In July 1969, the United States achieved a monumental feat in human history when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface during NASA’s Apollo 11 mission. The Apollo program, driven by intense Cold War competition with the Soviet Union, epitomized technological ingenuity, political will, and substantial financial investment. Over the course of six successful missions between 1969 and 1972, NASA landed 12 astronauts on the moon, conducting extensive scientific experiments and collecting valuable lunar samples. Yet, despite this remarkable success, no human has returned to the moon since 1972. Understanding why requires examining a confluence of technological, political, financial, and international factors. The Apollo program’s roots lie in President John F. Kennedy’s bold 1961 proclamation to land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth before the decade’s end. The urgency stemmed from the Soviet Union’s early dominance in space exploration, including Yuri Gagarin’s historic orbit of Earth in 1961. Apollo became a matter of national pride and geopolitical strategy, with Congress approving …