How many Apollo astronauts are still alive

Of the 24 people who flew to the Moon on NASA’s Apollo program, 12 walked on the lunar surface and, as of 2026, 8 Apollo astronauts are still alive. This status clarifier provides an answer-first summary followed by verified mission-level detail, date context, and source-backed attributes to help readers quickly understand who among the Apollo astronauts remains alive and how the overall cohort compares.

Answer summary up front

In short: 8 of the 24 Apollo astronauts are still living, meaning 16 have died. The 12 lunar walkers include both living and deceased astronauts. Because Apollo missions spanned 1967 to 1975, age and health naturally vary; currently, the youngest living Apollo astronaut is in their late 80s, while a handful of crew members from the earliest flights are deceased. These numbers reflect the program’s full crewed arc from Apollo 7 through Apollo 17.

Apollo astronaut status overview

The Apollo program flew 24 unique astronauts to lunar orbit or to the surface. Of these, 12 set foot on the Moon, and their ongoing status varies by individual circumstances including age at flight, career longevity, and causes of death where documented. Status tracking must distinguish between crewed flights only; uncrewed test launches are not included in this astronaut count. The table below aligns each astronaut with their mission(s), role (Commander, Lunar Module Pilot, or Command Module Pilot), lunar surface walk status, and current status as widely reported in 2026 public records and NASA biographies.

Key definitions

• Apollo astronaut: Any person officially assigned by NASA to an Apollo mission crew.
• Living: Publicly documented as alive by authoritative sources such as NASA, official obituaries, or credible news reports as of 2026.
• Lunar surface walk: Includes both Moon walks by lunar module pilots and any commander EVA on the lunar surface.

Notable mission-by-mission status

Each Apollo mission contributed different crew roles and outcomes. Early flights such as Apollo 7 and Apollo 9 were Earth orbital checks that kept crews healthy, while Apollo 13’s safe return after an in-flight emergency meant all three astronauts survived despite life-threatening failure. Later J-missions (Apollo 15, 16, 17) had two-person lunar surface teams, increasing the Moon walker count to 12. The following table summarizes mission numbers, launch years, crew roles, walking status, and widely reported current status.