Apollo 11 made the first crewed landing on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
NASA launched Apollo 11 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 16, 1969. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin descended to the lunar surface in the module Eagle, while command module pilot Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit aboard Columbia.
The landing occurred in the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility, also known as Mare Tranquillitatis. Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon, followed by Aldrin. The astronauts collected lunar material, deployed scientific instruments, photographed the surface, and returned safely to Earth on July 24.
Apollo 8 had previously carried humans around the Moon without landing, and Apollo 10 tested the landing systems in lunar orbit. Apollo 12 was the next mission to land. Those missions are important parts of the program’s sequence, but Apollo 11 alone achieved the first crewed lunar landing.