Apollo 11

Occurred 54 years ago

The primary objective of Apollo 11 was to complete a national goal set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961: perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth.

Mission Type

Lunar Landing

astronauts

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins

Launch

July 16, 1969

Landing

July 24, 1969

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin stands on the Moon facing a U.S. flag during the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969.
NASA

apollo_11_launch — Apollo 11 lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA

Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong working on the lander — Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong working at an equipment storage area on the lunar module. This is one of the few photos that show Armstrong during the moonwalk.

Buzz Aldrin climbs down the Eagle’s ladder to the surface.
NASA

NASA and Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC, later renamed Johnson Space Center) officials join the Mission Operations Control Room flight controllers in celebrating the successful splashdown of the Apollo 11 crew. Identifiable in the foreground from right to center are MSC Director Bob Gilruth, Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager George Low, and MSC Director of Flight Operation Chris Kraft. (24 July 1969)

Neil Armstrong

First human to set foot on the Moon.

Armstrong was the commander for the Apollo 11 mission.

Read About Neil Armstrong

A man sitting at a table holding a model of a rocket with the American flag in the background

S64-31453 (1964) — Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong.

NASA

Featured Story

Apollo 11 Mission Overview

“The Eagle has landed…” Mission Objective The primary objective of Apollo 11 was to complete a national goal set by…

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July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind

July 1969. It's a little over eight years since the flights of Gagarin and Shepard, followed quickly by President Kennedy's challenge to put a man on the moon before the decade is out.

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Lunar module over Moon with Earth in background.

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS – With a half-Earth in the background, the Lunar Module ascent stage with Moon-walking astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr. approaches for a rendezvous with the Apollo Command Module manned by Michael Collins. The Apollo 11 liftoff from the Moon came early, ending a 22-hour stay on the Moon by Armstrong and Aldrin.

NASA

Multimedia

Apollo 11 Moonwalk Montage

Watch the montage.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin stands on the Moon facing a U.S. flag during the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969.

Apollo 11 HD Videos

Watch the Apollo 11 videos in HD.

Apollo 11 Audio Highlights

Listen to Apollo 11 audio highlights.

Podcast: Lesser-Known Stories of Apollo 11

Listen to the podcast.

Podcast: The Next First Steps

Listen to the podcast.

Who Was Neil Armstrong? (Grades K-4)

Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon. He was an astronaut. He flew on two space missions. One was Apollo 11. That mission landed on the moon. He was also an engineer, a pilot and a college professor.