Moon by the Soviet Union's Luna 2, an unmanned spacecraft. The United States' NASA Apollo program achieved the only manned lunar missions to date, beginning with the first manned orbital mission by Apollo 8 in 1968, and six manned landings between 1969 and 1972, with the first being Apollo 11. These missions returned lunar rocks which have been used to develop a geological understanding of the Moon's origin, internal structure, and the Moon's later history. Since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, the Moon has been visited only by unmanned spacecraft. Both the Moon's natural prominence in the earthly sky and
Stowaway to the Moon (film) E.J. the idea of stowing away on the upcoming moon launch. The astronauts then contact Charlie Englehardt, the flight director. Englehardt tells the crew that the mission is scrubbed, but when the world learns about the stowaway, a scientist urges that the mission continue because it is the only planned visit to the Rupes Altai. E.J. apologizes for his stunt on live television and asks that his actions not jeopardize the crew's important mission. Englehardt recognizes that E.J. has persuaded the public to continue the mission, and reluctantly gives his consent for the planned Moon landing. E.J. helps clean the