Apollo 11 was the first crewed mission to land astronauts on the Moon’s surface.
NASA launched Apollo 11 on 16 July 1969 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Eagle lunar module in the Sea of Tranquility on 20 July, while Michael Collins orbited above in the command module Columbia.
Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon, followed by Aldrin. The astronauts spent about 21 hours and 36 minutes on the lunar surface, collected lunar samples, deployed experiments, and returned safely to Earth on 24 July. Apollo 10 had rehearsed the landing approach but did not land, while Apollo 12 became the next mission to land.