Silly Putty Putty went worldwide, becoming a hit in the Soviet Union and Europe. In 1968, it was taken into lunar orbit by the Apollo 8 astronauts. Peter Hodgson died in 1976. A year later, Binney & Smith, the makers of Crayola products, acquired the rights to Silly Putty. , annual Silly Putty sales exceeded six million eggs. Silly Putty was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame on May 28, 2001. In addition to its success as a toy, other uses for the putty have been found. In the home, it can be used to remove substances such as dirt,
Apollo 15 to Apollo 12, and since Apollo 11's backup crew had been designated for Apollo 13 (which did not land on the Moon), they were the first Apollo crew for a successful lunar landing mission to have backed up another such mission. Having had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Apollo spacecraft, they could devote more of their training time as prime crew for Apollo 15 to geology and sampling techniques. The astronauts at NASA who were scientists, such as geologist Harrison Schmitt, pushed though the early Apollo missions for a greater place for science as part of the mission,