The Last Moon Shot
In 1865 Jules Verne predicted the invention of a space capsule that could carry people. His science fiction story “From the Earth to the Moon” outlined his vision of a cannon in Florida so powerful that it could shoot a Projectile-Vehicle carrying three adventurers to the Moon . Over 100 years later NASA , guided by Wernher Von Braun 's vision, produced the Saturn V rocket . From a spaceport in Florida, this rocket turned Verne's fiction into fact , launching 9 Apollo Lunar missions and allowing 12 astronauts to walk on the Moon . As spotlights play on the rocket and launch pad at dusk, the last moon shot, Apollo 17 , is pictured here awaiting its December 1972 night launch.