INTERNATIONAL LUNAR EXPLORATION PHASE
- with low-cost transport, where would international astronauts go? -



VISITING THE APOLLO LANDING SITES

Between 1969 and 1972, the United States landed at six different locations on the Moon. A total of 12 astronauts explored around their landing sites whether by walking or driving rovers.

Apollo 11: By far, this location will be the greatest interest of all of the historic sites. This is where humans first set foot on another celestial body -- the Moon.


Apollo 12: With a precise landing on the Ocean of Storms on the Moon, the crew was very close to their target which was one of the Surveyor landers. When inspecting it, they noticed that it had been sandblasted by the exhaust of the Apollo lander. They took some pieces from it before returning to Earth.


Apollo 14: This Apollo lander is located at the Fra Mauro formation. A notable thing occurred when astronaut Alan Shepard hit two golf balls using a makeshift club. Could those golf balls be found? Conceivably, walking stick telerobots could explore the area without leaving much of a track. So yes, with time they could probably be found.


Apollo 15: Landing near Hadley rille, the astronauts drove on a lunar rover for the first time. The landscape is quite dramatic and visitors might be able to look down from the hills and see where the crew had walked.


Apollo 16: This mission was the first to land in the lunar highlands. There is the classic picture of astronaut John Young jumping quite high while saluting. They drove their rover nearly 27 kilometers (17 miles) leaving extensive tracks. They visited a large rock now called Shadow Rock.


Apollo 17: The last of the Apollo missions and the only one with a geologist, the two astronauts landed in the Taurus-Littrow valley and completed three moonwalks. One finding was surprising when they found orange dirt resulting from volcanic activity. They left behind some geophones and seismometers.

Next: Rovers