Astronaut explains why no one has visited the moon for 50 years

It’s been 50 years since a human being last walked on the moon.

Nasa's former Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan was the last person to walk the lunar surface in 1972, and no-one would have guessed then that it would be five decades until astronauts would be back there.

The Artemis II mission is about to send the first crewed mission around the moon, in preparation for the eventual Artemis III, which would put humans back on the moon once again.

The first attempt at launching Artemis II could come as soon as 6.24pm EDT on Wednesday (1 April).

But just why has it taken so long to reach this point?

Jim Bridenstine, a former Nasa administrator, explained that the reason has nothing to do with technological restrictions. Instead, it’s all to do with politics.

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"If it wasn't for the political risk, we would be on the moon right now,” he told reporters in 2018.

Humans last walked on the moon in 1972 NASA/Newsmakers via Getty

"In fact, we would probably be on Mars. It was the political risks that prevented it from happening."

He added: "The program took too long and it costs too much money."

The signs, so far, are looking good.

“This has been an extraordinarily successful mission,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson told reporters when Artemis I launched. At every stage, Nasa has tracked the mission in detail, watching for any problems that could cause danger for a human crew.

Could this be the start of the next era of Moon exploration?

This article was originally published in December 2022, and has since been updated

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