Apollo 11 Mission: History, Timeline, Crew Information, and More

Discover the fascinating story of the Apollo 11 mission, from its historic launch to the first lunar landing. Explore our comprehensive guide, including a detailed timeline of events, crew information, lunar landing details, and more. Join us on a journey through one of the greatest achievements in space exploration history.

Here is a summary of Apollo 11 events. Below are facts, many in list form, to celebrate the fantastic Apollo 11 mission to the Moon.

The summer of 2023 marked the 54th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing.

It fulfilled President John F. Kennedy’s ambitious goal in 1961 to land a two-crewed spacecraft, “the Eagle,” on the Moon.

Apollo 11 included three astronauts. Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins.”

They achieved this historic mission in just over eight days and traveled 953,054 miles.

They paved the way for the Apollo lunar landing missions to follow.

Apollo 11 Mission Timeline

Date	Event
July 16, 1969	Launch of Apollo 11 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida
July 19, 1969	Apollo 11 enters lunar orbit
July 20, 1969	Lunar module separates from command module
	Lunar module (Eagle) lands on the Moon’s surface
	Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to step on the Moon
	Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spend 2.5 hours on the Moon’s surface
July 21, 1969	Lunar module (Eagle) lifts off from the Moon’s surface
	Lunar module docks with command module
July 22, 1969	Apollo 11 leaves lunar orbit and begins the journey back to Earth
July 24, 1969	Apollo 11 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean

Apollo 11 Crew Information

Name	Position	Date of Birth	Nationality	Previous Spaceflights
Neil Armstrong	Commander	August 5, 1930	American	Gemini 8
Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin	Lunar Module Pilot	January 20, 1930	American	Gemini 12
Michael Collins	Command Module Pilot	October 31, 1930	American	Gemini 10

Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Details

Event	Date/Time (UTC)	Date/Time (EDT)	Elapsed Time (HH:MM:SS)
Powered Descent Initiation	July 20, 1969 20:05:05	July 20, 1969 4:05:05 pm	00:00:00
Lunar Touchdown	July 20, 1969 20:17:40	July 20, 1969 4:17:40 pm	00:12:35
First Step on the Moon	July 21, 1969 02:56:15	July 20, 1969 10:56:15 pm	06:51:10
End of EVA	July 21, 1969 05:11:13	July 20, 1969 11:11:13 pm	08:06:08
Lunar Liftoff	July 21, 1969 17:54:00	July 21, 1969 1:54:00 pm	21:48:55
End of Transearth Coast	July 24, 1969 16:50:35	July 24, 1969 12:50:35 pm

Apollo 11 List of Events

Event	Date
Launch from Kennedy Space Center	July 16, 1969
Lunar Module separates from Command Module	July 20, 1969
Lunar landing	July 20, 1969
First step on the Moon (Neil Armstrong)	July 20, 1969
Unveiling of plaque on Lunar Module	July 20, 1969
End of extravehicular activity (EVA) on the Moon	July 21, 1969
Lunar Module ascent stage liftoff from Moon	July 21, 1969
Lunar Module rendezvous with Command Module	July 21, 1969
Trans-Earth injection burn	July 22, 1969
Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean	July 24, 1969

Apollo 11 Crews Food

Menu Item	Neil Armstrong	Michael Collins	Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin
Bacon squares	X		X
Scrambled eggs	X		X
Filet Mignon	X		X
Tuna salad sandwiches		X
Beef sandwiches	X		X
Frankfurters		X
Cream of wheat	X	X	X
Chicken and rice	X		X
Fruit cocktail	X	X	X
Butterscotch pudding	X	X	X

Buzz Aldrin took a much clearer shot of Neil Armstrong inside the lunar module Eagle after their moonwalk, and as such it is much more frequently seen. This slightly out-of-focus shot captures a smiling Armstrong standing by his window while still on the lunar surface. — Buzz Aldrin took a much more precise shot of Neil Armstrong inside the lunar module Eagle after their moonwalk, and as such, it is much more frequently seen. This slightly out-of-focus shot captures a smiling Armstrong standing by his window while still on the lunar surface.

Lunar Module Name: Eagle.
Name of the Command and Service Module: Columbia.

Neil Armstrong, Commander.
Edwin Aldrin, lunar module pilot.
Michael Collins, command module pilot.

Launch date: July 16, 1969
13:32:00 UT (09:32 a.m. EDT) Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A.
Apollo 11 landed on Moon: on July 20, 1969.
20:17:40 UT (4:17:40 p.m. EDT).

Landing Site: Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility)
0.67 N, 23.47 E.
The first step on the Moon: 02:56:15 UT July 21, 1969
(10:56:15 p.m. EDT July 20, 1969).
Total EVA duration: 2 hours, 31 minutes.
Moon surface traversed: ~250 meters.

Both Buzz Aldrin and his Apollo 11 crewmate Neil Armstrong spoke highly of their geological experience. Find out more about Apollo 11 field trips here. — Buzz Aldrin and his Apollo 11 crewmate Neil Armstrong spoke highly of their geological experience.

Moon rocks collected and returned: 21.7 kilograms.
Time spent on Lunar Surface: 21 hours, 38 minutes, 21 seconds.
Lunar Module departed from the Moon: on July 21, 1969.
17:54:01 UT (1:54:01 p.m. EDT).

The crew returned to Earth: on July 24, 1969.
16:50:35 UT (12:50:35 p.m. EDT).
Mission Duration: 195 hr. 18 min. 35 sec.
Retrieval site: Pacific Ocean
13° 19’N latitude and 169° 9’W longitude.
Retrieval ship: USS Hornet.

Crew of Apollo 11. From left: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. Credit: NASA. — The crew of Apollo 11. From left: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin. Credit: NASA.

Unique Payload: Plaque (honors first crewed landing on the Moon).
Carried to Moon and returned two American flags. Flags of the fifty states, the District of Columbia and US Territories, flags of other nations, and the United Nations.
MEPS (Modularized Equipment Stowage Assembly) contains TV cameras to record the first steps on the lunar surface and EASEP or Early Apollo Science Equipment Package.
Highlights & Notes: First men on the Moon, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Edwin Aldrin. First return of rock samples from another planetary body.
The prime mission objective of Apollo 11 stated: “Perform a human-crewed lunar landing and return.”
First return of rock samples from another planetary body. Those first samples were basalts, dark-colored igneous rocks about 3.7 billion years old.
President Nixon, Neil A. Armstrong, “Buzz” Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins signed the plaque affixed to the lunar landing vehicle’s leg. And the plaque bears a map of the Earth and this inscription: HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH. FIRST, SET FOOT UPON THE MOON. JULY 1969 AD.

Apollo 11 Flight Plan from 1969. Credit: National Archives.

List of Events

The Saturn V rocket was launched from Cape Kennedy at 13:32:00 UT on July 16, 1969. And after 2 hr and 33 min in Earth orbit, the S-IVB engine was reignited for the spacecraft’s acceleration to the velocity needed for Earth gravity escape.
The lunar-orbit injection started at 75:50 ground elapsed time (GET). The Apollo 11 rocket was placed in an elliptical course sixty-one by one hundred and sixty-nine (169) nautical miles, inclined 1.25 degrees to the lunar equatorial plane.
And At 80:12 GET, the service module thrust system was reignited, and the orbit was made almost circular (66 by 54 nautical miles) above the surface of the Moon.
Every orbit took two hours. Photos taken from lunar orbit gave broad views for studying localized lunar geology.

The Apollo 11 lunar landing module Eagle, with astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin aboard, is photographed above the moon by crew mate Michael Collins on the Columbia command module during rendezvous operations on July 21, 1969. — The lunar landing module Eagle, with astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin aboard, is photographed above the Moon by crewmate Michael Collins on the Columbia command module during rendezvous operations on July 21, 1969.

Lunar Module From The CSM

The LM or lunar module, with Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin aboard, was undocked from the CSM or the command-service module at 100:14 GET, following a meticulous check of all the lunar module systems.
At 101:36 GET, the lunar module descent engine was ignited for about 29 seconds, and the descent to the Moon’s surface began.
At 102:33 GET, the lunar module descent engine was fired for the last time and fired until touchdown on the Moon’s surface. The Eagle arrived on the Moon 102 hr, 45 min, and 40 sec following launch.
Shortly after landing on the lunar surface, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin prepared the lunar module for liftoff as an emergency measure.

Apollo 11 Mission to the Moon. Here is Columbia in lunar orbit, photographed from Eagle and Eagle in lunar orbit photographed from Columbia. Credit: NASA. — Above is Columbia in lunar orbit, photographed from Eagle, and Eagle in lunar orbit photographed from Columbia. Credit: NASA.

Armstrong and Aldrin Preparations

Following the meal, a scheduled rest period was postponed at the crew’s request.

And Neil and Buzz began preparations for the descent to the Moon’s surface.

Astronaut Neil Armstrong emerged from the Eagle first. While descending, he issued the MESA or the Modularized Equipment Stowage Assembly on which the surface television camera was stowed.

And the Apollo 11 camera filmed humankind’s first step on the lunar surface at 109:24:19 GET.

A sample of the Moon’s surface material was gathered and stowed to assure that if an emergency needed an early end to the planned surface activities, the Moon samples of lunar surface material would be returned to Earth.

Aldrin finally descended to the lunar surface.

Buzz Aldrin handling the solar wind collector on the Moon. Credit: NASA. — Buzz is handling the solar wind collector on the Moon. Credit: NASA.

Solar Wind Composition Experiment

The crew carried out the planned mission sequence of all the activities, including the deployment of an SWC or the Solar Wind Composition experiment.

A collection of a larger sample of lunar surface material.

Scenic photographs of the region near the landing place and the Moon’s horizon, closeup photos of in-site lunar surface material.

Moreover, deployment of an LRRR or Laser-Ranging Retroreflector and a PSEP or Passive Seismic Experiment Package, and finally, collection of two core-tube samples of the Moon’s surface.

About two and a quarter hours after descending to the lunar surface, the two astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin began preparations to reenter the lunar module, the “Eagle.”

The ascent from the Moon’s surface started at 124:22 GET, 21 hours and 36 minutes after the lunar landing.

Where did Apollo 11 splash down?

Only one of four planned midcourse corrections was made in the transearth coast.

For 7 hours, Houston left them solely with their thoughts.

Then it was time to wake up and have a quick breakfast.

And later, get ready for the launch, the rendezvous with Michael Collins.

Then the heroes’ welcome awaits them at home.

Apollo 11 crew waiting for the pickup by a helicopter from USS Hornet, prime recovery ship for the famous lunar landing mission. The fourth person in the lifeboat is a United States Navy underwater demolition team swimmer. All four men are wearing biological isolation garments. Credit: NASA. — Apollo 11 crew waiting for the pickup by a helicopter from USS Hornet, the prime recovery ship for the famous lunar landing mission. The fourth person in the lifeboat is a United States Navy underwater demolition team swimmer. All four men are wearing biological isolation garments. Credit: NASA.

The command module reentered the Earth’s atmosphere with a speed of 36,194 feet per second or 11,032 meters per second, and landed in the Pacific Ocean.

If Apollo 11 was a demonstration flight from a practical point of view, a point of departure for the more complex missions that would follow, it was still the one for the history books.

The other Apollo crews would work in comparative obscurity, stepping briefly into the flashlight without leaving so lasting a public impact.

There would not be anything like making that first footprint on another world.

But then, too, there was still a long way to go before humankind could claim to be more than temporary visitants to the Moon.

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