The giant Saturn V rocket for the Apollo 4 mission at the Kennedy Space Center's launch complex 39A stands at the dawn of November 8, 1967, during the pre-launch alert.
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
Dr. Wernher von Braun (center) describes the Saturn Launch System to President John F. Kennedy (right, pointing). NASA Deputy Administrator Robert Seamans stands to the left of von Braun.
The Apollo 11 mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on July 16, 1969, bearing the first humans to walk on the moon.
A Saturn V rocket launches the Apollo 11 crew on the first moon landing mission on July 16, 1969 in this image framed by an American flag. Four days later, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon while crewmate Michael Collins orbited above.
Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Aldrin photographed this iconic photo, a view of his footprint in the lunar soil, as part of an experiment to study the nature of lunar dust and the effects of pressure on the surface during the historic first manned moon landing in July 1969.
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot, walks on the surface of the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission, July 1969.
Apollo 11 mission officials relax in the Launch Control Center following the successful Apollo 11 liftoff on July 16, 1969. Second from left (with binoculars) stands Dr. Wernher von Braun, Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center.
Neil Armstrong sits in the lunar module after a historic moonwalk.
The Apollo 11 Saturn V space vehicle climbs toward orbit on July 16, 1969, bearing astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. Armstrong and Aldrin would make history as the first men on the moon.
Astronaut and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin with the LR-3 during the Apollo 11 mission, the only Apollo experiment that is still returning data from the moon.
Clad in his spacesuit, Command Module (CM) pilot Michael Collins does a final check of his communications system before the boarding of the Apollo 11 mission on July 16, 1969.
Composite photo of President Richard M. Nixon as he telephoned "Tranquility Base" and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin after their historic Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969.
Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin poses for a snapshot while inside the Lunar Module in this July 1969 NASA image. Aldrin and astronaut Neil Armstrong were the first humans to land and walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.
From left, Apollo 1 astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee pose in front of their Saturn 1 launch vehicle at Launch Complex 34 at the Kennedy Space Center. The astronauts later died in a fire on the pad.
Apollo 1 crew members walk across a catwalk to the Launch Pad 34 White Room on January 27, 1967.
NASA administrators sit at the witness table before the Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Services, chaired by Senator Clinton P. Anderson, on the Apollo 1 (Apollo 204) accident. The individuals are (L to R) Dr. Robert C. Seamans, NASA Deputy Administrator; James E. Webb, NASA Administrator; Dr. George E. Mueller, Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight, and Maj. Gen. Samuel C. Phillips, Apollo Program Director.
A bearded Walter Schirra, Apollo 7 commander, gazes out the rendezvous window in front of the commander's station on the ninth day of the Earth orbital mission. Apollo 7 was crewed by Donn Eisele and Walter Cunningham. The mission was an engineering test flight designed primarily to test space vehicle and mission support facilities performance during a manned mission.
The Apollo 8 astronauts broadcast never-before views of the Earth and moon on December 24, 1968.
Astronaut Russell Schweickart, lunar module pilot, stands on the module's deck during his spacewalk on the fourth day of the Apollo 9 mission. This photograph was taken from inside the lunar module "Spider" by mission commander James McDivitt. Apollo 9 was the first manned flight of the command/service module along with the lunar module. The mission's three-person crew, which also included command module pilot Dave Scott, tested several aspects critical to landing on the moon including the lunar module's engines, backpack life support systems, navigation systems and docking maneuvers. The mission was the second manned launch of a Saturn V rocket and was the third manned mission of the Apollo Program. After launching on March 3, 1969, the crew spent 10 days in low Earth orbit.
Headed for the launch pad, Apollo 10 commander Tom Stafford pats the nose of a stuffed Snoopy held by Jamye Flowers (Coplin), astronaut Gordon Cooper's secretary.
The Apollo 10 Command and Service Modules (CSM) are photographed from the Lunar Module (LM) after CSM/LM separation in lunar orbit.
Tranquility Base, the Apollo 11 mission's Eagle lunar lander touchdown site as seen in July 1969.
Apollo 12 lunar module pilot Alan Bean steps down to moon's surface during his 1969 flight.
After Apollo 12 left lunar orbit this image of the moon was taken from the command module on Nov. 24, 1969.
On April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 lifted off for the Moon with Commander Jim Lovell, Command Module Pilot Jack Swigert and Lunar Module Pilot Fred Haise aboard. Two days later, with the spacecraft well on its way to the Moon, an oxygen tank exploded, scrubbing the lunar landing and putting the crew in jeopardy. Working with Mission Control in Houston, the crew used their lunar module as a "lifeboat," and even rigged an adapter so than a command module "air scrubber" would work in the lunar module, preventing a dangerous buildup of carbon dioxide. The mission ended safely when the crew splashed down on April 17, 1970.
In this classic Apollo 14 image, taken just before the lunar module landed at Fra Mauro,Earth peeks over the edge of the moon.
Apollo 15 Commander Dave Scott photographed the Lunar Rover at the end of the last EVA.
In this photograph, Apollo 15 lunar module pilot Jim Irwin loads the lunar rover with gear in preparation for the first lunar spacewalk at the Hadley-Apennine landing site. The lunar module "Falcon"stands at the left in this image. The undeployed Laser Ranging Retro-Reflector lies on top of Falcon's Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly. This image was taken in July 1971.
Images from an Apollo 15 landing movie show the dust blasted across the surface by the descending Lunar Module.
Astronaut James B. Irwin, lunar module pilot, during the Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) on August 1, 1971, at the Hadley-Apennine landing site. The first Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) on the moon, stands to the right.
During the Apollo 16 mission, Charles M. Duke, Jr. collects rock samples at the Descartes landing site on the moon, April 1972.
The flame from the Apollo 16 Lunar Module Orion ascent stage engine creates a kaleidoscopic effect during lunar liftoff, as seen in this color television transmission on April 23, 1972.
Dusty "twilight rays" sketched by Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972.
Candid photo of Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt aboard their spacecraft during their December 1973 lunar landing mission with command module pilot Ronald Evans.
Apollo 17 astronauts pause for a photograph while exploring the moon. Their lunar lander and rover sit perched behind them.
In this Apollo 17 onboard photo, Mission Commander Eugene A. Cernan adjusts the U.S. flag deployed upon the Moon during the December 1972 lunar landing mission, which marked the last of NASA's Apollo Moon landings.
Astronaut Harrison Schmitt collects lunar rake samples during an Apollo 17 moonwalk in December 1972.
Apollo 17 mission commander Eugene A. Cernan makes a short checkout of the Lunar Roving Vehicle during the early part of the first Apollo 17 extravehicular activity at the Taurus-Littrow landing site in 1972.
A close-up view of Apollo 11 lunar sample no. 10046.
This NASA schematic details the size of the Apollo space capsules, service modules and lunar landers that would ultimately take astronauts to the moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
NASA's Apollo boilerplate Pad Abort Test-1 was launched on November 7, 1963.
The American Apollo spacecraft as seen in Earth orbit from the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. Note the special docking module attached to the Apollo capsule, specifically designed to allow the two spacecraft to join in orbit.
A copy of the U.S. Customs form filled out by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins after their return to Earth on July 24, 1969.
This view of the Earth rising over the Moon's horizon was taken from the Apollo spacecraft. The lunar terrain pictured is in the area of Smyth's Sea on the nearside. Coordinates of the center of the terrain are 85 degrees east longitude and 3 degrees north latitude.
