The Apollo Program
“That’s one small step for a man. One giant leap for mankind.” Neil Armstrong
1962-1972
Lunar Landing Missions
Crewed Missions
Astronauts on the moon
Apollo’s Goals
The national effort that enabled Astronaut Neil Armstrong to speak those words as he stepped onto the lunar surface fulfilled a dream as old as humanity. Project Apollo’s goals went beyond landing Americans on the moon and returning them safely to Earth. They included:
- Establishing the technology to meet other national interests in space.
- Achieving preeminence in space for the United States.
- Carrying out a program of scientific exploration of the Moon.
- Developing human capability to work in the lunar environment.
Rocket and Spacecraft
The flight mode, lunar orbit rendezvous, was selected in 1962. The boosters for the program were the Saturn IB for Earth orbit flights and the Saturn V for lunar flights.
Apollo was a three-part spacecraft: the command module (CM), the crew’s quarters and flight control section; the service module (SM) for the propulsion and spacecraft support systems (when together, the two modules are called CSM); and the lunar module (LM), to take two of the crew to the lunar surface, support them on the Moon, and return them to the CSM in lunar orbit.
All Apollo Articles
Learn more about the selection of Apollo astronauts, development of the Apollo spacecraft, details about each of the missions, and much more.
60 Years Ago: First Test Firing of the Apollo Service Propulsion System
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy committed the United States to landing a man on the Moon and returning him…
The Hard-won Triumph of the Apollo 13 Mission – 45 Years Later
When their spaceship was severely damaged 200,000 miles from Earth – 45 years ago this week, it was like a…
60 Years Ago: Apollo Parachute Development and Testing
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy committed the United States to landing a man on the Moon and returning him…
Apollo 7
The first crewed flight of the Apollo program. The mission objectives were to demonstrate the Command and Service Module (CSM) with crew performance; demonstrate mission support facilities’ performance during a…
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Apollo 8
Apollo 8 'Round the moon and back…" The mission objectives for Apollo 8 included a coordinated performance of the crew, the command and service module, or CSM, and the support…
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Apollo 9
The primary objective of Apollo 9 was an Earth-orbital engineering test of the first crewed lunar module, or LM. Other prime objectives included an overall checkout of launch vehicle and…
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Apollo 10
The Apollo 10 mission encompassed all aspects of an actual crewed lunar landing, except the landing. It was the first flight of a complete, crewed Apollo spacecraft to operate around…
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Apollo 12
The primary mission objectives of the second crewed lunar landing included an extensive series of lunar exploration tasks by the lunar module, or LM, crew, as well as the deployment…
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Apollo 14
The primary objectives of this mission were to explore the Fra Mauro region centered around deployment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Scientific Experiments Package, or ALSEP; lunar field geology investigations;…
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Apollo 15
Apollo 15 was the first of the Apollo “J” missions capable of a longer stay time on the moon and greater surface mobility. There were four primary objectives falling in…
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Apollo 16
Three primary objectives of the Apollo 16 mission were (1) to inspect, survey, and sample materials and surface features at a selected landing site in the Descartes region; (2) emplace…
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