Lunar Module Eagle in the context of "List of Apollo missions"

Apollo 11 was the first spaceflight to land humans on the Moon, conducted by NASA from July 16 to 24, 1969. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin landed the Lunar Module Eagle on July 20 at 20:17 UTC, and Armstrong became the first person to step onto the surface about six hours later, at 02:56 UTC on July 21. Aldrin joined him 19 minutes afterward, and together they spent about two and a half hours exploring the site they had named Tranquility Base upon landing. They collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material to bring back to Earth before re-entering the Lunar Module. In total, they were on the Moon’s surface for 21 hours, 36 minutes before returning to the Command Module Columbia, which remained in lunar orbit, piloted by Michael Collins.

Apollo 11 was launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on July 16 at 13:32 UTC (9:32 am EDT, local time). It was the fifth crewed mission of the Apollo program. The Apollo spacecraft consisted of three parts: the command module (CM), which housed the three astronauts and was the only part to return to Earth; the service module (SM), which provided propulsion, electrical power, oxygen, and water to the command module; and the Lunar Module (LM), which had two stages—a descent stage with a large engine and fuel tanks for landing on the Moon, and a lighter ascent stage containing a cabin for two astronauts and a small engine to return them to lunar orbit.

Buzz Aldrin (/ˈɔːldrɪn/ AWL-drin; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eagle pilot on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. He was the second person to walk on the Moon after mission commander Neil Armstrong. Following the deaths of Armstrong in 2012 and pilot Michael Collins in 2021, he is the last surviving Apollo 11 crew member. Following Jim Lovell's death in 2025, Aldrin became the oldest living astronaut.

Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Aldrin graduated third in the class of 1951 from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was commissioned into the United States Air Force and served as a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War. He flew 66 combat missions and shot down two MiG-15 fighter jets.

A space rendezvous (/ˈrɒndeɪvuː/) is a set of orbital maneuvers during which two spacecraft, one of which is often a space station, arrive at the same orbit and approach to a very close distance (e.g. within visual contact). Rendezvous requires a precise match of the orbital velocities and position vectors of the two spacecraft, allowing them to remain at a constant distance through orbital station-keeping. Rendezvous may or may not be followed by docking or berthing, procedures which bring the spacecraft into physical contact and create a link between them.

The same rendezvous technique can be used for spacecraft "landing" on natural objects with a weak gravitational field, e.g. landing on one of the Martian moons would require the same matching of orbital velocities, followed by a "descent" that shares some similarities with docking.

Tranquility Base (Latin: Statio Tranquillitatis) is the site on the Moon where, in July 1969, humans landed and walked on a celestial body other than Earth for the first time. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 crewmembers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Apollo Lunar Module Eagle at approximately 20:17:40 UTC. Armstrong exited the spacecraft six hours and 39 minutes after touchdown, followed 19 minutes later by Aldrin. The astronauts spent two hours and 31 minutes examining and photographing the lunar surface, setting up several scientific experiment packages, and collecting 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of dirt and rock samples for return to Earth. They lifted off the surface on July 21 at 17:54 UTC. The two named the base, which Armstrong announced when the Lunar Module Eagle landed. It is located in the south-western corner of the dark lunar plain Mare Tranquillitatis ("Sea of Tranquility").

Due to involvement of facilities within the U.S. states of California and New Mexico with the Apollo program, the relevant government bodies in these states have registered Tranquility Base as a historic site associated with the heritage of the respective state: the California State Historical Resources Commission in the California Register of Historical Resources, and the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs in the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties site #1946. However, Texas, the U.S. National Park Service, and UNESCO have declined to do so, citing the procedural technicality that it is not located within their borders (which according to common convention don't extend thousands of miles beyond the Earth's surface).

A moonbase (or lunar base) is a human outpost on or below the surface of the Moon. More than a mere site of activity or temporary camp, moonbases are extraterrestrial bases, supporting robotic or human activity, by providing surface infrastructure. Missions to the Moon have realized single-mission bases, (Tranquility Base being the first), as well as some small permanent infrastructure like lunar laser ranging installations.

Plans for establishing moonbases, with surface or sub-surface research stations, have been proposed and are actively pursued nationally and increasingly internationally. As of 2025, the two most advanced projects to set up moonbases have been pursued multilaterally as part of the US-led Artemis program, with its planned Artemis Base Camp and as the China-led International Lunar Research Station. A broader, international infrastructure has been envisioned with the so-called Moon Village concept, and a general international regulatory regime for lunar activity has been called for by the 1979 signed Moon Treaty, and advocated for with an implementation agreement since 2020.

This is a list of all crewed spacecraft types that have flown into space, including sub-orbital flights above 80 km, space stations that have been visited by at least one crew member, and spacecraft currently planned to operate with crews in the future. It does not contain crewed flights by spacecraft below 80 km. There is some debate concerning the height at which space is reached (the Karman Line): the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) recognizes 100 km, while NASA and the USAF recognize this as 50 miles (approx 80 km).

Since the first crewed spaceflight of Vostok 1 in 1961 there have been 13 types of spacecraft that have made crewed flights into space – nine American, three Russian, and one Chinese. There are currently five operational crewed spacecraft, which form the first part of the list below; the eight retired spacecraft types are listed in the next section; and crewed spacecraft currently in development are listed last. Space stations are listed beneath each appropriate section, dates of operation reflect when the first and last crews visited, not when they were launched and deorbited. There are currently two space stations in orbit around Earth, the International Space Station and the Chinese Tiangong space station.