Apollo Moon project idea was firstly announced and implemented in the 60s-70s. In May, 1961 the program was announced. However, by this time there were no proper spaceships to handle the flight to the Moon with landing and return on the Earth. Then some appropriate research was done. The approach they used included Saturn V rocket - a 50-tonspaceship. Few samples of Saturn spaceship were constructed and few additional needed vehicles were created as well. Apollo spaceships had special rocket power, which enabled a possibility to slow down when they come closer to the lunar surface. Also, Apollo series consisted of few attached vehicles - lunar modules, with independent rocket power and places for two astronauts inside. Lunar modules are used to take two astronauts on the Moon surface and back on the orbit station.
The first Apollo mission with people was a tragic one, though it was only a testing of the spacecraft, the ignition occurred and burnt all three astronauts on the board. It happened on January 27, 1967. A year later in October, a few Apollo flights without people inside were made to the Earth orbit. Then, Apollo 8 made the first successful attempt on manned approaching to the Moon's orbit and came back home safe and sound. The Apollo 9 mission had to check the lunar modules condition on the Earth's orbit. Apollo 10 took a journey to the lunar module to test modules on practice and moved through 50,000 feet of the Moon's surface. Famous Apollo 11 mission took all the previous steps made by other missions and successfully landed two astronauts on the soil of the Moon. Neil Armstrong became the first man ever to walk the surface of the Moon on July, 20 1969.
Apollo 13 is also very famous, but with a tragic sort of fame. In April, 1970, Apollo 13 spacecraft was exposed to the explosion in the hydrogen tank, but astronauts and control missions on the Earth managed to cope with accident and the crew came home alive. Further Apollo missions were mostly of scientific and investigative characters, bringing home more than 840 pounds of lunar soil and samples, as well as making solar wind experiments and taking the information about the climate and characteristics on the Moon. As a result, 12 American astronauts walked the surface of the Moon and 6 scientific missions on the Moon were completed in terms of Apollo program.