When Sputnik was launched in 1957 the space race was started. The USA and the USSR became engaged in a race to prove space superiority. Then in 1961 President John F. Kennedy proclaimed that America should go to the Moon before the end of the decade. Thus the Apollo program was born.

After the development programs of Mercury and Gemini the NASA's Apollo program took shape. There were three different options considered by NASA for a Moon-landing; Direct Ascent, Earth Orbit Rendezvous and Lunar Orbit Rendezvous.

With the Direct Ascent method an enormous Nova rocket or a Saturn C-8 would launch the vessel directly to the Moon, where it would land tail-first, and then blast off for the return trip. This would have required a massive rocket.

The Earth Orbit Rendezvous method would have consisted of smaller rockets than the Saturn V, launching components into Earth orbit. Once in orbit the vehicles would dock and proceed to the Moon. NASA will use this mode with Project Constellation. The Altair Moon Lander will be launched aboard an Ares V and then the Orion will be boosted to orbit separately. Once in lunar obit they will perform a Lunar Orbit Rendezvous flight pattern.

Apollo's used the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous method. With this method two space craft travel to the Moon together. Once in orbit around the Moon the lunar module would undock and descend to the lunar surface and perform a Moon-Landing, while the main spacecraft remained in orbit. Then the lunar module would take off, and dock with the main spacecraft, to return the crew. And the main spacecraft would return to Earth, while the lunar module was discarded, and normally crashed into the Moon to gather seismic data.

On July 20th 1969 Michael Collins orbited the Moon aboard the CSM-107 (Columbia) Apollo spacecraft while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the surface of the Moon for the first time in human history.

Links about the Apollo project.

The Apollo Astronauts.

Apollo 11 Home.

We Choose the Moon.- Pretty cool, check it out.

The only part of the spacecraft to survive the journey, was the Command Modules. NASA has sent them to museums, where the public may veiw them.

• Apollo 6 - Fernbank Science Center, Atlanta, Georgia.
• Apollo 7 - Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas, Texas.
• Apollo 8 - Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Illinois.
• Apollo 9 - San Diego Aerospace Museum, San Diego, California.
• Apollo 10 - Science Museum, London, England.
• Apollo 11 - The National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
• Apollo 12 - Virginia Air and Space Center, Hampton, Virginia.
• Apollo 13 - Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Hutchinson, Kansas.
• Apollo 14 - Astronaut Hall of Fame, Titusville, Florida.
• Apollo 15 - USAF Museum, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio.
• Apollo 16 - U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama.
• Apollo 17 - NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas.
• Apollo-Soyuz - California Science Center, Los Angeles, California.
• Skylab 2 / Crew 1 - Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, Florida.
• Skylab 3 / Crew 2 - NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
• Skylab 4 / Crew 3 - National Air and Space Museum, Washington,, D.C.

By Ton Noteboom.