This is a list of robotic space probes that have flown by, impacted, orbited or landed on the Moon for the purpose of lunar exploration, as well as probes launched toward the Moon that failed to reach their target.
The crewed Apollo missions are listed at List of missions to the Moon.
Major programs encompassing several probes include:
Colour key:
– Mission or flyby completed successfully (or partially successfully) | – Failed or cancelled mission | ||
– Mission en route or in progress (including mission extensions) | – Planned mission |
Spacecraft | Organization | Date | Type | Status | Notes | Image | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pioneer 0 | ![]() | 17 August 1958 | orbiter | failure | first attempted launch beyond Earth orbit; launch vehicle failure; maximum altitude 16 km | ![]() | ABLE1 | |
Luna E-1 No.1 | ![]() | 23 September 1958 | impactor | failure | launch vehicle failure | |||
Pioneer 1 | ![]() ![]() | 11 October 1958 | orbiter | failure | second stage premature shutdown; maximum altitude 113,800 km; some data returned | ![]() | 1958-007A | |
Luna E-1 No.2 | ![]() | 12 October 1958 | impactor | failure | launch vehicle failure | |||
Pioneer 2 | ![]() ![]() | 8 November 1958 | orbiter | failure | third stage failure; maximum altitude 1,550 km; some data returned | ![]() | PION2 | |
Luna E-1 No.3 | ![]() | 4 December 1958 | impactor | failure | launch vehicle failure | |||
Pioneer 3 | ![]() ![]() | 6 December 1958 | flyby | failure | fuel depletion; maximum altitude 102,360 km; some data returned | ![]() | 1958-008A | |
Luna 1 | ![]() | 4 January 1959 | flyby | partial success | first spacecraft in the vicinity of the Moon (flew within 5,995 km, but probably an intended impactor) | 1959-012A | ||
Pioneer 4 | ![]() ![]() | 4 March 1959 | flyby | partial success | achieved distant flyby; first US probe to enter solar orbit | ![]() | 1959-013A | |
Luna E-1A No.1 | ![]() | 18 June 1959 | impactor | failure | failed to reach Earth orbit | |||
Luna 2 | ![]() | 14 September 1959 | impactor | success | first impact on Moon | 1959-014A | ||
Pioneer P-1 | ![]() | 24 September 1959? | orbiter? | failure | designation sometimes given to a failed launch or launchpad explosion during testing; conflicting information between sources | ![]() | ||
Luna 3 | ![]() | 6 October 1959 | flyby | success | first images from the lunar farside | 1959-008A | ||
Pioneer P-3 | ![]() | 26 November 1959 | orbiter | failure | disintegrated shortly after launch | ![]() | PIONX | |
Luna 1960A † | ![]() | 15 April 1960 | flyby | failure | failed to attain correct trajectory | |||
Luna 1960B † | ![]() | 16 April 1960 | flyby | failure | launch vehicle failure | |||
Pioneer P-30 | ![]() | 25 September 1960 | orbiter | failure | second stage failure; failed to reach Earth orbit | ![]() | PIONY | |
Pioneer P-31 | ![]() | 15 December 1960 | orbiter | failure | first stage failure | ![]() | PIONZ |
Spacecraft | Organization | Date | Type | Status | Notes | Image | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ranger 3 | ![]() | 28 January 1962 | impactor | failure | missed target | ![]() | 1962-001A | |
Ranger 4 | ![]() | 26 April 1962 | impactor | failure | hit the lunar farside; no data returned | ![]() | 1962-012A | |
Ranger 5 | ![]() | 21 October 1962 | impactor | failure | power failure, missed target | ![]() | 1962-055A | |
Sputnik 25 | ![]() | 5 January 1963 | lander | failure | failed to escape Earth orbit | 1963-001A | ||
Luna E-6 No.3 † | ![]() | 2 February 1963 | lander? | failure | failed to reach Earth orbit | |||
Luna 4 | ![]() | 5 April 1963 | lander? | failure | missed target, became Earth satellite | 1963-008B | ||
Ranger 6 | ![]() | 2 February 1964 | impactor | partial success | impacted, but no pictures returned due to power failure | ![]() | 1964-007A | |
Luna 1964A † | ![]() | 21 March 1964 | lander | failure | failed to reach Earth orbit | |||
Ranger 7 | ![]() | 31 July 1964 | impactor | success | returned pictures until impact | ![]() | 1964-041A | |
Ranger 8 | ![]() | 20 February 1965 | impactor | success | returned pictures until impact | ![]() | 1965-010A | |
Cosmos 60 | ![]() | 12 March 1965 | lander | failure | failed to leave Earth orbit | 1965-018A | ||
Ranger 9 | ![]() | 24 March 1965 | impactor | success | TV broadcast of live pictures until impact | ![]() | 1965-023A | |
Luna 1965A † | ![]() | 10 April 1965 | lander | failure | failed to reach Earth orbit? | |||
Luna 5 | ![]() | 12 May 1965 | lander | failure | crashed into Moon | 1965-036A | ||
Luna 6 | ![]() | 8 June 1965 | lander | failure | missed Moon | 1965-044A | ||
Zond 3 | ![]() | 20 July 1965 | flyby | success | possibly originally intended as a Mars probe, but target changed after launch window missed | 1965-056A | ||
Luna 7 | ![]() | 7 October 1965 | lander | failure | crashed into Moon | 1965-077A | ||
Luna 8 | ![]() | 6 December 1965 | lander | failure | crashed into Moon | 1965-099A |
Spacecraft | Organization | Date | Type | Status | Notes | Image | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Luna 9 | ![]() | 3 February 1966 – 6 February 1966 | lander | success | first soft landing; first images from the surface | 1966-006A | ||
Cosmos 111 | ![]() | 1 March 1966 | orbiter | failure | failed to escape Earth orbit | 1966-017A | ||
Luna 10 | ![]() | 3 April 1966 – 30 May 1966 | orbiter | success | first artificial satellite of the Moon | 1966-027A | ||
Luna 1966A† | ![]() | 30 April 1966 | orbiter | failure | failed to reach Earth orbit | |||
Surveyor 1 | ![]() | 2 June 1966 | lander | success | first US soft landing; Surveyor program performed various tests in support of forthcoming human landings | ![]() | 1966-045A | |
Explorer 33 | ![]() | 1 July 1966 – 15 September 1971 | orbiter | partial success | studied interplanetary plasma, cosmic rays, magnetic fields and solar X rays; failed to attain lunar orbit as intended, but achieved mission objectives from Earth orbit | ![]() | 1966-058A | |
Lunar Orbiter 1 | ![]() | 14 August 1966 – 29 October 1966 | orbiter | success | photographic mapping of lunar surface; intentionally impacted after completion of mission | ![]() | 1966-073A | |
Luna 11 | ![]() | 28 August 1966 – 1 October 1966 | orbiter | success | gamma-ray and X-ray-based observations of Moon's composition; gravity, radiation and meteorite studies | 1966-078A | ||
Surveyor 2 | ![]() | 23 September 1966 | lander | failure | crashed into Moon | ![]() | 1966-084A | |
Luna 12 | ![]() | 25 October 1966 – 19 January 1967 | orbiter | success | lunar surface photography | 1966-094A | ||
Lunar Orbiter 2 | ![]() | 10 November 1966 – 11 October 1967 | orbiter | success | photographic mapping of lunar surface; intentionally impacted after completion of mission | ![]() | 1966-100A | |
Luna 13 | ![]() | 24 December 1966 | lander | success | TV pictures of lunar landscape; soil measurements | 1966-116A | ||
Lunar Orbiter 3 | ![]() | 8 February 1967 – 9 October 1967 | orbiter | success | photographic mapping of lunar surface; intentionally impacted after completion of mission | ![]() | 1967-008A | |
Surveyor 3 | ![]() | 20 April 1967 – 4 May 1967 | lander | success | various studies, primarily in support of forthcoming human landings. First lander visited by a later crewed mission (Apollo 12) that even brought its components back to Earth. | ![]() | 1967-035A | |
Lunar Orbiter 4 | ![]() | May–October 1967 | orbiter | success | lunar photographic survey | ![]() | 1967-041A | |
Explorer 35 | ![]() | July 1967 – 24 June 1973 | orbiter | success | studies of interplanetary plasma, magnetic fields, energetic particles and solar X rays | ![]() | 1967-070A | |
Surveyor 4 | ![]() | 17 July 1967 | lander | failure | crashed into Moon | ![]() | 1967-068A | |
Lunar Orbiter 5 | ![]() | 5 August 1967 – 31 January 1968 | orbiter | success | lunar photographic survey; intentionally impacted after completion of mission | ![]() | 1967-075A | |
Surveyor 5 | ![]() | 11 September 1967 – 17 December 1967 | lander | success | various studies, primarily in support of forthcoming human landings | ![]() | 1967-084A | |
Zond 1967A † | ![]() | 28 September 1967 | failure | lunar capsule test flight; launch failure | ![]() | |||
Surveyor 6 | ![]() | 10 November 1967 – 14 December 1967 | lander | success | various studies, primarily in support of forthcoming human landings | ![]() | 1967-112A | |
Zond 1967B † | ![]() | 22 November 1967 | failure | lunar capsule test flight; launch failure | ![]() |
Spacecraft | Organization | Date | Type | Status | Notes | Image | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Surveyor 7 | ![]() | 10 January 1968 – 21 February 1968 | lander | success | various studies, primarily in support of forthcoming human landings; fifth and final Surveyor mission to achieve soft landing | ![]() | 1968-001A | |
Luna 1968A † | ![]() | 7 February 1968 | orbiter? | failure | failed to reach Earth orbit | |||
Zond 4 | ![]() | 2 March 1968 (launch) | lunar programme flight test, directed away from Moon, either intentionally or unintentionally | ![]() | 1968-013A | |||
Luna 14 | ![]() | 10 April 1968 – ? | orbiter | success | tests of radio communications technologies; lunar mascon studies | 1968-027A | ||
Zond 1968A † | ![]() | 23 April 1968 | flyby? | failure | launch failure | ![]() | ||
Zond 5 | ![]() | 18 September 1968 | flyby | success | bioscience experiments; returned to soft landing on Earth | ![]() | 1968-076A | |
Zond 6 | ![]() | 14 November 1968 | flyby | success | cosmic-ray, micrometeoroid and bioscience studies; returned to soft landing on Earth | ![]() | 1968-101A | |
Zond 1969A † | ![]() | 20 January 1969 | flyby | failure | launch aborted | ![]() | ||
Luna 1969A † | ![]() | 19 February 1969 | lander | failure | launch vehicle failure | |||
Lunokhod 201† | rover | failure | ||||||
Zond L1S-1 † | ![]() | 21 February 1969 | orbiter | failure | launch vehicle failure | ![]() | ||
Luna 1969B † | ![]() | 15 April 1969 | sample return? | failure | launch failure | |||
Luna 1969C † | ![]() | 14 June 1969 | sample return | failure | launch failure | |||
Zond L1S-2 † | ![]() | 3 July 1969 | orbiter | failure | launch failure | ![]() | ||
Luna 15 | ![]() | 21 July 1969 | sample return? | failure? | completed 52 lunar orbits then crash-landed | 1969-058A | ||
Zond 7 | ![]() | 11 August 1969 | flyby | success | returned to soft landing on Earth | ![]() | 1969-067A | |
Cosmos 300 | ![]() | 23 September 1969 | sample return | failure | failed to escape Earth orbit | 1969-080A | ||
Cosmos 305 | ![]() | 22 October 1969 | sample return | failure | failed to escape Earth orbit | 1969-092A | ||
Luna 1970A † | ![]() | 6 February 1970 | sample return? | failure | launch vehicle failure | |||
Luna 1970B† | ![]() | 19 February 1970 | orbiter? | failure | launch vehicle failure | |||
Luna 16 | ![]() | 20 September 1970 | sample return | success | first robotic sample return | 1970-072A | ||
Zond 8 | ![]() | 24 October 1970 | flyby | success | returned to soft landing on Earth | ![]() | 1970-088A | |
Luna 17 | ![]() | 17 November 1970 – 4 October 1971 | lander | success | deployed rover | 1970-095A | ||
Lunokhod 1 | rover | success | first robotic rover; travelled over 10 km | 1970-095D |
Spacecraft | Organization | Date | Type | Status | Notes | Image | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Luna 18 | ![]() | 11 September 1971 | lander/sample return? | failure | crashed into Moon | 1971-073A | ||
Luna 19 | ![]() | 3 October 1971 – October 1972 | orbiter | success | 1971-082A | |||
Luna 20 | ![]() | 21 February 1972 | sample return | success | second successful robotic sample return | 1972-007A | ||
Soyuz L3 † | ![]() | 23 November 1972 | orbiter | failure | launch failure | ![]() | ||
Luna 21 | ![]() | 15 January 1973 – May 1973? | lander | success | deployed rover | 1973-001A | ||
Lunokhod 2 | rover | success | second robotic rover; travelled 37 km | |||||
Explorer 49 | ![]() | 15 June 1973 – June 1975 | orbiter | success | radio astronomy observations; last US lunar mission until 1994 | ![]() | 1973-039A | |
Mariner 10 | ![]() | November 1973 | flyby | success | en route to Venus and Mercury | ![]() | 1973-085A | |
Luna 22 | ![]() | 2 June 1974 – November 1974 | orbiter | success | 1974-037A | |||
Luna 23 | ![]() | 6 November 1974 | sample return | failure | damaged on landing, sample return failed | 1974-084A | ||
Luna 1975A † | ![]() | 16 October 1975 | sample return | failure | failed to reach Earth orbit | |||
Luna 24 | ![]() | 18 August 1976 | sample return | success | third and final successful sample return in Luna programme | 1976-081A |
Spacecraft | Organization | Date | Type | Status | Notes | Image | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ICE (formerly ISEE-3) | ![]() | 22 December 1983 | flyby | success | gravity assist en route to comet flybys | ![]() | 1978-079A | |
Hiten | ![]() | March 1990 – October 1991 | flyby (approached 10 times) | success | in Moon-crossing Earth orbit from January 1990, later transferred to lunar orbit after failure of Hagoromo; intentionally impacted on Moon at end of mission; first Japanese probe (and non-USSR/US probe) to enter lunar orbit | ![]() | 1990-007A | |
February 1992 – April 1993 | orbiter | success | ||||||
Hagoromo | ![]() | March 1990 | orbiter | failure | released by Hiten into lunar orbit, but transmitter failed and orbit never confirmed | |||
GEOTAIL | ![]() ![]() | September 1992 – November 1994 | flyby (approached 14 times) | success | gravity assist en route magnetotail around L2 / finally deployed into high Earth orbit | |||
WIND | ![]() | 1 December 1994 and 27 December 1994 | flyby | success | gravity assists en route to Earth–Sun L1 Lagrangian point | ![]() | 1994-071A | |
Clementine | ![]() ![]() | February – June 1994 | orbiter | partial success | lunar and Earth observations and component testing; planned Geographos flyby failed | ![]() | 1994-004A | |
HGS-1 | ![]() | May/June 1998 | Flyby (orbital correction) | errant communications satellite, flew within 6,200 kilometers of Moon during orbit correction manoeuvres | 1997-086A | |||
Lunar Prospector | ![]() | January 1998 – July 1999 | orbiter | success | lunar surface mapping; intentionally impacted into polar crater at end of mission to test for liberation of water vapour (not detected) | ![]() | 1998-001A | |
Nozomi | ![]() | 24 September 1998 | flyby | success | gravity assists on planned mission to Mars | 1998-041A | ||
18 December 1998 | flyby | success |
Spacecraft | Organization | Date | Type | Status | Notes | Image | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WMAP | ![]() | 30 July 2001 | flyby | success | gravity assist en route to Earth–Sun L2 Lagrangian point | ![]() | 2001-027A | |
SMART-1 | ![]() | 13 November 2004 – 3 September 2006 | orbiter | success | technology testbed and lunar geological studies; intentionally impacted at end of mission; first European probe to orbit the Moon | 2003-043C | ||
STEREO A | ![]() | 15 December 2006 | flyby | success | gravity assist to enter a heliocentric orbit | ![]() | 2006-047A | |
STEREO B | ![]() | 15 December 2006 and 21 January 2007 | flyby | success | gravity assists to enter a heliocentric orbit | 2006-047B | ||
SELENE (Kaguya) | ![]() | 3 October 2007 – 10 June 2009 | orbiter | success | mineralogical, geographical, magnetic and gravitational observations | ![]() | 2007-039A | |
Okina (Relay Star) | 9 October 2007 – 12 February 2009 | Kaguya subsatellite | success | relay for Kaguya's Far Side operations | ||||
Ouna (VRAD) | 12 October 2007 – 29 June 2009 | Kaguya subsatellite | success (still in orbit) | Very Long Baseline Interferometry | ||||
Chang'e 1 | ![]() | 5 November 2007 – 1 March 2009 | orbiter | success | 3D lunar mapping and geological observations; first Chinese probe to orbit a body besides Earth; impacted to collect data in preparation for future soft landings | ![]() | 2007-051A | |
Chandrayaan-1 | ![]() | 8 November 2008 – 29 August 2009 | orbiter | success | high resolution 3D mapping, search water in polar region (first detection of water) and spectral analysis of the Moon's surface and inner compositions [1] | ![]() | 2008-052A Archived 2014-04-12 at the Wayback Machine | |
Moon Impact Probe (MIP) | ![]() | 14 November 2008 | impactor | success | test and demonstrate targeting technologies for future soft landings, scientific observation from close range | |||
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter | ![]() | 23 June 2009 – | orbiter | in orbit | survey of lunar resources and identification of possible landing sites | ![]() | 2009-031A | |
LCROSS | ![]() | 23 June 2009 | flyby | success | consisted of the Shepherding Spacecraft and Centaur upper stage (Earth Departure Upper Stage) | ![]() | 2009-031B | |
LCROSS Shepherding Spacecraft | 9 October 2009 | impactor | success | analyzed upper-stage impact plume for traces of water liberated from the Moon's surface | ||||
LCROSS Earth Departure Upper Stage | 9 October 2009 | impactor | success |
Spacecraft | Organization | Date | Type | Status | Notes | Image | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chang'e 2 | ![]() | 1 October 2010 – 27 August 2011 | orbiter | success | capture high resolution images of the landing zone for Chang'e 3, measure and analyze composition of the surface. Then sent to L2 and on to an asteroid flyby. | ![]() | 2010-050A | |
ARTEMIS P1 | ![]() | 2 July 2011 – | orbiter | in orbit | to study the effect of the solar wind on the lunar surface | ![]() | 2007-004B | |
ARTEMIS P2 | ![]() | 17 July 2011 – | orbiter | in orbit | to study the effect of the solar wind on the lunar surface | 2007-004C | ||
GRAIL A (Ebb) | ![]() | 31 December 2011 – 17 December 2012 | orbiter | success | mapped the Moon's gravitational field; intentionally impacted at end of mission | ![]() | 2011-046A | |
GRAIL B (Flow) | ![]() | 1 January 2012 – 12 December 2012 | orbiter | success | mapped the Moon's gravitational field; intentionally impacted at end of mission | 2011-046B | ||
LADEE | ![]() | 6 September 2013 – 8 April 2014 | orbiter | success | designed to study the lunar exosphere and dust. Intentionally impacted on far side of Moon. | ![]() | 2013-047A | |
Chang'e 3 | ![]() | 1 December 2013 - | lander | in progress | soft-landed on the Moon and deployed Yutu rover on 14 December 2013; one functioning instrument as of 1 September 2020 | 2013-070A | ||
Yutu | ![]() | 1 December 2013 – 2016? | rover | success | survived multiple lunar nights, became immobile 42 days after landing | ![]() | 2013-070C | |
Chang'e 5-T1 | ![]() | 28 October 2014 | flyby | success | Technology demonstrator for Chang'e 5 mission; after separating the Xiaofei reentry capsule, the service module eventually entered lunar orbit to conduct rendezvous exercises | 2014-065A | ||
10 January 2015 – | orbiter | in progress | ||||||
Manfred Memorial Moon Mission | ![]() | October 2014 | flyby/impactor (post mission) | success | privately funded payload attached to a Long March 3C rocket third stage; its dosimeter measured ionizing radiation in space. Unintentional Impact on 4 March 2022. | |||
TESS | ![]() | 17 May 2018 | flyby | success | gravity assist to achieve a lunar resonant high Earth orbit | ![]() | 2018-038A | |
Queqiao | ![]() | 25 May 2018 | flyby | success | Used a gravity assist en route to the Earth–Moon L2 Lagrangian point. Currently serving as relay for Chang'e 4 lander and rover on the far side. | ![]() | 2018-045A | |
Longjiang-1 | ![]() | 25 May 2018 | orbiter | failure | malfunctioned after launch, became flyby | 2018-045B | ||
Longjiang-2 | ![]() | 25 May 2018 – 31 July 2019 | orbiter | success | Very Long Baseline Interferometry, in orbit until 31 July 2019 when it was deliberately directed to crash onto the Moon. | 2018-045C | ||
Chang'e 4 | ![]() | 7 December 2018 – | lander | in progress | First spacecraft to soft land on the far side of the Moon. | ![]() | 2018-103A | |
Yutu-2 | rover | active | ![]() | |||||
Beresheet | ![]() | 22 February 2019 – 11 April 2019 | lander | failure | First Israeli and privately funded lunar lander. Entered lunar orbit on 4 April, hard-landed on 11 April 2019. | 2019-009B | ||
Chandrayaan-2 | ![]() | 22 July 2019 – | orbiter | in orbit | observe lunar geography and mineralogy, search for water molecules | 2019-042A | ||
Vikram | ![]() | 6 September 2019 | lander | failure | crashed due to a software glitch [2] | |||
Pragyan | ![]() | 7 September 2019 | rover | not deployed | was to be deployed from Vikram |
Spacecraft | Organization | Date | Type | Status | Notes | Image | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chang'e 5 | ![]() | 16 December 2020 | sample return | success | Retrieved 1.731 kg of lunar sample and returned it to Earth | ![]() | 2020-087A [3] | |
Chang'e 5 Lander | ![]() | 30 November 2020 - 11 December 2020 | success | Obtained lunar sample and placed on ascent vehicle; conducted radar studies of underground structure | ||||
Chang'e 5 Ascender | ![]() | 3 December 2020 - 7 December 2020 | success | Transferred lunar sample onto return capsule via lunar-orbit rendezvous; intentionally deorbited | ||||
Chang'e 5 Orbiter | ![]() | 9 September 2021 | flyby | success | Extended mission following separation of Chang'e 5 Returner; returned from Sun-Earth L1 [4] to conduct lunar flyby [5] | |||
Chang'e 5 Orbiter | ![]() | Late 2021 - | orbiter | in orbit | First spacecraft to utilize Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO) about Earth-Moon L1 and L2 | |||
CAPSTONE | ![]() | 14 November 2022 [6] | orbiter [7] [8] | in orbit | Lunar orbiting CubeSat that will test and verify the calculated orbital stability planned for the Gateway space station. | ![]() | CAPSTONE | |
Artemis 1 Orion MPCV CM-002 | ![]() | 21 November 2022 | flyby | success | Uncrewed test of the Orion spacecraft in lunar flyby and DRO orbit. | ![]() | ARTEMIS-1 [9] | |
25 November 2022 | orbiter | success | ||||||
5 December 2022 | flyby | success | ||||||
LunaH-Map | ![]() | 21 November 2022 (flyby) | orbiter | failure | intended to perform engine burn to achieve a lunar orbit to search for evidence of lunar water ice inside permanently shadowed craters using its neutron detector. Orbit insertion failed possibly due to a struck valve. The mission was terminated after six month in solar orbit. | ![]() | LUNAH-MAP [10] [11] | |
Lunar IceCube | ![]() | 21 November 2022 (flyby) | orbiter | failure | intended to perform engine burn to achieve a lunar orbit to use its infrared spectrometer to detect water and organic compounds in the lunar surface and exosphere. | ![]() | L-ICECUBE | |
EQUULEUS | ![]() | 21 November 2022 | flyby | success | image the Earth's plasmasphere, impact craters on the Moon's far side and L2 experiments. | EQUULEUS | ||
LunIR | ![]() | 21 November 2022 | flyby | failure | image surface thermography, failed to observe the Moon due to faulty communication | ![]() | LUNIR [12] | |
NEA Scout | ![]() | 21 November 2022 | flyby | failure | Solar sail intended to flyby a near-Earth asteroid. Communication failure. | ![]() | NEA-SCOUT | |
ArgoMoon | ![]() | 21 November 2022 | flyby | success | image the ICPS and perform deep space Nanotechnology experiments. | ![]() | ARGOMOON | |
OMOTENASHI solid motor and orbiting module | ![]() | 21 November 2022 (flyby) | impactor | failure | intentional impact after separation from surface probe. Prepares the trajectory for landing of surface probe. Communication failure, missed target | OMOTENASH | ||
OMOTENASHI surface probe | ![]() | semi-hard lander | failure | inflatable module attempting to land semi-hard at lunar surface. Communication failure, missed target | ||||
CuSP | ![]() | 21 November 2022 | flyby | success | mission to study particles and magnetic fields. Did lunar flyby due to launch trajectory. | ![]() | CUSP | |
BioSentinel | ![]() | 21 November 2022 | flyby | success | it contains yeast cards that will be rehydrated in space, designed to detect, measure, and compare the effects of deep space radiation. | ![]() | BIOSENTNL | |
Team Miles | ![]() | 21 November 2022 | flyby | success | demonstrate low-thrust plasma propulsion in deep space. | TEAMMILES | ||
Danuri (Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter) | ![]() ![]() | 16 December 2022 [13] | orbiter | in orbit | Lunar Orbiter by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) of South Korea. The orbiter, its science payload and ground control infrastructure are technology demonstrators. The orbiter will also be tasked with surveying lunar resources such as water ice, uranium, helium-3, silicon, and aluminium, and produce a topographic map to help select future lunar landing sites. | ![]() | KPLO | |
Hakuto-R Mission 1 | ![]() | April 2023 | lander | failure [14] | Lunar lander technology demonstration. | HAKUTO-R1 | ||
Rashid | ![]() | April 2023 | rover | Lunar rover, part of the Emirates Lunar Mission. | ![]() | |||
SORA-Q | ![]() | April 2023 | rover | Lunar rover technology demonstration. | ||||
Lunar Flashlight | ![]() | 11 December 2022 (launch) | orbiter | failure [15] [16] | was to enter a near-rectilinear halo orbit; couldn't leave Earth orbit due to propulsion failures. | ![]() | L-FLASHLT | |
JUICE | ![]() | 14 April 2023 (launch) | flyby | en route | will fly by the Moon in August 2024 en route to Jupiter. | ![]() | [17] | |
Chandrayaan-3 | ![]() | 14 July 2023 (launch) 5 August 2023 (orbit insertion) | Orbiter | in orbit | bring the lander from Earth parking orbit to pre-landing 100 km (62 mi) lunar orbit and study the spectral and polarimetric measurements of Earth from the lunar orbit. | ![]() | CHANDRYN3 | |
Vikram | ![]() | 23 August 2023 | lander | success | primary objective is to redo Chandrayaan-2 landing which had failed. In-site observation & conducting experiments on the materials available on the lunar surface to better understand composition of the Moon. | |||
Pragyan | ![]() | 23 August 2023 | rover | success | stowed inside lander. Demonstrating the rover’s loitering capabilities on the Moon. In-site observation and conducting experiments on the materials available on the lunar surface to better understand composition of the Moon. | |||
Chandrayaan-3 Propulsion Module | ![]() | Between 13 October and 10 November 2023 | 4 flybys | success | Extended mission following lunar orbit operations to returning to Earth orbit | |||
Luna 25 | ![]() | 10 August 2023 | lander | failure [18] | Launched 10 August 2023, orbit insertion 16 August 2023, crashed on lunar surface on 19 August 2023 following an anomalous orbital lowering maneuver. | ![]() | LUNA-25 | |
SLIM | ![]() | 19 January 2024 | gravity assist/lander | success [19] | Successfully demonstrated precision landing by landing within 100 m (330 ft) of its target spot. [20] [21] Its solar cells were initially not generating electricity due to wrong attitude [22] but in ten days the Sun moved enough to temporarily provide power to the spacecraft. [23] | ![]() | SLIM | |
LEV-1 | ![]() | 19 January 2024 | rover | success | Lunar rover with a hopping mechanism. Conducted six hops on lunar surface. [24] | |||
LEV-2 | ![]() | 19 January 2024 | rover | success | Lunar rover, reflight of the SORA-Q rover launched with the failed Hakuto-R Mission 1. Imaged SLIM lander on lunar surface. [25] | |||
Peregrine | ![]() | 8 January 2024 (launch) | lander | failure | Lunar lander selected for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services carrying a total of 25 payloads. Landing abandoned due to excessive propellant leak. [26] | ![]() | PEREGRN-1 | |
Colmena × 5 | ![]() | 8 January 2024 (launch) | rover | failure | Five small robots that will be catapulted onto the lunar surface. Mission phased out along with landing of Peregrine lander due to excessive propellant leak. [27] | |||
Iris | ![]() | 8 January 2024 (launch) | rover | failure | Lunar rover, will test small, lightweight rover mobility on the Moon, and collect scientific images for geological sciences. Mission phased out along with landing of Peregrine lander due to excessive propellant leak. [28] | |||
IM-1 Odysseus | ![]() | 22 February 2024 | lander | success | Lunar lander selected for NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services carrying a total of 6 payloads. | ![]() | IM-1-NOVA | |
EagleCam | ![]() | 28 February 2024 | semi-hard lander | failure | Deployable camera designed to attempt to capture the first third-person images of a lunar landing. Ejected post landing due to technical issues, failed to return images. [29] | |||
DRO-A | ![]() | 13 March 2024 (launch) | orbiter | in orbit | YZ-1S upper stage failed to deliver spacecrafts into correct orbit. The satellites were intended to test Distant retrograde orbit. [30] Tracking data appears to show China is attempting to salvage spacecraft and they appear to have succeeded in reaching their desired orbit. [31] [32] | 2024-048A | ||
DRO-B | orbiter | in orbit | ||||||
Queqiao-2 | ![]() | 24 March 2024 | orbiter | in orbit | Lunar far side relay satellite. | ![]() | QUEQIAO-2 | |
Tiandu-1 | ![]() | orbiter | in orbit | will test communications for future lunar satellite constellation technologies. | ||||
Tiandu-2 | orbiter | in orbit | ||||||
Chang'e 6 | ![]() | 3 May 2024 | sample return | operational [33] | First sample-return from the South Pole–Aitken basin on the far side of the Moon. [34] [35] | ![]() | CHANG-E-6 [33] [36] | |
Chang'e 6 Lander | ![]() | 1 June 2024 - | success | Obtained lunar sample and placed on ascent vehicle; conducted radar studies of underground structure | ||||
Chang'e 6 Ascender | ![]() | 3 June 2024 - 7 June 2024 | success | Transferred lunar sample to return capsule on 6 June 2024 after lunar-orbit rendezvous; deorbited [36] | ||||
Chang'e 6 Mobile Camera | ![]() | 3 May 2024 | success | Conduct infrared spectroscopy of lunar surface and imaged Chang'e 6 lander on lunar surface. [37] | ||||
ICUBE-Q | ![]() | 3 May 2024 | oriter | operational | Pakistan's first lunar mission. |
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)A lander is a spacecraft that descends towards, then comes to rest on the surface of an astronomical body other than Earth. In contrast to an impact probe, which makes a hard landing that damages or destroys the probe upon reaching the surface, a lander makes a soft landing after which the probe remains functional.
Apollo, also called the Apollo basin, is an enormous impact crater located in the southern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. This formation dwarfs the large crater Oppenheimer that is located next to the western rim. The crater Barringer lies across the northern wall. To the southeast is the crater Anders, and Kleymenov is just to the east of the rim.
A Moon landing or lunar landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon, including both crewed and robotic missions. The first human-made object to touch the Moon was Luna 2 in 1959.
A lunar lander or Moon lander is a spacecraft designed to land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2024, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing six lunar landings from 1969 to 1972 during the United States' Apollo Program. Several robotic landers have reached the surface, and some have returned samples to Earth.
The physical exploration of the Moon began when Luna 2, a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made a deliberate impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of lunar exploration had been observations from Earth. The invention of the optical telescope brought about the first leap in the quality of lunar observations. Galileo Galilei is generally credited as the first person to use a telescope for astronomical purposes, having made his own telescope in 1609, the mountains and craters on the lunar surface were among his first observations using it.
The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, also known as the Chang'e Project after the Chinese Moon goddess Chang'e, is an ongoing series of robotic Moon missions by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
A rover is a planetary surface exploration device designed to move over the rough surface of a planet or other planetary mass celestial bodies. Some rovers have been designed as land vehicles to transport members of a human spaceflight crew; others have been partially or fully autonomous robots. Rovers are typically created to land on another planet via a lander-style spacecraft, tasked to collect information about the terrain, and to take crust samples such as dust, soil, rocks, and even liquids. They are essential tools in space exploration.
Chang'e 2 is a Chinese uncrewed lunar probe that was launched on 1 October 2010. It was a follow-up to the Chang'e 1 lunar probe, which was launched in 2007. Chang'e 2 was part of the first phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, and conducted research from a 100-km-high lunar orbit in preparation for the December 2013 soft landing by the Chang'e 3 lander and rover. Chang'e 2 was similar in design to Chang'e 1, although it featured some technical improvements, including a more advanced onboard camera. Like its predecessor, the probe was named after Chang'e, an ancient Chinese moon goddess.
A lunar rover or Moon rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of the Moon. The Apollo program's Lunar Roving Vehicle was driven on the Moon by members of three American crews, Apollo 15, 16, and 17. Other rovers have been partially or fully autonomous robots, such as the Soviet Union's Lunokhods, Chinese Yutus, Indian Pragyan, and Japan's LEVs. Five countries have had operating rovers on the Moon: the Soviet Union, the United States, China, India, and Japan.
Chang'e 4 is a robotic spacecraft mission in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program of the CNSA. China achieved humanity's first soft landing on the far side of the Moon with its touchdown on 3 January 2019.
The (Japanese) Lunar Exploration Program is a program of robotic and human missions to the Moon undertaken by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and its division, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). It is also one of the three major enterprises of the JAXA Space Exploration Center (JSPEC). The main goal of the program is "to elucidate the origin and evolution of the Moon and utilize the Moon in the future".
Chang'e 5-T1 was an experimental robotic spacecraft that was launched to the Moon on 23 October 2014, by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) to conduct atmospheric re-entry tests on the capsule design planned to be used in the Chang'e 5 mission. As part of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, Chang'e 5, launched in 2020, was a Moon sample return mission. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese Moon goddess Chang'e. The craft consisted of a return vehicle capsule and a service module orbiter.
Chang'e 6 was the sixth robotic lunar exploration mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the second CNSA lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. It was humanity's first lunar mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the Moon, as all previous collective sample-return missions were done from the near side.
Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is a lunar lander mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The lander's initial launch date in 2021 was postponed until 2023 due to delays in its rideshare, the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM). On 6 September 2023 at 23:42 UTC, XRISM launched, and SLIM separated from it later that day.
The year 2024 is expected to exceed 2023's 223 orbital launches. So far, the year saw the successful first launch of Vulcan Centaur, Gravity-1, Ariane 6, and notably more developmental launches of SpaceX's Starship – with IFT-3, IFT-4, IFT-5, and IFT-6 planned for this year. Additionally, the final launch of a Delta family rocket occurred in April with a Delta IV Heavy. In May, China launched the Chang'e 6, the first sample return from the far side of the Moon.
Chang'e 7 is a planned robotic Chinese lunar exploration mission expected to be launched in 2026 to target the lunar south pole. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. The mission will include an orbiter, a lander, a mini-hopping probe, and a rover.