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.
Interplanetary mission Interplanetary mission An interplanetary mission is a voyage or trip through outer space involving more than one planet. As of 25 April 2018, there have been no manned interplanetary missions. So far, all manned missions have been in Earth's orbit or to its Moon. A large number of robotic interplanetary missions have been performed by the NASA, the Soviet Union (and later by Roscosmos), Indian Space Research Organisation, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the European Space Agency. The Apollo Applications Program planned a three-month interplanetary mission to Venus using Apollo hardware in the 1970s. The American space agency NASA intends