Apollo 11 Facts and Statistics for 2024

Image courtesy NASA

Apollo 11 was a space mission by the United States that successfully landed the first humans, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The mission was launched on July 16, 1969, and was conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Apollo program.

The Apollo 11 mission was the culmination of years of planning and development by NASA, which began in the early 1960s with the goal of sending humans to the Moon and returning them safely to Earth. The mission involved a Saturn V rocket, which launched the Apollo 11 spacecraft into Earth orbit. From there, the spacecraft traveled to the Moon, where the Lunar Module (LM) landed on the Moon’s surface.

Neil Armstrong famously declared “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” as he became the first person to step on the Moon’s surface, followed shortly after by Buzz Aldrin. The two spent over two hours outside the Lunar Module, performing scientific experiments and collecting samples before returning to Earth.

The success of the Apollo 11 mission was a major achievement for NASA and the United States, and represented a major milestone in human space exploration. It was the first time humans had set foot on another celestial body, and it opened the door for further exploration and scientific study of the Moon and beyond.

Apollo 11 Facts

• Apollo 11 Launch Date: July 16, 1969
• Apollo 11 Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, FL
• Apollo 11 Crew Members:
  • Neil Armstrong, Commander
  • Michael Collins, Command Module Pilot
  • Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module Pilot
• Apollo 11 Backup Crew:
  • James Lovell, Commander
  • Fred Haise Jr, Lunar Module Pilot
  • William Anders, Command Module Pilot
• Apollo 11 Call Signs:
  • Command and Service Modules: Columbia
  • On Moon: Tranquility Base
  • Lunar Module: Eagle
• Apollo 11 Moon Landing Date: July 20, 1969
• Apollo 11 Moon Landing Site: Mare Tranquilitatis (Sea of Tranquility)
• Neil Armstrong’s First Words After Stepping onto the Moon:

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

• Apollo 11 Landing Date on Earth: July 24, 1969
• Apollo 11 Recovery Vehicle: USS Hornet
• Apollo 11 Landing Site: Pacific Ocean (Southwest of Hawaii)
• Apollo 11 Mission Goal:

“To complete a national goal set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961: perform a crewed lunar landing and return to Earth.” (source)

• Estimated number of people that watched the Apollo 11 lunar landing: 650 Million People
• Amount of time Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent on the moon’s surface: 21 hours, 36 minutes
• Items the Apollo 11 Crew Left Behind on the Moon:
  • The Eagle lunar module with a plaque on one of its legs stating:

“Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”

• • An American flag
  • A patch honoring the Apollo 1 crew
• Number of additional Apollo astronauts to land on the moon after Apollo 11: 10 (the last one was Gene Cernan, Commander of Apollo 17, who landed on the moon on December 11, 1972 and departed on December 14, 1972)