List of Apollo astronauts

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Most of the Apollo astronauts gathered at the Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1978 Apollo Astronauts (names added).jpg
Most of the Apollo astronauts gathered at the Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1978

As part of the Apollo program by NASA, 24 astronauts flew nine missions to the Moon between December 1968 and December 1972. During six successful two-man landing missions, twelve men walked on the lunar surface, six of whom drove Lunar Roving Vehicles as part of the last three missions. Three men have been to the Moon twice, one orbited once and took a circumlunar trajectory the second time, while the other two landed once apiece. Apart from these 24 men, no human being has gone beyond low Earth orbit. As of June 2024, 6 of the 24 remain alive. [1] No woman has been to the Moon, but a number of non-human animals have circled or orbited it, including two tortoises, several turtles, and five mice.

Contents

Apollo missions 8 and 10–17 were the nine crewed missions to the Moon. Apollo 4–6 and AS-201 and AS-202 were uncrewed, while AS-203 is considered a test flight. The Apollo program included three other crewed missions: Apollo 1 (AS-204) did not launch and its crew died in a ground-based capsule fire, while Apollo 7 and Apollo 9 were low Earth orbit missions that only tested spacecraft components and docking maneuvers. Apollo missions 18, 19, and 20 were canceled. Twelve astronauts later flew unused Apollo command modules in the Apollo Applications Program's Skylab and Apollo–Soyuz Test Project. Of the 24 astronauts who flew to the Moon, two went on to command a Skylab mission, one commanded Apollo–Soyuz, one flew as commander for Approach and Landing Tests of the Space Shuttle, and two commanded orbital Space Shuttle missions.

Prime crew members

NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations during the Gemini and Apollo programs was Donald K. "Deke" Slayton, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, who was medically grounded in September 1962 due to a minor cardiac arrhythmia – paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Slayton was responsible for making all Gemini and Apollo crew assignments. In March 1972, Slayton was restored to flight status, and flew on the 1975 Apollo–Soyuz Test Project mission.

The prime crew members selected for actual missions are here grouped by their NASA astronaut selection groups, and within each group in the order selected for flight. Two versions of the Apollo Command/Service Module (CSM) spacecraft were developed: Block I, intended for preliminary low Earth orbit testing; and Block II, redesigned for the lunar landing. The Block I crew position titles were Command Pilot, Senior Pilot (second seat), and Pilot (third seat). The corresponding Block II titles were: Commander, Command Module Pilot, and Lunar Module Pilot. The second seat pilot was given secondary responsibility for celestial navigation to keep the CSM's guidance computer accurately calibrated with the spacecraft's true position, and the third seat pilot served as a flight engineer, monitoring the health of the spacecraft systems.

Apollo astronauts by their dates of selection by NASA

1959

Mercury Seven astronauts (L to R): Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Grissom, Schirra, Shepard, and Slayton Mercury Seven astronauts with aircraft.jpg
Mercury Seven astronauts (L to R): Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Grissom, Schirra, Shepard, and Slayton

1962

NASA Astronaut Group 2: Back row: Elliot M. See (died in Gemini training), McDivitt, Lovell, White, Stafford. Front row: Conrad, Borman, Armstrong, Young Astronaut Group 2 - S62-6759.jpg
NASA Astronaut Group 2: Back row: Elliot M. See (died in Gemini training), McDivitt, Lovell, White, Stafford. Front row: Conrad, Borman, Armstrong, Young

All of these astronauts flew on Gemini, and except for White, each commanded one Gemini and one Apollo mission:

1963

NASA Astronaut Group 3 Astronaut Group Three - GPN-2000-001476.jpg
NASA Astronaut Group 3

This was the first class of astronauts for which test pilot experience was not required, but military jet fighter pilot experience was acceptable.

Five of this group got their first spaceflight experience as second seat on Gemini:

The remaining six members of this group were selected for their first space flights on Apollo:

1965

Group 4 - the scientist astronaut group; Harrison Schmitt (center) became NASA's first scientist astronaut to fly in space. PORTRAIT - SCIENTIST-ASTRONAUT GROUP.jpg
Group 4 – the scientist astronaut group; Harrison Schmitt (center) became NASA's first scientist astronaut to fly in space.

In June 1965, NASA named a group of five scientist astronauts, the first group qualified by doctorate degrees rather than test or military fighter pilot experience. [nb 1] Geologist Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt participated heavily in the geological training of the lunar landing astronauts, as well as assisting in the analysis of returned samples and the preparation of mission reports. In 1970, he was selected as Lunar Module Pilot for the Apollo 15 backup crew, and prime crew on Apollo 18. When program cutbacks canceled missions 18 through 20, NASA's lunar geological community insisted on having a geologist on the Moon, so Slayton reassigned Schmitt to Apollo 17.

1966

NASA Astronaut Group 5 NASA Astronaut Group 5 cropped.jpg
NASA Astronaut Group 5

NASA named a group of 19 more astronauts in April 1966. None had spaceflight experience before their Apollo mission.

Astronauts who trained for Apollo but did not fly

Apollo astronauts who walked on the Moon

Twelve men walked on the Moon during six Moon landings of the Apollo program between July 1969 and December 1972. All landed on the surface only once, and five missions consisted of two or more surface extravehicular activities (EVAs). Four of them are alive as of November 2024 with an average age of 91 years. Most astronauts at that time came from the military services and were considered to be on active duty during their NASA service. The few exceptions were considered civilian NASA astronauts, regardless of any prior military service.

On the last of their three Apollo 17 EVAs, Harrison Schmitt stepped out of the Apollo Lunar Module onto the surface of the Moon after Gene Cernan, and is therefore the 12th and most recent person to have stepped out onto the Moon. When they re-entered the lunar module Cernan stepped in last, and is therefore the last person to have walked on the Moon.

Alan Shepard was the oldest person to walk on the Moon, at age 47 years and 80 days. Charles Duke was the youngest, at age 36 years and 201 days.

Jim Lovell and Fred Haise were scheduled to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 13 mission, but the lunar landing was aborted following an explosion in the spacecraft service module en route to the Moon. Haise was again scheduled to walk on the Moon as commander of Apollo 19, but Apollo 18 and Apollo 19 were canceled on September 2, 1970.

Joe Engle had trained on the backup crew for Apollo 14 to explore the Moon with Cernan, but he was replaced by Schmitt on the primary crew for Apollo 17. Schmitt had previously been crewed with Apollo 12 Command Module pilot Dick Gordon in anticipation of Apollo 18, but Schmitt replaced Engle on Apollo 17 after the cancellation of Apollo 18 and Apollo 19, leaving Gordon as the last Apollo astronaut to train extensively for lunar exploration without ever landing on the Moon.

PortraitName and groupBornDiedAge at
first step		Mission Lunar Module Landing Time (UTC) [6] Lunar Module Ascent Time (UTC) [6] Elapsed Time on Lunar SurfaceLunar EVAs [6] Total EVA Duration [6] Military serviceAlma mater
1 Neil Armstrong pose (3x4 cropped).jpg Neil Armstrong
(NASA Astronaut Group 2)		August 5, 1930August 25, 2012(2012-08-25) (aged 82)38y 11m 15d Apollo 11 July 20, 1969 at 8:17 PMJuly 21, 1969 at 5:54 PM21 hours 37 minutes12 hours 31 minutesCivilian [nb 2] (Navy veteran) Purdue University, University of Southern California
2 Buzz Aldrin (3x4 cropped).jpg Buzz Aldrin
(NASA Astronaut Group 3)		January 20, 1930 (age 94)39y 6m 0d12 hours 31 minutes Air Force United States Military Academy, MIT
3 Pete Conrad during suit-up for the Apollo 12 launch (3x4 cropped).jpg Pete Conrad
(NASA Astronaut Group 2)		June 2, 1930July 8, 1999(1999-07-08) (aged 69)39y 5m 17d Apollo 12 November 19, 1969 at 6:54 AMNovember 20, 1969 at 2:25 PM1 day 7 hours 31 minutes27 hours 45 minutes Navy Princeton University
4 Alan Bean NASA portrait (S69-38859) (3x4 cropped).jpg Alan Bean
(NASA Astronaut Group 3)		March 15, 1932May 26, 2018(2018-05-26) (aged 86)37y 8m 4d27 hours 45 minutes Navy University of Texas, Austin
5 Alan Shepard Apollo 14 (3x4 cropped).jpg Alan Shepard
(Mercury Seven)		November 18, 1923July 21, 1998(1998-07-21) (aged 74)47y 2m 18d Apollo 14 February 5, 1971 at 9:18 AMFebruary 6, 1971 at 6:48 PM1 day 9 hours 30 minutes29 hours 22 minutes Navy United States Naval Academy, Naval War College
6 Edgar Mitchell (3x4 cropped).jpg Edgar Mitchell
(NASA Astronaut Group 5)		September 17, 1930February 4, 2016(2016-02-04) (aged 85)40y 4m 19d29 hours 22 minutes Navy Carnegie Mellon University, Naval Postgraduate School, MIT
7 Dave Scott Apollo 15 CDR (3x4 cropped).jpg David Scott
(NASA Astronaut Group 3)		June 6, 1932 (age 92)39y 1m 25d Apollo 15 July 30, 1971 at 10:16 PMAugust 2, 1971 at 5:11 PM2 days 18 hours 55 minutes318 hours 34 minutes Air Force University of Michigan, United States Military Academy, MIT
8 Jim Irwin Apollo 15 LMP (3x4 cropped).jpg James Irwin
(NASA Astronaut Group 5)		March 17, 1930August 8, 1991(1991-08-08) (aged 61)41y 4m 14d318 hours 34 minutes Air Force United States Naval Academy, University of Michigan
9 Astronaut John W. Young 1971 (3x4 cropped).jpg John Young
(NASA Astronaut Group 2)		September 24, 1930January 5, 2018(2018-01-05) (aged 87)41y 6m 28d Apollo 16 April 21, 1972 at 2:23 AMApril 24, 1972 at 1:25 AM2 days 23 hours 2 minutes320 hours 14 minutes Navy Georgia Institute of Technology
10 Official NASA portrait Charles Moss Duke Jr (3x4 cropped).jpg Charles Duke
(NASA Astronaut Group 5)		October 3, 1935 (age 89)36y 6m 18d320 hours 14 minutes Air Force United States Naval Academy, MIT
11 Cernan s71-51308 (3x4 cropped).jpg Eugene Cernan
(NASA Astronaut Group 3)		March 14, 1934January 16, 2017(2017-01-16) (aged 82)38y 9m 7d Apollo 17 December 11, 1972 at 7:54 PMDecember 14, 1972 at 10:54 PM3 days 3 hours 0 minutes322 hours 3 minutes Navy Purdue University, Naval Postgraduate School
12 Harrison H. Schmitt (3x4 cropped).jpg Harrison Schmitt
(NASA Astronaut Group 4)		July 3, 1935 (age 89)37y 5m 8d322 hours 3 minutesCivilian [nb 3] Caltech, University of Oslo, Harvard University

Apollo astronauts who flew to the Moon without landing

Besides the 12 people who have walked on the Moon, 12 more have flown to within 0.001 lunar distance of its surface. As of November 2024, two of them are alive with an average age of 93 years. During each of the six missions with successful lunar landings, one astronaut remained in lunar orbit while the other two landed. In addition, the three-person crews of Apollo 8 and Apollo 10 also entered lunar orbit, and the crew of Apollo 13 looped around the Moon on a free-return trajectory.

All nine crewed missions to the Moon took place as part of the Apollo program over a period of just under four years, from 21 December 1968 to 19 December 1972. The 24 people who have flown to the Moon are the only people who have traveled beyond low Earth orbit.

Jim Lovell, John Young, and Eugene Cernan are the only three people to have flown to the Moon twice. Young and Cernan each set foot on it during their respective second lunar missions, while Lovell is the only person to have flown to the Moon twice without landing.

During Cernan's first lunar mission on Apollo 10, he tied the present record set by Bill Anders on Apollo 8 as the youngest person to fly to the Moon. Each was 35 years and 65 days old on his launch date and 35 years and 68 days old when he entered lunar orbit. The oldest person to fly to the Moon was Alan Shepard, who walked on its surface during the Apollo 14 mission. Shepard was 47 years and 74 days old on his launch date and 47 years and 78 days old when he entered lunar orbit.

Jim Lovell and Fred Haise were scheduled to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 13 mission, but the lunar landing was aborted following a major malfunction en route to the Moon. [7] Haise was again scheduled to walk on the Moon as commander of Apollo 19, but Apollo 18 and Apollo 19 were canceled on September 2, 1970. Because of Apollo 13's free-return trajectory, Lovell, Swigert and Haise flew higher above the Moon's 180° meridian (opposite Earth) than anyone else has flown (254 km/158 mi). Coincidentally, due to the Moon's distance from Earth at the time, they simultaneously set the present record for humans' greatest distance from Earth, reaching an altitude of 400,171 km (248,655 mi) above sea level at 0:21 UTC on 15 April 1970.

PortraitName and groupBornDiedAgeMissionMilitary serviceNotes
1 Frank Borman.jpg Frank Borman
(NASA Astronaut Group 2)		March 14, 1928November 7, 2023(2023-11-07) (aged 95)40 Apollo 8
December 21–27, 1968		Air Force
2 James Lovell.jpg Jim Lovell
(NASA Astronaut Group 2)		March 25, 1928 (age 96)40

42		Apollo 8
December 21–27, 1968
Apollo 13
April 11–17, 1970		NavyIntended to land on Apollo 13; only person to fly to the Moon twice without landing.
3 William Alison Anders.jpg Bill Anders
(NASA Astronaut Group 3)		October 17, 1933June 7, 2024(2024-06-07) (aged 90)35Apollo 8
December 21–27, 1968
Air Force
4 Thomas Stafford.jpg Tom Stafford
(NASA Astronaut Group 2)		September 17, 1930March 18, 2024(2024-03-18) (aged 93)38 Apollo 10
May 18–26, 1969		Air ForceLater flew on Apollo–Soyuz Test Project.
5 Michael Collins (S69-31742, restoration).jpg Michael Collins
(NASA Astronaut Group 3)		October 31, 1930April 28, 2021(2021-04-28) (aged 90)38 Apollo 11
July 16–24, 1969		Air Force
6 Richard F. Gordon.jpg Dick Gordon
(NASA Astronaut Group 3)		October 5, 1929November 6, 2017(2017-11-06) (aged 88)40 Apollo 12
November 14–24, 1969		NavyTrained to land, slated for Apollo 18 (canceled). [8]
7 Jack Swigert.jpg Jack Swigert
(NASA Astronaut Group 5)		August 30, 1931December 27, 1982(1982-12-27) (aged 51)38 Apollo 13
April 11–17, 1970		Air Force
8 Fred Haise.jpg Fred Haise
(NASA Astronaut Group 5)		November 14, 1933 (age 91)36Apollo 13
April 11–17, 1970		 Marines, Air ForceIntended to land; later trained to land and slated to command Apollo 19 (canceled); [8] flew the Space Shuttle on approach / landing tests.
9 Roosa cropped.jpg Stuart Roosa
(NASA Astronaut Group 5)		August 16, 1933December 12, 1994(1994-12-12) (aged 61)37 Apollo 14
January 31 – February 9, 1971		Air ForceIn rotation to land on Apollo 20 (canceled).
10 Al Worden Apollo 15 CMP.jpg Al Worden
(NASA Astronaut Group 5)		February 7, 1932March 18, 2020(2020-03-18) (aged 88)39 Apollo 15
July 26 – August 7, 1971		Air Force
11 Astronaut Thomas K. (Ken) Mattingly.jpg Ken Mattingly
(NASA Astronaut Group 5)		March 17, 1936October 31, 2023(2023-10-31) (aged 87)36 Apollo 16
April 16–27, 1972		NavyLater flew two Space Shuttle missions.
12 Ronald Evans.jpg Ron Evans
(NASA Astronaut Group 5)		November 10, 1933April 7, 1990(1990-04-07) (aged 56)39 Apollo 17
December 7–19, 1972		Navy

Lunar activities

Armstrong descended the lunar module ladder and spoke his famous epigram, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." [9] He then went to work on collecting the contingency sample, which was a scoop of the lunar surface collected early in the mission in case there was an emergency. [10] Armstrong took the TV camera off the lunar module and mounted it to a tripod. [11] After that, Aldrin descended the ladder to join Armstrong. [12] Aldrin egressed to the surface about nineteen minutes after Armstrong. [13] They had some trouble planting the American flag into the lunar soil, but were able to secure it into the surface. Aldrin positioned himself in front of a video camera and began experimenting with different locomotion techniques on the surface. [14] During these experiments, Armstrong and Aldrin received a phone call from President Nixon, congratulating them for the successful landing. [15]

Aldrin then set to work documenting the condition of the spacecraft to ensure it was in proper condition for their upcoming launch. After setting up a couple of experiments with Armstrong, Aldrin went to work hammering a tube into the lunar surface to obtain a core sample. [16] Aldrin's EVA ended when they loaded the lunar samples into the spacecraft and tossed out unneeded items, just before sealing the hatch. [11] Armstrong performed the majority of the photography on the surface, which is why there are only five photos of him on the Moon. [17]

Soon after piloting the LM Falcon to a landing at Hadley Rille, Scott accomplished the only stand-up EVA through the lander's top hatch, using it as a high place from which to refine the geology traverses he and Irwin would undertake during the following days. Scott became the first to drive a vehicle on the Moon as he drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle, more than doubling Apollo 14's EVA time. After the final traverse, back outside the LM, Scott performed a demonstration of Galileo's theory that all objects fall at the same rate in vacuum by dropping a hammer and a feather for the television camera.

Irwin came onto the lunar surface soon after his commander, Scott. As the LRV's first passenger, he had an often rough ride as Scott swerved to avoid craters. [18] It was Irwin who, during the second EVA, first spotted the Genesis Rock and aided Scott in collecting this bit of the early lunar crust. [19] A man of deep Christian religious faith, Irwin quoted from Psalms while on the lunar surface and later became an evangelist. [20]

Apollo astronauts who never flew to the Moon

In addition to the nine lunar missions, there were two crewed flights in the Apollo program that remained in Earth orbit to test fly the spacecraft. Apollo 7 was a crewed test flight of the CSM, and Apollo 9 was a crewed flight test of the CSM and LEM. Of the six astronauts who participated in these missions, five were never rotated to a lunar mission. In addition, the three Skylab missions and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project used crewed CSMs in Earth orbit and are considered part of the Apollo Applications Project. Although Conrad, Bean, and Stafford commanded three of these four flights, the remaining crew members were rookies and thus had long missed the opportunity to fly a Moon mission. Of the seven rookies who flew Skylab, three of them (Paul J. Weitz, Owen K. Garriott, and Jack R. Lousma) would return to space aboard the Space Shuttle. Vance Brand flew on ASTP as Command Module Pilot and would command three Shuttle missions. Except for Garriott, all Apollo astronauts who also flew on the Shuttle served as commander.

Astronauts who died during the Apollo Program

Three astronauts died on the ground while training for the first crewed Apollo mission, Apollo 1.

Position Astronaut
Command Pilot Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom
Would have been third spaceflight
Senior Pilot Edward H. White II
Would have been second spaceflight
Pilot Roger B. Chaffee
Would have been first spaceflight
[21]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Note: Edwin Aldrin and Eugene Cernan were selected for Group 3 without having been test pilots, though both were fighter pilots in the Air Force and Navy respectively.
  2. ↑ Armstrong had mustered out of the US Navy, and was already a NASA test pilot when he and Elliot See became the first civilian astronauts in Astronaut Group 2; see Armstrong's NASA biography and a description of his receiving a NASA award, among others.
  3. ↑ Schmitt, a geologist, was chosen as a scientist in Astronaut Group 4.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo 11</span> First crewed Moon landing (1969)

Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted by the United States and launched by NASA from July 16 to July 24, 1969. It marked the first time that humans landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, and Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon's surface six hours and 39 minutes later, on July 21 at 02:56 UTC. Aldrin joined him 19 minutes later, and they spent about two and a quarter hours together exploring the site they had named Tranquility Base upon landing. Armstrong and Aldrin collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material to bring back to Earth as pilot Michael Collins flew the Command Module Columbia in lunar orbit, and were on the Moon's surface for 21 hours, 36 minutes, before lifting off to rejoin Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo program</span> 1961–1972 American crewed lunar exploration program

The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program carried out by NASA, which succeeded in landing the first men on the Moon in 1969, following Project Mercury, which put the first Americans in space. It was conceived in 1960 as a three-person spacecraft during President Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration. Apollo was later dedicated to President John F. Kennedy's national goal for the 1960s of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" in an address to Congress on May 25, 1961. It was the third US human spaceflight program to fly, preceded by Project Gemini conceived in 1961 to extend spaceflight capability in support of Apollo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo 13</span> Failed Moon landing mission in the Apollo program

Apollo 13 was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and would have been the third Moon landing. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the landing was aborted after an oxygen tank in the service module (SM) exploded two days into the mission, disabling its electrical and life-support system. The crew, supported by backup systems on the lunar module (LM), instead looped around the Moon in a circumlunar trajectory and returned safely to Earth on April 17. The mission was commanded by Jim Lovell, with Jack Swigert as command module (CM) pilot and Fred Haise as lunar module (LM) pilot. Swigert was a late replacement for Ken Mattingly, who was grounded after exposure to rubella.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo 7</span> First crewed flight of the Apollo space program

Apollo 7 was the first crewed flight in NASA's Apollo program, and saw the resumption of human spaceflight by the agency after the fire that had killed the three Apollo 1 astronauts during a launch rehearsal test on January 27, 1967. The Apollo 7 crew was commanded by Walter M. Schirra, with command module pilot Donn F. Eisele and Lunar Module pilot R. Walter Cunningham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo 9</span> 3rd crewed mission of the Apollo space program

Apollo 9 was the third human spaceflight in NASA's Apollo program. Flown in low Earth orbit, it was the second crewed Apollo mission that the United States launched via a Saturn V rocket, and was the first flight of the full Apollo spacecraft: the command and service module (CSM) with the Lunar Module (LM). The mission was flown to qualify the LM for lunar orbit operations in preparation for the first Moon landing by demonstrating its descent and ascent propulsion systems, showing that its crew could fly it independently, then rendezvous and dock with the CSM again, as would be required for the first crewed lunar landing. Other objectives of the flight included firing the LM descent engine to propel the spacecraft stack as a backup mode, and use of the portable life support system backpack outside the LM cabin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo 10</span> Second crewed mission to orbit the Moon

Apollo 10 was the fourth human spaceflight in the United States' Apollo program and the second to orbit the Moon. NASA, the mission's operator, described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing. It was designated an "F" mission, intended to test all spacecraft components and procedures short of actual descent and landing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo 12</span> Second crewed Moon landing

Apollo 12 was the sixth crewed flight in the United States Apollo program and the second to land on the Moon. It was launched on November 14, 1969, by NASA from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Commander Charles "Pete" Conrad and Lunar Module Pilot Alan L. Bean completed just over one day and seven hours of lunar surface activity while Command Module Pilot Richard F. Gordon remained in lunar orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo 14</span> Third crewed Moon landing

Apollo 14 was the eighth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, the third to land on the Moon, and the first to land in the lunar highlands. It was the last of the "H missions", landings at specific sites of scientific interest on the Moon for two-day stays with two lunar extravehicular activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo 16</span> Fifth crewed Moon landing

Apollo 16 was the tenth crewed mission in the United States Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth and penultimate to land on the Moon. It was the second of Apollo's "J missions", with an extended stay on the lunar surface, a focus on science, and the use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The landing and exploration were in the Descartes Highlands, a site chosen because some scientists expected it to be an area formed by volcanic action, though this proved not to be the case.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo 17</span> Sixth and most recent crewed Moon landing

Apollo 17 was the eleventh and final mission of NASA's Apollo program, the sixth and most recent time humans have set foot on the Moon or traveled beyond low Earth orbit. Commander Gene Cernan and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison Schmitt walked on the Moon, while Command Module Pilot Ronald Evans orbited above. Schmitt was the only professional geologist to land on the Moon; he was selected in place of Joe Engle, as NASA had been under pressure to send a scientist to the Moon. The mission's heavy emphasis on science meant the inclusion of a number of new experiments, including a biological experiment containing five mice that was carried in the command module.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buzz Aldrin</span> American astronaut and lunar explorer (born 1930)

Buzz Aldrin is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eagle pilot on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. He was the second person to walk on the Moon after mission commander Neil Armstrong. Following the death of Michael Collins in 2021, he is the last surviving Apollo 11 crew member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apollo Lunar Module</span> NASA crewed Moon landing spacecraft (1969–1972)

The Apollo Lunar Module, originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed spacecraft to operate exclusively in the airless vacuum of space, and remains the only crewed vehicle to land anywhere beyond Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Cernan</span> American astronaut and lunar explorer (1934–2017)

Eugene Andrew Cernan was an American astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. During the Apollo 17 mission, Cernan became the 11th human being to walk on the Moon. As he re-entered the Apollo Lunar Module after Harrison Schmitt on their third and final lunar excursion, he remains the most recent person to walk on the Moon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Young (astronaut)</span> American astronaut and lunar explorer (1930–2018)

John Watts Young was an American astronaut, naval officer and aviator, test pilot, and aeronautical engineer. He became the 9th person to walk on the Moon as commander of the Apollo 16 mission in 1972. He is the only astronaut to fly on four different classes of spacecraft: Gemini, the Apollo command and service module, the Apollo Lunar Module and the Space Shuttle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Lovell</span> American astronaut (born 1928)

James Arthur Lovell Jr. is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of the first three astronauts to fly to and orbit the Moon. He then commanded the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970 which, after a critical failure en route, looped around the Moon and returned safely to Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas P. Stafford</span> American astronaut and lunar explorer (1930–2024)

Thomas Patten Stafford was an American Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, and one of 24 astronauts who flew to the Moon. He also served as Chief of the Astronaut Office from 1969 to 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Gemini</span> 1961–1966 US human spaceflight program

Project Gemini was the second United States human spaceflight program to fly. Conducted after the first American crewed space program, Project Mercury, while the Apollo program was still in early development, Gemini was conceived in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual astronauts flew low Earth orbit (LEO) missions during 1965 and 1966.

Several planned missions of the Apollo crewed Moon landing program of the 1960s and 1970s were canceled, for reasons which included changes in technical direction, the Apollo 1 fire, the Apollo 13 incident, hardware delays, and budget limitations. After the landing by Apollo 12, Apollo 20, which would have been the final crewed mission to the Moon, was canceled to allow Skylab to launch as a "dry workshop". The next two missions, Apollos 18 and 19, were later canceled after the Apollo 13 incident and further budget cuts. Two Skylab missions also ended up being canceled. Two complete Saturn V rockets remained unused and were put on display in the United States.

References

  1. ↑ Fell, Ben (June 8, 2024). "Nasa Apollo missions: Stories of the last Moon men". UK: BBC. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  2. ↑ George E. Mueller, Associate Administrator of the Office of Manned Spaceflight, issued a directive on April 24, 1967, that the mission would be officially recorded as Apollo 1, "first manned Apollo Saturn flight - failed on ground test." Ertel, Ivan D.; Newkirk, Roland W.; Brooks, Courtney G. (1978). "Vol.11, part 1 (1967 Mar/Apr), March 25 - April 24". NASA SP-4009: The Apollo Spacecraft – A Chronology. NASA . Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  3. ↑ Zornio, Mary C. Detailed Biographies of Apollo I Crew - "Gus Grissom", NASA, accessed July 19, 2006.
  4. ↑ Slayton, Donald K; Cassutt, Michael (1994). Deke!: U.S. Manned Space from Mercury to the Shuttle (1st ed.). New York City: Forge: St. Martin's Press. p.  234. ISBN   0-312-85503-6. LCCN   94-2463. OCLC   29845663.
  5. ↑ "Footagevault, Project MOCR". Archived from the original on June 15, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Orloff 2000.
  7. ↑ Tate, Karl (April 13, 2015). "How Apollo 13's Dangerous Survival Mission Worked (Infographic)". Space.com. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Williams, David R. "Apollo 18 through 20 - The Cancelled Missions". NASA.gov. Retrieved July 19, 2006.
  9. ↑ Mikkelson, Barbara; Mikkelson, David (October 2006). "One Small Misstep: Neil Armstrong's First Words on the Moon". Snopes.com. Retrieved September 19, 2009.
  10. ↑ Meyer, Charles (2009). "Lunar Sample Compendium: Contingency Soil (10010)" (PDF). Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science. NASA. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  11. 1 2 Jones, Eric M.; Glover, Ken, eds. (1995). "First Steps". Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal. NASA. Retrieved September 23, 2006.
  12. ↑ Jones, Eric M., ed. (1995). "One Small Step". Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal. NASA. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  13. ↑ Orloff 2000, pp. 102–110.
  14. ↑ Chaikin 2007, pp. 212–213.
  15. ↑ Chaikin 2007, p. 215.
  16. ↑ Chaikin 2007, pp. 216–217.
  17. ↑ Jones, Eric M. (July 28, 2011). "AS11-40-5886". Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal. NASA. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
  18. ↑ Chaikin 2007, pp. 417–418.
  19. ↑ Chaikin 2007, pp. 430–431.
  20. ↑ Chaikin 2007, pp. 437, 442, 557–558.
  21. ↑ "Apollo 1 Prime and Backup Crews". NASA. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2017.


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