Apollo Lunar Module The first manned lunar landing occurred on July 20, 1969 with the Apollo 11 LM "Eagle". Four days later, the Apollo 11 crew in the Command Module "Columbia" splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, completing President John F. Kennedy's goal "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." This was followed by precision landings on Apollo 12 "(Intrepid)" and Apollo 14 "(Antares)".In April 1970, the Apollo 13 lunar module "Aquarius" played an unexpected role in saving the lives of the three astronauts after an oxygen tank in the service
Apollo program landings. The S-IC first stage burned RP-1/LOX for a rated thrust of , which was upgraded to . The second and third stages burned liquid hydrogen, and the third stage was a modified version of the S-IVB, with thrust increased to and capability to restart the engine for translunar injection after reaching a parking orbit. NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations during the Apollo program was Donald K. "Deke" Slayton, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts who was medically grounded in September 1962 due to a heart murmur. Slayton was responsible for making all Gemini and Apollo crew assignments.