Apollo 11 was the first crewed mission to land humans on the Moon.
NASA launched Apollo 11 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 16, 1969. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the lunar module Eagle in the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility on July 20, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in the command module Columbia.
Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface, followed shortly by Aldrin. The astronauts collected lunar samples, photographed the surface, conducted experiments, and deployed scientific instruments before returning to Earth.
Apollo 11 fulfilled President John F. Kennedy’s goal of landing a person on the Moon and returning them safely before the end of the 1960s. The crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969. Apollo 12 became the next successful crewed lunar landing later that year.