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when was the last moon landing

The last time humans landed on the Moon was during NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in December 1972, when astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt walked on the lunar surface.

Quick Scoop: Last Moon Landing

Human moon landings

  • The first human moon landing was Apollo 11 in July 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquility.
  • There were six crewed Apollo landings in total between 1969 and 1972.
  • The last human moon landing was Apollo 17, which touched down in the Taurus–Littrow valley on December 11, 1972.
  • Apollo 17 ended on December 19, 1972, and no human has walked on the Moon since then.

What exactly counts as “last moon landing”?

If by “when was the last moon landing” you mean:

  • Last human moon landing
    • Apollo 17 landed on December 11, 1972, with astronauts Cernan and Schmitt becoming the last people on the surface.
  • Last (recent) robotic/spacecraft landing on the Moon
    • On February 22, 2024, the private lander Odysseus (Intuitive Machines’ IM‑1 mission, working with NASA and SpaceX) successfully soft‑landed on the Moon, marking the first U.S. lunar landing—though uncrewed—in over 50 years.

Why this question is trending again

  • Renewed interest comes from new missions like NASA’s Artemis program and private landers such as Odysseus , which show a clear shift back toward the Moon after decades focused on low Earth orbit and Mars probes.
  • Discussions online often highlight how astonishing it is that the last human footsteps on the Moon date back to the early 1970s, while new missions in the 2020s are finally preparing to send astronauts there again.

Mini timeline

  1. 1969 – Apollo 11: first human landing.
  1. 1969–1972 – Six Apollo crewed landings.
  1. December 11, 1972 – Apollo 17: last human landing.
  1. February 22, 2024 – Odysseus (IM‑1): recent U.S. uncrewed landing.

Short TL;DR

  • Last human moon landing: Apollo 17, December 11, 1972.
  • Recent uncrewed U.S. landing: Odysseus lander, February 22, 2024.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here. Do you mainly care about the last human landing, or are you also interested in current and upcoming robotic and crewed moon missions?