Modern History/Space Exploration/Space Race/Apollo Missions

In detailing the history of the Apollo missions, the most compelling question as a historian is, "where to stop?" As mankind's perhaps most significant achievement, the wealth of information regarding the Apollo missions is overwhelming. Below is a brief overview of the purpose, achievements, and some other critical data regarding each mission. Apollo 1 right|200px During a 'plugs-out' (disconnected from any earthbound umbilicals) test, faulty wiring under one of the astronauts seats combined with the cabin atmosphere which was 16 Pounds per square inch (PSI) pure oxygen caused a fire in the cabin, killing all three crew members in less than a minute: Virgil I. ("Gus") Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee. Later missions would use a less combustible mixture of nitrogen and oxygen. Apollo 4 NASA elected to skip Apollo's 2 and 3 and move directly to mission 4. Mission 4 was the first full test of the Saturn V platform. Apollo 5 First test of Command Module in space. Apollo 6 Test of Command Module Heat shield and separation of launch vehicle stages. Apollo 7 Manned test of the Command Service Module in Earth orbit. Commander: Walter M. Schirra Command Module Pilot: Donn F. Eisele Lunar Module Pilot: R. Walter Cunningham Landing Site: Not applicable; did not leave Earth orbit. Duration: 10 days, 20 hours, 9 min, 3 seconds. Apollo 8 Manned test of the Command Service Module in Lunar orbit. Commander: Frank F. Borman, II Command Module Pilot: James A. Lovell, Jr. Lunar Module Pilot: William A. Anders Landing Site: None; no Lunar Module flown with this mission. Duration: 6 days, 3 hours, 0 min, 42 seconds. Apollo 9 Manned test of the Lunar Module in Earth orbit. Command Module: Gumdrop Lunar Module: Spider Commander: James A. McDivitt Command Module Pilot: David R. Scott Lunar Module Pilot: Russell L. Schweickart Landing Site: Not applicable; did not leave Earth orbit. Mission Objective: Initial test of Lunar Module. Tested LM engines, backpack life support systems, navigation systems, and docking ability. Duration: 10 days, 1 hour, 0 min, 54 seconds. Apollo 10 Manned test of the Lunar Module in Lunar orbit. Command Module: Charlie Brown Lunar Module: Snoopy Commander: Thomas P. Stafford Command Module Pilot: John W. Young Lunar Module Pilot: Eugene A. Cernan Landing Site: None; descended to within 14km of lunar surface and returned to orbit. Mission Objective: 'Dress rehearsal' for Apollo 11 lunar landing. Tested lunar descent and ascent operations. Duration: 08 Days, 0 hours, 3 min, 23 seconds. Apollo 11 right|200px First manned lunar landing. Command Module: Columbia Lunar Module: Eagle Commander: Neil Armstrong Command Module Pilot: Michael Collins Lunar Module Pilot: Edwin E. ("Buzz") Aldrin Jr. Landing Site: Mare Tranquilatis (Sea of Tranquility) Mission Objective: Land on the moon safely and return safely. Duration: 08 Days, 03 hours, 18 min, 35 seconds. Apollo 12 Command Module: Yankee Clipper Lunar Module: Intrepid Commander: Charles P. Conrad, Jr. Command Module Pilot: Richard F. Gordon, Jr. Lunar Module Pilot: Alan L. Bean Landing Site: Ocean of Storms Mission Objective: Retrieve parts of lunar probe Surveyor 3, deploy Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments package. Duration: 10 days, 4 hours, 36 minues. Apollo 13 Lunar landing was aborted due to failure of the second CSM oxygen tank, and associated collateral damage. Crew was safely returned. Command Module: Odyssey Lunar Module: Aquarius Commander: James A. Lovell, Jr. Command Module Pilot: John L. Swigert, Jr. Lunar Module Pilot: Fred W. Haise, Jr. Landing Site: Fra Mauro (mission aborted) Mission Objective: Initial mission was exploration in the Fra Mauro lunar highlands. (mission aborted) Duration: 5 days, 22 hours, 54 minutes, 41 seconds Apollo 14 Command Module: Kitty Hawk Lunar Module: Antares Commander: Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Command Module Pilot: Stuart A. Roosa Lunar Module Pilot: Edgar D. Mitchell Landing Site: Fra Mauro Duration: 09 days, 02 hours, 2 minutes. Apollo 15 First use of the Lunar Rover (LRV). Command Module: Endeavour Lunar Module: Falcon Commander: David R. Scott Command Module Pilot: James B. Irwin Lunar Module Pilot: Alfred M. Worden Landing Site: Hadley-Apennine region near Apennine Mountains. Duration: 12 days, 17 hours, 12 minutes. Apollo 16 Command Module: Casper Lunar Module: Orion Commander: John W. Young Command Module Pilot: Thomas K. Mattingly II Lunar Module Pilot: Charles M. Duke, Jr. Landing Site: Descartes Highlands. Duration: 11 days, 01 hour, 51 minutes. Apollo 17 Final Apollo lunar landing. First NASA mission to include a scientist-astronaut (Jack Schmitt). Command Module: America Lunar Module: Challenger Commander: Eugene A. Cernan Command Module Pilot: Ronald E. Evans Lunar Module Pilot: Harrison H. ("Jack") Schmitt Landing Site: Taurus-Littrow, highlands and valley area. Duration: 12 days, 13 hours, 52 minutes.