From the January 2011 issue

A giant leap toward understanding the Moon

Our next-door neighbor began to reveal many of its secrets 4 decades ago when astronauts first ventured beyond the control of Earth’s gravity.
By | Published: January 24, 2011 | Last updated on May 18, 2023

Moon_011811
Earth’s Moon. Nikos Haralampidis

Half a century ago, President John Kennedy challenged the country to land a man on the Moon — and return him safely to Earth — by the end of the 1960s. It took only 8 years to achieve his vision. In all, 24 astronauts journeyed to the Moon in nine flights (three people flew two missions each), and six pairs of astronauts explored the lunar surface.