They were the last people to travel beyondlow-Earth orbit typically defined as less than 1,000km above the Earths surface.
Some 49 years later, we are approaching the launch of NASAs Artemis 1 lunar mission.
Artemis is the latest in a long series of projectsover many decadesto attempt a human return to the Moon.
Its by far the closest one to being realized, with the earliest launch attempts currently scheduled forMarch 2022.
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Two critical challenges
The two most difficult parts of any space mission are launch and landing.
Lets look first at how Artemis 1 will launch.
This includes fuelling the space launch systemand practicingrolling all the elements of the rocket out to the launch pad.
This was also without astronauts, backin 2014.
While this test flight traveled beyond low-Earth orbit successfully, it didnt go all the way to the Moon.
What happens after takeoff?
This will be the greatest distance from Earth ever reached by a human-capable spacecraft.
Exact timings of the flight will depend on when Artemis 1 is launched.
Much rides on the success of this mission.
All being well, we can hope to see Artemis 2 with astronauts take off in the coming years.
