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10 awe-inspiring images of the moon

a streak of light pointing toward the moon

Photo: NASA

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Destination: Moon

This shows the 1998 launch of NASA's Lunar Prospector Spacecraft above the skies of Cape Canaveral, Fla. As NASA reports, this was NASA's first lunar mission since Apollo 17, which occurred in 1972. In the photo, the rocket is seen 250,000 miles from the moon. It took five days for Prospector to reach the moon. Prospector's mission was to gain a higher understanding of the magnetic field, gravity, internal structure and surface composition of the moon.