They Didn't Walk on the Moon Trivia Quiz

Answer: Frank Borman

Frank Borman flew Apollo 8 in 1968 with crewmates William 'Bill' Anders and James 'Jim' Lovell. Apollo 8 made 10 orbits of the moon during this mission.
Frank flew two flights whilst at NASA and is one of only a handful of astronauts to fly their first mission as a Commander. James McDivitt is also one of the select few to have flown their first mission as a Commander.

Answer: Thomas Stafford

General Thomas Stafford was Commander of Apollo 10 in 1969. General Stafford and his two crewmates (John Young and Eugene 'Gene' Cernan - who both landed on the moon in later Apollo missions) were cited in the Guinness Book of World records for reaching the highest speed attained by man (24,791 statute miles per hour), on re-entry. Frank Borman orbited the moon in Apollo 8.

Answer: Richard Gordon

Apollo 12 was the second manned mission to land on the moon. Captain Richard 'Dick' Gordon's crewmates Alan Bean and Pete Conrad landed in the moon's 'Ocean of Storms' while he remained in orbit taking pictures of tentative future moon landing sites. Captain Gordon was also backup commander of Apollo 15 and was intended to walk on the moon as commander of Apollo 18 which was cancelled. William 'Bill' Anders flew Apollo 8 with Frank Borman and James 'Jim' Lovell.

Answer: Fred Haise

Fred Haise served as backup crew on Apollo 8, 11 and 16 missions. He was lunar module pilot for the Apollo 13 mission. James 'Jim' Lovell and John 'Jack' Swigert were his crewmembers for the Apollo 13 mission. Thomas 'Ken' Mattingly was exposed to Rubella (German Measles) prior to mission launch and was replaced by John Swigert as command module pilot.

Answer: Michael Collins

Major General Michael Collins' second space flight was with Apollo 11. His first spaceflight was as a pilot with the Gemini 10 mission. Neil Armstrong and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin completed the first moonwalk. Collins spent the day of the moonwalk orbiting the moon. On each orbit he was out of contact with the Earth for 48 minutes. James 'Jim' Lovell was backup Commander for the Apollo 11 mission.

Answer: 12

The following men have flown to the moon but not landed:
Frank Borman, James 'Jim' Lovell, William 'Bill' Anders (Apollo 8);
Tom Stafford (Apollo 10);
Michael Collins (Apollo 11);
Richard 'Dick' Gordon (Apollo 12);
John 'Jack' Swigert, Fred Haise (Apollo 13);
Stuart Roosa (Apollo 14);
Alfred 'Al' Worden (Apollo 15);
Thomas 'Ken' Mattingly (Apollo 16); and
Ronald Evans (Apollo 17).

John Young and Eugene 'Gene' Cernan flew to the moon on Apollo 10 but neither actually landed or walked on the moon. They both landed in later missions, John Young in Apollo 16 and Eugene Cernan in Apollo 17.

Answer: James Lovell

James 'Jim' Lovell flew as Command Module Pilot on Apollo 8 and as Commander of Apollo 13. He is the only person to have flown to the moon twice but without landing and the first American to have completed four spaceflights. William 'Bill' Anders flew Apollo 8, John 'Jack' Swigert and Fred Haise flew Apollo 13, all in the company of James Lovell.

Answer: 17 & 9

Not all Apollo missions were intended for, or actually reached, the moon. Apollo missions 2-6 were all unmanned tests. Apollo 7 and 9 did not leave low Earth orbit. Apollo 8 was the first manned flight around the moon. Apollo 10 was the first manned flight of the lunar module around the moon. Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 & 17 all landed on the moon. Apollo 13 intended to land but the mission was aborted after an oxygen tank on board exploded. The Apollo 18-20 missions were cancelled due to lack of funds. Unfortunately, all three crew members of Apollo 1 died in a training accident.

Answer: Thomas Mattingly

Thomas 'Ken' Mattingly orbited the moon in the Apollo 16 mission. He was removed from the Apollo 13 mission because he came into contact with the Rubella (German Measles) virus, although he never contracted it. John Young and Charles Duke both flew the Apollo 16 mission as commander and lunar module pilot. Stuart Roosa was Mattingly's backup as command module pilot for the Apollo 16 mission.

Answer: Ronald Evans

In 2007, Ronald Evans held the record for more time in orbit around the moon than anyone else in the world with 301 hours, 51 minutes. 1 hour, 6 minutes of that time was spent outside the module. Apollo 17 was the first nighttime launch of a human spaceflight in the US. David Scott, Alfred 'Al' Worden and James Irwin were all backup crew for the Apollo 17 mission.