The Lunar Module closing in to dock with the Apollo Command and Service Module in lunar orbit. Only part of the module can be seen, as docking is very close. A crescent Earth can be seen in the background. NASA sent seven manned misions to land on the Moon between 1969 and 1972, although the third, Apollo 13, had to return to Earth without landing after an explosion on board. The first, Apollo 11, landed astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin on the lunar surface in July 1969. Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt were the last humans to walk on the Moon in December 1972.
© National Aeronautics & Space Administration / Science & Society