CNN Films’ “Apollo 11” explores the exhilaration of humanity’s first landing on the moon through newly discovered and restored archival footage. Watch the TV premiere of this documentary Sunday, June 23, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
But why should we return to the moon? Many experts feel that it’s necessary and overdue, especially as the desire to land humans on Mars and push deeper into the solar system continues.
The quest for human exploration never ended after Apollo was shuttered. Skylab, the shuttle program, the International Space Station and even robotic missions throughout the solar system have continued the spark that Apollo started.
But astronauts haven’t been to the moon since the Apollo 17 mission, when Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt collected samples of the lunar surface, conducted experiments and took photos — including the famed “blue marble” image of Earth.
Cernan and Schmitt, the only scientist to ever walk on the moon, landed in the Taurus-Littrow valley on December 11, 1972.
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