2009 : 40 YEARS AFTER APOLLO 11

• Forty years ago, in 1969, man first set foot on another world, the closest extraterrestrial body to the Earth, its one and only natural satellite, the Moon.

  Twenty four astronauts, all from the United States of America, have now travelled to the vicinity of the moon. Twelve of these have set foot on the lunar surface.

  Scientists are still analysing Apollo data to this day. In Western Australia, geologists/selenologists at Curtin University are continuining to analyse the rock samples the Apollo astronauts brought back to Earth. Professor Brian O'Brien has recently published a paper reviewing the data from his lunar dust experiment that the astronauts left on the Moon.

  The table below summarises the lunar exploration details of the six Apollo missions that successfully explored different parts of the moon.