Experience gained from the lunar program will be used for future programs such as exploration of Mars and Venus.

This lunar program marks the first United States mission to the moon in over ten years.

Still the Soviet lunar programme suffered problems with the N1 rocket exploding on the launch pad.

When the Soviets' Moon rocket blew up in 1969, they completely scrapped their lunar program and shifted to space stations.

Site 110 was built in the 1960s as part of the Soviet manned lunar programme, for use by the N1 rocket.

The schedule for Ares I has incurred several delays since the inception of the new lunar program.

Music had gone hand-in-pressurized-glove with the lunar program.

"We could only undertake a lunar program as a sideline," said Chertok, the guidance engineer.

"We had a lunar program because the Americans had a lunar program," he said.

The Soviet manned lunar programs failed to send a manned mission to the Moon.