When Was the Last Moon Landing and Why Haven’t We Been Back to the Moon for Nearly 50 Years???

Between the mid-50s to early 70s of the previous century, the fierce competition between the United States and the Soviet Union has created the Space Race. After Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space in 1961, the United States has sent its first Apollo in 1968 though it did not land on the moon but circled around the moon for the first time in history. On July 20, 1969, two American astronauts became the first humans to walk on the moon.

Since then, there were another six moon landings between 1969 and 1972. But, that’s it??? Why did humans stop going to the moon for nearly 50 years???

First, when was the last moon landing?

The last moon landing was on December 19, 1972, when a crew of three US astronauts (Cernan, Schmitt, Evans) have achieved the goal to land on the moon for the last time until the present day. This mission known as the Apollo 17 was a 12-day mission and the most successful of all moon landings in history – It was the longest spacewalk, the longest lunar landing, and the largest samples from the moon brought back to Earth.

Why did humans stop going to the moon???

That’s a big question. In all opinion, there’s something strange about the fact that humans stopped going to the moon. After all, technology has been evolving in various ways over recent decades, which should make the journey to the moon much easier than 50 years ago. Further, the explanation that the costs and political risks are the main reason is not convincing and makes you wonder what is the real reason that no human being has been walking on the moon for the last five decades. After all, the moon is relatively not that far away – just 384,000 km, which takes around 3 days to get there.

Some say that there’s no motivation or a purpose for any country to explore the moon. The vast majority of the public, in general, is not seeing a good reason to spend money for the purpose of going to another planet that cannot be inhabited.

And thus, once again, our faith is in the hands of the eccentric entrepreneur Elon Musk who is planning to send a spaceship to the moon. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has recently won a contract to develop the first commercial spaceship for NASA, which will send the first woman to the moon in 2024. This program known as the Artemis Program was initially announced by the Trump administration and is expected to be completed under President Joe Biden who has endorsed the program. 

When we look ahead, it still remains to be seen when would be the next time a human being will walk again on the moon. The curiosity of humanity is, after all, to find new discoveries and explore the earth. Nowadays, it is even possible to buy a piece of land on the moon, so…

Nonetheless, the question of why haven’t we been there for nearly 50 years could easily ‘makes you wonder’…

The moon landing conspiracy theory?

If you are a conspiracy theorist who believes in plots and hidden actions made by governments, then you have a good reason to, at least, take a look at the moon landing conspiracy theory. Yes, this is a huge thing to believe in – meaning, why would any government do such a thing and hide it for so many years? Is it even possible that none of the people who are involved in this plot has revealed the truth about it?

So, for those who believe in this conspiracy, the 40-year absence from the Moon is just another reason to believe in it.