Canceled Apollo missions wasn't going to have a flight for him". Another lunar landing was lost in April 1970 when Apollo 13 had its in-flight failure, and the Fra Mauro landing site was reassigned to Apollo 14. Then on September 2, 1970, NASA announced it was canceling the H4 and J4 missions, due to more budget cuts. Skylab was also pushed out to 1973, and the final landing schedule became: At the time, 35 of NASA's 49 active astronauts were waiting for a chance for a mission. In the closing days of the program, Apollo 17 LMP Harrison Schmitt aggressively lobbied for a
Apollo Applications Program pilot was a concern for mission planners, so proposals that it would be a three-man landing team or that the CSM would rendezvous with an orbiting module were considered. The following phases were considered: The "Apollo LM Taxi" was essentially the basic Apollo LM modified for extended lunar surface stays. This was expected to be the workhorse of both "Apollo Applications Extended Lunar Surface Missions" beginning in 1970 and to larger "Lunar Exploration System for Apollo" in the mid-to-late 1970s. The "Apollo LM Shelter" was essentially an Apollo LM with ascent stage engine and fuel tanks removed and replaced with