In Pictures: The Apollo moonwalkers

1 of 12 Neil Alden Armstrong was the first man to step on the moon, planting his left foot into the dust on 20 July 1969.

2 of 12 Buzz Aldrin, seen here in The Eagle spacecraft, joined Armstrong on the Sea of Tranquillity. He famously described the scene as "magnificent desolation".

3 of 12 Charles "Pete" Conrad was the commander of Apollo 12. A colourful character, he died in motorcycle crash in 1999.

4 of 12 Alan Bean's trip to the moon was his first voyage into space. He is now a successful artist, often depicting lunar scenes.

5 of 12 Alan Shepherd was the first American in space in 1961, but many remember him as the man who played golf on the moon 10 years later.

6 of 12 Edgar Mitchell joined Shepherd on the moon during Apollo 14. The previous mission, Apollo 13, had failed to reach the moon due to a near-fatal explosion.

7 of 12 David Scott commanded Apollo 15 and found the significant "Genesis rock" (a piece of anorthosite), which he can be seen inspecting here.

8 of 12 Upon returning to Earth, Jim Irwin embarked on some unusual quests, including a search for Noah's Ark.

9 of 12 In this famous leap, veteran astronaut John Young can be seen demonstrating the low gravity of the moon. Young had a long career as an astronaut and even piloted the first space shuttle mission.

10 of 12 Charles Duke was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 16. It was his only voyage into space.

11 of 12 Eugene Cernan was the 11th moonwalker, but claims the title as "last man on the moon" because he was final man to leave the surface and enter the Apollo 17 lunar module.

12 of 12 Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, a geologist, was the only scientist to visit the moon. Note the Earth in the sky above him.