Apollo Command Module Activity Sheet

The Apollo command module was the main crew cabin for NASA's Apollo missions. It had a cone-like shape, seats for three astronauts, control panels, windows, a heat shield, and systems for navigation, communication, and life support.

During a Moon mission, the command module traveled with the service module, which carried important equipment and supplies. Near the Moon, two astronauts could move into the lunar module for landing while one astronaut stayed in lunar orbit inside the command module.

At the end of the mission, the command module was the only part of the spacecraft that returned through Earth's atmosphere. Its heat shield protected the crew from the extreme heat of reentry, and parachutes slowed the capsule before splashdown in the ocean.

The Apollo program was a major space exploration effort in the 1960s and early 1970s. Apollo spacecraft carried astronauts farther from Earth than anyone had gone before and made the first crewed Moon landing possible in July 1969.

The command module became an important symbol of engineering, teamwork, navigation, and careful testing. Museums preserve Apollo capsules today so visitors can see the small spacecraft that carried people across deep space and home again.