NASA Apollo Missions Flight Summaries
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our historic adventures in space exploration with this collection
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The missions that led to landing a man on the moon were done in an incremental manner, each one pushing a bit further than the prior one until finally man landed on the moon several times in a row. This progression of activity in the Apollo program is summarized here with a summary of the mission facts of each of the Apollo space flights.
Apollo 7
Saturn 1B (AS-205, CSM-101)
October 11-22, 1968
Walter M. Schirra Jr. (commander), Donn F. Eisele (CM pilot), R. Walter
Cunningham (LM pilot)
Flight Duration: 10 days, 20 hours
163 Earth orbits. First manned CSM operations in lunar landing program.
First live TV from manned spacecraft.
Apollo 8
Saturn V (AS-503, CSM-103)
December 21-27, 1968
Frank Borman (commander), James A. Lovell Jr. (CM pilot), William A. Anders
(LM pilot)
Flight Duration: 06 days, 03 hours
In lunar orbit 20 hours, with 10 orbits. First manned lunar orbital mission.
Support facilities tested. Photographs taken of Earth and Moon. Live TV
broadcasts.
Apollo 9 (Gumdrop and Spider)
Saturn V (AS-504, SM-104, CM-104, LM-3)
March 03-13, 1969
James A. McDivitt (commander), David R. Scott (CM pilot), Russell L. Schweickart
(LM pilot)
Flight Duration: 10 days, 01 hour
First manned flight of all lunar hardware in Earth orbit. Schweickark
performed 37 minutes EVA. Human reactions to space and weightlessness
tested in 152 orbits. First manned flight of lunar module.
Apollo 10 (Charlie Brown and Snoopy)
Saturn V (AS-505, SM-106, CM-106, LM-4)
May 18-26, 1969
Thomas P. Stafford (commander), John W. Young (CM pilot), Eugene A. Cernan
(LM pilot)
Flight Duration: 08 days, 03 minutes
Dress rehearsal for Moon landing. First manned CSM/LM operations in cislunar
and lunar environment; simulation of first lunar landing profile. In lunar
orbit 61.6 hours, with 31 orbits. LM taken to within 15,243 m (50,000
ft) of lunar surface. First live color TV from space. LM ascent stage
jettisoned in orbit.
Apollo 11 (Columbia and Eagle)
Saturn V (AS-506, SM-107, CM-107, LM-5)
July 16-24, 1969
Neil A. Armstrong (commander), Michael Collins (CM pilot), Edwin E. (Buzz)
Aldrin Jr. (LM pilot)
Flight Duration: 08 days, 03 hours, 18 minutes
First manned lunar landing mission and lunar surface EVA.
"Houston, Tranquility base here. The eagle has landed."
- July 20th, 1969
Landing site: Sea of Tranquility.
Landing Coordinates: 0.71 degrees North, 23.63 degrees East
1 EVA of 02 hours, 31 minutes. Flag and instruments deployed; unveiled
plaque on the LM descent stage with inscription: "Here Men From Planet
Earth First Set Foot Upon the Moon. July 1969 A.D. We Came In Peace For
All Mankind." Lunar surface stay time 21.6 hours; 59.5 hours in lunar
orbit, with 30 orbits. LM ascent stage left in lunar orbit. 20kg (44 lbs)
of material gathered.
Apollo 12 (Yankee Clipper and Intrepid)
Saturn V (AS-507, SM-108, CM-108, LM-6)
November 14-24, 1969
Charles Conrad Jr. (commander), Richard F. Gordon Jr. (CM pilot), Alan
L. Bean (LM pilot)
Flight Duration: 10 days, 04 hours, 36 minutes
Landing site: Ocean of Storms.
3.04 degrees South, 23.42 degrees West
Retrieved parts of the unmanned Surveyor 3, which had landed on the Moon
in April 1967. Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) deployed.
Lunar surface stay-time, 31.5 hours; in lunar orbit 89 hours, with 45
orbits. LM descent stage impacted on Moon. 34kg (75 lbs) of material gathered.
Apollo 13 (Odyssey and Aquarius)
Saturn V (AS-508, SM-109, CM-109, LM-7)
April 11-17, 1970
James A. Lovell Jr. (commander), John L. Swigert Jr. (CM pilot), Fred
W. Haise Jr. (LM pilot)
Flight Duration: 05 days, 22.9 hours
Third lunar landing attempt. Mission aborted after rupture of service
module oxygen tank. Classed as "successful failure" because
of experience in rescuing crew. Spent upper stage successfully impacted
on the Moon.
Apollo 14 (Kitty Hawk and Antares)
Saturn V (AS-509, SM-110, CM-110, LM-8)
January 31-February 09, 1971
Alan B. Shepard Jr. (commander), Stuart A. Roosa (CM pilot), Edgar D.
Mitchell (LM pilot)
Flight Duration: 09 days
Landing site: Fra Mauro.
Landing Coordinates: 3.65 degrees south, 17.48 degrees West
ALSEP and other instruments deployed. Lunar surface stay-time, 33.5 hours;
67 hours in lunar orbit, with 34 orbits. 2 EVAs of 09 hours, 25 minutes.
Third stage impacted on Moon. 42 kg (94 lbs) of materials gathered, using
hand cart for first time to transport rocks.
Apollo 15 (Endeavor and Falcon)
Saturn V (AS-510, SM-112, CM-112, LM-10)
July 26-August 07, 1971
David R. Scott (commander), Alfred M. Worden (CM pilot), James B. Irwin
(LM pilot)
Flight Duration: 12 days, 17 hours, 12 minutes
Landing site: Hadley-Apennine region near
Apennine Mountains.
Landing Coordinates: 26.08 degrees North, 3.66 degrees East
3 EVAs of 10 hours, 36 minutes. Worden performed 38 minutes EVA on way back to Earth. First to carry orbital sensors in service module of CSM. ALSEP deployed. Scientific payload landed on Moon doubled. Improved spacesuits gave increased mobility and stay-time. Lunar surface staytime, 66.9 hours. Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), electric-powered, 4-wheel drive car, traversed total 27.9 km (17 mi). In lunar orbit 145 hours, with 74 orbits. Small sub-satellite left in lunar orbit for first time. 76.7 kg (169 lbs) of material gathered.
Apollo 16 (Casper and Orion)
Saturn V (AS-511, SM-113, CM-113, LM-11)
April 16-27, 1972
John W. Young (commander), Thomas K. Mattingly II (CM pilot), Charles
M. Duke Jr. (LM pilot)
Flight Duration: 11 days, 01 hour, 51 minutes
Landing site: Descartes Highlands.
Landing Coordinates: 8.97 degrees South, 15.51 degrees East
First study of highlands area. Selected surface experiments deployed, ultraviolet camera/spectrograph used for first time on Moon, and LRV used for second time. Lunar surface stay-time, 71 hours; in lunar orbit 126 hours, with 64 orbits. Mattingly performed 01 hour in-flight EVA. 95 kg (209 lbs) of lunar samples collected.
Apollo 17 (America and Challenger)
Saturn V (AS-512, SM-114, CM-114, LM-12)
December 07-19, 1972
Eugene A. Cernan (commander), Ronald E. Evans (CM pilot), Harrison H.
Schmitt (LM pilot)
Flight Duration: 12 days, 13 hours, 52 minutes
Last lunar landing mission.
Landing site: Taurus-Littrow, highlands and valley area.
Landing Coordinates: 20.16 degrees North, 30.77 degrees East
3 EVAs of 22 hours, 04 minutes. Evans performed trans-Earth EVA lasting 01 hour, 06 minutes. First scientist-astronaut to land on Moon: Schmitt. Sixth automated research station set up. LRV traverse total 30.5 km. Lunar surface stay-time, 75 hours. In lunar orbit 148 hours, with 75 orbits. 110.4 kg (243 lbs) of material gathered.