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It's crazy to think only three space programs have soft landed on the moon. And since the first in 1966, there have only been about 2 dozen soft landings on the
by JackFr 6y ago
It's crazy to think only three space programs have soft landed on the moon. And since the first in 1966, there have only been about 2 dozen soft landings on the moon.
We tend to forget it's really hard to do.
- iso1631 6y agoI think the full list is Luna 9, 13, 16, 17, 20, 21, 24 (1966-1976) Surveyor 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 (1966-68) Apollo 11,12,14,15,16,17 (1969-72) Chang'e 3 and 4 (2013 + 2019)
- JackFr 6y agoThe gaps in numbers are telling. And even Apollo which was by far and away the most successful had three astronauts killed on the launchpad and Apollo 13's lunar landing scrubbed.
- mywittyname 6y agoThe later Apollo missions weren't very popular with the public and were a potential political disaster for the president. Many people felt they were an enormous waste of money. James Burke made a really great documentary mini-series in ~1980 where he interviewed a lot of the people involved in the Apollo missions. You can still find them on YouTube.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]