We choose to go to the Moon a week after Kennedy's assassination. The idea of a joint Moon mission was abandoned after Kennedy's death, but the Apollo Project became a memorial to him. His goal was fulfilled in July 1969, with the successful Apollo 11 Moon landing. This accomplishment remains an enduring legacy of Kennedy's speech, but his deadline demanded a necessarily narrow focus, and there was no indication of what should be done next once it was achieved. Apollo did not usher in an era of lunar exploration, and no further missions were sent to the Moon after Apollo 17 in 1972. Subsequent planned Apollo missions
12 to the Moon points out that the earth-saving eruption of Popocatepetl is "depicted by stock footage of solar prominences" that bear little resemblance to real volcanic eruptions. Modern critics are also bothered by the narrative development of the film. Westphal says that "Few films ... begin as soberly, and end as absurdly, as "12 to the Moon". The film's first thirty minutes promise an internationalized update of "Destination Moon" [1950], while later events rival a Flash Gordon serial". Senn agrees that the film is disappointing, noting that "What starts out as a fairly intelligent and progressive space-travel film ... quickly degenerates into a