The first man to walk on the moon was Neil Alden Armstrong followed immediately by fellow Apollo 11 crewman, Edwin Eugene ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, Jr. on July 20, 1969. While most folks know of Neil Armstrong and many recognize Aldrin as Buzz Aldrin, few know that a 3rd astronaut accompanied the men and remained in orbit piloting the Command Module. His name was Michael Collins and we can thank him for the safe return of Buzz and Neil to Earth. He’s also credited with a space flight on the Gemini 10 mission where he performed two EVAs (Extra-Vehicular Activity) or space walks. Three missions preceded Apollo 11 to the moon though Apollo 11 was the first to actually land with human cargo. Apollo 8, 9 and 10 were sent to fly orbital missions around the moon.
Nearly as well known as the Apollo 11 mission, Apollo 13 was to have been the third manned moon landing. The mission was aborted after a crippling explosion due to a fault in an oxygen tank. The heroic crew - James Lovell, John Swigert and Fred Haise successfully returned the limping craft to Earth thanks to incredible efforts on both their parts and mission support personnel at NASA, but had to abandon the actual moon landing. Apollo 13 shares its place in history as the 2nd of two manned moon missions that brought the world together in breathless anticipation, prayer and hope. Touted as a “successful” failure, Apollo 13 still serves as an inspiration and a testament to human ingenuity.
The final manned mission to the moon was the Apollo 17 mission - December 7 - 19, 1972. Apollo 17 was the 11th manned space mission of the Apollo program. Crew for the mission were - Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison (Jack) Schmitt. Cernan is credited as the last man on the moon. His final “official” quote was - “As we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came, and God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind. As I take these last steps from the surface for some time to come, I’d just like to record that America’s challenge of today has forged man’s destiny of tomorrow. Godspeed the crew of Apollo Seventeen.”
But the actual last words spoken from the surface of the moon were not to the people of America or Earth but by Cernan to Lunar Command Module pilot, Jack Schmitt. “Okay, Jack. Let’s get this mother outta here.” - Cernan seconds before lift-off.
From Apollo 11 to Apollo 17, six successful moon landings were launched and retrieved with no loss of life. The Apollo program still stands today as one of mankind’s crowning achievements. On a personal note, metaphorically speaking, we left our safe shores and cast ourselves into dark and mysterious waters to land on another island, another world, impossibly distant from ours. Since the return of Apollo 17, we’ve not again left the beach. In 36 years, we’ve gone from brave explorers to cautious children, barely dipping our toes in the lapping waves of an unknown and beckoning sea. As tragic as the loss of spirit may be, there is also a hidden price to be paid. Should we ever find ourselves longing for the stars and alien worlds again, we’ll have to start from scratch. The infrastructure and practical applied knowledge that got us off one rock and on to another has been left to waste away. It costs a lot to start from scratch in terms of money, time and, I fear, lives. Such is the price of America’s fickle and wandering attention span. When Cernan spoke his last quote about man’s journey, “…for some time to come…,” could he possibly have believed it would be so long a hiatus?