Learn about moon landings past and future! 

Celebrate the anniversary of the final Apollo moon mission, discover what we learned during this mission, and get an introduction to Artemis, NASA's current lunar exploration project.

On Demand Activities

Jump to Section: Apollo 17 by the Numbers      Story Time and Craft Activity     Meet Team Artemis      Lunar Rover Design Challenge      Innovator Spotlight: Rita Rapp

 

Apollo 17 by the Numbers

1 - Number of scientists sent to the Moon during the Apollo program.  During the Apollo 17 mission, geologist Harrison Schmitt, became the first scientist to visit and work on the Moon.

4.5 - Number of hours the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) drove during Apollo 17. This was the longest total time any of the Apollo mission LRVs were used.

50 - Number of years since the last person, Gene Cernan, was on the Moon.

75 - Numbers of hours on the Moon. This was the longest time of any Apollo mission.

741 - Number of individual rock and soil samples collected during Apollo 17, the most collected during any Apollo mission.

Story Time Suggestions

Check these books out at your school or library to explore stories about Apollo moon missions, what it would be like on the Moon, and the important people who prepared astronauts for the Moon landing! 
 

Children in spacesuits jump on the moon, where there are also balloons. Everyone looks happy.

If You Had Your Birthday Party on the Moon

Picture book, for ages 3 to 8

Book Cover: If You Decide to Go to the Moon

If You Decide to Go to the Moon

Picture book, for ages 3 to 6

An illustrated book cover showing a young Black girl standing in front of a white moon-like circle with math on it. The text on the book cover reads "Counting on Katherine. How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13."

Counting on Katherine

Picture book, for ages 5 to 8

An illustrated book cover showing an astronaut on the Moon, the Earth in the background. The text reads "Daring Dozen: The Twelve Who Walked on the Moon."

Daring Dozen

Picture book, for ages 5 to 9

Craft Activity

Pretend you are getting ready for a journey to the Moon by making your own astronaut helmet!

Materials needed: 

  • paper bag
  • scissors
  • crayons or markers

Want to share with us your helmet creation? Snap a photo and send it to NASM-FamilyPrograms@si.edu!
 

Meet Team Artemis

A grid layout showing 18 astronauts accompanied by their name. Every astronaut, but one, stands in front of a blurred image of the Earth and Moon, and stares at the camera.
  • 18 astronauts have been chosen to serve on Team Artemis, the next group of astronauts to go on moon missions.
  • The Artemis missions will bring the first woman to the moon and the first person of color to the moon!
  • NASA aims to launch Artemis III, the first crew to land on the Moon, in 2025.
  • Learn more on the NASA Artemis webpage.

Design Challenge: Design a Lunar Roving Vehicle for the Artemis Mission

With NASA's launch of its newest exploration mission to the Moon called Project Artemis, astronauts are preparing to land on the Moon and discover parts of it never before seen. 

For this Design Challenge, help Project Artemis by updating the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle for new moon explorations!

Materials needed:

  • paper
  • pencil
  • recycled materials
  • a grown up to help you
On the Moon, an astronaut in a space suit seems to set down or pick up a bucket by the Lunar Roving Vehicle.

Astronaut Gene Cernan setting up a science experiment near the lunar roving vehicle during the Apollo 17 mission. Image: NASA

An infographic showing the steps of the design process including: Identify the Problem, Investigate, Brainstorm Solutions, Design and Build a Model, Test Out Your Model, Improve the Design, Share Your Design

The Design Process is a series of steps that inventors, engineers, and designers go through when trying to create a solution to a problem. 

Identify the problem:

  • Astronauts will need to travel from the lunar landing site all the way to the far side of the Moon where no human has ever set foot.
  • Astronauts will be searching for water in the frozen poles of the Moon’s surface. 

Your task: Design a Lunar Rover that has:

  • wheels that move
  • room for two astronauts
  • a tool that helps astronauts dig for water

Investigate:

Video 1: Watch this video to learn more about how engineers designed the Lunar Roving Vehicle used in Apollo missions 15, 16 and 17. 

Tip: Watch with your grown-ups so they can help you with some of the more confusing ideas.

Vocabulary you may hear in the video: 

  • Environment:  the surroundings around you
  • Unwieldy: not easy to handle because of its size or weight
  • Ingenious: creative 
  • Transformable: able to change
  • Woven: when something is made by lacing things together

Video 2: Watch this video to learn more about the area of the Moon your Lunar Roving Vehicle will need to travel on.

NASA began working on lunar vehicles in the early 1960s – but the project relied more on guesswork than engineering precision. After all, no one had any idea what being on the moon would be like.

 

NASA has announced the selection of 13 regions near the Moon's South Pole as candidate landing regions for Artemis III, the first crewed mission to the Moon's surface since 1972. The visuals here show the locations of all 13 regions.

A lightbulb turned on in a thought bubble.

Brainstorm solutions: Think about these questions and write your ideas down

  • What did you notice about the Lunar Roving Vehicle designs? 
  • What might you try to incorporate into your design?
  • Now that you know a little more about the possible landing sites for the next Artemis mission, what tools would you like to add to your Lunar Roving Vehicle to help the astronauts?

Design: What will your rover look like?

How will you construct it to accomplish the tasks of having:

  • wheels that move
  • room for two astronauts
  • a tool that helps astronauts dig for water

Sketch

Draw what your lunar rover will look like.

Build:

What materials can you find at  at home to help you make one? Take a walk around your home and make a list of what you'd like to use.

 

A diagram of the lunar roving vehicle with parts labeled.
Diagram of Lunar Roving Vehicle. Image: NASA

Test your model

Test out your model and use this table to organize your test!

A chart for testing an imagined lunar rover vehicle. The categories are "Drive your rover" "Check you astronauts" and "Test your tools"

Share Your Design

You just made a model, which is an important part of designing and testing new things. You can work on improving your design if you'd like. The design process is ongoing!

If you'd like to share your design with you, snap a picture and send it to NASM-FamilyPrograms@si.edu.

Innovator Spotlight Rita Rapp

Rita Rapp and hear team transformed astronaut meals by developing new recipes and improving packaging. 

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