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Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal and J. Garvin; image series composited by Zoltan Levay

Here is a sweeping photo that combines a series of images taken by the Apollo 17 crew in December, 1972. The lunar rover is seen at center, right.

Astronauts from six Apollo missions visited the Moon from 1969 to 1972. Each time they made the three- to four-day, 250,000-mile journey, they brought their air supply and food with them because they stayed for only a few days.

Eventually, human visitors to the Moon will stay for awhile, setting up an outpost. Future Moon pioneers cannot expect a spacecraft from Earth to deliver supplies every week, or even every month. They will need to live off the Moon's resources.