As I said before, the Lunar Module [1] is awesome. It can dock. It can land two people on the moon. It can support them on the surface of the freaking Moon for longer than three days. It’s a moon rock transporter and impromptu TV studio. It can freaking ascend again. And in this case the descent engine could be used for necessary course corrections [2]. Is there anything this truly marvelous piece of technology can’t do? :)
An interesting read, though some of the things that supposedly "saved" it seem like a stretch.
I was born in 71 and I remember when I was a kid, fascinated by space, how the Apollo program was still fresh in people's mind and wondering what would come next. It's too bad that 30+ years later I'm still waiting for something to surpass it.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Lunar_Module
[2] http://www.universetoday.com/2010/04/13/13-things-that-saved...