Twenty-eight people have traveled to or around the Moon, including 12 who landed and walked on the surface, 10 who orbited without landing, and seven who flew by the Moon without orbiting or landing. These 28 are the only astronauts to have traveled beyond low Earth orbit.

Between December 1968 and December 1972, the NASA Apollo program sent 24 astronauts on nine crewed lunar missions. Six of the missions landed two astronauts each on the lunar surface, while Apollo 8 and Apollo 10 orbited without landing. Apollo 13's planned lunar landing was aborted due to an oxygen tank explosion en route to the Moon; instead, the crew looped around the Moon 158 miles above its surface without entering orbit. Three astronauts reached the Moon twice: Jim Lovell orbited the Moon on Apollo 8 and later flew on Apollo 13; John Young and Eugene Cernan both orbited the Moon on Apollo 10 and landed on separate missions.

In April 2026, NASA's Artemis II carried four astronauts on a circumlunar flyby, including the first woman, first Black man, and first Canadian. They passed by the Moon 6,545 km (4,067 miles) from the surface without entering orbit.

The twelve people who landed on the Moon were all American men. The first were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in July 1969, and the most recent were Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in December 1972. All crewed lunar landings have been part of the Apollo program.

Missions summary

DesignationDateCrewSummaryApollo 8December 21–27, 1968 Saturn V SA-503CSM-103LTA-BFirst crewed flight of Saturn V; First crewed flight to Moon; First people to orbit the Moon; CSM made 10 lunar orbits in 20 hours.Apollo 10May 18–26, 1969Saturn V SA-505CSM-106Charlie BrownLM-4SnoopyDress rehearsal for first lunar landing; flew LM down to from lunar surface. Highest speed attained by a crewed vehicle relative to the Earth's surface. Atmospheric reentry at 39,897 km/h (11.08 km/s or 24,791 mph).Apollo 11July 16–24, 1969Saturn V SA-506CSM-107ColumbiaLM-5EagleFirst people to walk on the Moon. First landing, in Tranquility Base, Sea of Tranquility. Surface EVA time: 2h 31m. Samples returned: .Apollo 12November 14–24, 1969Saturn V SA-507CSM-108Yankee ClipperLM-6IntrepidSecond landing, in Ocean of Storms near Surveyor 3. Surface EVA time: 7h 45m. Samples returned: .Apollo 13April 11–17, 1970Saturn V SA-508CSM-109OdysseyLM-7AquariusFirst crewed lunar flyby without entering orbit; intended third landing mission aborted in transit to the Moon, due to SM failure. Crew used LM as "lifeboat" to return to Earth. Mission called a "successful failure". Greatest distance from Earth reached by a crewed mission until Artemis II (400,171 km).Apollo 14January 31 – Feb 9, 1971Saturn V SA-509CSM-110Kitty HawkLM-8AntaresThird landing, in Fra Mauro formation. Surface EVA time: 9h 21m. Samples returned: .Apollo 15July 26 – Aug 7, 1971Saturn V SA-510CSM-112EndeavourLM-10FalconFourth landing, in Hadley-Apennine. First extended mission, used Rover on Moon. Surface EVA time: 18h 33m. Samples returned: .Apollo 16April 16–27, 1972Saturn V SA-511CSM-113CasperLM-11OrionFifth landing, in Plain of Descartes. Second extended mission, used Rover on Moon. Surface EVA time: 20h 14m. Samples returned: .Apollo 17December 7–19, 1972Saturn V SA-512CSM-114AmericaLM-12ChallengerSixth landing, in Taurus–Littrow. Only Saturn V night launch. Third extended mission, used Rover on Moon. First geologist on the Moon. Longest crewed lunar mission. Most recent crewed Moon landing. Most recent crewed lunar orbit. Surface EVA time: 22h 2m. Samples returned: .Artemis IIApril 1–10, 2026SLS Block 1CM-003IntegrityFirst woman, Black man, non-American, and oldest person to fly around the Moon; First flight around the Moon since 1972. First crewed flight of Space Launch System (SLS). First four-person flight beyond Earth orbit. First crewed flight of SLS Block 1. Greatest distance from Earth reached by a crewed mission (406,771 km).

People who walked on the Moon

PortraitName and groupBornDiedAge at first stepMissionLunar Module Landing Time (UTC)Lunar Module Ascent Time (UTC)Elapsed Time on Lunar SurfaceLunar EVA dates (UTC)Lunar EVAsTotal EVA durationAstronaut service1(NASA Astronaut Group 2)38y 11m 15dApollo 11 at 20:17 at 17:54July 21, 196912 hours 31 minutesNASA2(NASA Astronaut Group 3)39y 6m 0dJuly 21, 196912 hours 31 minutesUS Air Force3(NASA Astronaut Group 2)39y 5m 17dApollo 12 at 6:54 at 14:251 day 7 hours 31 minutesNovember 19–20, 196927 hours 45 minutesUS Navy4(NASA Astronaut Group 3)37y 8m 4dNovember 19–20, 196927 hours 45 minutesUS Navy5(Mercury Seven)47y 2m 18dApollo 14 at 9:18 at 18:481 day 9 hours 30 minutesFebruary 5–6, 197129 hours 21 minutesUS Navy6(NASA Astronaut Group 5)40y 4m 19dFebruary 5–6, 197129 hours 21 minutesUS Navy7(NASA Astronaut Group 3)39y 1m 25dApollo 15 at 22:16 at 17:112 days 18 hours 55 minutesJuly 31–August 2, 1971318 hours 33 minutesUS Air Force8(NASA Astronaut Group 5)41y 4m 14dJuly 31–August 2, 1971318 hours 33 minutesUS Air Force9(NASA Astronaut Group 2)41y 6m 28dApollo 16 at 2:23 at 1:252 days 23 hours 2 minutesApril 21–23, 1972320 hours 14 minutesUS Navy10(NASA Astronaut Group 5)36y 6m 18dApril 21–23, 1972320 hours 14 minutesUS Air Force11(NASA Astronaut Group 3)38y 9m 7dApollo 17 at 19:54 at 22:543 days 3 hours 0 minutesDecember 11–14, 1972322 hours 2 minutesUS Navy12(NASA Astronaut Group 4)37y 5m 8dDecember 11–14, 1972322 hours 2 minutesNASA

People who flew around the Moon without landing

Orbited the Moon without landing PortraitName and groupBornDiedAge at orbitMissionAstronaut serviceNotes1Frank Borman (NASA Astronaut Group 2)40Apollo 8 December 21–27, 1968US Air Force2Jim Lovell (NASA Astronaut Group 2)40Apollo 8 December 21–27, 1968US NavyAlso flew by the Moon on Apollo 13.3Bill Anders (NASA Astronaut Group 3)35Apollo 8 December 21–27, 1968US Air ForcePhotographed Earthrise, youngest person to fly around the Moon4Tom Stafford (NASA Astronaut Group 2)38Apollo 10 May 18–26, 1969US Air ForceLater flew on Apollo–Soyuz Test Project.5Michael Collins (NASA Astronaut Group 3)38Apollo 11 July 16–24, 1969US Air Force6Dick Gordon (NASA Astronaut Group 3)40Apollo 12 November 14–24, 1969US NavyTrained to land, slated for Apollo 18 (canceled).7Stuart Roosa (NASA Astronaut Group 5)37Apollo 14 January 31 – February 9, 1971US Air ForceIn rotation to land on Apollo 20 (canceled).8Alfred Worden (NASA Astronaut Group 5)39Apollo 15 July 26 – August 7, 1971US Air Force9Ken Mattingly (NASA Astronaut Group 5)36Apollo 16 April 16–27, 1972US NavyLater flew two Space Shuttle missions.10Ronald Evans (NASA Astronaut Group 5)39Apollo 17 December 7–19, 1972US Navy

Flew by the Moon PortraitName and groupBornDiedAge at flybyMissionAstronaut serviceNotes1Jim Lovell (NASA Astronaut Group 2)42Apollo 13April 11–17, 1970US NavyIntended to land; only person to reach the Moon twice without landing.2Fred Haise (NASA Astronaut Group 5)36Apollo 13 April 11–17, 1970Marines, US Air ForceIntended to land; later trained to land and slated to command Apollo 19 (canceled); flew the Space Shuttle on approach / landing tests.3Jack Swigert (NASA Astronaut Group 5)38Apollo 13 April 11–17, 1970US Air Force4Reid Wiseman (NASA Astronaut Group 20)50Artemis II April 1–10, 2026US NavyOldest person to fly around the Moon5Victor Glover (NASA Astronaut Group 21)49Artemis II April 1–10, 2026US NavyOnly person of color to fly around the Moon.6Christina Koch (NASA Astronaut Group 21)47Artemis II April 1–10, 2026NASAOnly woman to fly around the Moon.7Jeremy Hansen (NASA Astronaut Group 20)50Artemis II April 1–10, 2026Royal Canadian Air ForceOnly Canadian and non-U.S. citizen to fly around the Moon.

See also List of Apollo astronauts List of Artemis astronauts

Notes Notes

References

Sources

External links

One Giant Leap for Mankind: 35th Anniversary of Apollo 11, NASA, Michael Makara, accessed July 14, 2006