Chief astronaut and director of flight crew operations, Donald K. Slayton (right front) reviews lunar charts with Apollo 11 astronauts Michael Collins (left), Neil Armstrong, and Edwin Aldrin (next to Slayton) during breakfast a short time before the three men launched for the first Moon landing mission. Sharing breakfast with the crew was William Anders (left rear), Lunar Module pilot for the Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission. The Apollo 11 mission launched from the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. The CM, “Columbia”, piloted by Collins, remained in a parking orbit around the Moon while the LM, “Eagle’’, carrying astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin, landed on the Moon. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong was the first human to ever stand on the lunar surface, followed by Aldrin. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective to land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth had been accomplished.

S66-06048 (1966) --- This chart depicts a nominal mission profile for an Apollo lunar landing mission. Photo credit: NASA

The Gateway space station will be humanity's first space station in lunar orbit as a vital component of the Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon for scientific discovery and chart a path for humans to Mars.

The Gateway space station will be humanity's first space station in lunar orbit as a vital component of the Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon for scientific discovery and chart a path for humans to Mars.

The Gateway space station will be humanity's first space station in lunar orbit as a vital component of the Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon for scientific discovery and chart a path for humans to Mars.

The Gateway space station will be humanity's first space station in lunar orbit as a vital component of the Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon for scientific discovery and chart a path for humans to Mars.

This infographic shows each element of Gateway, humanity's first space station in lunar orbit as a vital component of the Artemis missions to return to the Moon for scientific discovery and chart the path for the first human missions to Mars.

The Gateway space station will be humanity's first space station in lunar orbit as a vital component of the Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon for scientific discovery and chart a path for humans to Mars.

The Gateway space station will be humanity's first space station in lunar orbit as a vital component of the Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon for scientific discovery and chart a path for humans to Mars.

The Gateway space station will be humanity's first space station in lunar orbit as a vital component of the Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon for scientific discovery and chart a path for humans to Mars.

The Gateway space station will be humanity's first space station in lunar orbit as a vital component of the Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon for scientific discovery and chart a path for humans to Mars.

The Gateway space station will be humanity's first space station in lunar orbit as a vital component of the Artemis missions to return humans to the Moon for scientific discovery and chart a path for humans to Mars.

The Gateway space station will be humanity's first space station around the Moon as a vital component of the Artemis missions to return humans to the lunar surface for scientific discovery and chart the path for the first human missions to Mars. Astronauts on Gateway will be the first humans to call deep space home during missions where they will use Gateway to conduct science and prepare for lunar surface missions.

S72-32719 (March 1972) --- With four of the six planned lunar missions completed, this chart has been prepared to show the various areas of the lunar "nearside" to be visited by astronauts representing the NASA Apollo program. Apollo's 11, 12, 14 and 15 are shown at their respective landing points. Apollo 16 and Apollo 17, planned for later this year at Descartes and Taurus Littrow, respectively, also are depicted on the map.

AS17-137-20990 (12 Dec. 1972) --- A view of the area at Station 4 (Shorty Crater) showing the now highly-publicized orange soil which the Apollo 17 crew members found on the moon during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. The tripod-like object is the gnomon and photometric chart assembly which is used as a photographic reference to establish local vertical sun angle, scale and lunar color. The gnomon is one of the Apollo lunar geology hand tools. While astronauts Eugene A. Cernan, commander, and Harrison H. Schmitt, lunar module pilot, descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Challenger" to explore the Taurus-Littrow region of the moon, astronaut Ronald E. Evans, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "America" in lunar orbit. Schmitt was the crew man who first spotted the orange soil.

AS17-141-21608 (13 Dec. 1972) --- Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan stands near an over-hanging rock during the third Apollo 17 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. Scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt took this photograph. The tripod-like object just outside the shaded area is the gnomon and photometric chart assembly which is used as a photographic reference to establish local vertical sun angle, scale and lunar color. The gnomon is one of the Apollo Lunar Geology Hand Tools. While astronauts Cernan and Schmitt descended in the Lunar Module "Challenger" to explore the moon, astronaut Ronald E. Evans remained with the Apollo 17 Command and Service Modules in lunar orbit.

This chart provides a launch summary of the Saturn IB launch vehicle as of 1973. Developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as an interim vehicle in MSFC's "building block" approach to the Saturn rocket development, the Saturn IB utilized Saturn I technology to further develop and refine the larger boosters and the Apollo spacecraft capabilities required for the marned lunar missions.

This 1968 chart depicts the various mission configurations for the Saturn IB launch vehicle. Developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as an interim vehicle in MSFC's "building block" approach to the Saturn rocket development, the Saturn IB utilized Saturn I technology to further develop and refine the larger boosters and the Apollo spacecraft capabilities required for the marned lunar missions.

This 1968 chart illustrates the characteristics and proposed missions for the Saturn IB launch vehicle. Developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as an interim vehicle in MSFC's "building block" approach to the Saturn rocket development, the Saturn IB utilized Saturn I technology to further develop and refine the larger boosters and the Apollo spacecraft capabilities required for the marned lunar missions.

S72-56362 (27 Dec. 1972) --- Scientist-astronaut Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt (facing camera), Apollo 17 lunar module pilot, was one of the first to look at the sample of "orange" soil which was brought back from the Taurus-Littrow landing site by the Apollo 17 crewmen. Schmitt discovered the material at Shorty Crater during the second Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA). The "orange" sample, which was opened Wednesday, Dec. 27, 1972, is in the bag on a weighing platform in the sealed nitrogen cabinet in the upstairs processing line in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center. Just before, the sample was removed from one of the bolt-top cans visible to the left in the cabinet. The first reaction of Schmitt was "It doesn't look the same." Most of the geologists and staff viewing the sample agreed that it was more tan and brown than orange. Closer comparison with color charts showed that the sample had a definite orange cast, according the MSC geology branch Chief William Phinney. After closer investigation and sieving, it was discovered that the orange color was caused by very fine spheres and fragments of orange glass in the midst of darker colored, larger grain material. Earlier in the day the "orange" soil was taken from the Apollo Lunar Sample Return Container No. 2 and placed in the bolt-top can (as was all the material in the ALSRC "rock box").