Six Apollo missions landed on the Moon: Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17. These successful landings occurred between July 1969 and December 1972, and they remain the only times humans have set foot on another world.
Why Only Six? The Apollo Program’s Full Flight List
The Apollo program ran from 1961 to 1972 and included both crewed and uncrewed flights. In total, 11 crewed Apollo missions flew. Of those, two (Apollo 7 and Apollo 9) were Earth-orbit tests, two (Apollo 8 and Apollo 10) orbited the Moon without landing, and one (Apollo 13) was aborted before landing after an oxygen tank explosion. That leaves six successful landings.
- Apollo 11 – First landing, July 20, 1969 (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin)
- Apollo 12 – Second landing, November 19, 1969 (Pete Conrad and Alan Bean)
- Apollo 13 – Intended landing, aborted after an explosion (crew returned safely)
- Apollo 14 – Third landing, February 5, 1971 (Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell)
- Apollo 15 – Fourth landing, July 30, 1971 (David Scott and James Irwin)
- Apollo 16 – Fifth landing, April 20, 1972 (John Young and Charles Duke)
- Apollo 17 – Sixth and final landing, December 11, 1972 (Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt)
Apollo 13 is often counted separately because it never landed, though it did fly around the Moon and return safely. The six landing missions brought back 382 kilograms (842 pounds) of lunar rock and soil, which scientists still study today.
How Did the Apollo Landings Work?
Each landing used a two-spacecraft design: the Command/Service Module (CSM) and the Lunar Module (LM). The CSM carried the crew and the fuel for the round trip, while the LM was the spider-like lander that detached from the CSM in lunar orbit and descended to the surface.
The landing itself was a manual process. The LM’s computer guided the descent, but the commander took over manual control for the final meters to avoid boulders and craters. Armstrong famously landed Apollo 11 with only about 30 seconds of fuel left. After landing, the crew performed moonwalks, deployed scientific instruments, and collected samples. To return, they blasted off from the Moon in the LM’s ascent stage, docked with the CSM, and then headed home.
Who Walked on the Moon?
Twelve humans have walked on the Moon, all American men. They are:
- Neil Armstrong (Apollo 11)
- Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11)
- Pete Conrad (Apollo 12)
- Alan Bean (Apollo 12)
- Alan Shepard (Apollo 14)
- Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14)
- David Scott (Apollo 15)
- James Irwin (Apollo 15)
- John Young (Apollo 16)
- Charles Duke (Apollo 16)
- Eugene Cernan (Apollo 17)
- Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17)
Eugene Cernan was the last person to leave footprints on the Moon, on December 14, 1972. Harrison Schmitt was the only geologist to walk there. The other ten were test pilots or military aviators.
Where Did They Land?
The six landing sites were all on the near side of the Moon, the hemisphere that faces Earth. They were chosen for safety and scientific value:
- Apollo 11 – Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility), a relatively flat plain.
- Apollo 12 – Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms), near the Surveyor 3 robotic probe.
- Apollo 14 – Fra Mauro highlands, a region of rugged terrain.
- Apollo 15 – Hadley–Apennine region, near a mountain range and a canyon-like rille.
- Apollo 16 – Descartes highlands, a hilly area.
- Apollo 17 – Taurus–Littrow valley, a dark-floored valley between mountains.
Later missions used the Lunar Roving Vehicle (a battery-powered buggy) to travel several kilometers from the lander, allowing them to collect a wider variety of rocks.
What Did the Missions Achieve?
The Apollo landings were not just about planting flags. Each mission carried a set of scientific experiments, and the astronauts deployed instruments that transmitted data for years after they left. Key achievements include:
- Returning 382 kg of lunar samples, including basalts, breccias, and soil.
- Installing seismometers that recorded moonquakes and meteorite impacts.
- Placing laser retroreflectors that still allow scientists on Earth to measure the Moon’s distance to within a few centimeters.
- Measuring the solar wind and the Moon’s magnetic field (or lack of it).
- Apollo 15, 16, and 17 carried the Lunar Roving Vehicle, covering up to 35 km per mission.
The samples revealed that the Moon is very old—about 4.5 billion years—and that it formed from debris after a giant impact with Earth. The laser reflectors continue to be used today for tests of general relativity.
Why Did the Program End?
The Apollo program was a product of the Cold War space race. After the United States won the race to the Moon, public interest and political funding declined. The last three planned missions (Apollo 18, 19, and 20) were cancelled in 1970 due to budget cuts and shifting priorities. The remaining Saturn V rockets were used for the Skylab space station and the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project. No human has returned to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
In the decades since, robotic probes from several nations have orbited and landed on the Moon, and the Artemis program aims to land humans again in the 2020s, but as of 2025 no crewed landing has occurred.
Common Misconceptions
One frequent mistake is thinking that Apollo 13 landed, because it is so well known. It did not. Another is that the Moon landings were faked—a claim that has been thoroughly debunked by evidence such as lunar rocks, photographs, and the testimony of thousands of engineers. A third is that the U.S. flag is still standing; in fact, the flags from Apollo 11, 12, 14, and 15 were likely knocked over by the exhaust of the ascent engines, and even the ones that remain have been bleached white by ultraviolet radiation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Apollo missions were there in total?
There were 11 crewed Apollo missions (Apollo 7 through Apollo 17). Apollo 1 was a ground test that ended in a fatal fire, and there were also several uncrewed test flights. So the program as a whole included many more launches, but only 11 carried astronauts.
Did Apollo 13 land on the Moon?
No. Apollo 13 was supposed to land in the Fra Mauro highlands, but an oxygen tank exploded about 200,000 miles from Earth. The crew used the lunar module as a lifeboat and returned safely without landing.
How many people have walked on the Moon?
Twelve people have walked on the Moon, all from the United States. The first were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969, and the last were Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in 1972.
Are the Apollo landing sites still visible?
Yes, the landing sites are still there, and they are now protected by U.S. law as historical sites. Lunar orbiters have photographed the descent stages, rover tracks, and even the footprints left by the astronauts. The laser reflectors still work.
Will humans go back to the Moon?
Yes. NASA’s Artemis program plans to land astronauts near the lunar south pole, with the first crewed landing targeted for the late 2020s. Other nations, including China, have also announced crewed lunar ambitions.
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