorated a hilly zone about 300 miles from the edge of Mare Imbrium and the hills of Fra Mauro believed to be made of rubble blasted from the Imbrium impact. They failed however to reach the rim of Cone crater, a more recent impact crater about 1,000 feet wide a little over a mile from the lander, due to a hillier terrain. The crew deployed components of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) on the surface. As Roosa had remain in orbit, he photographed the Moon, next landing sites included. Apollo 14 eventually splashed down approximately 760 miles South of American Samoa. The mission returned 100 pounds of rocks and soils and still holds the record for the longest walk on the moon, or approximately 9,000 feet. Pilot Roosa, on its personal allowance, carried and brought back varied tree seeds to the Moon as hundreds of 'moon trees' were distributed as seedlings	9d 1mn 58s
Apollo 15	July 26th, 1971. Saturn V. 9:34 a.m. EDT KSC (Complex 39)	Aug 7th, 1971 4:45 p.m. EDT Pacific Ocean	David Scott (C), James Irwin (LP), Alfred Worden	Apollo 15 was the first of three science-oriented Apollo missions. Apollo 15 initiated missions endowed with Lunar Rover Vehicle (LRV). This Moon rover was able to reach a 10 mph speed extending exploration range. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center designed, developed and managed the production of the Lunar Roving Vehicle. Surface operations took place in Hadley-Apennine region. Three moon walks totaled 18h 33 mn. Apollo 15 astronauts used the rover to make three separate trips beyond the Hadley-Apennine landing site. The rover endured a brief inoperability of the front steering mechanism as the crew proceeded on their initial traverse using only the rear-wheel steering. The LRV had been developed, designed and built by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Lunar lift-off was TV broadcasted. Apollo mission planners selected an adventurous landing site for Apollo 15 located on a relatively small patch of a mare, a site nestled between the towering Apennine mountains to the East, and the valley of Hadley Rille to the West. The experience gained from the successful landings of the preceding Apollo missions afforded mission controllers confidence that a landing descending through a mountain range was possible. The LEM however ended with a tilted position at the surface. The Hadley Rille landing site also presented an opportunity to test the capabilities of the new lunar roving vehicle. Apollo 15's command module was the first to have its own module of scientific instruments. During the flight back from the Moon, one astronaut made three spacewalks to retrieve film from cameras in the module	12d 7h 12mn
Apollo 16	April 16th, 1972. Saturn V. 12:54 p.m. EST KSC (Complex 39-A)	April 27th, 1972 2:45 p.m. EST Pacific Ocean	John Young (C), Thomas Mattingly II (CP), Charles Duke Jr (LP)	Target was Plain of Descartes as the Apollo 16 was the second of three science-oriented missions planned for the Apollo Program. Three moon walks totaled 20h 17mn. Crew stayed on Moon's surface about 71h as the mission also had been endwowed with a Lunar Roving Vehicle. A faulty CSM engine caused trouble about return Earth's route insertion but mission eventually succeeded. Apollo 16 astronauts were walking on the Moon in April 1972 when Mission Control informed them that the U.S. Congress had authorized the development of the Space Shuttle. Both astronauts enthusiastically responded to the positive news with 'Beautiful! Wonderful! Beautiful!' as astronaut Young added with some foresight, 'The country needs that shuttle mighty bad. You'll see.' Nine years later, he would be commanding the first ship of the space shuttle fleet, Columbia, on its maiden voyage. A telescope, called the 'Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph,' was used during the Apollo 16 mission checking celestial objects or the Earth's upper atmosphere. It remained on the Moon in the Descartes highland region	11d 1h 51mn
Apollo 17	Dec 7th, 1972. Saturn V. 12:33 a.m. EST KSC (Complex 39)	Dec 19th, 1972 2:24 p.m. EST Pacific Ocean	Eugene Cernan (C), Ronald Evans, Harrison Schmitt (LP)	Last Apollo program mission. Three moon walks totaling 22h 2mn in a mare-rim highland contact region at Taurus-Littrow. The camera of the Lunar Rover Vehicle filmed the departure of the LM's ascent stage as Gene Cernan, commander of the mission, left the lunar surface with these words: "We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace, and hope for all mankind."	12d 13h 52mn