How Many People Have Been to the Moon?

Even if you weren’t alive for the first Moon landing on July 20, 1969, you’ve probably seen footage of it, when astronaut Neil Armstrong famously declared, “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind,” and Buzz Aldrin helped him plant an American flag on the lunar surface. And didn’t they also ride around in a golf cart? Or did they just hit a few golf balls? Actually, that was Alan Shepard with a golf club during the Apollo 14 mission. And that wasn’t a golf cart. It was a lunar rover, and it also came later: David Scott and James Irwin used one for the first time during the Apollo 15 mission.

Considering that Americans lost interest in Moon landings by the last Apollo mission in 1972, you can be forgiven for not keeping all the details straight. You might be wondering just how many missions and how many people have been to the Moon. In fact, during nine Apollo missions, 24 astronauts (all Americans) went to the Moon, and 12 of them walked on it. More than 50 years later, four additional astronauts made it to the Moon during the Artemis missions. What follows is a quick history.

Prelude: Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo 7

In 1961, after the Soviet Union sent the first man, Yuri Gagarin, into space to orbit Earth, Pres. John F. Kennedy announced that the United States would send the first man to the Moon by the end of the decade. NASA subsequently began a series of test missions, starting with Mercury (six one-man spaceflights, 1961–63) to get a sense of how humans function in space. Then there was Gemini (two uncrewed and 10 two-man spaceflights, 1964–66), which helped develop techniques for later lunar landings. These culminated with the Apollo program (1966–72), which began with a series of uncrewed flights orbiting Earth. In 1968 Apollo 7 was the first crewed spaceflight of the program, orbiting Earth 163 times to test the equipment.

Apollo 8

Apollo 8 (December 21–27, 1968) was the first crewed mission to complete lunar orbit and return safely to Earth. Its three-man crew of William Anders, Frank Borman, and Jim Lovell were the first three people to go to the Moon, although they did not land.

Apollo 10

The next three men to reach the Moon were those aboard Apollo 10. The three-man crew of Apollo 9 (March 3–13, 1969) tested the Lunar Module in Earth orbit but did not fly to the Moon. Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was regarded as a dress rehearsal for the lunar landing. It involved Eugene Cernan and Thomas Stafford piloting the Lunar Module near the Moon’s surface, while John W. Young remained in the Command Module, orbiting the Moon. The trio set up the routine most subsequent Apollo missions would follow.

Apollo 11

Finally came Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) with the first lunar landing, during which Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. He was followed quickly by the second person to walk on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin, while Michael Collins remained in the Command Module orbiting the Moon. Collins was the ninth person to reach Earth’s closest neighbor.

Apollo 12

Apollo 12 (November 14–24, 1969) carried the next two people to walk on the Moon, with Pete Conrad and Alan Bean spending almost 32 hours on the surface. Meanwhile, Richard F. Gordon manned the Command Module in lunar orbit, becoming the 12th person to reach the Moon.

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Apollo 13

Apollo 13 (April 11–17, 1970) was meant to be another routine mission to the Moon, but an oxygen tank exploded two days after launch, and plans to land on Earth’s satellite were quickly aborted. To return home, however, the spacecraft needed to orbit the Moon. The three crew members—Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert—shut down the Command Module to conserve energy and moved to the Lunar Module as a makeshift lifeboat. They spent nearly four days in lunar orbit with high levels of carbon dioxide, little heat, and insufficient food and water. Although the three men did not have the chance to walk on the Moon, Haise and Swigert became the 13th and 14th men to reach it (Lovell had been to the Moon on Apollo 8). After a harrowing journey, the crew returned safely to Earth. The voyage was later recognized in a Ron Howard movie (1995) starring Tom Hanks.

Apollo 14

Apollo 14 (January 31–February 9, 1971) was a little less hair-raising. Alan Shepard, who had been the first American astronaut to travel in space aboard Freedom 7 in 1961, became the fifth person to walk on the Moon and, as an avid golfer, swung at a couple of golf balls. Edgar Mitchell joined him as the sixth person to walk on the Moon, while Stuart A. Roosa orbited in the Command Module, becoming the 17th man to reach the Moon.

Apollo 15

During Apollo 15 (July 26–August 7, 1971), astronauts David Scott and James B. Irwin became the seventh and eighth men to walk on the Moon, spending almost three days there. They were also the first to use the lunar rover, an electrically powered wheeled vehicle, while Alfred Worden, the 20th person to reach the Moon, orbited the celestial body in the Command Module.

Apollo 16

During Apollo 16 (April 16–27, 1972), John W. Young, who had previously been to the Moon on Apollo 10, now had the opportunity to walk on it, along with Charles M. Duke, Jr. The two were the 9th and 10th astronauts to walk on the lunar surface. Thomas K. Mattingly, who was originally intended to fly on Apollo 13 but had been removed because of exposure to measles, manned the Command Module and became the 22nd person to reach the Moon.

Apollo 17

Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the last crewed Apollo mission to the Moon. Harrison Schmitt, the first professional geologist on the Moon, and Eugene Cernan, who had been to the Moon with Apollo 10, walked on the lunar surface for more than 22 hours, collecting more than 249 pounds (115 kg) of rocks and other material. They were the 11th and 12th astronauts to walk on the Moon, and Ron Evans, who manned the Command Module, became the 24th person to reach the Moon.

Epilogue: Artemis I and Artemis II

In 2017, close to 50 years after the last Apollo mission, NASA initiated the Artemis spaceflight program with the goal of returning astronauts to the surface of the Moon. Artemis I launched in 2022 and tested the safety and performance in deep space of the uncrewed Orion spacecraft. It orbited the Moon about 44,000 miles (70,000 kilometers) from its surface on a 25.5-day flight. In 2026 Artemis II launched a crew of four astronauts around the far side of the Moon and back to Earth. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Jr., and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen became the 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th people to reach Earth’s satellite. Glover is the first Black man to fly to the Moon, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-American (he is Canadian). The whole crew set the record for the farthest distance traveled by humans in space, 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers).