NASA a flight around the Moon in December 1968. Shortly before, the Soviets had sent an unmanned spacecraft around the Moon. On the next two missions docking maneuvers that were needed for the Moon landing were practiced and then finally the Moon landing was made on the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969. The first person to stand on the Moon was Neil Armstrong, who was followed by Buzz Aldrin, while Michael Collins orbited above. Five subsequent Apollo missions also landed astronauts on the Moon, the last in December 1972. Throughout these six Apollo spaceflights, twelve men walked on the Moon.
Magnificent Desolation (book) Magnificent Desolation (book) Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon is the second of two autobiographical books written by Buzz Aldrin, the former Apollo 11 astronaut who with Neil Armstrong made the first human Moon landing. The book concentrates mainly on the period after his return from space, and illuminates many of the difficulties he had in coping with his instant world-wide fame following the achievement. He writes candidly about depression, the breakup of his marriage, the isolation and loss of a sense of purpose after leaving NASA, and a decade of struggle to overcome alcoholism. The Guardian