The Apollo Program (1963 - 1972)

The Apollo program was the United States plan to land humans on the Moon with the 'Space Race' against Russia as they felt threatened by the dominance of a nuclear powered Russia in Space until then.

The goal to send a manned landing to the Moon and to bring them safely back to Earth.

Six of the Apollo 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.

Apollo 11 First human landing on the Moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on 20 July 1969.

Michael Collins was the Command pilot left aboard the Command Module going around the moon ready for docking of the ascent stage of the Lunar Lander for the return journey to Earth.

First Moon Landing 20th July 1969

Apollo 11’s journey to the moon

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera snapped its best look yet of the Apollo 11 landing site on the moon in the 'Mare Tranquillitatis', commonly known as the 'Sea of Tranquility'. The image, which was released on March 7, 2012, even shows the remnants of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's historic first steps on the surface around the Lunar Module.

The Apollo 11 astronauts returned valuable rock samples from the Sea of Tranquility landing site that revealed the moon's fiery past for the first time. The samples showed that this region of the moon was once the site of volcanic activity, and that thin flows of lava had once flowed where Armstrong and Aldrin had roamed.

Other Apollo Missions to the Moon

Apollo 12 landed on the Moon on the 19th of November 1969, also Apollo 14 Missions successfully landed men on the Moon while Apollo 13 had a explosion on the way to the Moon but a heroic effort enabled them to land Safely back on Earth after a doing a Lunar return.

The Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions, the crews were equipped with a Lunar Roving Vehicle that enabled them to explore beyond the landing site.

The last manned landing on the Moon to date was Apollo 17, took place on the 11th of December 1972, with Commander Eugene Cernan and lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt who was also the first and only scientist to go to the Moon.

Amazing fun facts on Apollo 11

Fascinating Facts About Apollo 11