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Phrase "How many years have passed since . . ." is often quoted among the engineers and researchers who try to reach the Moon. ". . ." means the moment (Japan time: 5 O'clock 17 min 40 sec in the morning of July 21, 1969) when Armstrong, the captain of Apollo 11, placed the first human footprint on the lunar surface. Thereafter, a number of landing vehicles have been sent to the Moon in the 1960s - 1970s by U.S.A. and the former USSR.
However, mankind has kept away from the Moon ever since Apollo 17 in Dec. 1972 (U.S.A.) or the last landing vehicle LUNA 24 (USSR) in Aug. 1976.
The phrase "How many years have passed since . . ." implies that the moment that Capt. Armstrong put the first human step on the moon remains to be the starting point for mankind who keep trying to reach the Moon, and symbolizes our respect for the great step and our re-assurance of the step's importance.
In the recent growth of the world's desire to be "Back to the Moon," the orbiter vehicles Clementine (1994) and Lunar Prospector (1998) have been sent to the Moon. The title of this web page "Back to the Moon" is a phrase commonly used among the people who try to reach the Moon, while a number of engineers and researchers turn their enthusiastic eyes to the Moon.
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Japan's Lunar Exploration
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