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 Lunar Module the Moon via Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) instead of the direct ascent or Earth Orbit Rendezvous (EOR) methods. Both direct ascent and EOR would have involved landing a much heavier, complete Apollo spacecraft on the Moon. Once the decision had been made to proceed using LOR, it became necessary to produce a separate craft capable of reaching the lunar surface and ascending back to lunar orbit. In July 1962, eleven firms were invited to submit proposals for the LEM. Nine companies responded in September, answering 20 specific questions posed by the NASA RFP in a 60-page limited technical proposal. Grumman