Apollo 11 was the first mission to land astronauts on the Moon, reaching the lunar surface on 20 July 1969.
NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the Lunar Module Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit aboard the command module Columbia. Armstrong stepped onto the surface first, followed by Aldrin, and the crew spent about 21 hours and 36 minutes on the Moon.
The mission fulfilled President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 goal of landing a person on the Moon and returning them safely to Earth before the end of the decade. Apollo 11 returned lunar rocks and soil for scientific study.
Apollo 8 had already carried humans around the Moon, and Apollo 10 rehearsed the landing approach. Apollo 12 made the next crewed lunar landing in November 1969.