The Apollo Program (1963 - 1972)

30th Anniversary of Apollo 11 - July, 1999

The Apollo program was designed to land humans on the Moon and bring them safely back to Earth. Six of the missions (Apollos 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17) achieved this goal. Apollos 7 and 9 were Earth orbiting missions to test the Command and Lunar Modules, and did not return lunar data. Apollos 8 and 10 tested various components while orbiting the Moon, and returned photography of the lunar surface. Apollo 13 did not land on the Moon due to a malfunction, but also returned photographs. The six missions that landed on the Moon returned a wealth of scientific data and almost 400 kilograms of lunar samples. Experiments included soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields, and solar wind experiments.

Click on the spacecraft name for information about the spacecraft and data held at NSSDCA

Apollo Lunar Missions

The Apollo mission consisted of a Command Module (CM) and a Lunar Module (LM). The CM and LM would separate after lunar orbit insertion. One crew member would stay in the CM, which would orbit the Moon, while the other two astronauts would take the LM down to the lunar surface. After exploring the surface, setting up experiments, taking pictures, collecting rock samples, etc., the astronauts would return to the CM for the journey back to Earth.

Apollo Crewed Earth Orbiting Missions

The Apollo 1 Launch Pad Accident

Apollo/Saturn Uncrewed Earth Orbiting Missions

Apollo/Saturn Uncrewed Suborbital Flights

Chronology of U.S. Astronaut Missions - Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo



Apollo Images - Johnson Space Center

Apollo Lunar Surface Journal - Transcripts of Apollo communications

Apollo Missions - Lunar and Planetary Institute

The Apollo Program - Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Apollo: Mission to the Moon - Kennedy Space Center

Apollo History - Kennedy Space Center

Planetary Materials Curation - Lunar samples at Johnson Space Center

Lunar Module - Spacecraft Assembly and Test Page (No active link, Archived from 27 April 2006)



Apollo Books Online

Author/Curator:

Dr. David R. Williams, dave.williams@nasa.gov

NSSDCA, Mail Code 690.1

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Greenbelt, MD 20771

+1-301-286-1258



NASA Official: Dr. David R. Williams, david.r.williams@nasa.gov

Last Updated: 16 September 2013, DRW