Science on the Moon

Real Science: The Apollo Missions

Questions about NASA's Apollo Missions

More questions added frequently; please check back

Teachers & Parents: If you, your students, or your children have additional questions, please send them to me. I will answer them on this site and give your students credit for asking the question.

1. What were the Apollo missions?

A set of space missions that built on earlier programs (Mercury & Gemini) to take humans to the Moon

2. How many missions were there?

The early Apollo missions served to test the spacecraft. The first missions to fly were Apollo 4, 5, and 6. These missions didn't have any astronauts on board. Apollo 7 - 17 each had 3 astronauts on board. Apollo 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 went to the Moon. Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 each landed 2 astronuats on the surface of the Moon.

3. What did the astronauts do on their missions?

Apollo 7 First Crewed Flight Test

Crew: Walter (Wally) Schirra (commander), Walter Cunningham (lunar module pilot), Donn Eisele (command module pilot)

Apollo 8 First Trip to the Moon

Crew: Frank Borman (commander), Bill Anders (lunar module pilot), James Lovell
(command module pilot)

Earthrise!!!!!

Apollo 9 Testing the Lunar Technologies

Crew: Jim McDivitt (commander), Russell (Rusty) Schweikert (lunar module pilot), David
Scott (command module pilot)

Apollo 10 The Dress Rehearsal

Crew: Thomas Stafford (commander), Eugene Cernan (lunar module pilot), John Young
(command module pilot)

Apollo 11 The FIRST Landing!!!!

Crew: Neil Armstrong (commander), Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin (lunar module pilot), Michael
Collins (command module pilot)

Apollo 12

Crew: Pete Conrad (commander), Alan Bean (lunar module pilot), Rich Gordan (command module pilot)

Apollo 13 The Successful Failure

Crew: James Lovell (commander), Fred Haise (lunar module pilot), John (Jack) Swigert (command module pilot)

Apollo 14

Crew: Alan Shepard (commander), Edgar Mitchell (lunar module pilot), Stuart Roosa (command module pilot)

Apollo 15 First Car on the Moon

Crew: David Scott (commander) , James Irwin (lunar module pilot), Alfred Worden (command module pilot)

Apollo 16

Crew: John Young (commander), Charlie Duke (lunar module pilot), Thomas (Ken) Mattingly (command module pilot)

Apollo 17 The Last Mission to the Moon (so far...)

Crew: Eugene Cernan (commander), Harrison Schmidt (lunar module pilot), Ronald Evans (command module pilot)

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