It's Been 50 Years Since Humans Walked on the Moon

We were supposed to go back to the moon last week. We were also supposed to go back five weeks before that in mid-September, and six months before that.

- By Katherine Mangu-Ward

We were maybe supposed to go back to the moon during the George W. Bush administration. And we were definitely supposed to go back to the moon shortly after what ended up being the final Apollo mission.

Yet no one has been to the moon for 50 years.

That so much time has elapsed since mankind’s last lunar foray is somehow shocking, even to those of us who are too young to remember the moon landings. Those few round trips to plant flags, gather rocks, take photos, and play golf are so central to our sense of ourselves as a nation—and as a species—that it’s jarring to contemplate what it means that so much time has passed without a repeat performance.

The last time a group of astronauts was preparing for a manned moon mission, Bob Barker was making his Price s Right debut. The first pocket scientific calculator was appearing in stores. Pong was newly released for Atari. Comedian George Carlin had just been arrested for Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television.”