The NASA Moon Program, also known as the APOLLO Program, was a human spaceflight program initiated by the United States in 1961 with the goal of landing the first humans on the Moon and returning them safely to Earth. The program was conducted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and lasted from 1961 to 1972. It achieved its goal when the APOLLO 11 mission landed the first two people on the Moon on July 20, 1969.