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.
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.
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.
First attempted launch beyond Earth orbit; failed to orbit due to turbopump gearbox malfunction resulting in first-stage explosion.[4] Reached apogee of 16 kilometres (10 mi).[5]
Failed to orbit; premature second-stage cutoff due to accelerometer failure. Later known as Pioneer 1.[4] Reached apogee of 113,800 kilometres (70,700 mi).[7]
Failed to orbit; premature second-stage cutoff due to erroneous command by ground controllers; third stage failed to ignite due to broken electrical connection.[4] Reached apogee of 1,550 kilometres (960 mi).[8]
Carrier rocket guidance problem resulted in failure to impact Moon, flew past in a heliocentric orbit.[10] Closest approach 5,995 kilometres (3,725 mi) on 4 January.[11]First spacecraft to fly by the Moon.
Second-stage overperformance resulted in flyby at greater altitude than expected, out of instrument range, with 58,983 kilometres (36,650 mi) of distance.[10] Closest approach at 22:25 UTC on 4 March. First U.S. spacecraft to leave Earth orbit.[12]
Successful impact at 21:02 on 14 September 1959. First spacecraft to impact the lunar surface.[13] This made the Soviet Union the 1st country to impact the surface of the Moon.
Failed to orbit, exploded 68 seconds after launch, at an altitude of 12.2 kilometres (7.6 mi). Second stage ignited while first stage was still attached and burning.[18][16]
Partial launch failure due to guidance problem; attempt to correct using spacecraft's engine resulted in it missing the Moon by 36,793 kilometres (22,862 mi).[19][20]
Failed to deploy solar panels, ran out of power ten hours after launch; incidental impact on the far side of the Moon on 26 April. First spacecraft to impact the far side of the Moon.[19][21]
The impact made the United States the 2nd country to impact the surface of the Moon.
Solar panels erroneously disengaged from power system, failed 8+3⁄4 hours after launch when batteries were depleted.[19] Missed the Moon as course correction was not completed.[22]
Flew past the Moon on 20 July 1965 at a distance of 9,200 kilometres (5,700 mi).[35] Conducted technology demonstration for future planetary missions.[29]
Landing airbag punctured, resulting in loss of attitude control shortly before planned touchdown,[29] impacted Moon on 6 December 1965 at 21:51:30 UTC.[37]
First spacecraft to land successfully on the Moon. Touchdown on 3 February 1966 at 18:45:30 UTC.[38] Returned data until 6 February at 22:55 UTC.[39] With its soft landing, the Soviet Union became the first country to successfully land on the lunar surface.
Landed in Oceanus Procellarum on 2 June 1966 at 06:17:36 UTC.[39] Returned data until loss of power on 13 July.[42] With its soft landing, the United States became the second country to successfully land on the lunar surface.
Magnetospheric probe; rocket imparted greater velocity than had been planned, leaving spacecraft unable to enter orbit.[39] Repurposed for Earth orbit mission which was completed successfully.[43]
Orbital insertion at around 15:36 UTC on 14 August. Deorbited early due to lack of fuel and to avoid communications interference with the next mission, impacted the Moon at 13:30 UTC on 29 October 1966.[44]
Entered orbit on 28 August 1966. Failed to return images; other instruments operated correctly.[39] Conducted gamma ray and X-ray observations to study the composition of the Moon, investigated the lunar gravitational field, the presence of meteorites in the lunar environment and the radiation environment at the Moon.
Ceased operation on 1 October 1966 after power was depleted.[45]
One thruster failed to ignite during mid-course correction manoeuvre, resulting in loss of control.[39] Impacted the Moon at 03:18 UTC on 23 September 1966.[46]
Entered orbit at about 19:51 UTC on 10 November 1966 to begin photographic mapping mission. Impacted on the far side of the lunar surface following deorbit burn on 11 October 1967 at end of mission.[48]
Successfully landed in Oceanus Procellarum at 18:01 UTC on 24 December 1966.[39] Returned images from the surface and studied the lunar soil.[49] Operated until depletion of power at 06:31 UTC on 28 December.[39]
Landed at 00:04 UTC on 20 April 1967 and operated until 3 May.[51][52] Visited by Apollo 12 astronauts in 1969, with some parts removed for return to Earth.[53]
Contact with spacecraft lost at 02:03 UTC on 17 July, two and a half minutes before scheduled landing.[51] NASA determined that the spacecraft may have exploded, otherwise it impacted the Moon.[55]
Magnetospheric probe, studying the Moon and interplanetary space. Deactivated on 27 June 1973.[56] Presumed to have impacted the Moon during the 1970s.[57]
Final mission in the Lunar Orbiter series, entered selenocentric orbit on 5 August at 16:48 UTC and conducted a photographic survey until 18 August. Deorbited and impacted the Moon on 31 January 1968.[58]
Technology demonstration for planned crewed missions. Failed to reach orbit after a blocked propellant line caused one of the first-stage engines to not ignite.[51]
Landed in Sinus Medii at 01:01:04 UTC on 10 November.[51] Made brief flight from lunar surface at 10:32 UTC on 17 November, followed by second landing after travelling 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in). Last contact at 19:14 UTC on 14 December.[60]
Technology demonstration for planned crewed missions. Failed to orbit after second-stage engine incorrectly commanded to shut down. Spacecraft was recovered using its prototype launch escape system.[62]
Two tortoises and other life forms on board a technology demonstration for planned crewed missions. Made a closest approach of 1,950 kilometres (1,210 mi) on 18 September, and circled the Moon before returning to Earth. Landed in the Indian Ocean on 21 September at 16:08 UTC, becoming the first Lunar spacecraft to be recovered successfully and carried the first Earth life to travel to and around the Moon.[64]
Technology demonstration for planned crewed missions. Carrying turtles, making this the second mission of Earthlings to travel in close proximity of the Moon, the flyby was on 14 November with a closest approach of 2,420 kilometres (1,500 mi).[65] Reentered Earth's atmosphere on 17 November; recovery was unsuccessful after parachutes were prematurely jettisoned.[62]
First crewed mission to the Moon; entered orbit around the Moon with four-minute burn beginning at 09:59:52 UTC on 24 December. Completed ten orbits of the Moon before returning to Earth with an engine burn at 06:10:16 UTC on 25 December. Landed in the Pacific Ocean at 15:51 UTC on 27 December.[66]
Technology demonstration for planned crewed missions. Failed to orbit after one of the four second-stage engines shut down prematurely. Third-stage engine also shut down prematurely. The spacecraft was recovered using its launch escape system.[67]
First launch of N1 rocket; intended to orbit the Moon and return to Earth. First stage prematurely shut down 70 seconds after launch; launch vehicle crashed 50 kilometres (31 mi) from launch site. Spacecraft landed some 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the launch pad after successfully using its launch escape system.[68]
Dress rehearsal for Apollo 11. Lunar Module with two astronauts on board descended to a distance of 14.326 kilometres (8.902 mi) above the lunar surface.[69]
Intended to orbit the Moon and return to Earth. All first-stage engines shut down 10 seconds after launch; launch vehicle crashed and exploded on the launch pad. Spacecraft landed safely 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the launch site after using launch escape sequence.[68]
Reached lunar orbit at 10:00 UTC on 17 July. Descent retro-rocket burn started at 15:47 UTC on 21 July. Contact lost three minutes after de-orbit burn; probably crashed on the Moon.[68]
Technology demonstration for planned crewed missions. Carried four turtles in a lunar flyby on 10 August, with a closest approach of 1,200 kilometres (750 mi); returned to Earth and landed in Kazakhstan at 18:13 UTC on 14 August.[68]
Third attempt at lunar sample return. After reaching low Earth orbit, the fourth-stage engine failed to fire for trans-lunar injection due to oxidiser leak. Spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere about 4 days after launch.[68]
Fourth attempt at lunar sample return. After reaching low Earth orbit, the fourth-stage engine failed to fire for trans-lunar injection due to control system malfunction. Spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere within one orbit after launch.[68]
Lunar landing aborted following Service Module oxygen tank explosion en route to the Moon; flew past the Moon (free-return trajectory) and returned the crew safely to Earth.
Luna 20 soft landed on the Moon in a mountainous area known as the Terra Apollonius (or Apollonius highlands) near Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fertility), 120 km from where Luna 16 had landed.
Entered orbit on 11 August 1976 and landed in Mare Crisium at 16:36 UTC on 18 August. Sample capsule launched at 05:25 UTC on 19 August and recovered 96+1⁄2 hours later.[70] Returned 170.1 grams (6.00 oz) of lunar regolith.[71] Final mission to the Moon from the Soviet Union.
Designed for flyby, placed into selenocentric orbit during extended mission after failure of Hagoromo. Deorbited and impacted in USGS quadrangle LQ27 on 10 April 1993.[72] Hagoromo was deployed from Hiten. The impact made Japan the 3rd country to impact the surface of the Moon.
Impacted Moon in USGS quadrangle LQ26 at end of mission on 3 September 2006. The impact made the ESA member states collectively the 4th to impact the surface of the Moon.
Deployed Okina and Ouna satellites. Kaguya and Okina impacted the Moon at end of mission.[73]Ouna completed operations on 29 June 2009[3] but remains in selenocentric orbit.
Succeeded through mission. Orbit lasted 312 days, short of intended 2 years; However mission achieved most of its intended objectives. Terminated in 2009, remains in selenocentric orbit; discovered water ice on the Moon.[74] Moon Impact Probe was deployed from the orbiter. It successfully impacted Moon's Shackleton Crater in the USGS quadrangle LQ30 at 20:31 on 14 November 2008 releasing underground debris that could be analyzed by the orbiter for presence of water/ice. With this mission, India became the 4th nation to impact the lunar surface and 5th as an agency.
LCROSS observed impact of Centaur upper stage that launched it and LRO, then impacted itself. Impacts in USGS quadrangle LQ30. LRO entered orbit on June 23, 2009.
Following completion of six month Lunar mission, departed selenocentric orbit for Earth–Sun L2 Lagrangian point[75] and subsequently flew by asteroid 4179 Toutatis for a close encounter with the asteroid at a distance of 3.2 kilometers and a relative velocity of 10.73 km/s.[76][77]
Entered orbit on 6 December 2013 with landing at 13:12 UTC on 14 December. Yutu rover was deployed from Chang'e 3. With its soft landing, China became the third country to successfully land on the lunar surface.
Demonstration of re-entry capsule for Chang'e 5 sample-return mission at lunar return velocity. Orbiter may still be in lunar orbit. Manfred Memorial Moon Mission attached to third stage of CZ-3C used to launch Chang'e 5-T1. Impacted the Moon on 4 March 2022. The impact made Luxembourg the 8th country to impact the surface of the Moon.
Launched on the same rocket as Queqiao. Longjiang-1 never entered Moon orbit,[82] while Longjiang-2 operated in lunar orbit until 31 July 2019, when it impacted the lunar surface.[83] Queqiao entered designated Earth–Moon L2 orbit on 14 June in preparation of Chang'e 4 far-side lunar lander in December 2018.
First Israeli and first privately funded lunar lander mission. Technology demonstration. Instrumentation included a magnetometer and laser retroreflector.[87][88] Spacecraft crashed into the lunar surface after main engine failure during descent from lunar orbit phase.[89] The impact made Israel the 7th country to impact the surface of the Moon.
Entered orbit on 20 August 2019. Lander separated from orbiter but crashed during a landing attempt on 6 September 2019, attributed to a software glitch. Both lander and rover were lost. Orbiter remained operational.[90]
First lunar sample return mission from China, which returned 1.731 kg (61.1 oz) of lunar samples on 16 December 2020. The orbiter received a mission extension and is currently in a distant retrograde orbit (DRO) of the Moon.[91]
Lunar lander technology demonstration.[96] Contact lost during final stage of landing and deemed a failure. Cause of failure determined to be a software bug associated with the altitude estimation system.,[97] Emirates Lunar Mission Rashid was a small rover demonstration. The impact made the United Arab Emirates the 9th country to impact the surface of the Moon. Lunar Flashlight initially scheduled to be launched on the Artemis I mission, moved to a Falcon 9 Block 5 after not making it for the payload integration deadline. NASA announced later that it would not make its planned orbit or monthly flybys due to thruster issues.[98][99]
Launched on 14 July 2023, Orbit insertion on 5 August 2023, Lander separated from propulsion module on 17 August 2023, landed on 23 August 2023, 12:32 UTC and deployed the Pragyan rover. With its soft landing, India became the fourth country to successfullyland on the lunar surface. Later during extended operations, the Propulsion Module returned to Earth's orbit.
Launched on 10 August 2023, Orbital insertion on 16 August 2023, failed orbital maneuver on 19 August 2023 set the spacecraft on the crash course with the Moon's surface. Loss of communication was confirmed by Roscosmos on 20 August 2023. The impact made Russia the 10th country to impact the lunar surface.
Launched alongside XRISM as a co-passenger on 7 September 2023. Performed lunar swing-by, followed by lunar orbital insertion on 25 December 2023. SLIM landed intact and within 100 m of its target on 19 January 2024, 15:20 UTC, which met JAXA's criteria for a successful landing.[100] However, it had landed with incorrect attitude to orient solar panels towards the Sun, which led to temporary power loss until the Sun was in the right position. LEV-1 and LEV-2 were successfully deployed and landed separately from SLIM shortly before its own landing. LEV-1 conducted six hops on lunar surface. With its soft landing, Japan became the fifth country to successfully land on the lunar surface.
Part of CLPS. Peregrine lander's reaction thrusters' leak deemed the spacecraft uncontrollable for landing and it decayed in the Earth's atmosphere 10 days later.
First Nova-C mission. First private spacecraft to soft land on the Moon. Payloads successfully delivered for NASA CLPS and for private customers. Though it landed successfully, one of the lander's legs broke upon landing and it tilted up on other side, 18° due to landing on a slope, but the lander survived and payloads are functioning as expected.[101] EagleCam was not ejected prior to landing. It was later ejected on the 28th of February but minimal data was obtained.[102][103]
Yuanzheng 1S upper stage failed to deliver spacecrafts into correct orbit. The satellites were intended to test Distant retrograde orbit.[104] Tracking data appears to show China is attempting to salvage spacecraft and they appear to have succeeded in reaching their desired orbit.[105][106]
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
First mission for the Blue Moon lander platform developed by Blue Origin and will prove the viability of the platform and BE-7 engine. It has a cargo capacity of up to 3000kg.
Colmena would have been deployed using a small catapult mechanism. Mission cancelled along with the cancelled landing of Peregrine lander due to excessive propellant leak.[172]
Soviet crewed lunar programs – The Soviet Union had been pursuing a crewed lunar flyby mission using Soyuz 7K-L1 launched aboard Proton-K and a crewed landing mission using Soyuz 7K-LOK and LK Lander launched aboard N1 rocket. After a series of N1 failures, both of these programs were cancelled in 1970 and 1976 respectively.[179]
1970s
Canceled Apollo missions – The Apollo program had three more missions lined up until Apollo 20, but the missions beyond Apollo 17, the sixth and final landing mission, were canceled due to budget constraints, change in technical direction and hardware delays. The ambitions shifted towards developing next generation rockets like Space Shuttle, the space station Skylab and in exploration programs such as Grand Tour program.[180]
Resource Prospector – Concept by NASA of a rover that would have performed a survey expedition on a polar region of the Moon. It was canceled in April 2018.[182]
Indo-Russian joint mission – A joint mission between India and Russia for a robotic lander and rover was under development since 2007. Russia was supposed to develop the lander while India would develop an orbiter, a rover and launch the composite. However, with failure of Fobos-Grunt mission, Russia was unable to provide the lander in time and requested India to accept the delay and risk. The collaboration ended with India repurposing its orbiter towards Mars with its Mars Orbiter Mission in 2013.[183]
2020s
DearMoon was an unrealized tourist mission financed by Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa. Maezawa and six to eight other civilians would have performed a lunar flyby in a SpaceX Starship. It was cancelled on June 1, 2024[184]
VIPER – NASA rover that would have performed a survey expedition on a polar region of the Moon. It was canceled in July 2024.[185]
^"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]
^While Orbiting specific missions achieve a flyby milestone by virtue of entering the orbit, this table lists only flyby specific missions.
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