Picture of Apollo 10 spacecraft
NASA
Apollo 10
Apollo 10 was launched on May 18, 1969, carrying astronauts Thomas Stafford, John Young, and Eugene Cernan. It served as a "dress rehearsal" for the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission which followed a month later.
While in orbit around the Moon, the astronauts of Apollo 10 released a lunar module which descended to within 14 km (9 miles) of the lunar surface, before returning to the Command Module. They successfully performed other tests in the lunar gravitational field, proving that humans were ready to attempt a safe landing on the Moon.
Another task of Apollo 10 was to take close-up pictures of the anticipated Apollo 11 touchdown location. While in flight, it also made possible the first color television broadcast from space, allowing audiences back on Earth to see their planet as never before.
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