Twelve people have landed on the Moon and walked on its surface.

How Many People Landed on the Moon? 🌙

Quick Scoop

If you’re wondering how many people landed on Moon, the confirmed answer is: 12 astronauts, all from NASA’s Apollo program between 1969 and 1972.

[3][5][7][1]

Core Facts at a Glance

  • Total people who landed and walked on the Moon: 12.
    • [5][7][1][3]
  • Total crewed missions that actually landed on the Moon: 6 (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17).
    • [7][9][10][1]
  • Total astronauts who traveled to the Moon (orbited or landed): 24.
    • [5]
  • Time period: July 1969 – December 1972.
    • [1][3][7]
  • Country: All Moonwalkers so far have been American NASA astronauts.
    • [3][7][1][5]

The 12 Moonwalkers (Humans Who Landed and Walked)

All 12 were part of the Apollo landings; each landing mission sent two astronauts down to the surface while a third stayed in lunar orbit.

[7][1][3][5] [1][3][7] [3][7][1] [7][1][3] [1][3][7] [3][7][1] [7][1][3]
Mission Year Astronauts Who Walked on the Moon
Apollo 11 1969 Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin
Apollo 12 1969 Pete Conrad, Alan Bean
Apollo 14 1971 Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell
Apollo 15 1971 David Scott, James Irwin
Apollo 16 1972 John Young, Charles Duke
Apollo 17 1972 Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt

“Landed” vs “Been to the Moon” vs “Walked”

People online often mix up “went to the Moon,” “landed on the Moon,” and “walked on the Moon.” Here’s the clean breakdown.
  • Walked on the Moon (your question): 12 astronauts actually stepped onto the lunar surface.
    • [5][1][3][7]
  • Went to / traveled to the Moon: 24 astronauts flew to the Moon on Apollo missions; this includes those who stayed in orbit in the command module.
    • [5]
  • Stayed in orbit only: On each landing mission, one astronaut remained in lunar orbit and never “landed” on the surface.
    • [1][5][7]

An example: Michael Collins (Apollo 11) went to the Moon and orbited it, but he did not land or walk on the surface.

[5][7][1]

Mini Timeline of Moon Landings

  1. 1969: First humans land on the Moon with Apollo 11; later the same year Apollo 12 lands.
    2. [3][7][1]
  2. 1970: Apollo 13 suffers an in‑flight explosion; the landing is aborted, so no Moonwalkers are added.
    3. [1][3][5]
  3. 1971: Apollo 14 and Apollo 15 add four more Moonwalkers.
    4. [7][3][1]
  4. 1972: Apollo 16 and Apollo 17 complete the last two crewed Moon landings to date.
    5. [3][7][1]

The most recent footsteps on the Moon were by Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt during Apollo 17 in December 1972.

[7][1][3]

Is There Any “Latest News” About More People Landing on the Moon?

As of now, no new human Moon landings have occurred after Apollo 17, so the number of people who have landed on the Moon is still 12. However, current space plans (like NASA’s Artemis program) aim to send new crews to the lunar surface in the coming years, which would finally increase that count beyond 12.

[10][5][1][3][7]

Forum Talk & Common Myths

“In some posts I see people say 10, 12, even 14 people walked on the Moon. Which is right?”
  • Some people accidentally include Apollo 13 as a landing mission; it never landed.
    • [5][1][3]
  • Others count astronauts who orbited the Moon but did not land, bumping the number above 12.
    • [1][5][7]
  • The widely accepted, historically documented answer in space history sources is firmly: 12 Moonwalkers.
    • [3][5][7][1]

A handy memory trick that space educators use is the “6×2 rule”: six landing missions, two walkers each, giving 12.

[1]

TL;DR

  • How many people landed on the Moon and walked on it? 12 astronauts.
    • [5][7][3][1]
  • They flew on six Apollo missions: 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17.
    • [9][7][1]
  • In total, 24 people traveled to the Moon, but only half of them actually set foot on the surface.
    • [5]

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.