Tales of the final Moon males

[ad_1] <img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/0671/live/b9668b50-2434-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/0671/live/b9668b50-2434-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0671/live/b9668b50-2434-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/0671/live/b9668b50-2434-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/0671/live/b9668b50-2434-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/0671/live/b9668b50-2434-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/0671/live/b9668b50-2434-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0671/live/b9668b50-2434-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="NASA Black and white photograph of an astronaut’s footprint in the lunar soil taken during the Apollo 11 mission" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> NASA Who would be the subsequent human to depart their footprint on the floor of the Moon?

They had been the pioneers of house exploration - the 24 Nasa astronauts who travelled to the Moon within the Apollo missions of the Sixties and Nineteen Seventies.

The lack of Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, who guided the stricken mission safely again to Earth in 1970, means there at the moment are simply 5 folks remaining who've escaped the relative security of Earth orbit and ventured deeper into house.

Greater than 50 years since a human final set foot on the Moon, the race to place folks again on the lunar floor is heating up as soon as once more.

Nasa hopes its Artemis programme will result in astronauts dwelling on the Moon this decade. China can be aiming to have folks on the lunar floor by 2030, having landed a probe on the far aspect of the Moon in June 2024.

Various non-public corporations have tried to ship scientific craft to the Moon, though the mishaps have outnumbered the successes.

Nasa had supposed to launch Artemis 2, its first crewed lunar expedition since Apollo 17 in 1972, final 12 months however that date has slipped into 2026, because the house company says it wants extra time to organize.

In the meantime, corporations similar to SpaceX and Boeing proceed to develop their very own expertise, though not with out their setbacks.

The problems with Boeing's Starliner which left two astronauts stranded on the Worldwide Area Station had been embarrassing for the aerospace large, whereas the "fast unscheduled disassemblies" of SpaceX's Starship have turn out to be a customary sight to house watchers.

These delays spotlight the unhappy incontrovertible fact that the variety of remaining Apollo astronauts is dwindling.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/558f/live/5b47f8d0-2437-11f0-8c2e-77498b1ce297.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/558f/live/5b47f8d0-2437-11f0-8c2e-77498b1ce297.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/558f/live/5b47f8d0-2437-11f0-8c2e-77498b1ce297.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/558f/live/5b47f8d0-2437-11f0-8c2e-77498b1ce297.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/558f/live/5b47f8d0-2437-11f0-8c2e-77498b1ce297.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/558f/live/5b47f8d0-2437-11f0-8c2e-77498b1ce297.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/558f/live/5b47f8d0-2437-11f0-8c2e-77498b1ce297.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/558f/live/5b47f8d0-2437-11f0-8c2e-77498b1ce297.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="NASA Jim Lovell grins as he stands in front of a launchpad dressed in his spacesuit while training for the Apollo 13 mission" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> NASA Apollo 13 was Jim Lovell's ultimate mission

Together with Frank Borman and Invoice Anders, Jim Lovell made historical past when the three undertook the primary lunar mission on Apollo 8, testing the Command/Service Module and its life help techniques in preparation for the later Apollo 11 touchdown.

Their craft really made 10 orbits of the Moon earlier than returning residence. Lovell was later supposed be the fifth human to stroll on the lunar floor as commander of Apollo 13 - however in fact, that by no means occurred.

As an alternative the story of his brush with dying was immortalised within the movie Apollo 13, through which he was performed by Tom Hanks.

Watch: Second Jim Lovell informed earth "Houston, we have had an issue" as Apollo 13 suffered a fault

Following his retirement from Nasa in 1973, Lovell labored within the telecoms business. Marilyn, his spouse of greater than 60 years, who grew to become a spotlight for the media in the course of the notorious incident, died in August 2023.

However what of the remaining 5 Moon males?

Who're they, and what are their tales?

Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11)

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/88f3/live/4ec395c0-2436-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/88f3/live/4ec395c0-2436-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/88f3/live/4ec395c0-2436-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/88f3/live/4ec395c0-2436-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/88f3/live/4ec395c0-2436-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/88f3/live/4ec395c0-2436-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/88f3/live/4ec395c0-2436-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/88f3/live/4ec395c0-2436-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="NASA Official portrait of the Apollo 11 crew Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin, dressed in their spacesuits, taken against the backdrop of an image of the Moon" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> NASA Buzz Aldrin, proper, alongside along with his crewmates Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, earlier than their mission to the Moon

On 21 July 1969, former fighter pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin left his lunar touchdown craft and have become the second particular person to step on the floor of the Moon. Nearly 20 minutes beforehand, his commander, Neil Armstrong, had been the primary.

Aldrin's first phrases had been: "Stunning view".

"Is not that one thing?" requested Armstrong."Magnificent sight out right here."

"Magnificent desolation," replied Aldrin.

The truth that he was second by no means sat comfortably with him. His crewmate Michael Collins stated Aldrin "resented not being first on the Moon greater than he appreciated being second".

However Aldrin was nonetheless pleased with his achievement; a few years later, when confronted by a person claiming Apollo 11 was an elaborate lie, the 72-year-old Aldrin punched him on the jaw.

And following Neil Armstrong's dying in 2012, Aldrin stated: "I do know I'm joined by many tens of millions of others from world wide in mourning the passing of a real American hero and the very best pilot I ever knew."

Regardless of struggles in later life, he by no means misplaced his thirst for journey and joined expeditions to each the North and South Poles, the latter on the age of 86.

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Whereas embracing his celeb, he has remained an advocate for the house programme, particularly the necessity to discover Mars.

"I do not assume we must always simply go there and are available again - we did that with Apollo," he says.

And his identify has turn out to be recognized to new generations because the inspiration for Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story collection of movies. In January 2023, on the age of 93, he married for a fourth time..

Charles Duke (Apollo 16)

There are solely 4 folks nonetheless alive who've walked on the Moon - Charlie Duke is one in every of them. He did it aged 36, making him the youngest particular person to set foot on the lunar floor.

In a later BBC interview, he spoke of a "spectacular terrain".

"The great thing about it… the sharp distinction between the blackness of house and the horizon of the Moon… I am going to always remember it. It was so dramatic."

However he had already performed one other vital position in Nasa's exploration of the Moon. After Apollo 11 touched down in 1969, it was Duke - in mission management because the Capsule Communicator, or Capcom - who was ready nervously on the opposite finish of the road when Neil Armstrong stated: "Houston, Tranquility Base right here. The Eagle has landed."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/5dfc/live/a602ca40-2436-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/5dfc/live/a602ca40-2436-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5dfc/live/a602ca40-2436-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/5dfc/live/a602ca40-2436-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/5dfc/live/a602ca40-2436-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/5dfc/live/a602ca40-2436-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/5dfc/live/a602ca40-2436-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/5dfc/live/a602ca40-2436-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="NASA Black and white image of Charlie Duke, along with Jim Lovell and Fred Haise in Nasa Mission Control, during the Apollo 11 mission. They are all dressed in shirts and ties and wear headsets, as they sit in a long line in front of control panels and display screens." class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> NASA Charlie Duke, together with Jim Lovell and Fred Haise in Mission Management, in the course of the Apollo 11 mission

In his distinctive southern drawl, Duke replied: "Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the bottom, you've got bought a bunch of fellows about to show blue, we're respiration once more."

"I actually meant it, I used to be holding my breath the final minute or so," he later informed the BBC.

In 2022, Duke informed the BBC he was enthusiastic about Nasa's Artemis mission - however warned that it would not be simple for the brand new technology of astronauts.

"They've picked close to the South Pole for the touchdown, as a result of if there's any ice on the Moon, it could be down in that area. In order that's gonna be tough - as a result of it is actually tough down there. However we'll pull it off."

Charlie Duke now lives exterior San Antonio, Texas, with Dorothy, to whom he has been married for 60 years.

Fred Haise

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/f09d/live/2d2e0fc0-2437-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/f09d/live/2d2e0fc0-2437-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/f09d/live/2d2e0fc0-2437-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/f09d/live/2d2e0fc0-2437-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/f09d/live/2d2e0fc0-2437-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/f09d/live/2d2e0fc0-2437-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/f09d/live/2d2e0fc0-2437-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/f09d/live/2d2e0fc0-2437-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="NASA Fred Haise smiles as he stands in front of a Nasa training jet" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> NASA Fred Haise and his crewmates appeared shocked by their celeb after they returned to Earth.

Fred Haise was a part of the crew of Apollo 13 that narrowly averted catastrophe in 1970 after an on-board explosion prompted the mission to be aborted when the craft was greater than 200,000 miles (321,000km) from Earth.

The entire world watched nervously as Nasa tried to return the broken spacecraft and its crew safely. As soon as again, Haise and his crewmates James Lovell and Jack Swigert grew to become celebrities, to their obvious shock.

"I really feel like possibly I missed one thing whereas I used to be up there," he informed discuss present host Johnny Carson when the crew appeared on The Tonight Present.

Haise by no means made it to the Moon. Though scheduled to be commander of Apollo 19, that mission was cancelled due to funds cuts, as had been all different flights after Apollo 17.

He later served as a take a look at pilot on the prototype house shuttle, Enterprise.

Like a lot of his fellow Apollo alumni, after leaving Nasa, Haise continued to work within the aerospace business till his retirement.

Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17)

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/c1a1/live/4ebdcc90-243a-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/c1a1/live/4ebdcc90-243a-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/c1a1/live/4ebdcc90-243a-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/c1a1/live/4ebdcc90-243a-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/c1a1/live/4ebdcc90-243a-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/c1a1/live/4ebdcc90-243a-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/c1a1/live/4ebdcc90-243a-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/c1a1/live/4ebdcc90-243a-11f0-9060-674316cb3a1f.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="NASA Harrison Schmitt is photographed next to the United States flag on the lunar surface during the Apollo 17 mission. The highest part of the flag appears to point toward our planet Earth in the distant background. Its red and white stripes are also reflected in the visor of Schmitt's helmet." class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> NASA Harrison Schmitt was the primary scientist to go to the Moon

Not like most different astronauts of the time, Schmitt had not served as a pilot within the US forces.

A geologist and educational, he initially instructed Nasa astronauts on what to search for throughout their geological lunar discipline journeys earlier than changing into a scientist-astronaut himself in 1965.

Schmitt was a part of the final crewed mission to the Moon, Apollo 17, and together with commander Eugene Cernan, one of many final two males to set foot on the lunar floor, in December 1972.

After leaving Nasa in 1975, he was elected to the US Senate from his residence state of New Mexico, however solely served one time period. Since then he has labored as a marketing consultant in varied industries in addition to persevering with in academia.

He's additionally recognized for talking out in opposition to the scientific consensus on local weather change.

David Scott (Apollo 15)

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/cdda/live/b8257110-243a-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/cdda/live/b8257110-243a-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/cdda/live/b8257110-243a-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/cdda/live/b8257110-243a-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/cdda/live/b8257110-243a-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/cdda/live/b8257110-243a-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/cdda/live/b8257110-243a-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/cdda/live/b8257110-243a-11f0-9c65-a5c3dc449bf3.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="NASA Official portrait of David Scott in his spacesuit" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> NASA David Scott was the seventh particular person to stroll on the Moon

David Scott, the commander of Apollo 15, is one in every of simply 4 males alive who've walked on the Moon - however he was additionally one of many first to drive on it too.

In 1971, Scott and crewmate James Irwin examined out the Lunar Roving Car (LRV), "Man's First Wheels on the Moon" because it was known as. Travelling at speeds as much as 8 mph (12 km/h) the LRV allowed astronauts to journey massive distances from the lunar lander a lot faster than they might stroll.

"On a primary mission you by no means know whether or not it will work," he later recalled. "The best thrill was to get it out, flip it on, and it really labored."

After coming back from the Moon, Scott labored in varied administration roles inside Nasa, earlier than becoming a member of the non-public sector.

He has additionally acted as marketing consultant on a number of movie and tv initiatives, together with Apollo 13 and the HBO miniseries From The Earth To The Moon.