The Apollo 11 crew
1969
Who
Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin - all on their second and final spaceflight.
Why it matters
The first humans to land on the Moon (16-24 Jul 1969). Armstrong's moonwalk was broadcast live to an estimated 600 million viewers - roughly one-fifth of the world's population - making it among the most-watched television events in history: 'That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.' Collins, alone aboard the command module Columbia in lunar orbit, was the only person at the time to see the far side of the Moon by himself - the most important man nobody was watching. The samples they returned led to the identification of three previously unrecognized minerals.
Lineage
Built on the Saturn V and the Deep Space Network. Their live TV feed was continued by Apollo 12's TV experiment (the Apollo 12 TV card). Enabled the entire heritage of lunar science.