Stories of the last Moon men

They were pioneers of space exploration—24 NASA astronauts who walked on the Moon as part of the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s.

Death Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovellwho led the failed mission returned safely to Earth in 1970.means there are now just five people left to leave the relative safety of Earth orbit and venture deeper into space.

It's been more than 50 years since man last set foot on the moon, and the race to return humans to the lunar surface is heating up again.

NASA hopes its Artemis program will lead to astronauts living on the moon within this decade. China is also aiming to place humans on the lunar surface by 2030. landed the probe on the far side of the Moon in June 2024.

A number of private companies have tried to send scientific ships to the Moon, although failures outnumbered successes.

Last year, NASA intended to launch Artemis 2, its first manned lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972, but this date has moved to 2026it needs more time to prepare, the space agency says.

Meanwhile, companies like SpaceX and Boeing continue to develop their own technologies, although not without setbacks.

Problems with Boeing Starliner which left two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station, embarrassing the aerospace giant, while “Rapid unscheduled disassembly” of SpaceX spacecraft have become a common sight for space observers.

These delays highlight the sad fact that the number of remaining Apollo astronauts is dwindling.

Along with Frank Borman and Bill Anders, Jim Lovell made history when the three undertook the first lunar mission on Apollo 8, testing the command and service module and its life support systems in preparation for the subsequent Apollo 11 landing.

Their ship actually made 10 orbits around the moon before returning home. Lovell was later expected to become the fifth man to walk on the Moon as commander of Apollo 13, but of course that didn't happen.

Instead, the story of his brush with death was immortalized in the film Apollo 13, in which he was played by Tom Hanks.

After leaving NASA in 1973, Lovell worked in the telecommunications industry. Marilyn, his wife of more than 60 years who became the subject of media attention during the infamous incident, died in August 2023.

But what about the remaining five moon people?

Who are they and what are their stories?

On July 21, 1969, former fighter pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin left his lunar landing craft and became the second man to walk on the surface of the Moon. Almost 20 minutes earlier, his commander, Neil Armstrong, was first.

Aldrin's first words were, “Beautiful view.”

“Isn't that something?” – asked Armstrong. – It's a magnificent sight here.

“Great desolation,” Aldrin replied.

The fact that he was second never satisfied him. His teammate Michael Collins said Aldrin “resented not being first on the moon more than he appreciated being second.”

But Aldrin was still proud of his achievement; years later, confronted by a man claiming that Apollo 11 was an elaborate lie, Aldrin, 72, punched him in the jaw.

And after Neil Armstrong's death in 2012, Aldrin said, “I know that I am joined by many millions of others from around the world in mourning the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I have ever known.”

Despite difficulties later in life, he never lost his thirst for adventure and participated in expeditions to both the North and South Pole, the latter at the age of 86.

Despite his fame, he remained a supporter of the space program, especially the need to explore Mars.

“I don’t think we should just go there and come back—we did that with Apollo,” he says.

And his name became known to new generations as the inspiration for Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story film series. In January 2023, at the age of 93, he married for the fourth time.

There are only four people alive who walked on the moon – Charlie Duke is one of them. He did this at age 36, making him the youngest person to set foot on the moon.

In a later interview with the BBC, he spoke of the “breathtaking terrain”.

“The beauty… the sharp contrast between the blackness of space and the horizon of the Moon… I will never forget it. It was so dramatic.”

But he has already played another important role in NASA's lunar exploration. After Apollo 11 landed in 1969, it was Duke, who controlled the flight as Capsule Communicator, or Capcom, who waited nervously on the other end of the line when Neil Armstrong said, “Houston, Tranquility Base is here.” The Eagle has landed.”

In his signature Southern drawl, Duke replied, “Roger, Calm.” We are copying you on earth, you have a bunch of guys about to turn blue, we are breathing again.”

“I really meant it, I held my breath at the last minute or so” he later told the BBC.

In 2022, Duke told the BBC he was excited about NASA's Artemis mission, but warned it wouldn't be easy for the next generation of astronauts.

“They chose the South Pole to land because if there is ice on the Moon, it will be at the bottom. So it will be difficult – because it is really harsh there. But we can handle it.”

Charlie Duke now lives near San Antonio, Texas, with Dorothy, to whom he has been married for 60 years.

Fred Hayes was a member of the Apollo 13 crew. narrowly escaped disaster in 1970 after an onboard explosion aborted the mission while the ship was more than 200,000 miles (321,000 km) from Earth.

The world watched nervously as NASA attempted to safely return the damaged spacecraft and its crew. Upon their return, Heise and his teammates James Lovell and Jack Swigert became celebrities, to their obvious surprise.

“I feel like maybe I missed something while I was there,” he told talk show host Johnny Carson when the crew appeared on “The Tonight Show.”

Haise never made it to the moon. Although he was slated to be commander of Apollo 19, the mission was canceled due to budget cuts, like all other flights after Apollo 17.

He later served as a test pilot for the prototype Starship Enterprise.

Like many of his fellow Apollo graduates, after leaving NASA, Heise continued to work in the aerospace industry until his retirement.

Unlike most other astronauts of the time, Schmitt did not serve as a pilot in the US military.

A geologist and academic, he first instructed NASA astronauts on what to look for during geological expeditions to the Moon before becoming an astronaut scientist himself in 1965.

Schmitt participated in the last manned mission to the Moon, Apollo 17, and, along with commander Eugene Cernan, was one of the last two people to set foot on the Moon in December 1972.

After leaving NASA in 1975, he was elected to the U.S. Senate from his home state of New Mexico, but served only one term. Since then, he has worked as a consultant in various industries and has also continued to work in academia.

He is also known for speaking out against the scientific consensus on climate change.

David Scott, commander of Apollo 15, is one of only four living men to walk on the Moon, but he was also one of the first to walk on it.

In 1971, Scott and teammate James Irwin tested the Lunar Rover Vehicle (LRV), “man's first wheels on the Moon,” as it was called. Traveling at speeds of up to 8 mph (12 km/h), the LRV allowed astronauts to travel long distances from the lunar lander much faster than they could walk.

“On the first mission, you never know if it will work,” he later recalled. “The biggest thrill was getting it out, turning it on, and it actually worked.”

After returning from the Moon, Scott worked in various leadership positions at NASA before moving to the private sector.

He has also served as a consultant on several film and television projects, including Apollo 13 and the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.

What will the next generation of lunar adventurers achieve?