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Apollo 18
Two years after the Apollo 17 mission, the crew of the cancelled Apollo 18 mission consisting of Commander Nathan Walker, Lieutenant Colonel John Grey, and Captain Ben Anderson are informed that it will proceed as a top-secret Department of Defense (DoD) mission to place an early warning detector on the Moon for ICBM attacks from the USSR.
Grey remains aboard Apollo command module Freedom while Walker and Anderson land in Apollo Lunar Module Liberty to plant the detector. Anderson takes back rock samples and the two return to Liberty. The samples cause small disturbances, which Houston attributes to interference from the detector. The next day, Anderson discovers footprints that lead them to an abandoned but functioning Soviet LK lander. They discover a crater with a dead cosmonaut, to which Houston dismisses Walker's queries. While sleeping, Walker is awakened by strange noises and an object bumping into the lander.
Walker and Anderson complete the mission and prepare to leave, but the launch is aborted when Liberty suffers violent shaking, which they discover is a result of damaged foil. Nearby, they find non-human tracks outside the Liberty alongside damaged equipment. Walker is horrified at a spider-like creature that has entered his spacesuit and disappears before Anderson finds him unconscious near Liberty, which Walker later denies happening. Later, Anderson removes a Moon rock embedded in Walker. Walker smashes the rock, contaminating the ship. Due to interference from an unknown source, the two are unable to contact Houston or Grey.
Anderson speculates that the device is meant to monitor the aliens and that it is the source of the interference. They attempt to deactivate the device but find it destroyed. Walker begins to become contentious and paranoid, and they discover that the aliens are camouflaged as Moon rocks. In an attempt to destroy the cameras inside Liberty, Walker destroys other controls, causing the ship to depressurize. While traveling to the Soviet LK lander to get oxygen, Walker intentionally crashes the rover, believing that he will spread the infection on Earth if he were to return.
Anderson awakens and finds Walker getting pulled into a crater by the aliens. Anderson fails to rescue him and flees to the Soviet LK. He uses the radio to contact the USSR Mission Control, who connect him to the DoD. The Deputy Secretary informs Anderson that they cannot allow him to return to Earth, admitting that they are aware of the situation and incorrectly believe that he is also infected. Grey contacts Anderson, and they plan to return him to Freedom. As Anderson prepares to launch, Walker suddenly appears and demands to be let in before being suddenly swarmed by the aliens, who kill him. Anderson launches, but the DoD informs Grey that he is to abort the rescue, or they will not allow him to return either.
The LK enters orbit and, while in free fall, the aliens attack and infect Anderson. Anderson is unable to control the ship, and he collides with Freedom. The U.S. government states that the astronauts were killed in various jet accidents that left their bodies unrecoverable. They note that many of the rock samples returned from previous Apollo missions given to dignitaries are now missing.