How long does it take to get to the Moon?

The time taken to reach the Moon varies depending on propulsion technology, a spacecraft’s trajectory, and the distance of the Moon from Earth at a given point in time. With current propulsion technology a crewed mission is estimated to take around 3 days to land on the Moon. The Apollo 8 mission, the first crewed spacecraft to exit Earth’s gravitational field and orbit the Moon, took 69 hours and 8 minutes, a little under 3 days, to enter lunar orbit. The Apollo 11 mission, the first successful crewed mission to land astronauts on the Moon, took 4 days, 6 hours, and 45 minutes from launch to lunar landing.

Uncrewed flights can reach the Moon in a much shorter time. NASA’s New Horizons probe crossed the Moon’s orbit in 8 hours and 35 minutes while traveling to Pluto in 2006.