SafekipediaList of people who have flown to the Moon
Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience
Twenty-eight people have traveled to the vicinity of the Moon, including 12 who landed and walked on the surface. These 28 are the only astronauts to have traveled beyond low Earth orbit.
Between December 1968 and December 1972, the NASA Apollo program sent 24 astronauts on nine crewed lunar missions. Six of the missions landed two astronauts each on the lunar surface, while Apollo 8 and Apollo 10 orbited without landing. Apollo 13’s planned lunar landing was aborted due to an oxygen tank explosion en route to the Moon; instead, the crew looped around the Moon 158 miles above its surface without entering orbit. Three astronauts reached the Moon twice: Jim Lovell orbited the Moon on Apollo 8 and later flew on Apollo 13; John Young and Eugene Cernan both orbited the Moon on Apollo 10 and landed on separate missions.
Humans would not again reach the vicinity of the Moon until April 2026, when NASA’s Artemis II circumlunar flyby carried four astronauts there, including the first woman, first Black man, and first Canadian. They passed by the Moon 6,545 km (4,067 miles) from the surface without entering orbit.
The twelve people who landed on the Moon were all American men. The first were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in July 1969, and the most recent were Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in December 1972. All crewed lunar landings to date were part of the Apollo program.
Missions summary
| Designation | Date | LV | CSM | LM | Crew | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo 8 | December 21–27, 1968 | SA-503 | CSM-103 | LTA-B | First crewed flight of Saturn V; First crewed flight to Moon; First people to orbit the Moon; CSM made 10 lunar orbits in 20 hours. | |
| Apollo 10 | May 18–26, 1969 | SA-505 | CSM-106 Charlie Brown | LM-4 Snoopy | Dress rehearsal for first lunar landing; flew LM down to 50,000 ft (15 km; 9.5 mi) from lunar surface. Highest speed attained by a crewed vehicle relative to the Earth's surface. Atmospheric reentry at 39,897 km/h (11.08 km/s or 24,791 mph). | |
| Apollo 11 | July 16–24, 1969 | SA-506 | CSM-107 Columbia | LM-5 Eagle | First people to walk on the Moon. First landing, in Tranquility Base, Sea of Tranquility. Surface EVA time: 2h 31m. Samples returned: 47.51 lb (21.55 kg). | |
| Apollo 12 | November 14–24, 1969 | SA-507 | CSM-108 Yankee Clipper | LM-6 Intrepid | Second landing, in Ocean of Storms near Surveyor 3. Surface EVA time: 7h 45m. Samples returned: 75.62 lb (34.30 kg). | |
| Apollo 13 | April 11–17, 1970 | SA-508 | CSM-109 Odyssey | LM-7 Aquarius | First crewed lunar flyby without entering orbit; intended third landing mission aborted in transit to the Moon, due to SM failure. Crew used LM as "lifeboat" to return to Earth. Mission called a "successful failure". Greatest distance from Earth reached by a crewed mission until Artemis II (400,171 km). | |
| Apollo 14 | January 31 – Feb 9, 1971 | SA-509 | CSM-110 Kitty Hawk | LM-8 Antares | Third landing, in Fra Mauro formation. Surface EVA time: 9h 21m. Samples returned: 94.35 lb (42.80 kg). | |
| Apollo 15 | July 26 – Aug 7, 1971 | SA-510 | CSM-112 Endeavour | LM-10 Falcon | Fourth landing, in Hadley-Apennine. First extended mission, used Rover on Moon. Surface EVA time: 18h 33m. Samples returned: 169.10 lb (76.70 kg). | |
| Apollo 16 | April 16–27, 1972 | SA-511 | CSM-113 Casper | LM-11 Orion | Fifth landing, in Plain of Descartes. Second extended mission, used Rover on Moon. Surface EVA time: 20h 14m. Samples returned: 207.89 lb (94.30 kg). | |
| Apollo 17 | December 7–19, 1972 | SA-512 | CSM-114 America | LM-12 Challenger | Sixth landing, in Taurus–Littrow. Only Saturn V night launch. Third extended mission, used Rover on Moon. First geologist on the Moon. Apollo's last crewed Moon landing. Surface EVA time: 22h 2m. Samples returned: 243.40 lb (110.40 kg). | |
| Artemis II | April 1–10, 2026 | SLS Block 1 | CM-003 Integrity | —N/a | First woman, Black man, oldest person, and non-American to fly around the Moon; First flight near the Moon since 1972. First four-person flight beyond Earth orbit. First crewed flight of SLS Block 1. Greatest distance from Earth reached by a crewed mission (406,771 km). |
People who walked on the Moon
Twenty-eight people have traveled to the Moon, and twelve of them walked on its surface. These astronauts are the only people to have traveled beyond low Earth orbit. The NASA Apollo program sent 24 astronauts on nine missions to the Moon between December 1968 and December 1972.
| Portrait | Name and group | Born | Died | Age at first step | Mission | Lunar Module Landing Time (UTC) | Lunar Module Ascent Time (UTC) | Elapsed Time on Lunar Surface | Lunar EVA dates (UTC) | Lunar EVAs | Total EVA duration | Astronaut service | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neil Armstrong | (1930-08-05)August 5, 1930 | August 25, 2012(2012-08-25) (aged 82) | 38y 11m 15d | Apollo 11 | July 20, 1969 at 20:17 | July 21, 1969 at 17:54 | 21 hours 37 minutes | July 21, 1969 | 1 | 2 hours 31 minutes | NASA | |
| 2 | Buzz Aldrin | (1930-01-20) January 20, 1930 | 39y 6m 0d | July 21, 1969 | 1 | 2 hours 31 minutes | US Air Force | ||||||
| 3 | Pete Conrad | (1930-06-02)June 2, 1930 | July 8, 1999(1999-07-08) (aged 69) | 39y 5m 17d | Apollo 12 | November 19, 1969 at 6:54 | November 20, 1969 at 14:25 | 1 day 7 hours 31 minutes | November 19–20, 1969 | 2 | 7 hours 45 minutes | US Navy | |
| 4 | Alan Bean | (1932-03-15)March 15, 1932 | May 26, 2018(2018-05-26) (aged 86) | 37y 8m 4d | November 19–20, 1969 | 2 | 7 hours 45 minutes | US Navy | |||||
| 5 | Alan Shepard | (1923-11-18)November 18, 1923 | July 21, 1998(1998-07-21) (aged 74) | 47y 2m 18d | Apollo 14 | February 5, 1971 at 9:18 | February 6, 1971 at 18:48 | 1 day 9 hours 30 minutes | February 5–6, 1971 | 2 | 9 hours 21 minutes | US Navy | |
| 6 | Edgar Mitchell | (1930-09-17)September 17, 1930 | February 4, 2016(2016-02-04) (aged 85) | 40y 4m 19d | February 5–6, 1971 | 2 | 9 hours 21 minutes | US Navy | |||||
| 7 | David Scott | (1932-06-06) June 6, 1932 | 39y 1m 25d | Apollo 15 | July 30, 1971 at 22:16 | August 2, 1971 at 17:11 | 2 days 18 hours 55 minutes | July 31–August 2, 1971 | 3 | 18 hours 33 minutes | US Air Force | ||
| 8 | James Irwin | (1930-03-17)March 17, 1930 | August 8, 1991(1991-08-08) (aged 61) | 41y 4m 14d | July 31–August 2, 1971 | 3 | 18 hours 33 minutes | US Air Force | |||||
| 9 | John Young | (1930-09-24)September 24, 1930 | January 5, 2018(2018-01-05) (aged 87) | 41y 6m 28d | Apollo 16 | April 21, 1972 at 2:23 | April 24, 1972 at 1:25 | 2 days 23 hours 2 minutes | April 21–23, 1972 | 3 | 20 hours 14 minutes | US Navy | |
| 10 | Charles Duke | (1935-10-03) October 3, 1935 | 36y 6m 18d | April 21–23, 1972 | 3 | 20 hours 14 minutes | US Air Force | ||||||
| 11 | Eugene Cernan | (1934-03-14)March 14, 1934 | January 16, 2017(2017-01-16) (aged 82) | 38y 9m 7d | Apollo 17 | December 11, 1972 at 19:54 | December 14, 1972 at 22:54 | 3 days 3 hours 0 minutes | December 11–14, 1972 | 3 | 22 hours 2 minutes | US Navy | |
| 12 | Harrison Schmitt | (1935-07-03) July 3, 1935 | 37y 5m 8d | December 11–14, 1972 | 3 | 22 hours 2 minutes | NASA |
People who orbited or flew by the Moon without landing
Birthplaces of astronauts who flew by or orbited the Moon without landing. Apollo Artemis II
Orbited the Moon without landing
Flew by the Moon
| Portrait | Name and group | Born | Died | Age at orbit | Mission | Astronaut service | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frank Borman | (1928-03-14)March 14, 1928 | November 7, 2023(2023-11-07) (aged 95) | 40 | Apollo 8 December 21–27, 1968 | US Air Force | |
| 2 | Jim Lovell | (1928-03-25)March 25, 1928 | August 7, 2025(2025-08-07) (aged 97) | 40 | Apollo 8 December 21–27, 1968 | US Navy | |
| 3 | Bill Anders | (1933-10-17)October 17, 1933 | June 7, 2024(2024-06-07) (aged 90) | 35 | Apollo 8 December 21–27, 1968 | US Air Force | |
| 4 | Tom Stafford | (1930-09-17)September 17, 1930 | March 18, 2024(2024-03-18) (aged 93) | 38 | Apollo 10 May 18–26, 1969 | US Air Force | |
| 5 | Michael Collins | (1930-10-31)October 31, 1930 | April 28, 2021(2021-04-28) (aged 90) | 38 | Apollo 11 July 16–24, 1969 | US Air Force | |
| 6 | Dick Gordon | (1929-10-05)October 5, 1929 | November 6, 2017(2017-11-06) (aged 88) | 40 | Apollo 12 November 14–24, 1969 | US Navy | |
| 7 | Stuart Roosa | (1933-08-16)August 16, 1933 | December 12, 1994(1994-12-12) (aged 61) | 37 | Apollo 14 January 31 – February 9, 1971 | US Air Force | |
| 8 | Alfred Worden | (1932-02-07)February 7, 1932 | March 18, 2020(2020-03-18) (aged 88) | 39 | Apollo 15 July 26 – August 7, 1971 | US Air Force | |
| 9 | Ken Mattingly | (1936-03-17)March 17, 1936 | October 31, 2023(2023-10-31) (aged 87) | 36 | Apollo 16 April 16–27, 1972 | US Navy | |
| 10 | Ronald Evans | (1933-11-10)November 10, 1933 | April 7, 1990(1990-04-07) (aged 56) | 39 | Apollo 17 December 7–19, 1972 | US Navy |
| Portrait | Name and group | Born | Died | Age at flyby | Mission | Astronaut service | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Lovell | (1928-03-25)March 25, 1928 | August 7, 2025(2025-08-07) (aged 97) | 42 | Apollo 13 April 11–17, 1970 | US Navy | |
| 2 | Fred Haise | (1933-11-14) November 14, 1933 | 36 | Apollo 13 April 11–17, 1970 | Marines, US Air Force | ||
| 3 | Jack Swigert | (1931-08-30)August 30, 1931 | December 27, 1982(1982-12-27) (aged 51) | 38 | Apollo 13 April 11–17, 1970 | US Air Force | |
| 4 | Reid Wiseman | (1975-11-11) November 11, 1975 | 50 | Artemis II April 1–10, 2026 | US Navy | ||
| 5 | Victor Glover | (1976-04-30) April 30, 1976 | 49 | Artemis II April 1–10, 2026 | US Navy | ||
| 6 | Christina Koch | (1979-01-29) January 29, 1979 | 47 | Artemis II April 1–10, 2026 | NASA | ||
| 7 | Jeremy Hansen | (1976-01-27) January 27, 1976 | 50 | Artemis II April 1–10, 2026 | Royal Canadian Air Force |
Related articles
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