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Apollo 10 was the fourth crewed mission of NASA's space program and the second capsule to orbit the moon. Launched May 18, 1969, it was mission F: a repeat of NASA's first landing on the moon, aimed at testing all the components and procedures to follow, but barely landing. The Apollo 10, measuring just four meters wide, was nicknamed Snoopy and would have been lost forever in 900 million kilometers of space after it was dropped.
Snoopy, named after the famous animated dog, was used as a model for the iconic NASA Apollo 11 lunar landing, which was to take place two months after Apollo 10 in July 1969.
Two of the three astronauts were transferred there to float above the moon's surface.
The NASA crew returned to the command module shortly thereafter.
After the demonstration of the docking maneuver, the mission was over and Snoopy was fired into space.
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However, Nick Howes, a member of the Royal Astronomical Society, is now convinced that Apollo 10 has been found and that he only needs one more to recover it.
Mr Howes said that he had started researching the module in 2011 and had calculated that the odds of finding it were 235 million to one.
With a team of astronomers, he analyzed a multitude of radar data and discovered in 2018 what they thought was Snoopy.
The Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society said, "We are 98% convinced to have found it.
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"Until someone comes in and gets a detailed radar profile, we can not be sure."
He added that the recovery of the capsule would be a "fantastic feat for science".
"As a piece of history, a historical moment, it's a unique artifact."
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Howes said that someone with space expertise such as SpaceX founder Elon Musk would be the ideal candidate to bring Snoopy back to Earth.
"I would love to have Elon Musk and his wonderful spaceship, grab them and shoot them down.
"As Eugene Cernan, a member of the Apollo 10 team, said," My son, if you find that and reduce it, imagine the queues at the Smithsonian? "
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