Which space agency operated Apollo 11?

NASA operated Apollo 11. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration planned, managed, and flew the mission that carried Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin to the Moon in July 1969.

Apollo 11 launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 16, 1969, atop a Saturn V rocket. Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the lunar module Eagle, while Collins remained in lunar orbit aboard the command module Columbia. Eagle landed in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, making Apollo 11 the first crewed mission to land humans on the Moon.

A common mix-up is confusing NASA with the spacecraft builders or international partners. Companies such as North American Aviation and Grumman constructed major hardware, but NASA directed the overall Apollo program. The Soviet space agency was NASA’s principal Cold War rival, while ESA and JAXA were not operators of Apollo 11. After surface operations, the astronauts returned to Earth on July 24, 1969, after completing Kennedy’s national lunar goal.