Apollo Mission

The Apollo Program (1963 - 1972)

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.

Apollo Lunar Missions

Apollo
8

Launched 21 December 1968

Lunar Orbit and Return

Returned to Earth 27 December 1968

Apollo
10

Launched 18 May 1969

Lunar Orbit and Return

Returned to Earth 26 May 1969

Apollo
11

Launched 16 July 1969

Landed on Moon 20 July 1969

Sea of Tranquility

Returned to Earth 24 July 1969

Apollo
12

Launched 14 November 1969

Landed on Moon 19 November 1969

Ocean of Storms

Returned to Earth 24 November 1969

Apollo
13

Launched 11 April 1970

Lunar Flyby and Return

Malfunction forced cancellation of lunar landing

Returned to Earth 17 April 1970

Apollo
14

Launched 31 January 1971

Landed on Moon 5 February 1971

Fra Mauro

Returned to Earth 9 February 1971

Apollo 15

Launched 26 July 1971

Landed on Moon 30 July 1971

Hadley Rille

Returned to Earth 7 August 1971

Apollo 16

Launched 16 April 1972

Landed on Moon 20 April 1972

Descartes

Returned to Earth 27 April 1972

Apollo 17

Launched 07 December 1972

Landed on Moon 11 December 1972

Taurus-Littrow

Returned to Earth 19 December 1972

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

Apollo 7

Launched 11 October 1968

First crewed Apollo flight

Splashdown 22 October 1968

Apollo 9

Launched 03 March 1969

First crewed Lunar Module test

Splashdown 13 March 1969

The Apollo 1 Launch Pad Accident

Apollo 1

27 January 1967

Tragic Loss of Three Apollo Astronauts

Apollo/Saturn Uncrewed Earth Orbiting Missions

SA-5

Launched 29 January 1964

First Block II Saturn launch

SA-6

Launched 28 May 1964

First Apollo boilerplate model

SA-7

Launched 18 September 1964

Apollo boilerplate model

SA-9/Pegasus 1

Launched 16 February 1965

Apollo boilerplate model and micrometeoroid satellite

SA-8/Pegasus 2

Launched 25 May 1965

Apollo boilerplate model and micrometeoroid satellite

SA-10/Pegasus 3

Launched 30 July 1965

Apollo boilerplate model and micrometeoroid satellite

AS-203

Launched 5 July 1966

First S-IVB stage orbital mission

Apollo 4

Launched 9 November 1967

First all-up launch of Saturn V

Apollo 5

Launched 22 January 1968

First test of Lunar Module in space

Apollo 6

Launched 4 April 1968

Final uncrewed Apollo test flight

Apollo/Saturn Uncrewed Suborbital Flights

SA-1

Launched 27 October 1961

First flight of Saturn 1

SA-2

Launched 25 April 1962

Project High Water I

SA-3

Launched 16 November 1962

Project High Water II

SA-4

Launched 28 March 1963

Engine-out capability test

AS-201

Launched 26 February 1966

First flight of Saturn 1B

AS-202

Launched 25 August 1966

Apollo development flight