Apollo and the Moon: The Astronauts' View [Slide Show]
On the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, NASA produces a book of photographs curated by Apollo veterans
![Apollo and the Moon: The Astronauts' View [Slide Show]](https://www.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/D20E3267-17B3-45D8-BA5887687BAC1416.jpg?w=590&h=393)
Apollo and the Moon: The Astronauts' View [Slide Show]
- LAST OF THEIR KIND: Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt lifted off from the moon December 14, 1972, and humankind has yet to return. Many national space agencies have discussed returning manned missions to the lunar surface around 2020, nearly 50 years after the conclusion of the Apollo Program. In this photograph taken by Schmitt—the only trained geologist to visit the moon (and a Scientific American author)—Cernan holds the corner of an American flag. NASA
- A NEW DESTINATION: Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke snapped this photo of his lunar crewmate John Young on April 23, 1972, two days after the two men touched down on the moon. The mission was the first to explore the lunar highlands. Young, a veteran of the Gemini program, would go on to command the first mission of the space shuttle in 1981. NASA
- MOUNTAINOUS MOON: Beyond the rover tracks in this photo from Apollo 15 is the towering Mons Hadley, a mountain whose peak rises nearly 15,000 feet above the plain. The mountain and other features in the region are named for British mathematician and inventor John Hadley, who made significant improvements to the reflecting telescope in the 18th century. NASA
- STORMY WEATHER: The day before Apollo 15 set off for the moon in July 1971, lightning lit up the sky near the Saturn 5 rocket. Apollo 15, the fourth mission to land astronauts on the moon, was the first mission to feature the lunar roving vehicle, an electric buggy powered by four 0.25-horsepower motors. The rover greatly enhanced the astronauts' exploratory capabilities, logging 17 miles on the odometer during its first moon mission. NASA
- FROM MERCURY TO APOLLO: Alan Shepard, who 10 years earlier had become the first American in space, commanded the Apollo 14 mission in 1971. The astronauts returned almost 100 pounds of lunar rocks and soil to Earth, the largest haul of the program to that point. Shepard, pictured here, also hit two golf balls on the lunar surface at the conclusion of the mission's second moon walk. NASA
- A NARROW ESCAPE: Apollo 13 was going to be the third manned mission to land on the moon until an explosion in the service module sent mission managers and the three astronauts on board scrambling. A series of clever improvisations and ad hoc maneuvers returned the crew to Earth safely, using the lunar landing module and its life-support systems as a safe haven. Here, the damaged service module [right] drifts from the rest of the spacecraft after it was jettisoned. NASA
- BACK FOR MORE: Astronaut Richard Gordon manned the command module for Apollo 12, remaining in the craft while his crewmates headed down in the lunar module to explore the moon's surface. He was thus in place to photograph the landing craft as it descended toward the moon on November 19, 1969. The lander touched down close enough for astronauts Alan Bean and Charles Conrad to inspect Surveyor 3, a robotic probe launched in 1967, and assess the long-term effects of the lunar environment. NASA
- A HERO'S WELCOME: After returning safely to Earth, Aldrin, Armstrong and Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins faced a 21-day quarantine to determine if they had picked up any contagions in their unprecedented journey. After discharge from quarantine the three astronauts were lauded in parades such as this one in New York City. The three men are seen waving from the open-topped car [near left]. NASA
