Editing Apollo 9 (section)

== Appraisal and aftermath ==
[[File:AS09-23-3500 (22038477212).jpg|thumb|upright|alt=The Moon in partial phase|Image of the Moon taken from Apollo{{nbsp}}9]]

As NASA Associate Administrator [[George Mueller (NASA)|George Mueller]] put it, "Apollo{{nbsp}}9 was as successful a flight as any of us could ever wish for, as well as being as successful as any of us have ever seen."{{sfn|French & Burgess|p=353}} Gene Kranz called Apollo{{nbsp}}9 "sheer exhilaration".{{sfn|French & Burgess|p=353}} Apollo Program Director [[Samuel C. Phillips]] stated, "in every way, it has exceeded even our most optimistic expectations."{{sfn|''Science News'' 1969-03-22a|p=277}} Apollo{{nbsp}}11 astronaut [[Buzz Aldrin]] stood in Mission Control as ''Spider'' and ''Gumdrop'' docked after their separate flights, and with the docking, according to [[Andrew Chaikin]], "Apollo{{nbsp}}9 had fulfilled all its major objectives. At that moment, Aldrin knew Apollo{{nbsp}}10 would also succeed, and that he and [[Neil Armstrong|Armstrong]] would attempt to land on the Moon. On March 24, NASA made it official."{{sfn|Chaikin|pp=140, 144–145}}

Although he might have been offered command of an Apollo lunar landing mission, McDivitt chose to leave the Astronaut Corps after Apollo{{nbsp}}9, becoming manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program later in 1969. Scott was soon given another spaceflight assignment as backup commander of Apollo 12, and then was made mission commander of [[Apollo 15]], landing on the Moon in 1971. Schweickart volunteered for medical investigation of his spacesickness, but was unable to shake its stigma, and was never again assigned to a prime crew. He took a leave of absence from NASA in 1977 that eventually became permanent.{{sfn|French & Burgess|pp=354–362}} [[Eugene Cernan]], commander of [[Apollo 17]], stated that when it came to understanding spacesickness, Schweickart "paid the price for them all".{{sfn|French & Burgess|p=357}}

Following the success of Apollo 9, NASA did not conduct the "E mission" (further testing in medium Earth orbit), and even considered skipping the "F mission", the dress rehearsal for the lunar landing, going straight to the landing attempt. As the spacecraft designated for the first landing attempt were still being assembled, this was not done.{{sfn|French & Burgess|p=354}} NASA officials also felt that given the past difficulties with the LM, there was a need for a further test flight before the actual landing attempt, and that orbiting the Moon would give them the opportunity to study [[Mass concentration (astronomy)|mass concentrations]] there, which had affected Apollo{{nbsp}}8's orbit.{{sfn|''Science News'' 1969-03-22a|p=278}} According to French and Burgess in their study of the Apollo program, "Apollo{{nbsp}}9's success had ensured that the next Apollo mission would go back to the moon."{{sfn|French & Burgess|p=354}}