Abstract :
When the Apollo 11 rose into space, it was guided to the Moon by a mainly pre-IC, onboard computer with only 36 kilobytes of memory. Even the rendezvous of the lander with the command/service module employed a technique practised only once before in lunar orbit. Twenty-five years on, the author presents an historical overview of the Moon landings, examines the Russian role in the lunar race and details future projects aimed at a return to the Moon.<>
