Direct ascent was a proposed method for a mission to the
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is , about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The common centre of mass of the system is located at about —a quarter the Earth's...
. In the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, direct ascent proposed using the enormous
Nova rocketNova was a series of proposed rocket designs, originally as NASA's first large launchers for missions similar to the Saturn V that entered production, and later as larger follow-ons to the Saturn V intended for missions to Mars. The two series of designs were essentially separate, but shared their...
or
Saturn C-8The Saturn C-8 was the largest Saturn rocket to be designed. It was an alternative to the Nova rocket, should a direct landing method of lunar exploration have been chosen by NASA for the Apollo program. The first stage was an increased diameter version of the S-IC. The second stage was an...
to loft a spacecraft directly to the Moon, where it would land tail-first and then launch off the Moon back to Earth. The other options that
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
considered for the mission to the moon were
Lunar Orbit RendezvousLunar orbit rendezvous is a key concept for human landing on the Moon and returning back to Earth.In an LOR mission a main spacecraft and a smaller lunar module travel together into lunar orbit. The lunar module then independently descends to the lunar surface. After completion of the mission...
and
Earth Orbit RendezvousEarth orbit rendezvous is type of space rendezvous, a method that has been proposed for space missions to the Moon. NASA considered an EOR mission profile for the Apollo program, but chose instead to use lunar orbit rendezvous...
. Lunar Orbit Rendezvous was eventually chosen as the most feasible.
The Soviets also considered several direct ascent-strategies, though in the end they settled on an approach similar to NASA's: two men in a
Soyuz spacecraftSoyuz ; English: Union) is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolyov Design Bureau. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet Manned Lunar program...
capsule and a one-man lander.
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Direct ascent was a proposed method for a mission to the
MoonThe Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is , about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The common centre of mass of the system is located at about —a quarter the Earth's...
. In the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, direct ascent proposed using the enormous
Nova rocketNova was a series of proposed rocket designs, originally as NASA's first large launchers for missions similar to the Saturn V that entered production, and later as larger follow-ons to the Saturn V intended for missions to Mars. The two series of designs were essentially separate, but shared their...
or
Saturn C-8The Saturn C-8 was the largest Saturn rocket to be designed. It was an alternative to the Nova rocket, should a direct landing method of lunar exploration have been chosen by NASA for the Apollo program. The first stage was an increased diameter version of the S-IC. The second stage was an...
to loft a spacecraft directly to the Moon, where it would land tail-first and then launch off the Moon back to Earth. The other options that
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
considered for the mission to the moon were
Lunar Orbit RendezvousLunar orbit rendezvous is a key concept for human landing on the Moon and returning back to Earth.In an LOR mission a main spacecraft and a smaller lunar module travel together into lunar orbit. The lunar module then independently descends to the lunar surface. After completion of the mission...
and
Earth Orbit RendezvousEarth orbit rendezvous is type of space rendezvous, a method that has been proposed for space missions to the Moon. NASA considered an EOR mission profile for the Apollo program, but chose instead to use lunar orbit rendezvous...
. Lunar Orbit Rendezvous was eventually chosen as the most feasible.
The Soviets also considered several direct ascent-strategies, though in the end they settled on an approach similar to NASA's: two men in a
Soyuz spacecraftSoyuz ; English: Union) is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolyov Design Bureau. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet Manned Lunar program...
capsule and a one-man lander. The failure of the Soviets'
N1 RocketN1 or N-1 or 11A52 was a secret Soviet rocket intended to send Soviet cosmonauts to the Moon. It is also known in the West as the G-1e or SL-15. The Soviet classified technical name N1 was an abbreviation from the Russian word носитель...
delayed their lunar program substantially, however, and they were nowhere close when
Apollo 11The Apollo 11 mission was the first human spaceflight to land on the Moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Mission Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr...
lifted off and made the first lunar landing.
Science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
movies such as
Destination MoonDestination Moon is a 1950 American science fiction feature film produced by George Pál, who later produced When Worlds Collide, The War of the Worlds, and The Time Machine. Pál commissioned the script by James O'Hanlon and Rip Van Ronkel...
had frequently depicted direct ascent missions. In real life, however, it was discarded due to the near impossibility of landing a rocket the size of the Atlas tail-first on the Moon.