Although the Apollo 11 mission is the best known and most remembered, after July 20, 1969, man has stepped on the Moon five more times.
Apollo 12 (1969), 14 (1971), 15 (1971), 16 (1972) and 17 (1972) were the missions that continued the work of Apollo 11. During the successive ‘excursions’ to the Moon, the astronauts collected various rock samples and explored the mountains from our satellite. As of the Apollo 15 mission, the lunar rover began to be used to move around, a kind of off-road vehicle with a range of 78 hours. The only failed mission was that of Apollo 13, as an explosion in the service module forced the crew to abort the moon landing.
In total, 18 lucky astronauts have reached lunar orbit on six different missions: Neil Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Michael Collins, Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon, Alan L. Bean, Alan B. Shephard, Stuart A Roosa, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James B. Irwin, Alfred Worden, John Young, Thomas Mattingly, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt. However, of all of them only 12 managed to step on the Moon, as there must always be an astronaut orbiting the Moon on the return ship.
Let’s take a closer look at all the manned moon landings and the Apollo mission that ran from 1961 to 1972:
Apolo 11: Neil Armstrong y Edwin Buzz Aldrin
Apollo 11 became the first manned spacecraft to land on the surface of the moon. On July 20, 1969, he landed in the area called the Sea of Tranquility. It was on this occasion that Commander Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon and said: “It is a small step for man, a great leap for humanity.” Pilot Aldrin followed minutes later. They stayed on the surface for 21 hours and 36 minutes, taking photographs, conducting experiments, and collecting rock and soil samples before taking off. The lunar module was later docked with the orbital command module that was piloted by Michael Collins.
Apollo 12: Charles Conrad and Alan Bean
The second manned moon mission starred Commander Charles Conrad and pilot Alan Bean. They broke away from the orbital module piloted by Richard Gordon to set foot on the lunar surface on November 19, 1969. They landed near Surveyor 3 where several unmanned spacecraft had landed two and a half years earlier, in the area called Oceanus Procellarum nearby. from Surveyor crater. They carried out experiments, took photographs, and collected samples in a span of 31 hours and 31 minutes. They also collected parts of Surveyor 3 for later examination and before take off.
Apolo 14: Aland Shepard y Edgar Mitchell
Manned by Commander Aland Shepard and pilot Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 made the third manned moon landing on February 5, 1971. They landed 21 kilometers north of the Fra Mauro crater, spent 33 hours and 31 minutes on the surface. lunar to collect samples. They carried out photographs and experiments. Shepard also hit two golf balls before taking off from the surface to dock with the orbital command module piloted by Stuart Roosa.
Apollo 15: David Scott and James Irvin
The fourth mission of the manned moon was carried out by Apollo 15 when landing on the lunar surface on July 30, 1971, with Commander David Scott and pilot James Irvin, specifically in the Mare Imbrium area, near the Apenninus Mountains. On this mission, a lunar rover was employed for the first time, allowing astronauts to explore a much larger area of the moon. They stayed on the surface for 66 hours and 55 minutes and took samples, photographs and conducted experiments before taking off with the orbital module piloted by Alfred Worden.
Apollo 16: John Young and Charles Duke
Apollo 16, commanded by John Young and piloted by Charles Duke, landed on the moon on April 21, 1972, making it the fifth manned landing on the moon. They landed in the Descartes area, north of Dolland crater, leaving pilot Thomas Mattingly in charge of the orbital command module. In the lunar rover, the astronauts traveled 27 km, collected samples, took photographs and conducted various experiments in a span of 71 hours and 21 minutes on the surface before the lunar module lifted off and docked with the command module, dated from April 24.
Apolo 17: Eugene Cernan y Harrison Schmitt
The last manned moon landing was made possible by Apollo 17 with Commander Eugene Cernan and lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt at hand. They disconnected from the command module piloted by Ronald Evans to land in the Taurus Littrow valley, near the southeastern rim of the Serenity Sea crater on December 11, 1972. They traveled 30 km over the surface in a lunar rover taking photographs, collecting samples and conducting experiments. They spent 75 hours on the natural satellite before taking off and docking with the command module on December 19.
