NASA Apollo Lunar Missions

The Apollo program included a large number of uncrewed test missions and 12 crewed missions: three Earth orbiting missions (Apollo 7, 9 and Apollo-Soyuz), two lunar orbiting missions (Apollo 8 and 10), a lunar swingby (Apollo 13), and six Moon landing missions (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17). Two astronauts from each of these six missions walked on the Moon (Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, Charles Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin, John Young, Charles Duke, Gene Cernan, and Harrison Schmitt), the only humans to have set foot on another solar system body. Total funding for the Apollo program was approximately $20,443,600,000.

This graphic shows the approximate locations of the Apollo moon landing sites.
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

NASA Apollo Lunar Missions

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.

Did you know that the first spacecraft to reach the Moon was in 1959?
Did you know that we have only sent 71 spacecraft to the Moon?
Did you know that only 12 people have ever set foot on the Moon?

Mission	Country	Date	Objectives	Results
Pioneer 1	U.S.A.	Oct 1958	lunar orbit	did not obtain lunar trajectory, reentered on 10/12/58
Pioneer 2	U.S.A.	Nov 1958	lunar orbit	did not achieve orbit
Pioneer 3	U.S.A.	Dec 1958	lunar probe	launch failure, reentered on 12/7/58
Luna 1	U.S.S.R.	Jan 1959	lunar impact	first lunar flyby, failed to impact
Pioneer 4	U.S.A.	Mar 1959	lunar probe	passed within 37,300 mi. of the moon
Luna 2	U.S.S.R.	Sept 1959	lunar impact	first lunar impact, impacted east of the Sea of Serenity area
Luna 3	U.S.S.R.	Oct 1959	lunar probe	first photographs of the lunar farside
Pioneer P-3	U.S.A.	Nov 1959	lunar orbit	launch failure, did not achieve orbit
Ranger 1	U.S.A.	Aug 1961	lunar probe	launch failure, did not escape Earth orbit, reentered on 8/30/61
Ranger 2	U.S.A.	Nov 1961	lunar probe	launch failure, did not escape Earth orbit, reentered on 11/20/61
Ranger 3	U.S.A.	Jan 1962	lunar landing	launch failure, missed the moon by 22,862 mi.
Ranger 4	U.S.A.	Apr 1962	lunar landing	computer failed, no telemetry received, crashed on the lunar farside
Ranger 5	U.S.A.	Oct 1962	lunar landing	missed the moon by 450 mi.
Sputnik 25	U.S.S.R.	Jan 1963	lunar probe	unsuccessful lunar attempt
Luna 4	U.S.S.R.	Apr 1963	lunar orbiter	contact lost, missed the moon
Ranger 6	U.S.A.	Jan / Feb 1964	lunar photography	cameras failed, no data returned, impacted in the Sea of Tranquillity area
Ranger 7	U.S.A.	Jul 1964	lunar photography	transmitted first close-up photos of the moon, impacted in the Sea of Clouds area
Ranger 8	U.S.A.	Feb 1965	lunar photography	transmitted high-quality photos of the moon, impacted in the Sea of Tranquillity area
Ranger 9	U.S.A.	Mar 1965	lunar photography	transmitted high-quality photos of the moon, impacted in the Crater of Alphonsus
Luna 5	U.S.S.R.	May 1965	lunar lander	first soft-landing attempt, crashed in the Sea of Clouds area
Luna 6	U.S.S.R.	Jun 1965	lunar lander	engine failed, missed the moon
Zond 3	U.S.S.R.	Jul 1965	lunar probe	photographed lunar farside
Luna 7	U.S.S.R.	Oct 1965	lunar lander	crashed in the Ocean of Storms area
Luna 8	U.S.S.R.	Dec 1965	lunar lander	crashed in the Ocean of Storms area
Luna 9	U.S.S.R.	Jan / Feb 1966	lunar lander	first lunar soft landing, first TV transmission from lunar surface, landed on in the Ocean of Storms area
Cosmos 111	U.S.S.R.	Mar 1966	lunar probe	unsuccessful lunar attempt
Luna 10	U.S.S.R.	Mar 1966	lunar orbiter	first lunar satellite, studied lunar surface radiation and magnetic field intensity, monitored strength and variation of lunar gravitation
Surveyor 1	U.S.A.	May / Jun 1966	lunar lander	first soft-landed robotic laboratory, landed in the Ocean of Storms area, returned high-quality images & selenological data
Lunar Orbiter 1	U.S.A.	Aug 1966	lunar orbiter	photographed over 2 million square miles of the MoonUs surface, impacted on the lunar far side on 10/29/66
Luna 11	U.S.S.R.	Aug 1966	lunar orbiter	lunar satellite
Surveyor 2	U.S.A	Sept 1966	lunar lander	crashed near the Crater Copernicus
Luna 12	U.S.S.R.	Oct 1966	lunar orbiter	lunar satellite, transmitted large-scale pictures of the Sea of Rains and the Crater Aristarchus, tested electric motor for lunokhod's wheels
Lunar Orbiter 2	U.S.A.	Nov 1966	lunar orbiter	lunar satellite, photographed landing sites, impacted on Moon on 10/11/67
Luna 13	U.S.S.R.	Dec 1966	lunar lander	soft landed in the Ocean of Storms area, measured soil density and surface radioactivity
Lunar Orbiter 3	U.S.A.	Feb 1967	lunar orbiter	lunar satellite, photographed landing sites, provided gravitational field and lunar environment data, impacted on moon on 10/9/67
Surveyor 3	U.S.A.	Apr 1967	lunar lander	soft-landed robotic laboratory, landed in the Ocean of Storms area, returned photographs and data on a soil sample
Lunar Orbiter 4	U.S.A.	May 1967	lunar orbiter	lunar satellite, provided the first pictures of the lunar south pole, impacted on the moon on 10/6/67
Surveyor 4	U.S.A.	Jul 1967	lunar lander	radio contact lost 2 1/2 min. prior to landing, impacted in Sinus Medii area
Explorer 35	U.S.A.	Jul 1967	lunar orbiter (Interplanetary Monitoring Platform 6)	designed to use the moon as an anchor for probing interplanetary magnetic fields, plasma, and meteoroid fluxes
Lunar Orbiter 5	U.S.A.	Aug 1967	lunar orbiter	lunar satellite, impacted on moon on 1/31/68
Surveyor 5	U.S.A	Sept 1967	lunar lander	soft-landed robotic laboratory, soft-landed in the Sea of Tranquillity
Surveyor 6	U.S.A.	Nov 1967	lunar lander	soft-landed robotic laboratory, soft-landed in the Sinus Medii area
Surveyor 7	U.S.A.	Jan 1968	lunar lander	soft-landed robotic laboratory, landed near the crater Tycho
Luna 14	U.S.S.R.	Apr 1968	lunar orbiter	lunar satellite, studied gravitational field
Zond 5	U.S.S.R.	Sept 1968	circumlunar	first lunar flyby and Earth return, returned to Earth on 9/21/68
Zond 6	U.S.S.R.	Nov 1968	circumlunar	lunar flyby and Earth return, returned to Earth on 11/17/68

Apollo 8	U.S.A.	Dec 1968	piloted lunar orbital flight	first humans to orbit the moon (10 orbits)
Apollo 10	U.S.A.	May 1969	piloted lunar orbital flight	first docking maneuvers in lunar orbit, tested all aspects of a piloted lunar landing
Luna 15	U.S.S.R.	Jul 1969	lunar sample return	crashed in the Sea of Crises area
Neil Armstrong,commander-Michael Collins,command module pilot-Edwin Aldrin,lunar module pilot
Apollo 11	U.S.A.	Jul 1969	piloted lunar landing	first humans on the moon, landed in the Sea of Tranquillity area on 7/20/69, 2 astronauts deployed experiments and collected lunar samples during lunar EVA
Zond 7	U.S.S.R.	Aug 1969	circumlunar	lunar flyby and Earth return, returned to Earth on 8/14/69
Cosmos 300	U.S.S.R.	Sept 1969	lunar probe	unsuccessful lunar attempt, reentered 9/27/69
Cosmos 305	U.S.S.R.	Oct 1969	lunar probe	unsuccessful lunar attempt, reentered 10/24/69
Luna 16	U.S.S.R.	Sept 1970	lunar sample return	first robotic sample return, collected lunar samples in the Sea of Fertility area and returned to Earth on 9/24/70
Apollo 12	U.S.A.	Nov 1969	piloted lunar landing	second group of humans on the moon, landed in the Ocean of Storms area on 11/19/69, 2 astronauts deployed experi-ments, collected lunar samples, and retrieved pieces of the Surveyor 3 spacecraft during lunar EVA
Apollo 13	U.S.A	Apr 1970	piloted lunar landing	aborted human landing attempt
Zond 8	U.S.S.R.	Oct 1970	circumlunar	lunar flyby and Earth return, returned to Earth on 10/27/70
Luna 17	U.S.S.R.	Nov 1970	lunar rover (Lunokhod 1)	first robotic rover, landed in the Sea of Rains area
Apollo 14	U.S.A.	Jan / Feb 1971	piloted lunar landing	third group of humans on the moon, landed in the Fra Mauro area on 2/5/71, 2 astronauts deployed experiments and collected lunar samples during lunar EVA
Apollo 15	U.S.A.	Jul / Aug 1971	piloted lunar landing	fourth group of humans on the moon, landed in the Hadley Rille area on 7/30/71, 2 astronauts deployed experiments and collected lunar samples during lunar EVA with lunar roving vehicle
Luna 18	U.S.S.R.	Sept 1971	lunar lander	crashed in the Sea of Fertility area
Luna 19	U.S.S.R.	Sept 1971	lunar orbiter	lunar satellite, studied moonUs gravitational field
Luna 20	U.S.S.R.	Feb 1972	lunar sample return	second robotic sample return, collected samples in the Sea of Crises area and returned to Earth on 2/25/72
Apollo 16	U.S.A.	Apr 1972	piloted lunar landing	fifth group of humans on the moon, landed in the Descartes area on 4/20/72, 2 astronauts deployed experiments and collected lunar samples during lunar EVA with lunar roving vehicle
Apollo 17	U.S.A.	Dec 1972	piloted lunar landing	sixth group of humans on the moon, landed in the Taurus-Littrow area on 12/11/72, 2 astronauts deployed experiments and collected lunar samples during lunar EVA with lunar roving vehicle
Luna 21	U.S.S.R.	Jan 1973	lunar rover	robotic lunar rover, landed near the Sea of Serenity area
Luna 22	U.S.S.R.	May/Jun 1974	lunar sample return	lunar satellite
Luna 23	U.S.S.R.	Oct 1974	lunar sample return	landed on the southern part of the Sea of Crises, sampling device malfunctioned, no samples returned
Luna 24	U.S.S.R.	Aug 1976	lunar sample return	third robotic sample return, collected samples in the Sea of Crises area and returned to Earth
Hiten (Muses-A)	Japan	Jan 1990	lunar satellite	studied gravity's effect on satellites, crashed on the moon on 4/11/93
Clementine	U.S.A.	Jan 1994	lunar satellite	photographed the lunar surface
Lunar Prospector	U.S.A.	Jan 1998	lunar polar orbiter	determined whether water ice exists on the Moon near its poles and mapped the elemental composition of the lunar crust. The controlled crash of the spacecraft into a crater on the Moon on 07/31/99 produced no observable signature of water.

The 12 Astronauts That Have Walked on the Moon

Of the billions and billions of people that have walked on the Earth, only a select 12 have walked on the Moon

Who	When	How Long
Neil Armstrong	7/20/69	2 hr. 31 min. 40 sec.
Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin	7/20/69	2 hr. 31 min. 40 sec.
Charles (Pete) Conrad	11/19/69	7 hr. 45 min. 18 sec.
Alan Bean	11/19/69	7 hr. 45 min. 18 sec.
Alan Shepard	2/5/71	9 hr. 22 min. 31 sec.
Edgar Mitchell	2/5/71	9 hr. 22 min. 31 sec.
James Irwin	7/30/71	18 hr. 34 min. 46 sec.
David Scott	7/30/71	18 hr. 34 min. 46 sec.
Charles Duke	4/21/72 to 4/23/72	20 hr. 14 min. 16 sec.
John Young	4/21/72 to 4/23/72	20 hr. 14 min. 16 sec.
Harrison Schmitt	12/11/72 to 12/13/72	22 hr. 3 min. 57 sec.
Eugene Cernan	12/11/72 to 12/13/72	22 hr. 3 min. 57 sec.

Apollo Command and Service Modules

The Apollo mission consisted of a Command Module (CM) and a Lunar Module (LM). The CM and LM would separate after lunar orbit insertion. One crew member would stay in the CM, which would orbit the Moon, while the other two astronauts would take the LM down to the lunar surface. After exploring the surface, setting up experiments, taking pictures, collecting rock samples, etc., the astronauts would return to the CM for the journey back to Earth.

Spacecraft and Subsystems

As the name implies, the Command and Service Module (CSM) was comprised of two distinct units: the Command Module (CM), which housed the crew, spacecraft operations systems, and re-entry equipment, and the Service Module (SM) which carried most of the consumables (oxygen, water, helium, fuel cells, and fuel) and the main propulsion system. The total length of the two modules attached was 11.0 meters with a maximum diameter of 3.9 meters. Block II CSM's were used for all the crewed Apollo missions. The Apollo 11 CSM mass of 28,801 kg was the launch mass including propellants and expendables, of this the Command Module (CM 107) had a mass of 5557 kg and the Service Module (SM 107) 23,244 kg.

Telecommunications included voice, television, data, and tracking and ranging subsystems for communications between astronauts, CM, LM, and Earth. Voice contact was provided by an S-band uplink and downlink system. Tracking was done through a unified S-band transponder. A high gain steerable S-band antenna consisting of four 79-cm diameter parabolic dishes was mounted on a folding boom at the aft end of the SM. Two VHF scimitar antennas were also mounted on the SM. There was also a VHF recovery beacon mounted in the CM. The CSM environmental control system regulated cabin atmosphere, pressure, temperature, carbon dioxide, odors, particles, and ventilation and controlled the temperature range of the electronic equipment.

Command Module

The CM was a conical pressure vessel with a maximum diameter of 3.9 m at its base and a height of 3.65 m. It was made of an aluminum honeycomb sandwhich bonded between sheet aluminum alloy. The base of the CM consisted of a heat shield made of brazed stainless steel honeycomb filled with a phenolic epoxy resin as an ablative material and varied in thickness from 1.8 to 6.9 cm. At the tip of the cone was a hatch and docking assembly designed to mate with the lunar module. The CM was divided into three compartments. The forward compartment in the nose of the cone held the three 25.4 m diameter main parachutes, two 5 m drogue parachutes, and pilot mortar chutes for Earth landing. The aft compartment was situated around the base of the CM and contained propellant tanks, reaction control engines, wiring, and plumbing. The crew compartment comprised most of the volume of the CM, approximately 6.17 cubic meters of space. Three astronaut couches were lined up facing forward in the center of the compartment. A large access hatch was situated above the center couch. A short access tunnel led to the docking hatch in the CM nose. The crew compartment held the controls, displays, navigation equipment and other systems used by the astronauts. The CM had five windows: one in the access hatch, one next to each astronaut in the two outer seats, and two forward-facing rendezvous windows. Five silver/zinc-oxide batteries provided power after the CM and SM detached, three for re-entry and after landing and two for vehicle separation and parachute deployment. The CM had twelve 420 N nitrogen tetroxide/hydrazine reaction control thrusters. The CM provided the re-entry capability at the end of the mission after separation from the Service Module.

Service Module

The SM was a cylinder 3.9 meters in diameter and 7.6 m long which was attached to the back of the CM. The outer skin of the SM was formed of 2.5 cm thick aluminum honeycomb panels. The interior was divided by milled aluminum radial beams into six sections around a central cylinder. At the back of the SM mounted in the central cylinder was a gimbal mounted re-startable hypergolic liquid propellant 91,000 N engine and cone shaped engine nozzle. Attitude control was provided by four identical banks of four 450 N reaction control thrusters each spaced 90 degrees apart around the forward part of the SM. The six sections of the SM held three 31-cell hydrogen oxygen fuel cells which provided 28 volts, two cryogenic oxygen and two cryogenic hydrogen tanks, four tanks for the main propulsion engine, two for fuel and two for oxidizer, and the subsystems the main propulsion unit. Two helium tanks were mounted in the central cylinder. Environmental control radiator panels were spaced around the top of the cylinder and electrical power system radiators near the bottom.

NASA

Credit: NASA