Apollo 18 |work| ✦ Plus

If Apollo 18 had flown as scheduled (for a December 1972 or early 1973 launch), who would have been on board? NASA had a rotating crew assignment system.

When we think of the Apollo program, we think of Neil Armstrong’s “giant leap,” the desperate heroism of Apollo 13, and the scientific triumphs of Apollos 15, 16, and 17. Officially, the last humans to walk on the Moon were Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in December 1972. But for decades, a question has lingered in the shadows of NASA’s history: What happened to Apollo 18? Apollo 18

While the conspiracy theories are entertaining, the real tragedy of Apollo 18 is what NASA lost : a chance for science. If Apollo 18 had flown as scheduled (for

This is the true story of the cancelled mission, the hardware left to rust, and why the myth of Apollo 18 refuses to die. Officially, the last humans to walk on the

Despite (or because of) its cancellation, Apollo 18 has become a cultural shorthand for “the truth they don’t want you to know.” It appears in: