What year did Apollo 11 land on the Moon?

Apollo 11 landed on the Moon in 1969, touching down on July 20 in the Sea of Tranquility. The landing fulfilled President John F. Kennedy’s goal of sending astronauts to the lunar surface and returning them safely before the end of the decade.

The mission launched from Florida on July 16 aboard a Saturn V rocket. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar-module pilot Buzz Aldrin descended in Eagle, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in the command module Columbia. Armstrong and Aldrin spent about 21.6 hours on the surface before returning to orbit and beginning the journey home.

Apollo 11 was not the first Apollo mission to reach the Moon. Apollo 8 had orbited the Moon in 1968, and Apollo 10 tested the landing approach in May 1969 without touching down. Apollo 12 followed in November 1969, proving that later crews could land more precisely.

The year 1970 is sometimes associated with Apollo 13, but that mission suffered an oxygen-tank explosion and circled the Moon without landing. The final Apollo lunar landing came in 1972 with Apollo 17.