A relatively small number of scientists, mostly astronomers, had been studying the Moon from afar for a long time, when, unexpectedly, a presidential mandate led to the rapid development of the Apollo Program in the 1960’s. The Moon became an object of interest, and controversy, to a much broader community, and, as a result, studying the Moon and planets became a passionate interest of mine not too long after I entered school. In my youthful enthusiasm, I followed the Apollo program obsessively, was given the opportunity to meet Werner von Braun, the engineer who led the development of the Apollo Saturn V launch vehicle. Arguably, the Apollo Program was one of the greatest technological achievements of all time. Years later, I became a lunar scientist studying measurements made during the Apollo era, from combined orbital and ground-based observations, as well as collected samples. I will discuss some of that work in the context of the following issues and their implications for lunar exploration now:

1. How much useful surface exploration was accomplished by Apollo?
   
2. How critical were human beings in achieving lunar science results then?
   
3. What scientific/engineering breakthroughs occurred as a result of the Apollo program?
   
4. What role did the precursor robotic missions to the Moon, including Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter, play in making future exploration possible?

Decades later, we again have a presidential mandate for lunar exploration, this time involving the great challenge of longer term human stays on the Moon, requiring the development of a true architecture to support lunar surface operations. I have been involved in proposing tools, science implementation strategies, and architectures to support this mandate. I will discuss some of that work in the context of these issues and their implications for future lunar exploration:

1. What lessons learned can be applied from the Apollo program?
   
2. From the standpoint of surface exploration, what are the strengths and weaknesses in the current architecture now under development?
   
3. What robotic precursors would be useful this time around?
   
4. How can the goals and objectives of not only lunar scientists, but the broader community, be implemented?
   
5. What is the most effective way to combine human and robotic capabilities?
   
6. What developments, either envisioned or underway, would be useful in robotics to facilitate the effectiveness of the robotic role?
   
7. How can a return to a lunar exploration program be used to benefit future study of the Earth and solar system?