The ultimate goal in the Moon-landing mission is to establish the fact that NASA is able to send a manned spacecraft to the Moon, transport humans onto its surface to conduct experiments and bring them back safely to Earth.
NASA launched the first manned Apollo mission in October 1968. The 11-day Apollo 7 flight was a complete success, giving the agency much confidence in its new spacecraft. NASA had hoped to test the first lunar module in Earth orbit on the following flight; however, it was not ready to fly. NASA then elected to send Apollo 8 to the Moon. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders spent Christmas Eve 1968, making 10 orbits of the lunar surface.
Unmanned probes: Prior to landing a man in the Moon in 1969 it was crucial to send unmanned probes. These probes gave scientists clues at to what they could expect on the Moon, probes such as the Orbiter, Ranger and the Surveyor craft. The Surveyor made a soft landings on the Moon, took excellent pictures and sampled the surface in the surrounding area. The surveyor also produced photographic maps of the Moon for selection of good landing sites.
