List of missions to the Moon

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The Luna programme was the first successful lunar programme, its Luna 1 (1959) being the first partially successful lunar mission RIAN archive 510848 Interplanetary station Luna 1 - blacked.jpg
The Luna programme was the first successful lunar programme, its Luna 1 (1959) being the first partially successful lunar mission
The first image taken of the far side of the Moon, returned by Luna 3 (1959) Luna 3 moon.jpg
The first image taken of the far side of the Moon, returned by Luna 3 (1959)

Missions to the Moon have been numerous and include some of the earliest space missions, conducting exploration of the Moon since 1959.

Contents

The first partially successful lunar mission was Luna 1 (January 1959), the first probe to leave Earth and fly past another astronomical body. Soon after that the first Moon landing and the first landing on any extraterrestrial body was performed by Luna 2, [1] which intentionally impacted the Moon on 14 September 1959. The far side of the Moon, which is always facing away from Earth due to tidal locking, was seen for the first time by Luna 3 in (7 October 1959). In 1966, Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to achieve a controlled soft landing, [2] while Luna 10 became the first mission to enter orbit, and in 1968 Zond 5 became the first mission to carry terrestrial lifeforms (tortoises) to close proximity of the Moon through a circumlunar approach. [3]

The first crewed missions to the Moon were pursued by the Soviet Union and the United States, becoming the climax of the Space Race. While the Soviet Union shifted to robotic sample return missions, the American Apollo program proceeded successfully, with Apollo 8 becoming the first crewed mission to enter lunar orbit in December 1968. On 20 July 1969 Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, and Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. At the same time another mission, the robotic sample return mission Luna 15 by the Soviet Union, was in orbit around the Moon, becoming together with Apollo 11 the first ever case of two extraterrestrial missions being conducted at the same time. Until 1972 crewed Apollo missions and until 1976 Soviet uncrewed sample return missions, with the first ever successful extraterrestrial rovers (Lunokhod programme), continued. After that no dedicated lunar missions were conducted until 1990. Since then the following nations and organisations (in chronological order) have visited the Moon, after the Soviet Union and the United States: Japan, the European Space Agency, China, India, Luxembourg, Israel, Italy, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Mexico, and Pakistan.

China's Chang'e 4 was the first mission to soft land on the far side of the Moon. ChangE-4 - PCAM.png
China's Chang'e 4 was the first mission to soft land on the far side of the Moon.
India's Chandrayaan-3 (2023) became the first lunar mission to achieve a soft landing near the lunar south pole Chandrayaan3-landed.jpg
India's Chandrayaan-3 (2023) became the first lunar mission to achieve a soft landing near the lunar south pole

In 2018 the far side of the Moon was for the first time landed on by the Chang'e 4 mission at the Aitken basin on 3 January 2019 and deployed the Yutu-2 rover. Five years later, China followed with Chang'e 6 sample return mission to the far side whose lander successfully landed in Apollo crater on 1 June 2024 and collected lunar samples.

On August 23, 2023 12:34 UTC, India's Chandrayaan-3 became the first lunar mission to achieve a soft landing near the lunar south pole. The mission consisted of a lander and a rover for carrying out scientific experiments.

The Moon has also been visited by five spacecraft not dedicated to studying it; four of these spacecraft have flown past for the purpose of gravity assistance, and a radio telescope, Explorer 49, was placed into selenocentric orbit in order to use the Moon to block interference from terrestrial radio sources.

20th century

Legend

Cubesat or similar

21st century

Legend

⚀ Cubesat or similar

Statistics

Launches by decade

Launches to Moon
Decade
    1950s
    13
    1960s
    63
    1970s
    23
    1980s
    0
    1990s
    7
    2000s
    8
    2010s
    10
    2020s
    14

    This is a list of 138 missions (including failed ones) to the Moon. It includes Flybys, Impact probes, orbiters, landers, rovers and crewed missions.

    Mission milestones by country

    This is a list of major milestones achieved by country. Recorded is the first spacecraft from each respective country to accomplish each milestone, regardless of mission type or intended outcome. For example, Beresheet was not intended to be an impactor, but achieved that milestone incidentally.

    Legend

      Attempted Milestone achieved
      Attempted Milestone not achieved
    First to achieve

    Country/

    Agency

    Flyby [b] OrbitImpactSoft landingRoverSample returnCrewed orbitingCrewed landing
    Flag of the United States.svg United States Pioneer 4, 1959 Lunar Orbiter 1, 1966 Ranger 4, 1962 Surveyor 1, 1966 LRV (Apollo 15), 1971 Apollo 11, 1969 Apollo 8, 1968Apollo 11, 1969 †
    Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union Luna 1, 1959 Luna 10, 1966 Luna 2, 1959 Luna 9, 1966 Lunokhod 1, 1970 Luna 16, 1970
    Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China Chang'e 5-T1, 2014 Chang'e 1, 2007 Chang'e 1, 2009 Chang'e 3, 2013 Yutu, 2013 Chang'e 5, 2020
    Flag of India.svg India Chandrayaan 3, 2023 Chandrayaan 1, 2008 MIP, 2008 Chandrayaan 3, 2023 Pragyan, 2023
    Flag of Japan (1870-1999).svg Japan Hiten, 1990 Hiten, 1993Hiten, 1993 SLIM, 2024 LEV-1, 2024
    Flag of Israel.svg Israel Beresheet, 2019 Beresheet, 2019Beresheet, 2019
    Flag of Russia.svg Russia Luna 25, 2023 Luna 25, 2023Luna 25, 2023
    European Space Agency logo.svg ESA SMART-1, 2003 SMART-1, 2006
    Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg 4M, 2014 4M, 2022
    Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea Danuri, 2022
    Flag of Italy.svg Italy ArgoMoon, 2022
    Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg UAE Rashid, 2023 Rashid, 2023
    Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan ICUBE-Q, 2024
    Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico Colmena, 2024

    Missions by organization/company

    Landing sites

    Moon Soft Landings.svg

    Clickable map of the locations of all successful soft landings on the near side of the Moon to date (top)

    Dates are landing dates in Coordinated Universal Time. Except for the Apollo program, all soft landings were uncrewed.

    As of January 2025, there have been a total twenty six successful soft landings on the Moon carried out by five countries that include United States, Soviet Union, Japan, China and India. Among these, a total of six soft landings were crewed (Apollo) conducted by United States. All two soft landings on the far side of the Moon were carried out by China, while soft landing near the lunar south pole was carried out by India's Chandrayaan-3 and Intuitive Machines' IM-1 Nova-C Odysseus lander.

    Future missions

    There are several future lunar missions planned or proposed by various nations and organisations.

    Funded and are under development

    Robotic

    Crewed

    Proposed but full funding still unclear

    Robotic and crewed

    The following missions have been proposed but their full funding is unclear:

    Lunar Rovers

    Unrealized concepts

    1960s

    1970s

    2000s

    2010s

    2020s

    See also

    Notes

    1. "Even though the source says "IST will conduct various tests"; IST being a research university does not directly control the orbiter, rather any tests or operations on the orbiter are done through the national space agency i.e SUPARCO." [113]
    2. While Orbiting specific missions achieve a flyby milestone by virtue of entering the orbit, this table lists only flyby specific missions.

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Luna programme</span> Robotic spacecraft missions to the Moon by the Soviet Union (1958–1976)

    The Luna programme, occasionally called Lunik by western media, was a series of robotic spacecraft missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976. The programme accomplished many firsts in space exploration, including first flyby of the Moon, first impact of the Moon and first photos of the far side of the Moon. Each mission was designed as either an orbiter or lander. They also performed many experiments, studying the Moon's chemical composition, gravity, temperature, and radiation.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lander (spacecraft)</span> Type of spacecraft

    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.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon landing</span> Arrival of a spacecraft on the Moons surface

    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.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar lander</span> Spacecraft intended to land on the surface of the Moon

    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.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Sample-return mission</span> Spacecraft mission

    A sample-return mission is a spacecraft mission to collect and return samples from an extraterrestrial location to Earth for analysis. Sample-return missions may bring back merely atoms and molecules or a deposit of complex compounds such as loose material and rocks. These samples may be obtained in a number of ways, such as soil and rock excavation or a collector array used for capturing particles of solar wind or cometary debris. Nonetheless, concerns have been raised that the return of such samples to planet Earth may endanger Earth itself.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Exploration of the Moon</span> Missions to the Moon

    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.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Lunar Exploration Program</span> Lunar research program (2004 – present)

    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).

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar south pole</span> Southernmost point on the Moon

    The lunar south pole is the southernmost point on the Moon. It is of interest to scientists because of the occurrence of water ice in permanently shadowed areas around it. The lunar south pole region features craters that are unique in that the near-constant sunlight does not reach their interior. Such craters are cold traps that contain fossil records of hydrogen, water ice, and other volatiles dating from the early Solar System. In contrast, the lunar north pole region exhibits a much lower quantity of similarly sheltered craters.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Chang'e 2</span> Chinese Moon orbiter

    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.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Chang'e 3</span> Lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration

    Chang'e 3 is a robotic lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), incorporating a robotic lander and China's first lunar rover. It was launched in December 2013 as part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. The mission's chief commander was Ma Xingrui.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar rover</span> Vehicle that travels on the Moons surface

    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.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Chang'e 4</span> Chinese lunar lander & rover

    Chang'e 4 is a robotic spacecraft mission in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program of the CNSA. It made a soft landing on the far side of the Moon, the first spacecraft to do so, on 3 January 2019.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Chang'e 5</span> Chinese lunar exploration mission

    Chang'e 5 was the fifth lunar exploration mission in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program of CNSA, and China's first lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess, Chang'e. It launched at 20:30 UTC on 23 November 2020, from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on Hainan Island, landed on the Moon on 1 December 2020, collected ~1,731 g (61.1 oz) of lunar samples, and returned to the Earth at 17:59 UTC on 16 December 2020.

    <i>Yutu</i> (rover) Chinese lunar rover

    Yutu was a robotic lunar rover that formed part of the Chinese Chang'e 3 mission to the Moon. It was launched at 17:30 UTC on 1 December 2013, and reached the Moon's surface on 14 December 2013. The mission marks the first soft landing on the Moon since 1976 and the first rover to operate there since the Soviet Lunokhod 2 ceased operations on 11 May 1973.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Queqiao-1</span> Chinese lunar communications satellite

    Queqiao relay satellite (Chinese: 鹊桥号中继卫星; pinyin: Quèqiáo hào zhōngjì wèixīng; lit. 'Magpie Bridge relay satellite'), is the first of the pair of communications relay and radio astronomy satellites for the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) launched the Queqiao relay satellite on 20 May 2018 to a halo orbit around the Earth–Moon L2 Lagrangian point Queqiao is the first communication relay and radio astronomy satellite at this location.

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