History / Space
Moon Landing
On July 20, 1969, humans walked on another world for the first time. It remains one of the greatest achievements in human history. Only 12 people have ever set foot on the Moon - all American, all between 1969 and 1972.
The First Landing
- Mission Apollo 11
- Date July 20, 1969
- First words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"
- Time on surface 21 hours, 36 minutes
- Moonwalk duration 2 hours, 31 minutes
- Samples collected 47.5 pounds of lunar material
The 12 Moonwalkers
- 1. Neil Armstrong Apollo 11 - First human on the Moon
- 2. Buzz Aldrin Apollo 11 - Second human, 19 minutes later
- 3. Pete Conrad Apollo 12 - "Whoopie! That may have been a small one for Neil, but it's a long one for me!"
- 4. Alan Bean Apollo 12 - Later became a painter of lunar scenes
- 5. Alan Shepard Apollo 14 - First American in space, hit golf balls on Moon
- 6. Edgar Mitchell Apollo 14 - Conducted ESP experiments from Moon
- 7. David Scott Apollo 15 - First to drive lunar rover
- 8. James Irwin Apollo 15 - Found the "Genesis Rock"
- 9. John Young Apollo 16 - Only person to fly Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle
- 10. Charles Duke Apollo 16 - Youngest moonwalker at 36
- 11. Eugene Cernan Apollo 17 - Last person to walk on Moon
- 12. Harrison Schmitt Apollo 17 - Only scientist (geologist) to walk on Moon
All Apollo Missions
- Apollo 11 (1969) First landing - Armstrong, Aldrin. Collins orbited above
- Apollo 12 (1969) Precision landing near Surveyor 3 probe
- Apollo 13 (1970) "Houston, we've had a problem" - aborted, crew survived
- Apollo 14 (1971) Shepard's return to space after being grounded
- Apollo 15 (1971) First lunar rover, extended exploration
- Apollo 16 (1972) Only highlands landing
- Apollo 17 (1972) Last Moon mission, longest stay (75 hours)
The Numbers
- Distance 238,855 miles from Earth
- Travel time About 3 days each way
- Total moonwalkers 12 people
- Cost $25.4 billion (1973 dollars), ~$260 billion today
- NASA workforce 400,000+ people worked on Apollo
- Lunar samples 842 pounds of Moon rocks returned
- Time since last landing December 1972 - over 50 years ago
Michael Collins
The often-forgotten third astronaut of Apollo 11. While Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the surface, Collins orbited alone in the Command Module - the loneliest human in history, 238,000 miles from Earth with the Moon between him and everyone else who had ever lived.
He later wrote: "I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life. I am it."
Return to the Moon
- Artemis Program NASA plans to return humans by 2025-2026
- Artemis III Will include first woman and first person of color on Moon
- Gateway Planned lunar space station
- SpaceX Starship selected as lunar lander
- China Plans crewed lunar landing by 2030
After 50+ years, we're going back. This time to stay.