List of Astronauts Who Walked on the Moon
As of the latest public NASA records, 12 astronauts have walked on the moon across six crewed missions between 1969 and 1972. All moonwalkers were American men selected by NASA, and every landing took place in the lunar mare regions. The first was Neil Armstrong on Apollo 11 in 1969, and the most recent was Eugene Cernan on Apollo 17 in 1972. Each mission carried a Lunar Module with two crew members, while the third astronaut orbited in the Command Module. NASA's Apollo program remains the only effort to land humans on the moon, and no other agency has replicated a moonwalk. Detailed crew manifests and biographical data are maintained in NASA's official Apollo mission archives.
NASA's Apollo missions were supported by contractors such as Boeing, North American Rockwell, and Grumman for the Saturn V rocket and Lunar Module. The U.S. government funded the program through federal appropriations, with total costs adjusted to modern dollars exceeding 250 billion. The missions launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and were controlled from the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Each landing site was chosen for scientific value, including the Sea of Tranquility, the Ocean of Storms, and the Taurus-Littrow valley. The astronauts collected samples, deployed experiments, and drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle on Apollo 15, 16, and 17. These data points are frequently cited in space policy discussions and historical reviews.
Apollo Mission Crews and Moonwalk Details
Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 Crews
Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Apollo 12: Pete Conrad and Alan Bean. Apollo 14: Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell. Apollo 15: David Scott and James Irwin. Apollo 16: John Young and Charles Duke. Apollo 17: Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt. Each pair spent between 21 and 75 hours on the lunar surface, with EVA durations ranging from 2.5 hours to over 22 hours. The astronauts performed geological sampling, deployed seismometers, and took high-resolution photographs. NASA provides full timelines, timelines, and equipment lists for each EVA in its public Apollo Lunar Surface Journal.
The Lunar Roving Vehicle was used on Apollo 15, 16, and 17, allowing astronauts to travel farther from the Lunar Module. Total EVA time across all six missions exceeded 80 hours. The astronauts brought back approximately 382 kilograms of lunar rocks and soil. These samples are curated at NASA's Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility in Houston. The data from these samples continue to inform planetary science and are referenced in peer-reviewed studies and agency reports.
Current Status of Moonwalkers and Future Human Lunar Missions
NASA's Artemis Program and International Partners
As of the latest public updates, four Apollo moonwalkers are still alive: Buzz Aldrin, David Scott, Rusty Schweickart, and Harrison Schmitt. The average age of the surviving moonwalkers is now over 90. NASA's Artemis program aims to return humans to the lunar surface, with the Artemis III mission planned to land the first woman and the next man near the lunar south pole. The program uses the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft, with SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System selected for the initial crewed landings. NASA has awarded contracts and published detailed mission timelines on its official Artemis pages.
Other agencies and companies are developing human lunar capabilities, including SpaceX, Blue Origin