Which Apollo Landed On The Moon?

Apollo 11 Earth Rising - Pilgrimage
Earth Rising from Apollo 11 Mission

There were six Apollo missions that landed on the Moon:

  • Apollo 11
  • Apollo 12
  • Apollo 14
  • Apollo 15
  • Apollo 16
  • Apollo 17

These missions carried the 12, that’s how many humans have walked on the Moon, plus the astronaut who would orbit the Moon while this was happening.

What Were the Apollo Missions?

The plan for NASA’s Apollo missions 11-17 included launching three astronauts aboard a space capsule that sat on the nose of a Saturn V rocket. Once propelled from Launch Complex 39 at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, the astronauts would begin a three-day journey to get to the Moon. Upon lunar approach, one astronaut would remain aboard, orbiting the Moon about once every two hours in the mothership — known as the Command Module — while the two other astronauts separated and descended toward the Moon in their own vehicle, known as the Lunar Module (LM).

The two descending astronauts would land on the Moon in the LM, which would serve as their home base during the mission on the surface. Once on the ground, the astronauts would then:

  • Walk on the Moon
  • Take photos and videos on the Moon
  • Collect and return rocks and soil samples from the Moon
  • Some would drive the Lunar Rover Vehicle (LRV) – Apollo 15, 16, 17
  • Do science experiments on the Moon
  • And why not — even hit golf balls on the Moon
Apollo 11 Crew - Quarantine - How Many People Have Walked on the Moon - Pilgrimage.space
Apollo 11 Crew – Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin – In the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) After Landing, Addressed by President Nixon. Courtesy NASA

Astronaut quotes from the Apollo missions

They would blast off again using the upper portion of the Lunar Module — the ascent stage — leaving the bottom “descent stage” of the LM on the Moon. They would rejoin astronaut number one on the Command Module, all travel three days back home to Earth, ditch the Service Module portion of the ship which provided propulsion, and re-enter the atmosphere in their heat shield protected capsule.

Parachutes would engage, splashdown into the ocean occurred, followed by retrieval from a US Navy aircraft carrier with the assistance of a helicopter. The final step for the Moon travelers of Apollo 11, 12, and 14 was an immediate stay inside the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF), a converted Airstream trailer, from which they could begin sharing their historic journeys with the citizens of the Moon’s very own planet — Earth.

Be sure to check out the collection of famous astronaut quotes from the Apollo missions to the Moon.