The United States comprehensively won its 20th-century space race with the Soviet Union in the summer of 1969 with Apollo 11. No human has set foot on our rocky satellite since US astronaut Gene Cernan became the 11th and final man to walk on the Moon in 1972. For over half a century, the Moon has remained undisturbed beyond the odd unmanned probe. But that could be about to change.
The US is now in fierce competition with China to get humans back on the Moon and establish a permanent base, ideally at the lunar south pole, where scientists hope essential ice water may be lurking in shadowy craters.
