Apollo Program · First crewed lunar landing

Apollo 11

Lunar landing

Launch: 1969-07-16 13:32 UTC
Return: 1969-07-24 16:50 UTC
Duration: 8 days 03 hours 18 minutes

Mission summary

Apollo 11 was the first crewed lunar landing. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the Lunar Module 'Eagle' at Mare Tranquillitatis on July 20, 1969, while Michael Collins orbited overhead in the CSM 'Columbia'. Armstrong's first step onto the lunar surface — broadcast live to an estimated 600 million people — fulfilled President Kennedy's 1961 commitment to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to Earth before the decade was out. The crew deployed the first lunar laser-ranging retroreflector, which is still in service today, and returned 21.5 kilograms of lunar samples.

Crew

Astronaut	Prior missions	Subsequent missions
Neil A. Armstrong Commander	Gemini 8	None — final flight
Michael Collins Command Module Pilot	Gemini 10	None — final flight
Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. Lunar Module Pilot	Gemini 12	None — final flight

Astronaut

Prior missions

Subsequent missions

Neil A. Armstrong

Commander

Gemini 8

None — final flight

Michael Collins

Command Module Pilot

Gemini 10

None — final flight

Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr.

Lunar Module Pilot

Gemini 12

None — final flight

Launch vehicle

Saturn V SA-506

Lunar landing

Open on the surface map →

Site: Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquillity)
Coordinates: 0.6741° lat, 23.4730° lon
Touchdown: 1969-07-20 20:17 UTC
EVAs: 1 · total 02:31:40

Objectives

First crewed lunar landing.
Deploy the Early Apollo Scientific Experiments Package (EASEP) on the lunar surface.
Collect lunar samples.
Deploy the first lunar laser-ranging retroreflector.

Milestones

When	Event
1969-07-16 13:32 UTC	Launched from LC-39A. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html
1969-07-20 20:17 UTC	Lunar Module 'Eagle' touched down at Mare Tranquillitatis. Armstrong took manual control during descent to fly over a boulder field; landed with ~25 seconds of fuel margin. https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.landing.html
1969-07-21 02:56 UTC	Armstrong became the first human to step onto the lunar surface ('one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind'). https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.html
1969-07-21	Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface 19 minutes later. The pair conducted a 2 hour 31 minute EVA, deployed the EASEP science package and laser retroreflector, planted the US flag, and collected 21.5 kg of lunar samples. https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.html
1969-07-21 17:54 UTC	Eagle ascent stage lifted off from Tranquility Base. https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_11a_Summary.htm
1969-07-24 16:50 UTC	Splashed down in the Pacific; recovered by USS Hornet. The crew were placed in a Mobile Quarantine Facility for 21 days. https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_11a_Summary.htm

Primary sources

Last updated 2026-05-09 15:17 UTC.