# Which Apollo mission was the greatest?

> Twelve flights carried the name and only six of them landed. Firsts, rescues, rehearsals and one long goodbye, all competing on very different claims.

*By YPB Team · Published August 23, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/which-apollo-mission-was-the-greatest*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Apollo 11** — score 1000/1000
   The first crewed lunar landing, on 20 July 1969, watched live by an estimated 600 million people.
2. **Apollo-Soyuz Test Project** — score 745/1000
   The final flight of Apollo hardware, docking with a Soviet Soyuz in orbit in 1975.
3. **Apollo 16** — score 553/1000
   Explored the lunar highlands at Descartes, the most rugged terrain any Apollo crew attempted.
4. **Apollo 13** — score 488/1000
   An oxygen tank ruptured on the way to the Moon and the crew was brought home alive using the lunar module as a lifeboat.
5. **Apollo 15** — score 423/1000
   The first mission to carry the lunar roving vehicle, which extended how far a crew could travel from the lander.
6. **Apollo 17** — score 423/1000
   The last crewed lunar landing, in December 1972, and the only one to carry a professional geologist.
7. **Apollo 14** — score 423/1000
   Alan Shepard, the first American in space, walked on the Moon and hit two golf balls across it.
8. **Apollo 7** — score 423/1000
   The first crewed Apollo flight, which returned the programme to space after the Apollo 1 fire.
9. **Apollo 10** — score 349/1000
   A full dress rehearsal that flew the lunar module to within nine miles of the surface without landing.
10. **Apollo 12** — score 263/1000
   Landed within walking distance of the unmanned Surveyor 3 probe, proving a pinpoint landing was possible.
11. **Apollo 9** — score 263/1000
   Tested the lunar module in Earth orbit, the first time the complete Apollo spacecraft flew together with a crew.
12. **Apollo 8** — score 44/1000
   The first crewed flight to leave Earth orbit and circle the Moon, and the mission that brought back Earthrise.

Tags: 60s, space, nasa, apollo