NASA expects to restart manned lunar missions

With this Wednesday marking 50 years since man last walked the surface of the Moon, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) expects to restart its lunar missions again.

The 1972 Apollo 17 was NASA’s last mission to the moon, and its commander Eugene Cernan was the last person to walk on the celestial body’s surface. Due to political developments like the Vietnam War, many Americans resented federal money spent on space exploration. This eventually led to the end of lunar missions.

Reviving it now, NASA launched a multi-billion-dollar-unmanned-moon rocket this October. Named Orion, the rocket is expected to splash down in the Pacific on December 11. If it does, we can expect astronauts to fly around the Moon in 2024 and even set foot on the lunar lander built by Elon Musk's SpaceX. NASA also vowed to include a woman and a person of color as moonwalkers.