NASA Open-Sources Historic Apollo 11 Mission Code

Original Command Module and Lunar Module code repositories are now public domain resources

Apr. 11, 2026 at 11:20am

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A bold, abstract painting featuring sweeping geometric arcs, concentric circles, and precise spirals in earthy tones, representing the complex algorithms and mathematical concepts that powered the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon.The open-sourcing of the original Apollo 11 mission code unlocks a treasure trove of historic technological innovation, inspiring new generations to explore the frontiers of space.Houston Today

NASA has open-sourced the historic computer software code that guided the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon, making the Comanche055 and Luminary099 codebases freely available for anyone to view, download, and tinker with. The code, which was digitized by the Virtual AGC project and the MIT Museum, represents a significant piece of space exploration history that is now accessible to the public.

Why it matters

The release of the Apollo 11 mission code is a significant milestone in preserving and democratizing access to historic technological achievements. By making this code publicly available, NASA is allowing researchers, hobbyists, and the general public to study, understand, and even build upon the software that enabled one of humanity's greatest feats of exploration.

The details

The published resource consists of two large codebases: one for the Command Module (Comanche055) and another for the Lunar Module (Luminary099). These modules each had their own Apollo 11 Guidance Computer (AGC) to run the code, which was instrumental to the success of the Moon landing mission. The code includes examples like the ALARM_AND_ABORT.agc file, which handles various abort-level and non-abortive alarms, as well as the crucial 30 lines of assembly code for calculating the Apollo 11 navigation trajectories.

  • The historic Apollo 11 mission took place in 1969.
  • NASA open-sourced the mission code in April 2026.

The players

NASA

The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the government agency responsible for the Apollo 11 mission and the open-sourcing of its historic computer code.

Chris Garry

A NASA employee who made the Apollo 11 code available on GitHub as a public domain resource.

Virtual AGC

A project that digitized and proofread the hard copy of the Apollo 11 code held at the MIT Museum, making it available for online distribution.

MIT Museum

The institution that held the original hard copy of the Apollo 11 code, which was then digitized and open-sourced.

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What’s next

The open-sourced Apollo 11 code can now be compiled using the Virtual AGC tool, which is compatible with various operating systems. This allows researchers, hobbyists, and the public to further explore and build upon this historic software.

The takeaway

The open-sourcing of the Apollo 11 mission code represents a significant step in preserving and democratizing access to historic technological achievements. By making this code publicly available, NASA is enabling a new generation of space enthusiasts, programmers, and researchers to study, understand, and potentially build upon the software that enabled one of humanity's greatest feats of exploration.