Moon Missions
Here are the major missions launched to the Moon. In addition to these missions, there have been CubeSats, small satellites that tend to launch as additional payloads with larger spacecraft.
Key to tables: All times are in UTC. Unless otherwise indicated, missions were launched by the space agencies of the indicated nation’s government.
1950s: Dawn of the Space Age
DR. VON BRAUN LOOKING AT PAYLOAD OF JUNO II AM-14, PIONEER IV SATELLITE. MARCH 1, 1959 REF: MFL-59-293.1 (MIX FILE)
NASA
| Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Outcome |
| Pioneer 0 | USA | Aug. 17, 1958 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | Sept. 23, 1958 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
| Pioneer 1 | USA | Oct. 11, 1958 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | Oct. 11, 1958 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
| Pioneer 2 | USA | Nov. 8, 1958 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | Dec. 4, 1958 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
| Pioneer 3 | USA | Dec. 7, 1958 | N/A | Flyby | Unsuccessful |
| Luna 1 | USSR | Jan. 2, 1959 | Jan. 4, 1959 | Impact | Partial Success; first Moon flyby |
| Pioneer 4 | USA | March 3, 1959 | Mar. 4., 1959 | Flyby | Partial Success |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | June 18, 1959 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
| Luna 2 | USSR | Sept. 12, 1959 | Sept. 13, 1959 | Impact | Successful; first spacecraft to impact the Moon’s surface |
| Pioneer P-1 | USA | Sept. 24, 1959 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
| Luna 3 | USSR | Oct. 4, 1959 | Oct. 6, 1959 | Flyby | Successful; first pictures of the lunar farside. |
| Pioneer P-3 | USA | Nov. 26, 1959 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
1960s: Race to the Moon
The Apollo 12 astronauts examined the Surveyor 3 spacecraft during their second extravehicular activity (EVA) on the Moon on Nov. 20, 1969. Robotic Surveyor spacecraft pioneered the technology that enabled Apollo astronauts to reach the moon.
NASA
| Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Outcome |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 15, 1960 | N/A | Flyby | Unsuccessful |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 16, 1960 | N/A | Flyby | Unsuccessful |
| Pioneer P-30 | USA | Sep. 25, 1960 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
| Pioneer P-31 | USA | Dec. 15. 1960 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
| Ranger 3 | USA | Jan. 26, 1962 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
| Ranger 4 | USA | April 26, 1962 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
| Ranger 5 | USA | Oct. 21, 1962 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | Jan. 4, 1963 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | Feb. 3, 1963 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
| Luna 4 | USSR | April 2, 1963 | April 6, 1963 | Lander | Unsuccessful; flew past Moon. |
| Ranger 6 | USA | Jan. 30, 1964 | Feb. 2, 1965 | Impact | Unsuccessful |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | March 21, 1964 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 20, 1964 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
| Ranger 7 | USA | July 28, 1964 | July 31, 1964 | Impact | Successful; first U.S. close-up pictures of the Moon |
| Ranger 8 | USA | Feb. 17, 1965 | Feb. 20, 1965 | Impact | Successful |
| Kosmos 60 | USSR | March 12, 1965 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
| Ranger 9 | USA | March 21, 1965 | March 24, 1965 | Impact | Successful |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 10, 1965 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
| Luna 5 | USSR | May 9, 1965 | May 12, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
| Luna 6 | USSR | June 8, 1965 | June 11, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; flyby |
| Zond 3 | USSR | July 18, 1965 | July 20, 1965 | Flyby | Successful |
| Luna 7 | USSR | Oct. 4, 1965 | Oct. 7, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
| Luna 8 | USSR | Dec. 3, 1965 | Dec. 6, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
| Luna 9 | USSR | Jan. 31, 1966 | Feb. 3, 1966 | Lander | Successful; first lunar soft landing and first picture from the lunar surface |
| Kosmos 111 | USSR | March 1, 1966 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
| Luna 10 | USSR | March 31, 1966 | April 3, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful; first lunar orbiter |
| Surveyor 1 | USA | May 30, 1966 | June 2, 1966 | Lander | Successful; first U.S. Moon landing and first U.S. photo from the lunar surface. |
| Lunar Orbiter 1 | USA | Aug. 10, 1966 | Aug. 14, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
| Luna 11 | USSR | Aug. 24, 1966 | Aug. 27, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
| Surveyor 2 | USA | Sept. 20, 1966 | Sept. 23, 1966 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
| Luna 12 | USSR | Oct. 22, 1966 | Oct. 25, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
| Lunar Orbiter 2 | USA | Nov. 6, 1966 | Nov. 10, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
| Luna 13 | USSR | Dec. 21, 1966 | Dec. 24, 1966 | Lander | Successful |
| Lunar Orbiter 3 | USA | Feb. 5, 1967 | Feb. 8, 1967 | Orbiter | Partial success; camera failure |
| Surveyor 3 | USA | April 17, 1967 | April 20, 1967 | Lander | Successful; visited on the Moon by Apollo 12 crew. |
| Lunar Orbiter 4 | USA | May 4, 1967 | May 8, 1967 | Orbiter | Partial success; camera failure |
| Surveyor 4 | USA | July 14, 1967 | July 17, 1967 | Lander | Unsuccessful |
| Lunar Orbiter 5 | USA | Aug. 1, 1967 | Aug. 5, 1967 | Orbiter | Successful |
| Surveyor 5 | USA | Sept. 8, 1967 | Sept. 11, 1967 | Lander | Successful |
| Surveyor 6 | USA | Nov. 7, 1967 | Nov. 10, 1967 | Lander | Successful |
| Surveyor 7 | USA | Jan. 7, 1968 | Jan. 10, 1968 | Lander | Successful |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | Feb. 7, 1968 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
| Luna 14 | USSR | April 7, 1968 | April 10, 1968 | Orbiter | Successful |
| Zond 5 | USSR | Sept. 15, 1968 | Sept. 18, 1968 | Flyby | Successful; first living creatures to fly past the Moon |
| Zond 6 | USSR | Nov. 10, 1968 | Nov. 14, 1968 | Flyby | Partial success; animal cargo lost on landing. |
| Apollo 8 | USA | Dec. 21, 1968 | Dec. 24, 1968 | Orbiter | Success; first humans to orbit the Moon |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | Feb. 19, 1969 | N/A | Rover | Unsuccessful; first attempted Moon rover |
| Apollo 10 | USA | May 18, 1969 | May 21, 1969 | Orbiter | Successful; lander test in lunar orbit |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | June 14, 1969 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
| Luna 15 | USSR | July 13, 1969 | July 18, 1969 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Partial success; orbiter successful, sample return crashed on the Moon |
| Apollo 11 | USA | July 16, 1969 | July 20, 1969 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful; first humans to land on the Moon |
| Zond 7 | USSR | Aug. 7, 1969 | Aug. 11, 1969 | Flyby | Successful |
| Kosmos 300 | USSR | Sept. 23, 1969 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
| Kosmos 305 | USSR | Oct. 22, 1969 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
| Apollo 12 | USA | Nov. 14, 1969 | Nov. 17,1969 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful; rendezvous with Surveyor 3 on the surface of the moon. |
1970s: Sampling the Moon
AS17-134-20425 (11 Dec. 1972) — Scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, lunar module pilot, collects lunar rake samples at Station 1 during the first Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. This picture was taken by astronaut Eugene Cernan, commander. The lunar rake, an Apollo lunar geology hand tool, is used to collect discrete samples of rocks and rock chips ranging in size from one-half inch (1.3 centimeter) to one inch (2.5 centimeter).
NASA
| Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Outcome |
| Apollo 13 | USA | 4/11/1970 | 4/15/1970 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Unsuccessful; crew returned safely to Earth. |
| Unnamed Luna | USSR | 2/6/1970 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
| Luna 16 | USSR | 9/12/1970 | 9/20/1970 | Sample Return | Successful; first robotic sample return from beyond Earth. |
| Zond 8 | USSR | 10/20/1970 | 10/24/1970 | Flyby | Successful |
| Luna 17 | USSR | 11/10/1970 | 11/17/1970 | Lander | Successful; delivered Lunokhod 1 rover to the surface of the Moon |
| Lunokhod 1 | USSR | 11/10/1970 | 11/17/1970 | Rover | Successful; first robotic rover to explore the surface of a world beyond Earth |
| Apollo 14 | USA | 1/31/1971 | 2/4/1971 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful |
| Apollo 15 | USA | 7/26/1971 | 7/29/1971 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful |
| PFS-1 | USA | 7/26/1971 | 8/4/1971 | Orbiter | Successful; deployed in lunar orbit by Apollo 15 crew |
| Luna 18 | USSR | 9/2/1971 | 9/11/1971 | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
| Luna 19 | USSR | 9/28/1971 | 10/3/1971 | Orbiter | Successful |
| Luna 20 | USSR | 2/14/1972 | 2/21/1972 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful |
| Apollo 16 | USA | 4/16/1972 | 4/19/1972 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful |
| PFS-2 | USA | 4/16/1972 | 4/24/1972 | Orbiter | Partial Success; orbit decayed prematurely |
| Apollo 17 | USA | 12/7/1972 | 12/10/1972 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful; first scientist on the Moon and final Apollo mission |
| Luna 21 | USSR | 1/8/1973 | 1/15/1973 | Orbiter | Successful; delivered Lunokhod 2 rover to the surface of the Moon |
| Lunokhod 2 | USSR | 1/8/1973 | 1/15/1973 | Rover | Successful; longest-lived rover on the Moon, drove 24 miles (39 kilometers) |
| Luna 22 | USSR | 5/29/1974 | 6/2/1974 | Orbiter | Successful |
| Luna 23 | USSR | 10/28/1974 | 11/6/1974 | Sample Return | Partial Success |
| Luna 24 | USSR | 8/9/1976 | 8/18/1976 | Sample Return | Successful |
1980s: Quiet Moon
No lunar missions were launched in this decade.
1990s: Robots Return
The Moon and Earth as seen across the lunar North Pole, taken by the Clementine spacecraft. The large crater in the foreground is Plaskett crater.
NASA/JPL/USGS
| Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Outcome |
| Hiten | Japan | 1/24/1990 | 3/19/1990 | Orbiter/Impact | Successful; first Japanese Moon mission |
| Clementine | USA | 1/25/1994 | 2/19/1994 | Orbiter | Successful |
| Lunar Prospector | USA | 1/7/1998 | 1//11/1998 | Orbiter/Impact | Successful |
2000s: International Moon
In 2011, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured a dramatic sunrise view of Tycho crater. A very popular target with amateur astronomers, Tycho is located at 43.37°S, 348.68°E, and is about 51 miles (82 km) in diameter. The summit of the central peak is 1.24 miles (2 km) above the crater floor. The distance from Tycho’s floor to its rim is abut 2.92 miles (4.7 km). Tycho crater’s central peak complex, shown here, is about 9.3 miles (15 km) wide, left to right (southeast to northwest in this view).
NASA/GSFC/ASU
| Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Outcome |
| SMART-1 | Europe | 9/27/2003 | 11/15/2004 | Orbiter/Impact | Successful; first European Moon mission |
| SELENE (Kaguya) | Japan | 9/14/2007 | 10/3/2007 | Orbiter/Impact | Successful |
| Chang’e 1 | China | 10/24/2007 | 11/5/2007 | Orbiter/impactor | Successful; first Chinese Moon mission |
| Chandrayaan-1 | India | 10/22/2008 | 11/12/2008 | Orbiter | Successful |
| Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) | USA | 6/18/2009 | 6/23/2009 | Orbiter | (Active Mission) Successful; extended mission in progress |
| LCROSS | USA | 6/18/2009 | 10/9/2009 | Impact | Successful; impact of LRO upper stages |
2010s: Delving Deeper
This image shows the variations in the lunar gravity field as measured by NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) during the primary mapping mission from March to May 2012. Very precise microwave measurements between two spacecraft, named Ebb and Flow, were used to map gravity with high precision and high spatial resolution.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/MIT/GSFC
| Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Outcome |
| Chang’e 2 | China | 10/1/2010 | 10/5/2010 | Orbiter | Successful |
| ARTEMIS-THEMIS | USA | 2010 | 2011 | Orbiters | (Active Mission) Successful; twin spacecraft on an extended lunar mission after successful Earth observations |
| Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) | USA | 9/10/2011 | 1/1/2012 | Orbiters | Successful; twin spacecraft |
| Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) | USA | 9/7/2013 | 10/6/2013 | Orbiter | Successful |
| Chang’e 3 | China | 12/6/2013 | 12/14/2013 | Lander | (Active Mission) Successful; delivered Yutu rover to lunar surface |
| Yutu | China | 12/6/2013 | 12/14/2013 | Rover | Successful; first non-Soviet rover on the Moon |
| Chang’e 5-Test Vehicle | China | 10/23/2014 | 10/27/2014 | Flyby | Successful |
| Queqiao | China | 5/20/2018 | Orbiter | Successful; lunar relay satellite | |
| Chang’e 4 and Yutu 2 | China | 12/7/2018 | 01/03/2019 | Lander, Rover | Successful; first lunar farside landing |
| Beresheet | Israel (SpaceIL & Israel Aerospace Industries) | 2/22/2019 | 4/11/2019 | Lander | Unsuccessful; first lunar landing attempt by a private company |
Chandrayaan-2 | India | 7/22/2019 | N/A | Orbiter | Successful |
2020s: Back to the Surface
The Moon rises behind NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard atop a mobile launcher after it rolled out to Launch Complex 39B for the first time on March 17, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. – More about this image
NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
| Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Results |
| Chang’e 5 | China | 11/23/2020 | 12/1/2020 | Sample Return | Successful |
| Danuri (Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter) | South Korea | 8/04/2022 | 12/16/2022 | Orbiter | Successful |
| Artemis I | USA | 11/16/2022 | 11/21/2022 | Flyby | Successful; first flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion capsule |
| Hakuto-R Mission 1 | Japan (ispace) | 12/11/2022 | 3/21/2023 | Lander | Unsuccessful |
| Emirates Lunar Mission | United Arab Emirates | 12/11/2022 | 3/21/2023 | Rover | Unsuccessful |
| Chandrayaan-3 | India | 07/14/2023 | 08/23/2023 | Lander and Rover | Successful; First spacecraft to soft land near the lunar South Pole. |
| Luna 25 | Russia | 08/10/2023 | 08/19/2023 | Lander | Unsuccessful |
| SLIM | Japan | 09/06/2023 | 12/25/2023 | Lander and Rover | Soft landing, but with limited use of solar panels. |
| Peregrine Mission 1 | USA (Astrobotic) | 01/08/2024 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful; First launch under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program |
| IM-1 | USA (Intuitive Machines) | 02/15/2024 | 02/22/2024 | Lander | First commercial soft lunar landing. The lander tipped over interfering with communications. |
| Chang’e 6 | China | 05/03/2024 | 06/01/2024 | Sample Return Mission | Successful. First sample return from the lunar far side. |
