Was Apple TV’s Constellation’s Apollo 18 Mission Real?

While Apple TV’s Constellation is set in the modern day, a key plot element involves a disaster that took place on the Apollo 18 mission. But did that actually happen? If you’re wondering if Apple TV’s Constellation’s Apollo 18 mission was real, I’ve got the answer.

Was Apple TV’s Constellation’s Apollo 18 Mission Real?

Was Apollo TV’s Constellation’s Apollo 18 a real disaster? No. There were plans for Apollo 18, 19, and 20, but they were ultimately canceled. Apple TV’s Constellation is indeed more grounded than, say, The Expanse, and protagonist Jo Ericsson is working aboard the ISS. Still, its fictional history differs a little from real-world history.

In the show, Apollo 18 headed to the Moon, as with Apollos 11-17. However, the character Henry Caldera remembers a disaster that cost the lives of his two other crewmates. He blacked out but then woke to find everything was fine. What’s going on?

I’m going to assume you’ve watched at least some of the show, so it appears that in one universe, the Apollo 18 mission was a disaster that did, indeed, cost the lives of two out of the three astronauts. In the other, it was a success or, at least, a success to the point that all astronauts got home safe.

Famously, there was a non-fatal emergency on the real-life Apollo 13, which went on to be made into a movie with Tom Hanks. But in the real world, Apollo 18 did not happen. Apollo 18, 19, and 20 were canceled for budget reasons. The last crewed mission to the moon was Apollo 17, which touched down in 1972.

Constellation isn’t the only movie to have a fictional Apollo 18. The movie Apollo 18 is a horror where astronauts discover something nasty on the moon and… well, I won’t spoil that one for you.

So, to answer whether Apple TV’s Constellation’s Apollo 18 mission was real is no, but it was planned. Nevertheless, it never actually happened.