Astronomy Picture of the Day . Apollo 17 s Moonship . ... Credit: Apollo 17 , NASA ( Image scanned by Kipp Teague) Explanation: Awkward and angular looking, Apollo 17's lunar module Challenger was designed for flight in the vacuum of space. This picture from command module America , shows Challenger's ascent stage in lunar orbit. ... This spaceship performed gracefully, landing on the Moon and returning the Apollo astronauts to the orbiting command module in December of 1972. ...