Who was the first man to walk on the moon and how many people have walked on it? The astronauts who have made lunar landings
ASK anyone if they know the names of astronauts who have walked on the moon and most are bound to list Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
But these well-known space explorers are not the only residents of Earth to successfully make the journey - can you name all 12?
Who has walked on the moon?
From Pete Conrad to Eugene Cernan, and Harrison Schmitt here are the 12 men who have made it to the moon.
Interestingly, no one ever did it more than once…
Neil Armstrong
On July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong made history by becoming the first person to set foot on the earth’s moon.
Upon landing, he is famously quoted as saying: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz was on the same mission, Apollo 11, as Neil Armstrong and soon followed in his footsteps - making him the second man on the moon.
In total, Neil and Buzz were on the lunar surface for only 21 hours, 36 minutes and 21 seconds.
Pete Conrad
Pete Conrad was a moonwalker on the Apollo 12 mission, which launched on November 14, 1969. He was partnered by Alan Bean.
Alan Bean
Also on the Apollo 12 mission, was Alan Bean.
Alan and Pete were on the moon for two days - November 19 and 20, 1969.
Alan Shepard
Alan Shepard was part of the Apollo 14 mission which launched on Janaury 31 1971 and landed February 5 the same year.
He was one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts.
Edgar Mitchell
Edgar Mitchell was also part of Apollo 14.
The mission followed a previous failed assignment, named Apollo 13, which was aborted because an oxygen tank on the spacecraft’s Service Module exploded two days after launch – resulting in spectacular recovery rather than a successful moon landing.
David Scott
David Scott and James Irwin were next to land on the moon, July 31 1971.
They were part of the Apollo 15 mission and stayed for three days, until August 2.
James Irwin
James and David were joined on their mission by the first lunar rover – allowing them to travel much farther from the Lunar Module than those on previous missions to the moon.
John Young
John Young and Charles Duke were the next men to walk on the Moon as part of Apollo 16.
Apollo 16 was on the surface of the moon for three days - from April 21 to 23, 1972.
Charles Duke
Charles and John conducted three moonwalks during their mission – adding up to a total of 20 hours and 14 minutes.
Eugene (Gene) Cernan
The final people to walk on the Moon were Eugene (Gene) Cernan and Harrison (Jack) Schmitt - who were both on the mission Apollo 17.
The pair landed on the moon on December 11 1972.
Before leaving, Gene scratched the initials of his daughter Tracy into a layer of moon rock.
The carved initials should remain for a very long time thanks to the moon’s lack of wind and rain – meaning erosion is highly unlikely.
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Harrison Schmitt
Harrison and Gene stayed on the surface of the moon for three-days and carried out three moonwalks while they were there.
The Apollo 17 crew returned to Earth on December 19 after a 12-day mission and since 1972, no one has been back to the moon or in lunar orbit.
