Some people including Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step out of the Apollo 11 lunar module have taken the opportunity to wonder whether returning to the moon is such a good idea anyway.
Leading the campaign for a global response to NEOs and a closer exploration of their physical make up is former astronaut Russell Schweickart, who piloted the lunarmodule of Apollo 9 in 1969.
After an explosion in Apollo 13's service module cut off propulsion and power, the lunar excursion module (LEM) was used as a lifeboat to provide life support to the three astronauts, and the engine of its descent stage for course changes, until the command module could re-enter the atmosphere after a long coast around the moon.