How many people have landed on the moon

But he did change Obama's goal of launching astronauts to an asteroid , shifting priorities to moon and Mars missions. I'll just see things as they come. Buzz Aldrin said in testimony to Congress in that he believes the will to return to the moon must come from Capitol Hill.

We demonstrated that for a brief time 45 years ago. I do not believe we have done it since," Aldrin wrote in a statement. The real driving force behind that government commitment to return to the moon is the will of the American people, who vote for politicians and help shape their policy priorities.

But public interest in lunar exploration has always been lukewarm. The political tug-of-war over NASA's mission and budget isn't the only reason people haven't returned to the moon. The moon is also a 4. Its surface is littered with craters and boulders that threaten safe landings.

Leading up to the first moon landing in , the US government spent what would be billions in today's dollars to develop, launch, and deliver satellites to the moon to map its surface and help mission planners scout for possible Apollo landing sites.

But a bigger worry is what eons of meteorite impacts have created: regolith, also called moon dust. Madhu Thangavelu , an aeronautical engineer at the University of Southern California, wrote in that the moon is covered in "a fine, talc-like top layer of lunar dust, several inches deep in some regions, which is electrostatically charged through interaction with the solar wind and is very abrasive and clingy, fouling up spacesuits, vehicles and systems very quickly.

Peggy Whitson , an astronaut who lived in space for a total of days, previously told Business Insider that the Apollo missions "had a lot of problems with dust. There's also a problem with sunlight. For about 14 days at a time, the lunar surface is a boiling hellscape that is exposed directly to the sun's harsh rays; the moon has no protective atmosphere. The next 14 days are in total darkness, making the moon's surface one of the colder places in the universe.

A small nuclear reactor being developed by NASA called Kilopower could supply astronauts with electricity during weeks-long lunar nights — and would be useful on other worlds, including Mars. NASA has designed dust- and sun-resistant spacesuits and rovers , though it's uncertain whether that equipment is anywhere near ready to launch. Another issue, astronauts say, is NASA's graying workforce. Today, more American kids polled say they dream about becoming YouTube stars, rather than astronauts.

Schweickart echoed that concern, noting that the average age of someone today at NASA's Johnson Space Center is closer to 60 years old. Excitement comes from when you've got teenagers and year-olds running programs," Schweickart said.

Musk is part of what astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman has called a "generation of billionaires who are space nuts," developing a new, private suite of moon-capable rockets. Many astronauts' desire to return to the moon aligns with Bezos' long-term vision. Bezos has floated a plan to start building the first moon base using Blue Origin's upcoming New Glenn rocket system.

Musk has also spoken at length about how SpaceX's forthcoming Starship launch system could pave the way for affordable, regular lunar visits. Of all the astronauts that have been to space, most people, when asked, can give the names of astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. We know both of these men as the crew members of Apollo 11, and we know them as the first men on the Moon. While these men may have been the first people who walked on the moon, they are certainly not the last.

Since the landing of Apollo 11 in , a total of twelve 12 astronauts have walked on the Moon. After Armstrong and Aldrin, more astronauts were sent to the Moon in Apollo 12, also in Both of these men were on the Moon for two days. These two men were Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell. The two spent about two hours together outside the lunar module, taking photographs and collecting The video recording of his moonwalk was transmitted to Mission Control in Houston and watched by million people on television across the world.

Neil Armstrong had a varied career following his trip to the Moon. He retired from NASA in , announcing he would not fly in space again. He also acted as a spokesman for several businesses, only accepting roles within American companies. These companies include car manufacturer, Chrysler and General Time Corporation. Neil Armstrong died of heart complications on 25 August in Cincinnati, Ohio.

As well as many schools and streets across America, The Armstrong Air and Space Museum in his hometown of Wapakoneta and the airport in New Knoxville, Ohio where he took his first flying lessons are also both named in his honour. A total of 12 male astronauts have landed on the Moon, all of whom were part of the US Apollo mission programme. These six crewed lunar landings occurred between July and December The following astronauts have been to the Moon in order of setting foot on the lunar surface :.

This number of men who have been on the Moon was almost As part of the Apollo 13 mission, Jim Lovell and Fred Haise were scheduled to walk on the Moon, but the lunar landing had to be aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later.

The Apollo 13 mission did set a record as the farthest humans have ever travelled from Earth. Haise was meant to again walk on the Moon as part of the Apollo 19 mission. However, the programme was cancelled due to budgetary cuts and the US focus on renovating the Skylab space station. Michael Cernan and Harrison Schmitt before the Apollo 17 mission to the moon. A range of factors determine how long it takes to reach the Moon, such as the type of rocket, the distance between the Earth and Moon, and the flight path the spacecraft takes.

As the Moon's journey around the Earth is elliptical, the distance changes within its 27 days orbit. At its closest approach, the Moon reaches , miles and at its furthest, it is , miles away from the Earth. Find out more about how far away the Moon is.