List of missions to the Moon facts for kids

A replica of Luna 9, the first spacecraft to land on the Moon

The first image taken of the far side of the Moon, returned by Luna 3

Humans have sent many spacecraft to study Earth's natural satellite, the Moon. The first spacecraft to reach the Moon's surface was Luna 2 from the Soviet Union. It intentionally crashed there on September 14, 1959. Later, in 1966, Luna 9 made the first controlled soft landing, meaning it landed gently. Luna 10 was the first mission to orbit the Moon. In 1968, Zond 5 carried living things, like tortoises, very close to the Moon.

Between 1968 and 1972, the United States sent astronauts to the Moon as part of the Apollo program. Apollo 8 was the first mission with a crew to orbit the Moon in December 1968. Apollo 10 followed in May 1969. Six Apollo missions successfully landed humans on the Moon. The first was Apollo 11 in July 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. All ten crewed Apollo missions returned safely to Earth. Apollo 13 was supposed to land, but a problem with the spacecraft meant it only flew past the Moon.

While the United States focused on sending people to the Moon, the Soviet Union sent robotic missions. These missions used rovers to explore the surface and brought Moon samples back to Earth. They launched three rover missions, with two being successful. They also tried eleven times to bring samples back, and three of those attempts worked.

Many countries and groups have sent missions to the Moon. In order, these include the Soviet Union, the United States, Japan, the European Space Agency, China, India, Luxembourg, Israel, Italy, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and Mexico. Some other spacecraft have also flown past the Moon to get a gravity assist (a boost in speed). One radio telescope, Explorer 49, even orbited the Moon to avoid radio interference from Earth.

Early Moon Missions (20th Century)

The 20th century saw many exciting firsts in Moon exploration. Early missions often faced challenges, but they paved the way for future successes.

First Attempts and Major Milestones

The first attempts to reach the Moon began in 1958. Many of these early missions, like Pioneer 0 and Luna E-1 No.1, failed during launch. These failures helped engineers learn and improve their rockets.

A big step happened on January 2, 1959, when the Soviet Union's Luna 1 flew past the Moon. This was the first spacecraft to fly by the Moon. Although it didn't hit the Moon as planned, it showed that spacecraft could travel that far. The United States' Pioneer 4 also flew past the Moon in March 1959.

The Soviet Union made history again with Luna 2. On September 14, 1959, it successfully crashed into the Moon. This made it the first spacecraft to reach the lunar surface. Just a few weeks later, Luna 3 returned the first images of the far side of the Moon, a part of the Moon we never see from Earth.

Landing and Orbiting the Moon

In the 1960s, missions became more advanced. The United States' Ranger 4 accidentally crashed on the far side of the Moon in April 1962. This made the U.S. the second country to reach the Moon's surface.

A huge achievement was the soft landing. On February 3, 1966, the Soviet Union's Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to land successfully on the Moon without crashing. It even sent back pictures from the surface! Soon after, Luna 10 became the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon in April 1966.

The United States also had success with its Surveyor program. Surveyor 1 landed gently on the Moon in June 1966. These missions helped prepare for human landings.

Humans on the Moon

The most famous Moon missions were the Apollo missions. In December 1968, Apollo 8 carried the first crewed mission to the Moon. The astronauts orbited the Moon ten times before returning home.

Then came Apollo 11. On July 20, 1969, the Lunar Module Eagle landed on the Moon. Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon, followed by Buzz Aldrin. This was a monumental moment for humanity.

Other Apollo missions continued to explore. Apollo 12 was the second crewed landing. Apollo 15 was the first to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle, a special car for astronauts to drive on the Moon. Apollo 17 in December 1972 was the sixth and last crewed lunar landing.

Robotic Explorers and Sample Returns

While the U.S. sent astronauts, the Soviet Union focused on robotic missions. Luna 16 in September 1970 was the first robotic mission to collect samples from the Moon and bring them back to Earth. This was a big achievement because it meant scientists could study Moon rocks without sending humans.

Luna 17 deployed Lunokhod 1 in November 1970. This was the first robotic rover to explore the Moon's surface. These rovers could travel around, take pictures, and collect data.

The 20th century ended with more orbiters, like Lunar Prospector in 1998, which looked for water ice on the Moon. Japan's Hiten was the first Japanese spacecraft to fly by the Moon in 1990.

Modern Moon Missions (21st Century)

The 21st century has seen a new wave of Moon exploration, with more countries joining the effort.

New Countries Reach the Moon

The European Space Agency (ESA) sent SMART-1 in 2003, which orbited the Moon and then impacted it in 2006. This made ESA member states the fourth to reach the Moon's surface.

China became a major player with Chang'e 1 in 2007, which orbited the Moon and then impacted it in 2009.

India's Chandrayaan-1 mission in 2008 was very important. It included the Moon Impact Probe, which successfully crashed into the Moon's Lunar south pole. This made India the first to impact the Lunar south pole and the fifth nation to reach the lunar surface. Chandrayaan-1 also helped discover water ice on the Moon.

Advanced Landings and Discoveries

China made history again with Chang'e 3 in 2013, which successfully landed on the Moon and deployed the Yutu rover. In 2019, Chang'e 4 became the first spacecraft to soft land on the far side of the Moon. It also deployed the Yutu-2 rover. A biological experiment on the lander even saw the first plants to sprout on the Moon.

In 2020, China's Chang'e 5 successfully brought back 1.731 kg of Moon samples. This was China's first robotic sample return mission.

Recent Missions and Future Plans

Recent missions include South Korea's Danuri orbiter in 2022, which is surveying lunar resources. NASA's Artemis 1 in 2022 was an uncrewed test of the Orion spacecraft around the Moon, preparing for future human missions.

In 2023, India's Chandrayaan-3 successfully soft-landed near the lunar South Pole. This was another major step in exploring this important region. Japan's SLIM landed precisely within 100 meters of its target in January 2024.

The first private spacecraft to soft land on the Moon was Nova-C Odysseus from the U.S. in February 2024. This shows how private companies are now playing a big role in space exploration.

Many more missions are planned for the future. These include robotic landers and rovers from various countries, and crewed missions like NASA's Artemis program aiming to return humans to the Moon. China also plans its own crewed lunar missions. These future missions will continue to explore the Moon, search for resources, and prepare for possible human settlements.

Statistics

Launches by Decade

Here is a look at how many missions have been launched to the Moon over the decades, including those that failed. This list includes flybys, impact probes, orbiters, landers, rovers, and crewed missions.

Moon Milestones by Country

This table shows the first time each country achieved a major milestone in Moon exploration.

Legend

  Milestone achieved
  Milestone not achieved
† First to achieve

Country	Flyby	Orbit	Impact	Lander	Rover	Sample return	Crewed landing
United States	Pioneer 4, 1959	Lunar Orbiter 1, 1966	Ranger 4, 1962	Surveyor 1, 1966	Apollo 15, 1971	Apollo 11, 1969 †	Apollo 11, 1969 †
Soviet Union	Luna 1, 1959 †	Luna 10, 1966 †	Luna 2, 1959 †	Luna 9, 1966 †	Lunokhod 1, 1970 †	Luna 16, 1970	N/A
China	Chang'e 5-T1, 2014	Chang'e 1, 2007	Chang'e 1, 2009	Chang'e 3, 2013	Yutu 1, 2013	Chang'e 5, 2020	N/A
India	Chandrayaan 3, 2023	Chandrayaan 1, 2008	MIP, 2008	Chandrayaan 3, 2023	Pragyan, 2023	N/A	N/A
Japan	Hiten, 1990	Hiten, 1993	Hiten, 1993	SLIM, 2024	LEV-1, 2024	N/A	N/A
Israel	N/A	Beresheet, 2019	Beresheet, 2019	Beresheet, 2019	N/A	N/A	N/A
Russia	N/A	Luna 25, 2023	Luna 25, 2023	Luna 25, 2023	N/A	N/A	N/A
ESA	N/A	SMART-1, 2003	SMART-1, 2006	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Luxembourg	4M, 2014	N/A	4M, 2022	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
South Korea	N/A	Danuri, 2022	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Italy	ArgoMoon, 2022	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
UAE	N/A	N/A	Rashid, 2023	N/A	Rashid, 2023	N/A	N/A
Mexico	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Colmena, 2024	N/A	N/A

Countries to Reach the Moon's Surface

This table shows which countries were the first to achieve different types of missions on the Moon's surface.

Country	To reach surface	To soft land	To return sample	To land crew
Soviet Union	1st	1st	2nd
United States	2nd	2nd	1st	1st
Japan	3rd	5th
ESA	4th
India	5th	4th
China	6th	3rd	3rd
Israel	7th
Luxembourg	8th
UAE	9th
Russia	10th

Future Moon Missions

Many exciting Moon missions are planned or being developed by different countries and organizations.

Robotic Missions in Development

These missions are funded and currently being built:

Mission	Spacecraft	Launch date	Carrier rocket	Operator	Mission type
Blue Ghost M1	Blue Ghost Lander	Q3 2024	Falcon 9 B5	Firefly Aerospace	Lander
	This lander will carry NASA experiments and other payloads to Mare Crisium.
Griffin Mission 1	Griffin lander	November 2024	Falcon Heavy	Astrobotic Technology	Lander
	This lander will carry the VIPER Rover to the Moon.
VIPER	VIPER	November 2024	Falcon Heavy	NASA	Rover
	VIPER will search for lunar resources, especially water ice, near the Moon's south pole.
IM-2	Nova-C	Q4 2024	Falcon 9 B5	Intuitive Machines	Lander
	Khon1				Relay Satellite
	µNova				Hopper
	MAPP			Lunar Outpost Nokia	Rover
	AstroAnt			MIT	Rover
	Yaoki			Dymon	Rover
	This is the second Nova-C mission. It will deliver payloads for NASA and private customers. MAPP and µNova will test a new Nokia communication system on the Moon.
SHERPA-ES mission	SHERPA-ES	Q4 2024	Falcon 9 B5	Spaceflight Industries	Gravity Assist
	Lunar Trailblazer			NASA	Orbiter
	This mission will fly by the Moon to help deliver its payload to a different orbit.
Hakuto-R Mission 2	Hakuto-R	2024	Falcon 9 B5	ispace	Lander
	Ispace rover			Ispace Europe	Rover
	This mission includes a rover to collect lunar resources and other payloads.
IM-3	Nova-C	Q1 2025	Falcon 9 B5	Intuitive Machines	Lander
	Khon2				Relay Satellite
	CADRE x3			NASA	Rovers
	Lunar Vertex			NASA Lunar Outpost	Rover
	This is the third Nova-C mission, delivering payloads for NASA and private customers.
Starship Demo mission	Starship HLS	2025	Starship	SpaceX	Lander
	This will be an uncrewed test flight of the Starship HLS lander.
DESTINY+	DESTINY+	2025	Epsilon S	JAXA	Flyby
	This mission will fly by the Moon on its way to an asteroid.
PPE and HALO	PPE	NET 2025	Falcon Heavy	NASA Northrop Grumman	Space station assembly
	HALO
	These are the first two parts of the Lunar Gateway, a space station that will orbit the Moon.
Lunar Polar Exploration Mission	LUPEX lander	2026	H3	ISRO	Lander
	LUPEX rover			JAXA	Rover
	This mission includes a lander and a rover, as part of India's Chandrayaan program.
Artemis 3 Starship HLS delivery	Starship HLS	2026	Starship	SpaceX	Lander
	This mission will deliver the Starship HLS lander for the Artemis 3 crewed mission.
TBD (CLPS Lander)	Moon to Mars Initiative: Trailblazer (Roo-ver)	2026	TBD	Australian Space Agency	Rover
APEX 1.0	APEX 1.0	2026	TBD	ispace U.S. Draper	Lander
	Lunar Relay Satellite 1			ispace U.S. Blue Canyon Technologies	Relay Satellite
	Lunar Relay Satellite 2				Relay Satellite
	This mission includes a lunar lander and two relay satellites.
Blue Ghost M2	Blue Ghost lander	2026	TBD	Firefly Aerospace	Lander
	Elytra orbital vehicle				Orbiter
	This is Firefly Aerospace's second mission, part of the CLPS program.
Lunar Pathfinder	Lunar Pathfinder	2026	TBD	ESA	Relay Satellite
	This satellite will help with communications for future Moon missions.
Chang'e 7	Chang'e 7 Orbiter	2026	Long March 5	CNSA	Orbiter
	Chang'e 7 Lander				Lander
	Chang'e 7 Rover				Rover
	Chang'e 7 Hopper				Hopper
	This mission includes an orbiter, a lander for the south pole, a rover, and a small flying probe to look for water ice.
Starship cargo mission	Starship HLS	2026	Starship	SpaceX	Lander
	This will be SpaceX's first cargo mission to the Moon.
FLEX	FLEX	2026	Starship	Astrolab	Rover
	This is a large lunar rover that can carry cargo and two astronauts.
Astrobotic mission 3	TBA	2026	Falcon Heavy	Astrobotic	Lander
	⚀ LunaGrid-Lite CubeRover				Rover
	Astrobotic's third lunar mission will land at the Moon's south pole.
Canadian lunar rover mission	Canadensys Lunar Rover	2026	TBD	Canadensys CSA	Rover
	This will be Canada's first lunar rover, flying as part of NASA's CLPS program.
ZeusX	ZeusX service module	Q4 2027	TBD	Qosmosys	Orbiter
	ZeusX lunar lander				Lander
	LIBER				Rover
	This will be Singapore's first attempt to land on the Moon.
Luna 26	Luna 26	2027	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat	Roscosmos	Orbiter
	This orbiter will scout for a landing site for the Luna 27 mission.
Luna 27	Luna 27	2028	Angara A5 / Fregat	Roscosmos	Lander
	This lander is part of Russia's Luna-Glob program.
Luna 27 (Backup)	Luna 27	2028	Angara A5 / Fregat	Roscosmos	Lander
	This is a backup lander for Luna 27.
Chang'e 8	Chang'e 8 Orbiter	2028	Long March 5	CNSA	Orbiter
	Chang'e 8 Lander				Lander
	Chang'e 8 Rover				Rover
	Chang'e 8 Robot				Hopper
	This mission will land at the south pole and test technologies for using local resources and 3D printing on the Moon.
SpaceX GLS-1	Dragon XL	2028	Falcon Heavy	SpaceX	Resupply vehicle
	This will be the first resupply mission to the Lunar Gateway space station.
Uncrewed Blue Moon Demo mission	Blue Moon HLS	2028	New Glenn	Blue Origin	Lander
	Cislunar Transporter	2028	New Glenn	Lockheed Martin	Transfer vehicle
	This mission will test the Blue Moon lander system before it carries astronauts.
Artemis 4 Starship HLS delivery	Starship HLS	2028	Starship	SpaceX	Lander
	This mission will deliver the Starship HLS lander for the Artemis 4 crewed mission.
Artemis 5 Blue Moon HLS delivery	Blue Moon HLS	2028	New Glenn	Blue Origin	Lander
	Cislunar Transporter	2028	New Glenn	Lockheed Martin	Transfer vehicle
	This mission will deliver the Blue Moon HLS lander for the Artemis 5 crewed mission.
Argonaut M1	Argonaut Lander	2030	Ariane 64	ESA	Lander
	This robotic lander will also act as a resupply vehicle for a future Moon base.
Lunar Voyage 3	Mapp	TBA	TBA	Lunar Outpost	Rover
	This will be the first fully commercial mission of the Lunar Outpost MAPP program.

Crewed Missions in Development

These missions will carry astronauts to the Moon:

Agency or company	Name	Spacecraft	Launch date	Launch vehicle	Notes
NASA CSA	Artemis 2	Orion	September 2025	SLS Block 1	This mission will be a crewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft around the Moon.
NASA	Artemis 3	Orion, Starship HLS	September 2026	SLS Block 1	This mission aims to land the "first woman and next man" on the Moon.
SpaceX	dearMoon project	Starship	2020s	Starship	This is a space tourism and art project that will fly around the Moon.
NASA	Artemis 4	Orion, Starship HLS	September 2028	SLS Block 1B	This mission will be the first flight of a new rocket version and the second Artemis crewed lunar landing.
NASA	Artemis 5	Orion, Blue Moon HLS	September 2029	SLS Block 1B	This mission will involve a crewed visit to the Lunar Gateway and the Moon's surface.
NASA	Artemis 6	Orion, TBD	September 2030	SLS Block 1B	This mission will include a lunar landing and deliver a new module to the Lunar Gateway.
CNSA	Chinese crewed lunar mission 1	Next-gen spacecraft, Crewed lander	2030	Long March 10	This mission plans to send two astronauts to the Moon for a short stay.

Images for kids

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  Map of soft landings on the lunar near side