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Walter Cunningham passed away on January 3, 2023. As a member of Apollo 7, Cunningham took on the risk of flying the first crewed flight of the Apollo program, which paved the way for future Apollo missions, including the first lunar landing in 1969.

When the Apollo 17 astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean 50 years ago, they were the last humans to visit the Moon. NASA’s Artemis program is set to return humans to the Moon, but not for two to three years from now. Why has it taken more than five decades to send humans back to the Moon?

When the crew of Apollo 17, the last Apollo Moon landing, returned to Earth after their record-breaking mission in December 1972, commander Gene Cernan brought back the pair of lunar overshoes he walked on the surface of the Moon with. The boots that left the last human footprints on the lunar surface now live in the Destination Moon exhibition at the Museum.

Although the Artemis I mission won’t have any astronauts riding along, there are other items on board to commemorate the occasion and conduct science to further the Artemis program and other research projects.

The Rocketdyne F-1 engines powered the first stage of the Saturn V rocket that launched the Apollo lunar missions. The Air and Space Museum’s redesigned F-1 installation offers a new perspective on the most powerful liquid-fuel rocket engine in U.S. history.

Are you a lover of all things lunar? Here are three hidden gems from the Destination Moon exhibit you won’t want to miss.  

It’s been nearly 50 years (!) since humans last walked on the Moon.  But NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions will soon return astronauts to the lunar surface. Artemis isn’t just about going back – it’s about science! So to answer all of our burning questions about what Artemis astronauts will do, where they will go, and what makes this all different from Apollo, we spoke to the Artemis science lead, Dr. Sarah Noble.

Stephanie Wilson is now one of 18 members of the Artemis astronaut team, a group of nine men and nine women from diverse backgrounds. Since NASA has announced its intent to send the first woman and the first person of color to the Moon, she is a strong candidate.

The Apollo missions contributed more than putting humans on the Moon, it also produced a lot of new scientific data and discoveries which expanded our knowledge of both the Moon itself and our Solar System. Here are ten of our top Apollo discoveries.

Between 1969 and 1972, twelve astronauts successfully landed on the Moon and returned to Earth, bringing back with them lunar samples and scientific data, and, perhaps most importantly, a new understanding of what it meant to be human. But what did they leave behind?