How long did it take to get to the Moon?
The Apollo astronauts took about three days to reach the Moon. Apollo 11 launched on July 16, 1969, and entered lunar orbit about 76 hours later, on July 19.
The Moon is on average about 384,400 kilometers from Earth. After launch, the Saturn V rocket put Apollo 11 into Earth orbit, then fired its third stage to send the spacecraft toward the Moon. The trip took about three days, and the landing came on July 20, the next day after reaching lunar orbit.
The journey time depends on the route and speed. NASA's New Horizons probe, launched toward Pluto in 2006, passed the Moon's orbit in about nine hours because it was traveling extremely fast. Some uncrewed missions take weeks or months, using slower, fuel-saving paths.
The Artemis era
NASA's Artemis II mission, launched in April 2026, took several days to reach the Moon, swinging around its far side before heading home. The whole crewed flight lasted about ten days. Future crewed landing missions are expected to take a few days each way.
Did You Know?
The Apollo 10 crew reached a speed of about 39,900 kilometers per hour on their return to Earth in 1969, the fastest speed ever achieved by humans.