Between 1969 and 1972, six Apollo missions successfully landed twelve astronauts on the lunar surface. Each mission expanded our knowledge of the Moon and left behind evidence that endures to this day.
Successful Landings
Moonwalkers
Samples Returned
Total Surface Time
From the first footsteps to the last, every Apollo landing mission in chronological order.
Crew: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins
Landing site: Sea of Tranquility
The first crewed lunar landing. Armstrong and Aldrin spent 2 hours 31 minutes on the surface, collecting 21.5 kg of samples and deploying scientific instruments including a seismometer and the first laser retroreflector. Watched by an estimated 600 million people worldwide.
Crew: Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Richard Gordon
Landing site: Ocean of Storms
Demonstrated pinpoint landing capability by touching down within walking distance of the unmanned Surveyor 3 probe, which had landed in 1967. The crew retrieved parts of Surveyor 3 to study the effects of 2.5 years on the lunar surface. Collected 34.3 kg of samples.
Crew: Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, Fred Haise
An oxygen tank explosion crippled the spacecraft en route to the Moon. The crew never landed but used the lunar module as a lifeboat to survive the journey home. The dramatic rescue was tracked by observatories worldwide and remains one of the greatest feats of engineering problem-solving in history.
Crew: Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, Stuart Roosa
Landing site: Fra Mauro highlands
Completed the mission objectives originally planned for Apollo 13. Shepard famously hit two golf balls on the Moon. The crew collected 42.3 kg of samples and deployed the second laser retroreflector, which is still in use today.
Crew: David Scott, James Irwin, Alfred Worden
Landing site: Hadley Rille / Apennine Mountains
The first "J-mission" with extended surface stays and the first Lunar Roving Vehicle. The crew spent 18+ hours outside the lander, drove 27.9 km, and collected 77 kg of samples. Scott performed the famous hammer-feather drop experiment, demonstrating Galileo's theory in the lunar vacuum.
Crew: John Young, Charles Duke, Ken Mattingly
Landing site: Descartes Highlands
The only mission to land in the lunar highlands. The crew spent 20 hours on three EVAs, drove 26.7 km in the rover, and collected 95.7 kg of samples — discoveries that overturned the prevailing theory that highland rocks were volcanic in origin.
Crew: Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, Ronald Evans
Landing site: Taurus-Littrow valley
The last Apollo lunar mission and the only one to include a professional geologist (Schmitt). Set records for longest lunar surface stay (75 hours), longest total EVA time (22 hours), most samples returned (110.5 kg), and longest rover distance (35.9 km). Cernan remains the last human to walk on the Moon.
"We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return — with peace and hope for all mankind."— Eugene Cernan, last words spoken on the Moon, December 14, 1972
See every major Moon landing conspiracy theory demolished with facts and evidence.
Myths Debunked