May 21

Apollo Astronauts First to Orbit Moon

On this day in 1969, Apollo 10 astronauts Thomas P. Stafford, John W. Young, and Eugene A. Cernan were the first Americans to orbit the moon. The Apollo 10 spacecraft traveled from the Earth to the moon, circled the moon for several days, and then returned to the Earth. Even though the astronauts were only nine miles from the surface of the moon, their flight was just a practice for the Apollo 11 moon landing later in the year.