Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and North American Rockwell teamed to build the Saturn Apollo space vehicle that takes the first humans to the surface of the moon and returns them safely to Earth. The Apollo program sent nine expeditions to the Moon. Six landed 12 astronauts on the lunar surface, starting July 20, 1969. North American developed the conical command module, where the crew rode; a cylindrical service module; and the service propulsion system. The last Apollo Moon mission was Dec. 7 to 19, 1972.