Colonization of the Moon the Apollo 12 mission landed next to the Surveyor 3 spacecraft, demonstrating precision landing capability. The use of a manned vehicle on the Moon's surface was demonstrated in 1971 with the Lunar Rover during Apollo 15. Apollo 16 made the first landing within the rugged lunar highlands. However, interest in further exploration of the Moon was beginning to wane among the American public. In 1972, Apollo 17 was the final Apollo lunar mission, and further planned missions were scrapped at the directive of President Nixon. Instead, focus was turned to the Space Shuttle and crewed missions in near Earth orbit.
In the Shadow of the Moon (film) featured in "In the Shadow of the Moon" orbited or looped around the Moon without landing (Jim Lovell and Michael Collins). All manned Apollo flights with the exception of Apollo 7, which was an earth-orbit mission, were represented in the film. The film is presented by Ron Howard, but there is no narration in the film. Critics gave the film very positive reviews. Metacritic reported "In the Shadow of the Moon" had an average score of 84 out of 100, based on 34 reviews, classifying the film's reception as "Universal Acclaim." Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 94% rating based