In this period image are the three principal contending lunar landing techniques which were suggested for the Apollo program: direct ascent, above left; earth-orbit rendezvous, above center; and lunar-orbit rendezvous.
Image: NASA.

Following a long controversy, today in 1962 marks NASA’s selection of Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) as the fastest, cheapest, and safest way to get Apollo missions to the moon. LOR would allow landing 6-8 months earlier than originally planned, and cost $9.2 billion vs $ 10.6 billion for other methods.