Only 5 Moon Explorers Remain as Space Race Heats Up Again

The club of humans who have traveled to the Moon is getting smaller, but the dream they sparked is bigger than ever.

Just five people remain alive who escaped Earth's orbit and journeyed to the Moon during NASA's Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s. The recent death of Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, who famously guided his crippled spacecraft safely home in 1970, leaves an increasingly rare group of space pioneers.

Among the survivors is Buzz Aldrin, now 95, who became the second person to walk on the Moon in 1969. His first words upon stepping onto the lunar surface were "Beautiful view," followed by his now-famous description: "Magnificent desolation."

Aldrin never lost his adventurous spirit. He traveled to both poles later in life, visiting Antarctica at age 86, and married for the fourth time at 93.

Charlie Duke, the youngest person to walk on the Moon at age 36, played a crucial role even before his own lunar landing. He was the voice in mission control who responded when Neil Armstrong announced "The Eagle has landed" in 1969, joking afterward that he'd been holding his breath.

The Ripple Effect

The dwindling number of Moon explorers comes just as humanity prepares to return. NASA's Artemis program aims to put astronauts on the lunar surface this decade, with plans for them to eventually live there.

China is also targeting 2030 for its first crewed lunar landing, having already successfully landed a probe on the far side of the Moon in 2024. The space race that seemed to end in the 1970s is heating up again, this time with more players and bigger ambitions.

Duke remains excited about the new missions but realistic about the challenges. The Artemis landing sites near the South Pole offer potential access to lunar ice but present difficult terrain.

More than 50 years have passed since humans last walked on the Moon, but the five surviving Apollo astronauts prove that extraordinary achievements create legacies that outlast any single lifetime.