Charlie Duke arrived on the moon, in 1972, after what felt like an eternity. First, the launch from Earth had been delayed by a month because of last-minute technical problems. Then, four days into the voyage, he had clambered into the lunar landing module with his fellow astronaut, John Young, only for mission control to tell them to stand by – the spacecraft that was to stay in orbit as they went down to the moon had a problem with its engine. Six hours passed before they were given the green light.

Finally, Duke and Young began their descent towards the moon in a landing module that was roughly the size of a lift. On its walls were buttons and levers, and tiny portholes for the astronauts to peer through. Since there were no seats, they stood side-by-side, stuck to the floor with waist tethers and Velcro on the soles of their boots. Once they touched down, mission control ordered the astronauts to rest before their first excursion. It was the last thing Duke felt like doing.

The Economist