The Apollo Program (1963 - 1972) The Apollo Program (1963 - 1972) 30th Anniversary of Apollo 11 - July, 1999 The Apollo program was designed to land humans on the Moon and bring them safely back to Earth. Six of the missions (Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17) achieved this goal. Apollos 7 and 9 were Earth orbiting missions to test the Command and Lunar Modules, and did not return lunar data. Apollos 8 and 10 tested various components while orbiting the Moon, and returned photography of the lunar surface. Apollo 13 did not land on the Moon due to a malfunction, but also returned photographs. The six missions that landed on the Moon returned a wealth of scientific data and almost 400 kilograms of lunar samples. Experiments included soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields, and solar wind experiments.

Click on the spacecraft name for information about the spacecraft and data held at NSSDCA Apollo Lunar Missions Apollo 11: First Men on the Moon Apollo 11: First Men on the Moon By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor | July 25, 2012 03:39pm ET MORE Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin photographed this iconic photo, a view of his footprint in the lunar soil, as part of an experiment to study the nature of lunar dust and the effects of pressure on the surface during the historic first manned moon landing in July 1969. Credit: NASA The historic launch of the Apollo 11 mission carried three astronauts toward the moon. Two of them would set foot on the lunar surface for the first time in human history as millions of people around the world followed their steps on television. The astronauts The crew of Apollo 11 were all experienced astronauts. All three had flown missions into space before. Cmdr. Neil Armstrong , 38, had previously piloted Gemini 8, the first time two vehicles docked in space. Born Aug.

5, 1930, in Ohio, Armstrong was 38 when he became the first civilian to command two American space missions. Apollo 11 crew: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. Credit: NASA Col. Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin , 39, was the first astronaut with a doctorate to fly in space. Born Jan. 20, 1930, in New Jersey, Aldrin piloted Gemini 12, taking a two-hour, twenty-minute walk in space to demonstrate that an astronaut could work efficiently outside of the vehicle. For Apollo 11, he served as the lunar module pilot. The command module pilot, Lt. Col. Michael Collins, 38, was born in Italy on Oct. 31, 1930. The pilot of Gemini 10, Collins spent almost an hour and a half outside of the craft on a space-walk and became the first person to meet another spacecraft in orbit. From Earth to the moon Mission planners at NASA studied the lunar surface for two years, searching for the best place to make the historic landing.

Using high-resolution photographs taken by the Lunar Orbiter satellite and close-up photographs taken by the Surveyor spacecraft, they narrowed the initial thirty sites down to three. Influencing factors included the number of craters and boulders, few high cliffs or hills, and a relatively flat surface. The amount of sunlight was also a factor in determining the best time to land on the lunar surface. Apollo 11 launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:32 a.m. EDT on July 16, 1969. While in flight, the crew made two televised broadcasts from the interior of the ship, and a third transmission as they drew closer to the moon, revealing the lunar surface and the intended approach path. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin entered the lunar module, nicknamed the "Eagle" and separated from the Command Service Module — the "Columbia" — headed toward the lunar surface. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin poses with the American flag on the surface of the moon in July 1969. Credit: NASA The lunar module touched down on the moon's Sea of Tranquility , a large basaltic region, at 4:17 p.m.

EDT. Armstrong notified Houston with the historic words, "Houston, this is Tranquility Base. The Eagle has landed." For the first two hours, Armstrong and Aldrin checked all of the systems, configured the lunar module for the stay on the moon, and ate. They decided to skip the scheduled four-hour rest to explore the surface. A camera in the Eagle provided live coverage as Armstrong descended down a ladder at 11:56 p.m. on July 20, 1969, and uttered the words, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Aldrin followed twenty minutes later, with Armstrong recording his descent. Armstrong had the responsibility to document the landing, so most of the images taken from the Apollo 11 mission were of Aldrin. [Images: NASA's Historic Apollo 11 Moon Landing in Pictures ] While on the surface, the astronauts set up several experiments, collected samples of lunar soil and rock to bring home, erected a United States flag, and took core samples from the crust. They spoke with U.S.

President Richard Nixon, whose voice was transmitted from the White House, and placed a plaque that stated: HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON JULY 1969, A.D. WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND Memorial medallions with the names of the three astronauts who perished in the Apollo 1 fire and two cosmonauts who were also deceased, including the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin , remained after the astronauts left, as did a one-and-a-half-inch silicon disk with goodwill messages from 73 countries, and as the names of congressional and NASA leaders. Armstrong spent a little over two and a half hours outside of the Eagle. The astronauts traveled a total distance of about 3,300 feet (1 kilometer) as they walked around, traveling as far as 200 feet (60 meters) from the module to visit a large crater. They collected 47.51 pounds (21.55 kilograms) of samples from the moon, and reported that mobility on the moon was easier than anticipated.

Apollo 11 astronauts, still in their quarantine van, are greeted by their wives upon arrival at Ellington Air Force Base on July 27, 1969. Credit: NASA At 1:54 p.m. EDT, having spent a total of 21 and a half hours on the moon , the lunar module blasted back to where Collins sat in the Columbia. The two vehicles docked, and the crew and samples transferred to the Command Service Module before the Eagle was jettisoned into space. The astronauts headed back home. The team splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:50 p.m. EDT on July 24, only a few miles from the recovery ship, the U.S.S. Hornet. After donning biological isolation garments, the crew left the Columbia and climbed into a rubber boat, where they were rubbed down with iodine in an effort to stem potential contamination. They traveled by helicopter to a Mobile Quarantine Facility aboard the ship before being taken to Houston. They remained quarantine until Aug. 10, having completed the national goal set by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, to perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth.

This is part of a SPACE.com series of articles on the Greatest Moments in Flight, the breakthrough events that paved the way for human spaceflight and its next steps: asteroid mining and bases on the moon and Mars. Related: Apollo Missions to the Moon email this page to a friend Apollo Missions to the Moon The aim of the Apollo programme was to land the first person on the Moon. However, when the program was announced, in 1961, only two people had actually been in space. Scientists were faced with a daunting task - to construct a rocket powerful enough to reach the Moon and a spacecraft that could travel there and back. Saturn V Rocket Built for the Apollo missions, the giant Saturn V rocket was one of the most powerful rockets ever built. It was extremely successful, with 13 perfect launches and no failures, even during its test flights. Saturn V carried the Apollo craft into Earth orbit; then the third and final stage fired again to provide an extra boost to place it on the correct trajectory for the Moon. The Spacecraft Three main components made up the Apollo spacecraft. The command module (CM) held supplies and contained the crew's quarters, which had just enough room for the astronauts to move around in.

Attached to the CM was the service module (SM), which housed the craft's main engine. It supplied electrical power and controlled the crew's life suppport system. On returning to Earth, the SM was jettisoned, the CM, with the astronauts inside returned to Earth. The third part of the craft was the lunar module. Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM) carried the astronauts onto the Moon's surface and was home to them during their stay. There were no seats and there was only just enough room for two astronauts to stand. Once on the Moon, the astronauts could leave the LM to explore the surface. The Missions Apollo 1 On January 27, 1967, the launch crew and flight crew of the first manned Apollo mission were conducting a simulated countdown to test the operations and compatibility of the CSM and the launch vehicle prior to their scheduled launch the following month. The spacecraft was ready for a simulated launch, with hatch locked, power on, and an internal atmosphere of pure oxygen. The crew of Virgil I. Grissom , Edward H. White II , and Roger B. Chaffee were in their space suits and performing the normal sequence of prelaunch activities.

At about 6:30pm, after over five hours of delays and problems, a spark inside the spacecraft ignited flammable material and instantly engulfed the closed compartment in flames. By the time the hatch was pried away more than five minutes later, the crew had died from asphyxiation. The precise source of the spark and fire was never determined; neither were any individuals or specific organizations implicated in the fire. In retrospect, the actual cause was due to the combination of several conditions: an oxygen-rich atmosphere; flammable interior materials such as paper, the space suits, velcro, and other flight equipment; a vast array of exposed internal wiring, which presented many potential sources of electrical sparks; and the design and manufacture of the spacecraft. As a result of the fire, many changes were made to the design, manufacturing, test, and checkout procedures of the vehicles and the management of the entire Apollo Program. Many of these changes were tested in the unpiloted Apollo missions 4, 5, and 6. The vast improvements to the CSM, in particular, and the process by which it was prepared for flight, proved highly successful.

The CSM performed almost flawlessly during the remainder of the Apollo Program (with the exception of Apollo 13). Apollo 7 Apollo 7 was the first manned earth orbit flight test of the CSM. This ten-day mission was launched on October 11, 1968. On board were Walter M. Shirra, Donn F. Eisle, and R. Walter Cunningham. While orbiting the earth, the crew practiced maneuvers that would be used in a lunar mission. After exiting orbit and re-entering the atmosphere, the capsule and crew were safely recovered in the Atlantic Ocean. Apollo 8 Apollo 8 was launched on December 21, 1968, and was the first manned mission to achieve lunar orbit. The crew of this six-day mission, Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., and William A. Anders, conducted a complete test of the CSM flight profile for lunar missions. The CSM entered lunar orbit on December 24, 1968, and orbited the moon for ten revolutions (20 hours 7 minutes) before returning to the earth and a controlled reentry into the Pacific Ocean.

Apollo 9 Apollo 9 was the first flight test of the complete lunar landing mission including the CSM, the LM, and the EMU. The crew consisted of James A. McDivitt, David Randolph Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart. The first Apollo spacecraft to be named, Gumdrop (CSM) and Spider (LM) were launched into the earth's orbit on March 3, 1969. During ten days of operations, the crew demonstrated all Apollo mission maneuvers. Remaining in the earth's orbit, the crew simulated a lunar landing with the LM and conducted the first actual LM rendezvous with the CSM. The astronauts conducted a 56-minute EVA to demonstrate EVA crew transfer from the LM to the CSM. The crew also practiced backup safety maneuvers, including a procedure in which astronauts used the LM as a lifeboat in case the command module was rendered inoperable or uninhabitable. This procedure was subsequently used to recover Apollo 13. Apollo 10 Apollo 10 was a dress rehearsal for a lunar landing mission and was conducted in lunar orbit, but it excluded the actual landing.

Launched on May 18, 1969, the spacecraft Charlie Brown (CSM) and Snoopy (LM) spent over two days and 31 revolutions in lunar orbit. The crew of Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene Andrew Cernan conducted all propulsive maneuvers required for a lunar landing mission. During lunar orbit, Stafford and Cernan descended in the LM to within 14 km (18 mi) of the lunar surface before completing the first lunar orbit rendezvous with the CSM. This eight-day mission was recovered in the Pacific Ocean and was completed less than two months prior to the planned launch of the first lunar landing mission. Apollo 11 - "One small step for man..." Apollo 11 was the first lunar-landing mission. Launched on July 16, 1969, the crew of Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins flew the spacecraft Columbia (CSM) and Eagle (LM).

On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin landed the Eagle at the relatively flat and unobstructed Tranquillity site on the moon, while Collins remained in the CSM. The LM spent 21 hours 36 minutes on the lunar surface, and the crew spent 2 hours 31 minutes outside the LM in a local area excursion on foot to a distance of approximately 50 m (160 ft) from Tranquillity Base. Armstrong and Aldrin evaluated the capability of working on the lunar surface, established a small scientific station, and collected 21 kg (46 lb) of lunar rocks and soil. Using the descent stage of the LM as a launching platform, the ascent stage of the LM took off from the moon's surface to rendezvous and dock with the CSM. The spacecraft departed lunar orbit over two days after arrival. This eight-day mission landed and was recovered safely in the Pacific Ocean. As a precautionary measure, the astronauts were quarantined for 14 days. Apollo 12 Apollo 12 was the second lunar landing mission and the first mission to make a pinpoint landing on the moon.

Launched on November 14, 1969, the crew of Pete Conrad, Richard Francis Gordon, Jr., and Alan LaVern Bean flew the spacecraft Yankee Clipper (CSM) and Intrepid (LM). Conrad and Bean landed the LM on the southeastern Oceanus Procellarum region of the moon within 200 m (660 ft) of their target. The crew spent 31 hours 31 minutes on the lunar surface conducting two excursions for a total of 7 hours 45 minutes. They traversed 2.0 km (1.2 mi) on foot and ranged up to 470 m (1500 ft) from their base, the Intrepid craft. The first excursion included an inspection of the Surveyor 3 lunar probe, which had landed on the lunar surface years earlier. Several components were extracted from the probe for engineering analysis. During their stay, Conrad and Bean set into place an ALSEP scientific station , conducted geological observations, and collected 34 kg (75 lb) of lunar rocks and soil. After LM ascent, rendezvous, and docking with the CSM, the CSM departed lunar orbit just under four days after arrival.

This ten-day mission landed without incident in the Pacific Ocean. Apollo 13 Apollo 13 was launched on April 11, 1970, as the third planned lunar landing mission. The crew of James A. Lovell, Jr., John L. Swigert, Jr., and Fred Wallace Haise, Jr., flew the spacecraft Odyssey (CSM) and Aquarius (LM). Two days after launch, as Apollo 13 approached the moon to begin lunar operations, an explosion occurred that caused the service module of the CSM to lose its oxygen, electrical power, and other systems, including its capability to perform an abort maneuver for a direct return to the earth. The crew quickly moved to the LM which became their lifeboat in space. All of the systems in the command module of the CSM, which remained functional, were deactivated to preserve its capability to reenter the atmosphere upon return to the earth. The LM had no heatshield and therefore could not be used for earth reentry. At the time of the explosion, the return time to the earth was over four days.

Because the LM did not have enough oxygen or water for this length of time, it became necessary to use the LM lunar landing engine for a major propulsive maneuver in space to change the spacecraft's path and speed its return to the earth. Overcoming numerous life-threatening problems, including near freezing temperatures and excess carbon dioxide in the LM, Apollo 13 successfully reentered the earth's atmosphere for a landing in the Pacific Ocean on April 17, 1970, over five days after launch. The cause of the explosion was traced to a chain of events resulting in the ignition of the insulation covering a wire inside one of the three liquid oxygen tanks in the CSM. It occurred when a fan (to which the wire was connected) was turned on to stir the liquid oxygen inside the tank. Apollo 14 Apollo 14, the third mission to land on the moon, was launched on January 31, 1971. The crew of Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Stuart A. Roosa, and Edgar D. Mitchell piloted the spacecraft Kitty Hawk (CSM) and the Antares (LM) to a landing in a hilly region just north of the Fra Mauro Center.

Using the Mobile Equipment Transporter, a two-wheeled cart, Shepard and Mitchell traversed 3.3 km (2.1 mi) on foot and reached a distance of approximately 1400 m (4600 ft) from the LM. During two surface excursions, they set into place an ALSEP scientific station, conducted geological observations, and collected 43 kg (96 lb) of lunar rocks and soil. After LM ascent, rendezvous, and docking, the CSM departed lunar orbit nearly 3 days after arrival. This nine-day mission landed safely in the Pacific Ocean. After this mission, scientists at NASA decided that a full quarantine of returning astronauts was no longer necessary. Apollo 15, 16, and 17 Apollo 15 was the first of three extended scientific explorations of the moon using the LRV, the extended-duration PLSS, more mobile space suits, and more highly trained crews. These last three missions established the first lunar bases on the moon. Launched on July 26, 1971, the crew of David Randolph Scott, Alfred M. Worden, and James A.

Irwin flew the spacecraft Endeavor (CSM) and Falcon (LM). On July 30, 1971 Scott and Irwin landed the LM on the western edge of the Apennine mountains, and, during the nearly three days they spent on the moon, the crew conducted four explorations outside their home base, called Hadley Base. They traveled a total distance of 27.9 km (17.3 mi) on the LRV, ranging up to 4.9 km (3.0 mi) from the LM, and moving over the horizon and out of view of their home base for the first time. They set into place an ALSEP scientific station, made extensive geological observations and interpretations, and collected a total of 77 kg (170 lb) of lunar rocks and soil. This 12-day mission landed safely in the Pacific Ocean. Apollo 16 was launched on April 16, 1972. The crew of John W. Young, T. Kenneth Mattingly, and Charles Moss Duke, Jr., flew the spacecraft Casper (CSM) and Orion (LM).

On April 20, 1972, Young and Duke landed the LM near Descartes Crater and during the nearly three days they spent on the moon, the crew collected a total of 94 kg (207 lb) of lunar rocks and soil. They traveled a total distance of 27 km (17 mi) on the LRV, ranging up to 4.5 km (2.8 mi) from Descartes Base. This 11-day mission landed and was recovered in the Pacific Ocean on April 27, 1972. Apollo 17 was the third extended scientific exploration of the moon and the final mission of the formal Apollo Program. Launched on December 7, 1972, the crew of Eugene Andrew Cernan, Ronald Elwin Evans, and Harrison Hagan Schmitt flew the spacecraft America (CSM) and Challenger (LM). On December 11, 1972, Cernan and Schmitt landed the LM in the Taurus Littrow Valley region of the moon.

During the more than three days they spent on the moon, the crew traveled a total distance of 35.0 km (22 mi) on the LRV, ranging up to 7.8 km (4.8 mi) from Taurus Base. They collected a total of 110 kg (240 lb) of lunar rocks and soil. This 12-day mission landed in the Pacific Ocean. Apollo Achievements The Apollo Program demonstrated effective human geological exploration in the hostile environment of another planet. During the initial Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, the crew remained on the moon for less than one day and conducted a single excursion of less than three hours, during which they ventured only 50 m (160 ft) from the LM. By the sixth and final lunar exploration mission, the distance traveled on the lunar surface had greatly increased. By the last mission to the moon, Apollo crews had traversed a total distance of more than 97 km (60 mi) on the lunar surface and spent over 160 man-hours outside the LM. A broad range of over 60 scientific experiments were performed on the lunar surface, and 30 experiments were conducted from lunar orbit.

Six long-term scientific stations were manually placed and activated on the moon by the astronauts. The last four operating stations (set up by Apollos 12 and 15 through 17) were finally turned off by NASA in 1977. The experiments carried out on the Apollo missions provided important information about the moon as well as the solar system. A total of 381.7 kg (841 lb) of lunar material was returned from six unique and scientifically significant lunar locations. Additionally, almost 30,000 high-resolution photographs were taken on the surface and from orbit during Apollo missions, recording the characteristics and features of the moon in great detail. Apollo 11 Mission - First Humans on the Moon Apollo 11 Mission By Nick Greene Updated July 21, 2016. "We choose to go to the Moon.

We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." President John F. Kennedy Houston, Texas September 12, 1962 The Space Race, and competition to land on the moon were products of the Cold War. Not only were our efforts to get into space and on the Moon efforts to prove technological superiority, but there was also a real fear in the United States and the then-Soviet Union, that the other might place weapons of mass destruction in space. The Soviet Union was ahead of the U.S. in this effort. So far, they had placed the first artificial satellite in orbit, with the launch of Sputnik on October 4, 1957. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge On April 12, 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth.

From the time he entered office in 1961, President John F. Kennedy made it a priority to place a man on the Moon. His dream became reality on July 20, 1969, with the landing of the Apollo 11 mission on the lunar surface. It was a watershed moment in world history, amazing even the Russians, who had to admit that (for the moment) they had lost the space race. Apollo 11 Lifts Off! Apollo 11 launched on July 16, 1969 , carrying three astronauts: Neil Armstrong , Buzz Aldrin , and Michael Collins. They reached the Moon on July 20, and later that day as millions watched on televisions around the world, Neil Armstrong left the lunar lander to become the first man to set foot on the Moon. Together the two men took images, rock samples, and did some scientific experiments for a few hours before returning to the Eagle lander for the final time. They left the Moon (after 21 hours and 36 minutes) to return to the Columbia command module, where Michael Collins had stayed behind. They returned to Earth to a hero's welcome and the rest is history!

Why Go to the Moon? Ostensibly, the purposes of the manned lunar missions were to study the internal structure of the Moon, surface composition, how the surface structure was formed and the age of the Moon. They would also investigate traces of volcanic activity, the rate of solid objects hitting the moon, presence of any magnetic fields, and tremors. Samples would also be gathered of lunar soil and detected gases. That was the scientific case for what was also a technological challenge. Starting the Road to the Moon The early manned flights of the Mercury and Gemini missions had demonstrated that humans could survive in space. Next came the Apollo missions, which would land humans on the Moon. First would come unmanned test flights. These would be followed by manned missions testing the command module in Earth's orbit. Next, the lunar module would be connected to the command module, still in Earth's orbit. Then, the first flight to the Moon would be attempted, followed by the first attempt to land on the moon. There were plans for as many as 20 Apollo missions. Starting Apollo Early in the program, on January 27, 1967, a tragedy occurred that killed three astronauts and nearly killed the program.

A fire aboard the ship during tests of the Apollo/Saturn 204 (more commonly known as Apollo 1 mission) left all three crewmembers (Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, {the second American astronaut to fly into space} astronaut Edward H. White II, {the first American astronaut to "walk" in space} and astronaut Roger B. Chaffee) dead. After an investigation had been completed, and changes made, the program continued. No mission was ever conducted with the name Apollo 2 or Apollo 3. Apollo 4 launched in November 1967. It was followed in January 1968 with Apollo 5, the first test of the Lunar Module in space. The final unmanned Apollo mission was Apollo 6, which launched on April 4, 1968. The manned missions began with Apollo 7's Earth orbit, which launched in October 1968. Apollo 8 followed in December 1968, orbited the moon and returned to Earth. Apollo 9 was another Earth-orbit mission to test the lunar module.

The Apollo 10 mission (in May 1969) was a complete staging of the upcoming Apollo 11 mission without actually landing on the Moon. It was the second one to orbit the Moon and the first to travel to the Moon with the entire Apollo spacecraft configuration. Astronauts Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan descended inside the Lunar Module to within 14 kilometers of the lunar surface achieving the closest approach to date to the Moon. Their mission paved the final way to the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon. The Apollo missions were the most successful manned missions to come out of the Cold War. They and the astronauts that flew them accomplished many great things that led NASA to create technologies that led not just to space shuttles and planetary missions, but also to improvements in medical and other technologies. Manned Missions First humans to leave Earth orbit First human landing on the Moon Apollo 1 January 27, 1967 Crew: Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom, Edward H. White II, Roger B.

Chaffee On January 27, 1967, tragedy struck the Apollo program, nearly derailing the goal of landing an American on the Moon by the end of the decade. A fire took place on the launch pad during a preflight test for Apollo 1 (AS-204), which was scheduled to be the first Apollo manned mission, and would have been launched on February 21, 1967. Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee lost their lives when a fire swept through the Command Module (CM). The exhaustive investigation of the fire and extensive reworking of the CMs postponed any manned launch until NASA officials cleared the CM for manned flight. Saturn IB schedules were suspended for nearly a year, and the launch vehicle that finally bore the designation AS-204 carried a Lunar Module (LM) as the payload, not the Apollo CM. The missions of AS-201 and AS-202 with Apollo spacecraft aboard had been unofficially known as Apollo 1 and Apollo 2 missions (AS-203 carried only the aerodynamic nose cone).

In the spring of 1967, NASA's Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, Dr. George E. Mueller, announced that the mission originally scheduled for Grissom, White, and Chaffee would be known as Apollo 1, and said that the first Saturn V launch, scheduled for November 1967, would be known as Apollo 4. The eventual launch of AS-204 became known as the Apollo 5 mission (no missions or flights were ever designated Apollo 2 and 3). The second launch of a Saturn V took place on schedule in the early morning of April 4, 1968. Known as AS-502, or Apollo 6, the flight was a success, though two first-stage engines shut down prematurely, and the third-stage engine failed to re-ignite after reaching orbit. October 11-22, 1968 Crew: Walter M. Schirra, Jr., Donn F. Eisele, Walter Cunningham Apollo 7 was a confidence-builder. After the January 1967 Apollo launch pad fire, the Apollo Command Module had been extensively redesigned.

Schirra, the only astronaut to fly Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions, commanded this Earth-orbital shakedown of the Command and Service Modules. With no lunar lander, Apollo 7 was able to use the Saturn IB booster rather than the giant Saturn V. The Apollo hardware and all mission operations worked without any significant problems, and the Service Propulsion System (SPS)ï¿½the all-important engine that would place Apollo in and out of lunar orbitï¿½made eight nearly perfect firings. Even though Apolloï¿½s larger cabin was more comfortable than Geminiï¿½s, eleven days in orbit took its toll on the astronauts. The food was bad, and all three developed colds. But their mission proved the spaceworthiness of the basic Apollo vehicle. December 21-27, 1968 Crew: Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., William A. Anders The Apollo 8 astronauts were the first human beings to venture beyond low-Earth orbit and visit another world. What was originally to have been an Earth-orbit checkout of the lunar lander became instead a race with the Soviets to become the first nation to orbit the Moon.

The Apollo 8 crew rode inside the Command Module, with no lunar lander attached. They were the first astronauts to be launched by the Saturn V, which had flown only twice before. The booster worked perfectly, as did the SPS engines that had been checked out on Apollo 7. Apollo 8 entered lunar orbit on the morning of December 24, 1968. For the next 20 hours, the astronauts circled the Moon, which appeared out their windows as a gray, battered wasteland. They took photographs, scouted future landing sites, and on Christmas Eve read from the Book of Genesis to TV viewers back on Earth. They also photographed the first Earthrise as seen from the Moon. Apollo 8 proved the ability to navigate to and from the Moon, and gave a tremendous boost to the entire Apollo program. March 3-13, 1969 Crew: James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, Russell L. Schweickart Apollo 9 was the first space test of the third critical piece of Apollo hardwareï¿½the lunar module.

For ten days, the astronauts put all three Apollo vehicles through their paces in Earth orbit, undocking and then redocking the lunar lander with the Command Module, just as they would in lunar orbit. For this and all subsequent Apollo flights, the crews were allowed to name their own spacecraft. The gangly lunar module was "Spider," the command module "Gumdrop." Schweickart and Scott performed a spacewalk, and Schweickart checked out the new Apollo spacesuit, the first to have its own life support system rather than being dependent on an umbilical connection to the spacecraft. Apollo 9 gave proof that the Apollo machines were up to the task of orbital rendezvous and docking. May 18-26, 1969 Crew: Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, Eugene A. Cernan This dress rehearsal for a Moon landing brought Stafford and Cernanï¿½s Lunar Module (LM)nicknamed "Snoopy"to within nine miles of the lunar surface.

Except for that final stretch, the mission went exactly as a landing would have, both in space and on the ground, where Apollos extensive tracking and control network was put through a dry run. Shortly after leaving low Earth orbit, the LM and the Command/Service Module separated, then redocked, top to top. Upon reaching lunar orbit, they separated again. While Young orbited the Moon alone in his Command Module "Charlie Brown," Stafford and Cernan checked out the LMs radar and ascent engine, rode out a momentary gyration in the lunar landerï¿½s motion (due to a faulty switch setting), and surveyed the Apollo 11 landing site in the Sea of Tranquility. This test article of the LM was not equipped to land, however. Apollo 10 also added another firstbroadcasting live color TV from space. July 16-24, 1969 Crew: Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. Half of Apollos primary goalï¿½a safe returnï¿½was achieved at 4:17 p.m.

Eastern Daylight Time on July 20, when Armstrong piloted "Eagle" to a touchdown on the Moon, with less than 30 seconds worth of fuel left in the Lunar Module. Six hours later, Armstrong took his famous "one giant leap for mankind." Aldrin joined him, and the two spent two-and-a-half hours drilling core samples, photographing what they saw, and collecting rocks. After more than 21 hours on the lunar surface, they returned to Collins on board "Columbia," bringing 20.87 kilograms of lunar samples with them. The two Moon-walkers had left behind scientific instruments, an American flag, and other mementos, including a plaque bearing the inscription: "Here Men From Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon The Moon. July 1969 A.D. We Came In Peace For All Mankind." November 14-24, 1969 Crew: Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr., Richard F. Gordon, Jr., Alan L. Bean The second lunar landing was an exercise in precision targeting. The descent was automatic, with only a few manual corrections by Conrad.

The landing, in the Ocean of Storms, brought the Lunar Module "Intrepid" within walking distance182.88 metersof a robot spacecraft that had touched down there two-and-a-half years earlier. Conrad and Bean brought pieces of the Surveyor 3 back to Earth for analysis, and took two Moon-walks lasting just under four hours each. They collected rocks and set up experiments that measured the Moonï¿½s seismicity, solar wind flux, and magnetic field. Meanwhile Gordon, on board the "Yankee Clipper" in lunar orbit, took multispectral photographs of the surface. The crew stayed an extra day in lunar orbit taking photographs. When "Intrepidï¿½s" ascent stage was dropped onto the Moon after Conrad and Bean rejoined Gordon in orbit, the seismometers the astronauts had left on the lunar surface registered the vibrations for more than an hour. April 11-17, 1970 Crew: James A. Lovell, Jr., Fred W. Haise, Jr., John L. Swigert, Jr.

The crewï¿½s understated radio message to Mission Control was "Okay, Houston, weï¿½ve had a problem here." Within 321,860 kilometers of Earth, an oxygen tank in the Service Module exploded. The only solution was for the crew to abort their planned landing, swing around the Moon, and return on a trajectory back to Earth. Because their command module "Odyssey" was almost completely dead, however, the three astronauts had to use the Lunar Module "Aquarius" as a crowded lifeboat for the return home. The four-day return trip was cold, uncomfortable, and tense. But Apollo 13 proved the programï¿½s ability to weather a major crisis and bring the crew back home safely. January 31-February 9, 1971 Crew: Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Stuart A. Roosa, Edgar D. Mitchell After landing in the Fra Mauro regionï¿½the original destination for Apollo 13ï¿½Shepard and Mitchell took two Moon-walks, adding new seismic studies to the by-now familiar Apollo experiment package, and using a "lunar rickshaw" pull-cart to carry their equipment.

A planned rock-collecting trip to the 1,000-foot-wide Cone Crater was dropped, however, when the astronauts had trouble finding their way around the lunar surface. Although later estimates showed that they had made it to within 30.48 meters of the craters rim, the explorers had become disoriented in the alien landscape. Roosa, meanwhile, took pictures from on board the Command Module "Kitty Hawk" in lunar orbit. On the way back to Earth, the crew conducted the first U.S. materials processing experiments in space. The Apollo 14 astronauts were the last lunar explorers to be quarantined on their return from the Moon. July 26-August 7, 1971 Crew: David R. Scott, James B. Irwin, Alfred M. Worden The first of the longer, expedition-style lunar landing missions was also the first to include the lunar rover, a carlike vehicle that extended the astronautsï¿½ range. The Lunar Module "Falcon" touched down near the sinuous channel known as Hadley Rille.

Scott and Irwin rode more than 27.36 kilometers in their rover, and had a free hand in their geological field studies compared to earlier lunar astronauts. They brought back one of the prize trophies of the Apollo programï¿½a sample of ancient lunar crust nicknamed the "Genesis Rock." Apollo 15 also launched a small subsatellite for measuring particles and fields in the lunar vicinity. On the way back to Earth, Worden, who had flown solo on board "Endeavor" while his crewmates walked on the surface, conducted the first spacewalk between Earth and the Moon to retrieve film from the side of the spacecraft. April 16-27, 1972 Crew: John W. Young, Thomas K. Mattingly II, Charles M. Duke, Jr. A malfunction in the main propulsion system of the Lunar Module "Orion" nearly caused their Moon landing to be scrubbed, but Young and Duke ultimately spent three days exploring the Descartes highland region, while Mattingly circled overhead in "Casper." What was thought to have been a region of volcanism turned out not to be, based on the astronautsï¿½ discoveries.

Their collection of returned specimens included a 11.34-kilogram chunk that was the largest single rock returned by the Apollo astronauts. The Apollo 16 astronauts also conducted performance tests with the lunar rover, at one time getting up to a top speed of 17.70 kilometers per hour. December 7-19, 1972 Crew: Eugene A. Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt At the end of this last Apollo mission Eugene Cernan earned the distinction of becoming the last human to stand on the Moon -- so far. While Ronald Evans circled in America, Jack Schmitt and Cernan collected a record 108.86 kilograms of rocks during three Moon-walks. The crew roamed for 33.80 kilometers through the Taurus-Littrow valley in their rover, discovered orange-colored soil, and left behind a plaque attached to their lander "Challenger," which read: "Here Man completed his first exploration of the Moon, December 1972 A.D. May the spirit of peace in which we came be reflected in the lives of all mankind." The Apollo lunar program had ended.

Last Lunar Landing Launched 40 Years Ago Last Lunar Landing Launched 40 Years Ago By Robert Z. Pearlman, collectSPACE.com Editor | December 7, 2012 07:19am ET MORE Apollo 17 lights the night: NASA’s last lunar landing mission lifted off at 12:33 a.m. EST on Dec. 7, 1972, 40 years ago. Credit: NASA Apollo 17, the last of the missions to land men on the moon, began 40 years ago today with the dawning of a man-made sun. Lifting off just after midnight (EST) on Dec. 7, 1972, the Apollo 17 mission was the final of NASA's moon-bound manned flights — and the first night launch. The massive, 363-foot tall (111 meters) Saturn 5 rocket turned night into day as the long flames from its five powerful F-1 engines bathed the dark sky with a brilliant, bright-as-the-sun light that appeared to spectators to slowly climb skyward from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Onboard the mighty moon booster were three astronauts. Eugene Cernan, a veteran of two prior missions including the "dress rehearsal" for the first lunar landing three years earlier, commanded Apollo 17 and flew the lunar module "Challenger" to a landing in the Taurus-Littrow valley. Ronald Evans served as the pilot of the command module "America" that remained in lunar orbit until it was time for the three voyagers to return to Earth. [ Lunar Legacy: 45 Apollo Moon Mission Photos ] And lunar module pilot Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, who like Evans marked another first with the launch of Apollo 17 — his first time in space. That it was also the last time, to date, that anyone would embark for the moon , was less of a pressing concern. "I do not particularly recall at that time, prior to the launch, having thoughts that it was specifically the last mission," Schmitt told collectSPACE.com in an interview by phone this week.

"I certainly don't think I felt any more pressure, nor do I think anybody did in that regard." "These missions take on a life of their own, other than as we left the moon, when I think both [Cernan and I] had the awareness that it would be the last one, [judging] from our comments that we made on the surface," he added. Landing at Taurus-Littrow four days after they launched, Cernan and Schmitt remained on the surface for just over three days, the longest duration lunar expedition to date. Like the two Apollo missions that preceded Apollo 17, the astronauts had a "moon buggy," the Lunar Roving Vehicle or lunar rover, to extend the distance they could traverse across the rocky valley. Before leaving the moon, Cernan proclaimed, "America's challenge of today has forged man's destiny of tomorrow. And, as we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind." Apollo 17's legacy: more than just the last Unlike being the first on the moon, the Apollo 17 mission's status as the last is temporary.

"Somebody will [return to the moon], it makes too much sense," Schmitt said. "Now, humankind has been able to ignore common sense in other circumstances. But when it comes to exploration, there really is a direct or indirect pressure on humans to continue." When that day comes, whether it be through a government or commercial-led expedition, the emphasis on Apollo 17's legacy will change. "From a scientific point of view, the [lunar] samples we brought back have played an important part in the ongoing debates on various aspects of lunar origin and evolution. But that's basically true of the samples from all six landing missions," said Schmitt. "Ours in particular, relate directly to evaluating hypotheses for the [moon's] origin because of the discovery of volcanic glass — the orange soil." "There is orange soil!" Schmitt excitedly declared in 1972 while standing on the moon. "It's all over! Orange!" The finest particles ever brought back from the moon, the microscopic glass beads with a distinctly orange tint, were created by volcanic processes early in the moon's history.

"That may turn out, if you consider the origin of the moon a primary question, to be very important," Schmitt stated, adding that the moon's geological history provides insight into the evolution of the Earth, when the "precursors to life were forming and potentially even life itself was getting started." That Schmitt can remark on the scientific legacy of Apollo 17 points to another of the mission's legacies. He was the first scientist — a professional geologist — to launch on a NASA mission. "I think from a space history perspective, the legacy of Apollo 17, for the U.S. and representing humankind, was putting the first trained, professional scientist onto the surface of another planet," Schmitt said. "Even though we were doing a good deal of training to bring the pilots up to speed, they were professional pilots and appropriately so during early Apollo [flights]. But then we finally started to recognize that people experienced and trained in other professions had a role in space." "That was finally demonstrated with Apollo 17. It led to flying scientists on the Skylab [orbital workshop], and to having scientists and engineers, not the pilots, as a major component of the shuttle and space station programs," he added.

Roger Launius, senior curator of space history at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, writes: "I like the attached photo from Apollo 17. This image of Harrison Schmitt with the lunar rover makes clear one reason Apollo was never followed with additional moon landing efforts. Humanity found nothing there of value that they wished to exploit, as had happened repeatedly in previous terrestrial explorations. Schmitt and artifacts from Earth are swallowed up in the vast expanse of nothingness that was on the lunar surface. Buzz Aldrin called it 'magificent desolation.' He was right." Credit: NASA Looking back at Taurus-Littrow Forty years later, Schmitt says there are still stories about Apollo 17 to be discovered, if you know where to look. "There is a lot that has not been told," he remarked. "It is not that it is not available, because the [flight] transcripts are publicly available and basically they are the notes of the missions, as if I was taking handwritten notes, except I was doing it verbally and so were the other astronauts on the other missions.

It just hasn't been looked at so that the public would be aware of the various stories and things that can be and are told in the transcripts." NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), which since arriving in lunar orbit in 2009 has been returning imagery of the Apollo landing sites, including Taurus-Littrow , has also provided "various stories" about Apollo 17 — even some new to Schmitt. NASA - The First Person on the Moon The First Person on the Moon 01.16.08 Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins and Buzz Aldrin flew on the Apollo 11 mission. Image Credit: NASA It was 1961. John F. Kennedy was the president of the United States. He wanted to land humans on the moon. The United States had just started trying to put people in space. Was NASA ready to go to the moon? The president and NASA knew they could do it. They were ready to put people on the moon. Apollo 11's mission was to land two men on the moon. They also had to come back to Earth safely. Apollo 11 blasted off on July 16, 1969.

Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins were the astronauts on Apollo 11. Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. They landed on the moon in the Lunar Module. It was called the Eagle. Collins stayed in orbit around the moon. He did experiments and took pictures. The sign the astronauts left on the moon says, "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." Image Credit: NASA On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to step on the moon. He and Aldrin walked around for three hours. They did experiments. They picked up bits of moon dirt and rocks. They put a U.S. flag on the moon. They also left a sign on the moon. The two astronauts returned to orbit, joining Collins. On July 24, 1969, all three astronauts came back to Earth safely. President Kennedy's wish came true. It took less than 10 years. Humans had walked on the moon.

Apollo 11 (AS-506) | National Air and Space Museum Apollo 11 (AS-506) Lunar Landing Mission Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. The first steps by humans on another planetary body were taken by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969. The astronauts also returned to Earth the first samples from another planetary body. Apollo 11 achieved its primary mission - to perform a manned lunar landing and return the mission safely to Earth - and paved the way for the Apollo lunar landing missions to follow. Summary of Events The Apollo 11 spacecraft was launched from Cape Kennedy at 13:32:00 UT on July 16, 1969. After 2 hr and 33 min in Earth orbit, the S-IVB engine was reignited for acceleration of the spacecraft to the velocity required for Earth gravity escape. Lunar-orbit insertion began at 75:50 ground elapsed time (GET). The spacecraft was placed in an elliptical orbit (61 by 169 nautical miles), inclined 1.25 degrees to the lunar equatorial plane.

At 80:12 GET, the service module propulsion system was reignited, and the orbit was made nearly circular (66 by 54 nautical miles) above the surface of the Moon. Each orbit took two hours. Photographs taken from lunar orbit provided broad views for the study of regional lunar geology. The lunar module (LM), with Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin aboard, was undocked from the command-service module (CSM) at 100:14 GET, following a thorough check of all the LM systems. At 101:36 GET, the LM descent engine was fired for approximately 29 seconds, and the descent to the lunar surface began. At 102:33 GET, the LM descent engine was started for the last time and burned until touchdown on the lunar surface. Eagle landed on the Moon 102 hr, 45 min and 40 sec after launch. Immediately after landing on the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin prepared the LM for liftoff as a contingency measure. Following the meal, a scheduled sleep period was postponed at the astronauts' request, and the astronauts began preparations for descent to the lunar surface.

Astronaut Armstrong emerged from the spacecraft first. While descending, he released the Modularized Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA) on which the surface television camera was stowed, and the camera recorded humankind's first step on the Moon at 109:24:19 GET (pictured at left). A sample of lunar surface material was collected and stowed to assure that, if a contingency required an early end to the planned surface activities, samples of lunar surface material would be returned to Earth. Astronaut Aldrin subsequently descended to the lunar surface. The astronauts carried out the planned sequence of activities that included deployment of a Solar Wind Composition (SWC) experiment, collection of a larger sample of lunar material, panoramic photographs of the region near the landing site and the lunar horizon, closeup photographs of in place lunar surface material, deployment of a Laser-Ranging Retroreflector (LRRR) and a Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP), and collection of two core-tube samples of the lunar surface. Approximately two and a quarter hours after descending to the surface, the astronauts began preparations to reenter the LM, after which the astronauts slept.

The ascent from the lunar surface began at 124:22 GET, 21 hours and 36 minutes after the lunar landing. In transearth coast only one of four planned midcourse corrections was required. The CM entered the atmosphere of the Earth with a velocity of 36,194 feet per second (11,032 meters per second) and landed in the Pacific Ocean. From NASA SP-214, Preliminary Science Report. Human Space Flight (HSF) - Apollo History The Apollo program included a large number of uncrewed test missions and 11 crewed missions. The 11 crewed missions include two Earth orbiting missions, two lunar orbiting missions, a lunar swingby and six Moon landing missions. Click on the button and check out the updated Apollo interactive (Requires Flash Player ). The Apollo program was designed to land humans on the Moon and bring them safely back to Earth. Six of the missions -- Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17 -- achieved this goal.

Lunar surface experiments included soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields and solar wind experiments. Apollos 7, which tested the Command Module, and 9, which tested both the Command Module and Lunar Module, were Earth orbiting missions. Apollos 8 and 10 tested various components while orbiting the Moon, and returned photography of the lunar surface. Apollo 13 did not land on the lunar surface due to a malfunction, but during the brief orbit around the Moon, the crew was able to collect photographs. After the last lunar landing, total funding for the Apollo program was about $19,408,134,000. The budget allocation was 34 percent of the NASA budget. The Missions

Question: What number Apollo Mission was first to land men on the moon?
Answer: APOLLO 11