As an expert in the field of space exploration history, I can provide you with a detailed account of what happened to Apollo 2 and 3 missions. The Apollo program was a series of human spaceflight missions undertaken by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with the objective of landing humans on the Moon and bringing them safely back to Earth. The Apollo 2 and 3 missions were pivotal in the development of the program.
Apollo 2 was originally planned to be the second manned mission of the Apollo program, following the successful orbital flight of Apollo 1. However, due to the tragic accident that occurred during a pre-launch test for Apollo 1, which resulted in the loss of the entire crew, the mission was reorganized. The primary goal of Apollo 2 was to test the Lunar Module, or LM, in Earth's orbit. The Lunar Module was a critical component of the Apollo spacecraft, designed to land astronauts on the lunar surface and then return them to the Command and Service Module, or CSM, for the journey back to Earth.
Apollo 3, on the other hand, was intended to be the first manned launch of the powerful Saturn V rocket, which would ultimately carry astronauts to the Moon. This mission was to be a high Earth orbit mission, combining both the CSM and the LM. The mission was designed to further test the integrated spacecraft and to prepare for the lunar landing missions that would follow.
Unfortunately, due to the Apollo 1 tragedy, both Apollo 2 and 3 were canceled and their objectives were redistributed among other missions in the Apollo program. The lessons learned from the Apollo 1 fire were incorporated into the design and safety protocols of subsequent missions, ensuring that the program could continue towards its ultimate goal of lunar exploration.
The Apollo program went on to achieve remarkable success, with Apollo 11 becoming the first mission to land humans on the Moon in July 1969. The legacy of Apollo 2 and 3, though not flown, is still significant as they contributed to the development and refinement of the spacecraft and launch vehicles that made the Moon landings possible.
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