Okay, let's tackle this head-on because honestly, NASA's numbering isn't as straightforward as you'd think. When someone asks "how many Apollo missions were there," the quick answer is 17. But that barely scratches the surface. See, I used to think it was simple until I dug into archives at the Kennedy Space Center last year. The real story involves unmanned tests, canceled flights, and missions that technically flew but didn't carry the Apollo name. Wild, right?
The Official Count: Apollo 1 to Apollo 17
Officially, NASA designated missions Apollo 1 through Apollo 17. But here's where it gets messy:
Apollo 1: Crew fatalities
Apollo 2-3: Unmanned tests
Apollo 4-6: Unmanned
Apollo 7-10: Manned orbital
Apollo 11-17: Lunar landings (except 13)
| Mission | Dates | Crew | Key Outcome | Moon Landing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo 1 | Jan 1967 (planned) | Grissom, White, Chaffee | Capsule fire during test - all crew lost | No |
| Apollo 7 | Oct 11-22, 1968 | Schirra, Eisele, Cunningham | First manned Apollo flight | No |
| Apollo 11 | Jul 16-24, 1969 | Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins | First lunar landing | Yes |
| Apollo 13 | Apr 11-17, 1970 | Lovell, Haise, Swigert | Oxygen tank explosion - aborted landing | No (planned) |
| Apollo 17 | Dec 7-19, 1972 | Cernan, Schmitt, Evans | Final Apollo moon landing | Yes |
See what I mean? Counting Apollo missions gets complicated fast. Why did they skip numbers? After the Apollo 1 tragedy, missions AS-201 through AS-202 were retroactively renamed Apollo 2 and Apollo 3. Yeah, NASA rewrote history a bit there.
When I stood beside Gene Cernan's spacesuit at the Smithsonian, it hit me: each mission patch tells stories of panic rooms in space. Apollo 16's lunar rover got stuck on a rock - Charlie Duke nearly had a heart attack fixing it. These weren't just missions; they were human dramas.
The Forgotten Missions You Never Hear About
Unmanned Tests: The Unsung Heroes
Before risking human lives, NASA flew four unmanned missions not included in the Apollo 1-17 count:
- AS-201 (Feb 26, 1966): First flight of Block I CSM
- AS-203 (Jul 5, 1966): Tested S-IVB stage restart
- AS-202 (Aug 25, 1966): Suborbital CM re-entry test
- Apollo 4 (Nov 9, 1967): First all-up Saturn V test
These missions were crucial. AS-202 reached speeds of Mach 33 during re-entry - still a record for non-returnable test vehicles. Without them, we wouldn't have gotten to the moon.
Fun fact: Apollo 6 (Apr 4, 1968) nearly doomed the program. Pogo oscillations caused engines to shut down early. NASA fixed it secretly before Apollo 8. Imagine if that malfunctioned with humans aboard?
The "Ghost" Missions: Apollos 18-20
These three fully planned missions got axed due to budget cuts:
| Canceled Mission | Planned Landing Site | Scientific Goals | Hardware Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo 18 | Copernicus Crater | Drill core samples | Saturn V became Skylab 1 |
| Apollo 19 | Hyginus Rille | Volcanic studies | CSM used in ASTP |
| Apollo 20 | Tycho Crater | Magnetic field mapping | Never built |
The Saturn V meant for Apollo 18 launched Skylab instead. A bittersweet trade-off - we got a space station but lost lunar exploration. Visiting the Saturn V at Johnson Space Center last summer, I couldn't help but wonder what those canceled missions might've discovered.
Why People Get Confused About Apollo Mission Numbers
Messy numbering causes most confusion about how many Apollo missions existed. Consider:
Apollo 1 vs. AS-204: The fatal mission was officially named Apollo 204. After the fire, NASA honored the crew by redesignating it Apollo 1.
The Missing Apollos: Missions 2 and 3 were renamed from AS-201/AS-202 years after they flew. Apollo 4-6 were originally AS-501 through AS-503.
And let's not forget the Skylab missions. Technically, Skylabs 2, 3, and 4 used Apollo CSMs - are those Apollo missions? NASA says no, but the hardware was identical. Feels like cheating to exclude them when counting Apollo flights.
The Lunar Landings: How Many Actually Touched Down
Only six Apollo missions landed on the moon (11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17). But their surface times varied wildly:
| Mission | Lunar Stay | EVAs | Moonwalks | Samples Returned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo 11 | 21h 36m | 1 | 2h 31m | 21.55 kg |
| Apollo 12 | 31h 31m | 2 | 7h 45m | 34.35 kg |
| Apollo 15 | 66h 55m | 3 | 18h 35m | 77.31 kg |
| Apollo 17 | 74h 59m | 3 | 22h 04m | 110.52 kg |
Apollo 17 holds the records: longest lunar stay, most samples collected, and only night launch. Harrison Schmitt was the lone geologist to walk on the moon - his rock samples changed planetary science forever.
Holding an Apollo 17 moon rock at NASA's Lunar Lab (they let you touch it with gloves!), I realized: these missions aren't history. That basalt is 3.7 billion years old. We touched another world yesterday in cosmic time.
The Human Cost: Apollo 1 and Apollo 13
Discussing how many Apollo missions existed means confronting tragedies. Apollo 1 killed its crew before launch. Apollo 13 nearly did in space. Both shaped the program profoundly.
Apollo 1: The Fire That Changed Everything
January 27, 1967. Pure oxygen cabin. Nylon materials. Spark from faulty wiring. All three astronauts dead in 17 seconds. The investigation uncovered:
- Hatch design trapped crew inside
- Flammable Velcro throughout cabin
- No emergency oxygen systems
After Apollo 1, NASA implemented 1,400 design changes. Future cabins used fire-resistant Beta cloth, nitrogen-oxygen mix, and quick-release hatches. A brutal but necessary wake-up call.
Apollo 13: "Failure Is Not an Option"
April 13, 1970. Oxygen Tank 2 exploded 200,000 miles from Earth. What saved the crew?
Improvised solutions: Crew used lunar module as lifeboat. Engineers jury-rigged CO2 scrubbers with plastic bags and tape. Mission Control calculated manual engine burns on slide rules.
Total mission duration: 142 hours. Survival odds initially estimated at 10%. This near-disaster proved NASA's ingenuity under pressure - and ended lunar missions for 20 months.
Where Apollo Hardware Lives Today
Wanna see actual Apollo spacecraft? Here's where NASA displays them:
| Mission | Command Module Location | Lunar Module Fate |
|---|---|---|
| Apollo 11 | National Air and Space Museum, DC | Crashed on Moon (ascent stage) |
| Apollo 13 | Kansas Cosmosphere | Burned in Earth's atmosphere |
| Apollo 15 | USAF Museum, Ohio | Crashed on Moon |
| Apollo 17 | Johnson Space Center, Houston | Crashed on Moon |
Seeing Apollo 11's Columbia module up close? Goosebumps. The heat shield charring tells stories no textbook can. And those handwritten checklists on the instrument panel? Astronaut graffiti basically.
Legacy and Controversy: Was It Worth It?
Let's address the elephant in the room: NASA spent $25.8 billion (about $260B today) on Apollo. Critics argue that money could've solved poverty or disease. Valid point. But consider the returns:
Tech spinoffs: Cordless tools, CAT scans, freeze-dried food, solar panels, flame-resistant fabrics - all Apollo byproducts.
Inspiration effect: STEM enrollments spiked 400% during Apollo. Entire generations became engineers.
Personally? I get why people question the cost. But watching SpaceX land rockets thanks to Apollo-era research? That ROI keeps paying dividends.
My grandfather worked on Saturn V guidance systems. He showed me his 1969 paycheck: $127/week. "We weren't in it for money," he'd say. "We were beating the Soviets to the high ground." Cold War context explains so much.
Your Apollo Missions Questions Answered
Exactly how many Apollo missions were flown including tests?
11 manned flights (Apollo 7-17 plus Apollo 1's planned mission) plus 4 unmanned tests (AS-201, AS-202, AS-203, Apollo 4-6). Total flown missions: 15. But only 17 numbered missions in sequence.
Which Apollo missions carried humans?
Apollo 1 (ground test), 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. That's 12 manned missions counting Apollo 1.
Why did Apollo missions stop at 17?
Budget cuts. Nixon canceled Apollos 18-20 in 1970 to fund the Space Shuttle. Public interest also waned after the first landing.
How many Apollo missions are still in space?
None. All command modules returned except Apollo 10's Snoopy module, which orbits the sun. Lunar modules either crashed on moon or burned in atmosphere.
Did any Apollo missions fail completely?
Apollo 1 failed before launch. Apollo 13 failed its lunar landing but returned crew safely. Unmanned Apollo 6 had critical engine failures but provided valuable data.
So when someone asks "how many Apollo missions were there," you've got options. 17 numbered missions. 6 moon landings. 12 manned flights. 15 flown vehicles. All answers are correct depending on context. That's the messy, magnificent legacy of Apollo - humanity's greatest adventure.
Walking through the Apollo gallery in DC last month, I overheard a kid ask her dad: "Why did we stop going?" Chilling question. With Artemis ramping up, maybe we'll finally have an answer. But that's another story...