Exploration of the Moon that a lunar lander would not sink into a thick layer of dust, as had been feared. The first artificial satellite of the Moon was the Soviet probe Luna 10, launched March 31, 1966. On December 24, 1968, the crew of Apollo 8, Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders, became the first human beings to enter lunar orbit and see the far side of the Moon in person. Humans first landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The first human to walk on the lunar surface was Neil Armstrong, commander of the U.S. mission Apollo 11. The first
2020s in spaceflight 2020s in spaceflight This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the 2020s. In 2020, NASA plans to launch the Mars 2020 rover, as well as carry out the maiden launch of the Space Launch System; in 2022, NASA plans to carry out the first crewed flight of the Space Launch System. The trend towards cost reduction in access to orbit is expected to continue. In 2020, Blue Origin plans the maiden flight of New Glenn with a reusable first stage. In 2022, SpaceX plans to launch its new fully reusable BFR. NASA plans a return to the Moon sometime