Apollo Moon veterans remain as Artemis advances

Five Apollo Moon walkers remain as NASA pushes Artemis to return humans to the lunar surface amid international competition and private sector delays.

Apollo Moon legends fade as Artemis race accelerates

Twenty four NASA astronauts travelled to the Moon during the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s. With Jim Lovell and the Apollo 13 crew surviving their near disaster, there are now five survivors who stepped beyond Earth orbit and onto lunar soil. NASA's Artemis programme aims to put people back on the Moon this decade, while China targets a lunar presence by 2030. Private firms such as SpaceX and Boeing are building competing tech, but progress has faced setbacks that slow the pace of return.

The surviving Moon walkers are Buzz Aldrin, Charlie Duke, Fred Haise, Harrison Schmitt and David Scott. Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, has long pressed for broader space exploration and Mars missions. Duke, the youngest to walk on the lunar surface, described the terrain as spectacular and recalled the tense moment in mission control during Apollo 11. Haise was commander of Apollo 13, a mission aborted after an on-board explosion; he later spoke about the sense that something was missed during his time in space. Schmitt, the first scientist to walk on the Moon, left NASA and later pursued public service and academia. Scott, part of Apollo 15, is among the remaining lunar explorers who still carry the memory of that era.

The five living Moon walkers connect a critical bridge between Apollo’s triumphs and today’s space plans. Artemis is framed as a continuation of exploration, yet it sits in a tougher funding climate and a crowded field of competitors. The delays at Boeing and SpaceX underscore how ambitious space goals depend on reliable programs and steady investment, not just a bold vision. Public interest will press lawmakers to weigh long term goals against short term budgets.

Highlights

The next steps to the Moon will test not just rockets but public resolve.