Moon Missions - NASA Science

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

Astronaut and robotic spacecraft on 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 Orbi ter 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

An astronaut in a white spacesuit stands with his shovel poised above the lunar surface.

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

Image of the earth and moon taken from Clementine

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.