You probably already know that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men to land on the moon, but did you know they weren't the last? Since Apollo 11 touched down in 1969, 12 men have walked its dusty surface. Charles Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard Jr, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin, John Young, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan, and Harrison Schmitt have all skipped along the lunar dunes.
While Amrstrong and Aldrin were on the moon for under 22 hours, the Apollo 12 - carrying Conrad and Bean - was stationed there for two days. In 1971, Scott and Irwin stayed for three days, conducting experiments and collecting samples. Astronauts on Apollo missions 16 and 17 were also stationed on the moon for three days, utilizing the lunar rover to travel long distances. They basically had a three-day weekend on the moon doing fun science stuff. Living the interstellar dream. No human has been back to the moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972. Although other countries have successfully sent probes, the United States remains the only country to have placed men on the ground. NASA’s Artemis program has plans to send the first woman to the moon by 2024. They also have plans to build the Gateway - a lunar outpost that will orbit the moon and help astronauts travel to and from its surface more efficiently.
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