What is the name of the spacecraft that took the first men to the moon?

The story behind the answer

The spacecraft that took the first men to the Moon was Apollo 11.

Apollo 11 was NASA’s first crewed lunar-landing mission, launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 16, 1969. Commander Neil Armstrong, lunar-module pilot Buzz Aldrin and command-module pilot Michael Collins made up the crew. Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the Moon, while Collins remained in lunar orbit.

Strictly speaking, Apollo 11 was the mission designation, while the spacecraft had separate components and names. The command and service module was called Columbia, and the lunar module that carried Armstrong and Aldrin to the surface was Eagle. The Saturn V was the launch rocket, not the spacecraft. In ordinary trivia usage, however, Apollo 11 is the canonical answer because it identifies the historic spacecraft mission that carried the first humans to the Moon.

The mission landed in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface, followed by Aldrin, while Collins piloted Columbia alone above them.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

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