Apollo 11 carried the first humans to land on the Moon in July 1969.
NASA launched Apollo 11 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 16 July 1969. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin descended to the lunar surface in Eagle, while command module pilot Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in Columbia.
Armstrong and Aldrin landed in the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility on 20 July. Armstrong stepped onto the surface first, followed by Aldrin. The astronauts collected lunar samples, deployed scientific instruments, and spent more than 21 hours on the surface before returning to orbit and beginning the journey home.
Apollo 8 had already carried humans around the Moon, and Apollo 10 rehearsed the landing sequence, but neither mission landed. Apollo 12 became the second crewed lunar landing later in 1969.