Space questions, answered

How many people have walked on the Moon?

Twelve people have walked on the Moon — all of them NASA astronauts, on six Apollo landings between 1969 and 1972.

Each of the six successful Apollo landings put two people on the surface, for twelve moonwalkers in total. The first were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in July 1969; the last were Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in December 1972.

A larger group — twenty-four people — travelled to the Moon, but the other twelve stayed in orbit rather than landing. No human has walked on the Moon since 1972, though NASA's Artemis III is planned to change that.

Who has been to the Moon? — all twelve, named →Artemis III — the planned return →

Sources: NASA — Apollo program