Which Apollo mission first landed humans on the Moon?

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Apollo 11 was the first mission to land humans on the Moon.

NASA launched Apollo 11 from Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969, aboard a Saturn V rocket. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar-module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the module Eagle at Tranquility Base in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20. Command-module pilot Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit aboard Columbia.

Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface, followed by Aldrin. The astronauts spent about two and a half hours outside the lander, collected lunar samples, deployed scientific instruments, and photographed the terrain. The crew returned safely to Earth on July 24.

Apollo 8 was the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon, but it did not land. Apollo 1 ended in a fatal ground test accident before launch, while Apollo 13 reached lunar vicinity but suffered an onboard explosion and never attempted a landing. Apollo 11 fulfilled President John F. Kennedy’s goal of a crewed lunar landing before the end of the 1960s.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

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