The 6 Apollo Missions That Put Humans on the Moon

NASA's Apollo program produced one of the defining achievements of the 20th century: landing humans on the Moon and bringing them safely back to Earth. NASA publicly announced Project Apollo in 1960, and President John F. Kennedy dramatically accelerated the effort in May 1961 when he challenged the United States to land a person on the Moon before the decade was over.

Apollo 11 achieved that goal in July 1969. Five more successful crewed lunar landings followed before Apollo 17 returned to Earth on Dec. 19, 1972. No human has walked on the Moon since.

NASA's plans for returning astronauts to the lunar surface are changing again. Artemis III is now scheduled as a 2027 crewed demonstration mission in low Earth orbit, designed to test systems needed for future landings. NASA currently targets Artemis IV for the first Artemis lunar landing in early 2028.

Meanwhile, NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative works with private U.S. companies to deliver robotic science and technology payloads to the Moon. Those missions are helping researchers study the lunar environment and test technology ahead of future human exploration.

Six Apollo missions successfully landed astronauts on the Moon: Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17. Twelve people walked on the lunar surface. As of October 2026, four of those moonwalkers are still living: Buzz Aldrin, David Scott, Charles Duke and Harrison Schmitt.

Mission dates: July 16-24, 1969. Neil Armstrong commanded Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin served as lunar module pilot, and Michael Collins piloted the command module. Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the lunar surface aboard Eagle while Collins remained alone in lunar orbit aboard Columbia.

Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon, followed shortly afterward by Aldrin. Both had military aviation backgrounds, and Aldrin had flown combat missions during the Korean War. Collins had previously flown aboard Gemini 10, where he performed two spacewalks. His Apollo 11 job was less famous but absolutely essential: keeping the command module operating and getting his crewmates home.

Apollo 11's primary objective was straightforward to describe and astonishingly difficult to accomplish: land humans on the Moon and return them safely to Earth. Armstrong and Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969.

The two astronauts spent about two and a half hours outside the lunar module. They collected rock and soil samples, photographed the terrain, deployed a solar-wind experiment and seismic equipment, installed a laser-ranging reflector, and used a television camera to transmit their work back to Earth. Apollo 11 proved that humans could not only reach the Moon, but work there.

Mission dates: Nov. 14-24, 1969. Charles "Pete" Conrad commanded Apollo 12, Alan Bean served as lunar module pilot, and Richard Gordon piloted the command module. Conrad and Gordon had already flown together on Gemini 11, which reached a then-record altitude during a crewed Earth-orbit mission.

Apollo 12 was Bean's first spaceflight, although he would later return to space as commander of Skylab 3. The mission nearly became memorable for a completely different reason: lightning struck the Saturn V shortly after liftoff, disrupting several spacecraft systems. The crew and Mission Control recovered, and Apollo 12 continued to the Moon.

Apollo 12 wasn't simply an encore for Apollo 11. NASA wanted to prove that astronauts could land at a specific location rather than merely find a safe patch of lunar terrain. Conrad and Bean touched down in the Ocean of Storms within walking distance of Surveyor 3, a robotic spacecraft that had landed there in 1967.

The astronauts deployed long-term scientific instruments, collected lunar samples and walked to Surveyor 3. They photographed the old lander and removed its television camera, soil scoop and other components so engineers on Earth could study what years of exposure to the lunar environment had done to them. Apollo 12 turned precision landing from a theory into something NASA knew it could do.

Mission dates: Jan. 31-Feb. 9, 1971. Alan Shepard commanded Apollo 14, Edgar Mitchell served as lunar module pilot, and Stuart Roosa remained in lunar orbit as command module pilot.

Shepard's return to space was remarkable by itself. He had become the first American in space aboard Freedom 7 in May 1961 but was later grounded for years by an inner-ear disorder before undergoing successful treatment. Nearly a decade after his first flight, he found himself walking on the Moon. At 47, Shepard was the oldest person to walk there during the Apollo era.

Shepard and Mitchell explored the Fra Mauro region, where the aborted Apollo 13 mission had originally been scheduled to land. They completed two moonwalks totaling more than nine hours and collected about 94 pounds of lunar rocks and soil.

The astronauts deployed scientific experiments, conducted geological work and tried to reach the rim of Cone Crater while pulling their equipment on a two-wheeled cart. Shepard also produced one of the strangest sporting moments in history when he used a modified golf club to hit two golf balls on the Moon. Roosa, meanwhile, photographed potential future landing sites from lunar orbit.

Mission dates: July 26-Aug. 7, 1971. David Scott commanded Apollo 15, James Irwin served as lunar module pilot, and Alfred Worden piloted the command module.

Scott was already a veteran of Gemini 8 and Apollo 9. He and Irwin spent nearly three days on the lunar surface at Hadley-Apennine, while Worden conducted observations and experiments from orbit. On the trip back to Earth, Worden performed the first deep-space spacewalk, retrieving film from cameras mounted outside the command module.

Apollo 15 transformed lunar exploration by bringing the first Lunar Roving Vehicle to the Moon. Scott and Irwin drove it a total of about 17.5 miles across three excursions, allowing them to investigate terrain far beyond the walking range of earlier crews.

The pair explored Hadley Rille and the Apennine Mountains, spent more than 18 hours outside the lunar module and returned more than 170 pounds of samples. The mission also deployed scientific instruments and released a small satellite into lunar orbit to study the Moon's gravitational field and space environment.

Mission dates: April 16-27, 1972. John Young commanded Apollo 16, Charles Duke served as lunar module pilot, and Thomas "Ken" Mattingly piloted the command module.

Young was one of NASA's most experienced astronauts and ultimately became the first person to fly into space six times. Duke, who had served as CAPCOM during the Apollo 11 landing, became the tenth and youngest person to walk on the Moon at age 36. Mattingly had originally been assigned to Apollo 13 but was removed shortly before launch after exposure to German measles. He never developed the illness.

Apollo 16 targeted the Descartes Highlands, giving astronauts their first opportunity to closely study a lunar highlands region. Young and Duke spent just over 71 hours on the surface and completed three moonwalks totaling more than 20 hours.

They drove the lunar rover about 16.6 miles, deployed experiments and collected 209 pounds of rocks and soil. Their findings helped overturn expectations that much of the region had been shaped by ancient volcanic activity. Mattingly conducted photography and experiments from orbit and later performed a spacewalk during the return to Earth to retrieve film from the spacecraft's scientific instrument bay.

Mission dates: Dec. 7-19, 1972. Eugene Cernan commanded Apollo 17, Harrison Schmitt served as lunar module pilot, and Ronald Evans piloted the command module.

Schmitt was a professional geologist and became the only scientist and the only person without a military background to walk on the Moon during Apollo. Cernan had previously flown Gemini 9 and Apollo 10. Because he climbed back into the lunar module after Schmitt, Cernan remains the most recent human to have stood on the Moon. Evans spent the surface portion of the mission in lunar orbit and later completed a one-hour spacewalk on the return trip to Earth.

Apollo 17 was Apollo's most extensive lunar exploration mission. Cernan and Schmitt landed in the Taurus-Littrow Valley, where scientists hoped to find both ancient material and evidence of comparatively recent lunar geological activity.

They completed three moonwalks totaling 22 hours and four minutes, drove the rover about 19 miles and collected roughly 243 pounds of lunar material, the largest sample return of any Apollo mission. The astronauts spent about 75 hours on the surface before leaving on Dec. 14, 1972. Apollo 17 splashed down five days later, ending humanity's first era of crewed lunar exploration.