List of missions to the Moon facts for kids

The Soviet 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)

Missions to the Moon have been numerous and represent some of the earliest endeavours in space missions, with continuous exploration of the Moon beginning in 1959.

The first partially successful lunar mission was Luna 1 in January 1959, which became the first probe to escape Earth's gravity and perform a flyby of another astronomical body, passing near the Moon. Soon after, the first Moon landing—and the first landing on any extraterrestrial body—was carried out by Luna 2, which intentionally impacted the Moon on 14 September 1959. The far side of the Moon, permanently hidden from Earth due to tidal locking, was imaged for the first time by Luna 3 on 7 October 1959, revealing terrain never before seen.

Significant advances continued throughout the 1960s. In 1966, Luna 9 achieved the first controlled soft landing on the lunar surface, followed later that year by Luna 10, the first spacecraft to enter orbit around the Moon. In 1968, the Zond 5 mission became the first to carry terrestrial lifeforms—specifically tortoises—on a circumlunar approach that brought them close to the Moon and returned them safely to Earth, demonstrating biological viability in deep space.

The first crewed missions to the Moon were undertaken by the United States, forming the pinnacle of the Space Race. While the Soviet programme pivoted toward robotic sample return missions, the American Apollo program advanced through a sequence of increasingly complex missions. In December 1968, Apollo 8 became the first crewed spacecraft to orbit the Moon. On 20 July 1969, Apollo 11 accomplished the first crewed landing on the lunar surface, during which Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon. Concurrently, the Soviet Luna 15 robotic mission was also orbiting the Moon, marking the first known instance of simultaneous extraterrestrial operations by different nations.

Between 1969 and 1972, the United States carried out six successful Apollo landings, while the Soviet Union continued deploying uncrewed probes, including the Lunokhod programme—the first extraterrestrial rovers—and sample return missions through 1976. Following this period, there was a gap in dedicated lunar missions lasting until 1990. Since then, renewed interest in lunar exploration has seen additional missions conducted by a broader range of spacefaring entities. In chronological order following the Soviet Union and the United States, the Moon has been visited by Japan, the European Space Agency, China, India, Luxembourg, Israel, Italy, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and Pakistan.

In 2018, the far side of the Moon was targeted for the first time by a landing mission. On 3 January 2019, China's Chang'e 4 mission successfully landed in the Aitken basin, deploying the Yutu-2 rover, which commenced scientific operations on the unexplored lunar hemisphere. Five years later, China launched the Chang'e 6 sample return mission to the far side. Its lander touched down in Apollo crater on 1 June 2024 and collected the first lunar samples retrieved from the Moon's far hemisphere.

The first commercial mission to the Moon was the Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M), developed by LuxSpace, a subsidiary of the German aerospace company OHB AG, Launched on 23 October 2014 with the mission flying as a secondary payload aboard CNSA's Chang'e 5-T1 spacecraft.

The Moon has also been visited by a small number of spacecraft not dedicated to lunar study. Of these, four executed flybys using the Moon for gravity assist manoeuvres to alter their interplanetary trajectories. In addition, Explorer 49, a radio astronomy satellite launched by the United States in 1973, was placed into selenocentric orbit where the Moon itself served as a shield from terrestrial radio interference, enabling observations of deep-space radio signals.

20th century

Legend

⚀ Cubesat or similar

Mission		Launch date	Operator	Carrier rocket	Spacecraft	Mission type	Outcome
1	Pioneer 0 (Able I)	17 August 1958	USAF	Thor DM-18 Able I	Pioneer 0	Orbiter	Launch failure
		First attempted launch beyond Earth orbit; failed to orbit due to turbopump gearbox malfunction resulting in first-stage explosion. Reached apogee of 16 kilometres (10 mi).
2	Luna E-1 No.1	23 September 1958	OKB-1	Luna	Luna E-1 No.1	Impactor	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; rocket disintegrated due to excessive vibration.
3	Pioneer 1 (Able II)	11 October 1958	NASA	Thor DM-18 Able I	Pioneer 1	Orbiter	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; premature second-stage cutoff due to accelerometer failure. Later known as Pioneer 1. Reached apogee of 113,800 kilometres (70,700 mi).
4	Luna E-1 No.2	11 October 1958	OKB-1	Luna	Luna E-1 No.2	Impactor	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; carrier rocket exploded due to excessive vibration.
5	Pioneer 2 (Able III)	8 November 1958	NASA	Thor DM-18 Able I	Pioneer 2	Orbiter	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; premature second-stage cutoff due to erroneous command by ground controllers; third stage failed to ignite due to broken electrical connection. Reached apogee of 1,550 kilometres (960 mi).
6	Luna E-1 No.3	4 December 1958	OKB-1	Luna	Luna E-1 No.3	Impactor	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; seal failure in hydrogen peroxide pump cooling system resulted in core-stage underperformance.
7	Pioneer 3	6 December 1958	NASA	Juno II	Pioneer 3	Flyby	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; premature first-stage cutoff. Reached apogee of 102,360 kilometres (63,600 mi).
8	Luna 1 (E-1 No.4)	2 January 1959	OKB-1	Luna	Luna 1	Impactor	Partial failure
		Carrier rocket guidance problem resulted in failure to impact Moon, flew past in a heliocentric orbit. Closest approach 5,995 kilometres (3,725 mi) on 4 January. First spacecraft to fly by the Moon.
9	Pioneer 4	3 March 1959	NASA	Juno II	Pioneer 4	Flyby	Partial failure
		Second-stage overperformance resulted in flyby at greater altitude than expected, out of instrument range, with 58,983 kilometres (36,650 mi) of distance. Closest approach at 22:25 UTC on 4 March. First U.S. spacecraft to leave Earth orbit.
10	E-1A No.1	18 June 1959	OKB-1	Luna	E-1A No.1	Impactor	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; guidance system malfunction.
11	Luna 2 (E-1A No.2)	12 September 1959	OKB-1	Luna	Luna 2	Impactor	Success
		Successful impact at 21:02 on 14 September 1959. First spacecraft to impact the lunar surface. This made the Soviet Union the first country to impact the surface of the Moon.
12	Luna 3 (E-2A No.1)	4 October 1959	OKB-1	Luna	Luna 3	Flyby	Success
		Returned the first images of the far side of the Moon.
13	Pioneer P-3 Able IVB	26 November 1959	NASA	Atlas-D Able	Pioneer P-3	Orbiter	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; payload fairing disintegrated due to design fault.
14	Luna E-3 No.1	15 April 1960	OKB-1	Luna	Luna E-3 No.1	Flyby	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; premature third-stage cutoff.
15	Luna E-3 No.2	16 April 1960	OKB-1	Luna	Luna E-3 No.2	Flyby	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; rocket disintegrated ten seconds after launch.
16	Pioneer P-30 (Able VA)	25 September 1960	NASA	Atlas-D Able	Pioneer P-30	Orbiter	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; second-stage oxidizer system malfunction resulting in premature cutoff.
17	Pioneer P-31 (Able VB)	15 December 1960	NASA	Atlas-D Able	Pioneer P-31	Orbiter	Launch failure
		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	Ranger 3 (P-34)	26 January 1962	NASA	Atlas LV-3 Agena-B	Ranger 3	Impactor	Spacecraft failure
					Ranger 3 lander	Lander	Spacecraft failure
		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	Ranger 4 (P-35)	23 April 1962	NASA	Atlas LV-3 Agena-B	Ranger 4	Impactor	Spacecraft failure
					Ranger 4 lander	Lander	Spacecraft failure
		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. The impact made the United States the 2nd country to impact the surface of the Moon.
20	Ranger 5 (P-36)	18 October 1962	NASA	Atlas LV-3 Agena-B	Ranger 5	Impactor	Spacecraft failure
					Ranger 5 lander	Lander	Spacecraft failure
		Solar panels erroneously disengaged from power system, failed 8+3⁄4 hours after launch when batteries were depleted. Missed the Moon as course correction was not completed.
21	Luna E-6 No.2	4 January 1963	OKB-1	Molniya-L	Luna E-6 No.2	Lander	Launch failure
		Failed to depart Low Earth orbit; guidance system power failure prevented upper-stage ignition.
22	Luna E-6 No.3	3 February 1963	OKB-1	Molniya-L	Luna E-6 No.3	Lander	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; guidance failure.
23	Luna 4 (E-6 No.4)	2 April 1963	OKB-1	Molniya-L	Luna 4	Lander	Spacecraft failure
		Failed to perform mid-course correction, remained in high Earth orbit until given escape velocity by orbital perturbation.
24	Ranger 6 (P-54)	30 January 1964	NASA	Atlas LV-3 Agena-B	Ranger 6	Impactor	Spacecraft failure
		Impacted on 2 February 1964, failed to return images due to power system failure.
25	Luna E-6 No.6	21 March 1964	OKB-1	Molniya-M	Luna E-6 No.6	Lander	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; third stage underperformed due to oxidiser valve failure.
26	Luna E-6 No.5	20 April 1964	OKB-1	Molniya-M	Luna E-6 No.5	Lander	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; power failure caused by broken connection resulted in premature third-stage cutoff.
27	Ranger 7	28 July 1964	NASA	Atlas LV-3 Agena-B	Ranger 7	Impactor	Success
		Impacted on 30 July 1964 at 13:25:48 UTC.
28	Ranger 8	17 February 1965	NASA	Atlas LV-3 Agena-B	Ranger 8	Impactor	Success
		Impacted on 20 February 1965 at 09:57:37 UTC.
29	Kosmos 60 (E-6 No.9)	12 March 1965	Lavochkin	Molniya-L	Kosmos 60	Lander	Launch failure
		Upper stage failed to restart due to guidance system short circuit, Failed to depart low Earth orbit.
30	Ranger 9	21 March 1965	NASA	Atlas LV-3 Agena-B	Ranger 9	Impactor	Success
		Impacted on 24 March 1965 at 14:08:20 UTC.
31	Luna E-6 No.8	10 April 1965	Lavochkin	Molniya-L	Luna E-6 No.8	Lander	Spacecraft failure
		Third stage failed to ignite due to loss of oxidiser pressure, failed to orbit.
32	Luna 5 (E-6 No.10)	9 May 1965	Lavochkin	Molniya-M	Luna 5	Lander	Spacecraft failure
		Loss of control after gyroscope malfunction, failed to decelerate for landing and impacted the Moon at 19:10 UTC on 12 May 1965.
33	Luna 6 (E-6 No.7)	8 June 1965	Lavochkin	Molniya-M	Luna 6	Lander	Spacecraft failure
		Engine failed to shut down after performing mid-course correction manoeuvre, flew past the Moon in a heliocentric orbit.
34	Zond 3 (3MV-4 No.3)	18 July 1965	Lavochkin	Molniya	Zond 3	Flyby	Success
		Flew past the Moon on 20 July 1965 at a distance of 9,200 kilometres (5,700 mi). Conducted technology demonstration for future planetary missions.
35	Luna 7 (E-6 No.11)	4 October 1965	Lavochkin	Molniya	Luna 7	Lander	Spacecraft failure
		Attitude control failure shortly before landing prevented controlled descent; impacted the lunar surface 22:08:24 UTC on 7 October 1965.
36	Luna 8 (E-6 No.12)	3 December 1965	Lavochkin	Molniya	Luna 8	Lander	Spacecraft failure
		Landing airbag punctured, resulting in loss of attitude control shortly before planned touchdown, impacted Moon on 6 December 1965 at 21:51:30 UTC.
37	Luna 9 (E-6 No.13)	31 January 1966	Lavochkin	Molniya-M	Luna 9	Lander	Success
		First spacecraft to land successfully on the Moon. Touchdown on 3 February 1966 at 18:45:30 UTC. Returned data until 6 February at 22:55 UTC. With its soft landing, the Soviet Union became the first country to successfully land on the lunar surface.
38	Kosmos 111 (E-6S No.204)	1 March 1966	Lavochkin	Molniya-M	Kosmos 111	Orbiter	Launch failure
		Upper stage lost attitude control and failed to ignite; spacecraft never left low Earth orbit.
39	Luna 10 (E-6S No.206)	31 March 1966	Lavochkin	Molniya-M	Luna 10	Orbiter	Success
		Entered orbit at 18:44 UTC on 3 April 1966, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon. Continued to return data until 30 May.
40	Surveyor 1	30 May 1966	NASA	Atlas LV-3C Centaur-D	Surveyor 1	Lander	Success
		Landed in Oceanus Procellarum on 2 June 1966 at 06:17:36 UTC. Returned data until loss of power on 13 July. With its soft landing, the United States became the second country to successfully land on the lunar surface.
41	Explorer 33 (AIMP-D)	1 July 1966	NASA	Delta E1	Explorer 33	Orbiter	Launch failure
		Magnetospheric probe; rocket imparted greater velocity than had been planned, leaving spacecraft unable to enter orbit. Repurposed for Earth orbit mission which was completed successfully.
42	Lunar Orbiter 1	10 August 1966	NASA	Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D	Lunar Orbiter 1	Orbiter	Partial failure
		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.
43	Luna 11 (E-6LF No.101)	21 August 1966	Lavochkin	Molniya-M	Luna 11	Orbiter	Partial failure
		Entered orbit on 28 August 1966. Failed to return images; other instruments operated correctly. 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.
44	Surveyor 2	20 September 1966	NASA	Atlas LV-3C Centaur-D	Surveyor 2	Lander	Spacecraft failure
		One thruster failed to ignite during mid-course correction manoeuvre, resulting in loss of control. Impacted the Moon at 03:18 UTC on 23 September 1966.
45	Luna 12 (E-6LF No.102)	22 October 1966	Lavochkin	Molniya-M	Luna 12	Orbiter	Success
		Entered orbit on 25 October 1966 and returned data until 19 January 1967. Completed photography mission intended for Luna 11.
46	Lunar Orbiter 2	6 November 1966	NASA	Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D	Lunar Orbiter 2	Orbiter	Success
		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.
47	Luna 13 (E-6M No.205)	21 December 1966	Lavochkin	Molniya-M	Luna 13	Lander	Success
		Successfully landed in Oceanus Procellarum at 18:01 UTC on 24 December 1966. Returned images from the surface and studied the lunar soil. Operated until depletion of power at 06:31 UTC on 28 December.
48	Lunar Orbiter 3	5 February 1967	NASA	Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D	Lunar Orbiter 3	Orbiter	Success
		Entered orbit at 21:54 UTC on 8 February 1967. Deorbited at end of mission and impacted the Moon on 9 October 1967.
49	Surveyor 3	17 April 1967	NASA	Atlas LV-3C Centaur-D	Surveyor 3	Lander	Success
		Landed at 00:04 UTC on 20 April 1967 and operated until 3 May. Visited by Apollo 12 astronauts in 1969, with some parts removed for return to Earth.
50	Lunar Orbiter 4	4 May 1967	NASA	Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D	Lunar Orbiter 4	Orbiter	Success
		Entered orbit at 21:54 UTC on 8 May 1967, operated until 17 July. Decayed from orbit, with lunar impact occurring on 6 October 1967.
51	Surveyor 4	14 July 1967	NASA	Atlas LV-3C Centaur-D	Surveyor 4	Lander	Spacecraft failure
		Contact with spacecraft lost at 02:03 UTC on 17 July, two and a half minutes before scheduled landing. NASA determined that the spacecraft may have exploded, otherwise it impacted the Moon.
52	Explorer 35 (AIMP-E)	19 July 1967	NASA	Delta E1	Explorer 35 (AIMP-E)	Orbiter	Success
		Magnetospheric probe, studying the Moon and interplanetary space. Deactivated on 27 June 1973. Presumed to have impacted the Moon during the 1970s.
53	Lunar Orbiter 5	1 August 1967	NASA	Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D	Lunar Orbiter 5	Orbiter	Success
		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.
54	Surveyor 5	8 September 1967	NASA	Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D	Surveyor 5	Lander	Success
		Landed in Mare Tranquillitatis at 00:46:44 UTC on 11 September. Last signals received at 04:30 UTC on 17 December 1967.
55	Soyuz 7K-L1 No.4L	27 September 1967	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Soyuz 7K-L1 No.4L	Flyby	Spacecraft failure
		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.
56	Surveyor 6	7 November 1967	NASA	Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D	Surveyor 6	Lander	Success
		Landed in Sinus Medii at 01:01:04 UTC on 10 November. 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.
57	Soyuz 7K-L1 No.5L	22 November 1967	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Soyuz 7K-L1 No.5L	Flyby	Launch failure
		Technology demonstration for planned crewed missions; unable to achieve orbit after second-stage engine failed to ignite.
58	Surveyor 7	7 January 1968	NASA	Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D	Surveyor 7	Lander	Success
		Final Surveyor mission. Landed 29 kilometres (18 mi) from Tycho crater at 01:05:36 UTC on 10 January. Operated until 21 February 1968.
59	Luna E-6LS No.112	7 February 1968	Lavochkin	Molniya-M	Luna E-6LS No.112	Orbiter	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit after third stage ran out of fuel.
60	Luna 14 (E-6LS No.113)	7 April 1968	Lavochkin	Molniya-M	Luna 14	Orbiter	Success
		Tested communications for proposed crewed missions and studied the mass concentration of the Moon. Entered orbit on 10 April at 19:25 UTC.
61	Soyuz 7K-L1 No.7L	22 April 1968	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Soyuz 7K-L1 No.7L	Flyby	Launch failure
		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	Zond 5 (7K-L1 No.9L)	14 September 1968	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Zond 5	Flyby	Success
		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.
63	Zond 6 (7K-L1 No.12L)	10 November 1968	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Zond 6	Flyby	Spacecraft failure
		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). Reentered Earth's atmosphere on 17 November; recovery was unsuccessful after parachutes were prematurely jettisoned.
64	Apollo 8	21 December 1968	NASA	Saturn V	Apollo 8	Crewed orbiter	Success
		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 and presented a reading from the Book of Genesis 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.
65	Soyuz 7K-L1 No.13L	20 January 1969	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Soyuz 7K-L1 No.13L	Flyby	Launch failure
		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.
66	Luna E-8 No.201	19 February 1969	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna E-8 No.201	Lander	Launch failure
					Lunokhod	Rover	Launch failure
		First launch of the Lunokhod rover. Launch vehicle disintegrated 51 seconds after launch and exploded.
67	Soyuz 7K-L1S No.3	21 February 1969	OKB-1	N1	Soyuz 7K-L1S No.3	Orbiter	Launch failure
		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	Apollo 10	18 May 1969	NASA	Saturn V	Apollo 10	Orbiter	Success
					Lunar Module Snoopy	Orbiter	Success
		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	Luna E-8-5 No.402	14 June 1969	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna E-8-5 No.402	Lander	Launch failure
					Luna E-8-5 No.402 return craft	Sample Return	Launch failure
		Intended to land on the Moon and return lunar soil sample. Did not reach Earth orbit after fourth stage failed to ignite.
70	Soyuz 7K-L1S No.5	3 July 1969	OKB-1	N1	Soyuz 7K-L1S No.5	Orbiter	Launch failure
		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.
71	Luna 15 (E-8-5 No.401)	13 July 1969	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna 15	Lander	Spacecraft failure
					Luna 15 return craft	Sample Return	Precluded
		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.
72	Apollo 11	16 July 1969	NASA	Saturn V	Apollo 11	Orbiter	Success
					Lunar Module Eagle	Lander/Launch Vehicle	Success
		First crewed landing on the Moon. The Lunar Module Eagle landed at 20:17 UTC on 20 July 1969.
73	Zond 7 (7K-L1 No.11L)	7 August 1969	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Zond 7	Flyby	Success
		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.
74	Kosmos 300 (E-8-5 No.403)	23 September 1969	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Kosmos 300	Lander	Launch failure
					Kosmos 300 return craft	Sample return	Launch failure
		Third attempt at lunar sample return. After reaching low Earth orbit, the fourth-stage engine failed to fire for trans-lunar injection due to oxidizer leak. Spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere about 4 days after launch.
75	Kosmos 305 (E-8-5 No.404)	22 October 1969	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Kosmos 305	Lander	Launch failure
					Kosmos 305 return craft	Sample Return	Launch failure
		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.
76	Apollo 12	14 November 1969	NASA	Saturn V	Apollo 12	Orbiter	Success
					Lunar Module Intrepid	Lander/Launch Vehicle	Success
		Second crewed lunar landing.
77	Luna E-8-5 No.405	6 February 1970	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna E-8-5 No.405	Lander	Launch failure
					Luna E-8-5 No.405 return craft	Sample return	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit
78	Apollo 13	11 April 1970	NASA	Saturn V	Apollo 13	Orbiter	Spacecraft failure
					Lunar Module Aquarius	Lander/Launch Vehicle	Precluded
						Rescue mission	Success
		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.
79	Luna 16 (E-8-5 No.406)	12 September 1970	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna 16	Lander	Success
					Luna 16 return craft	Sample return	Success
		First robotic sampling mission.
80	Zond 8 (7K-L1 No.14L)	20 October 1970	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Zond 8	Flyby	Success
		Technology demonstration for planned crewed missions; returned to Earth successfully.
81	Luna 17 (E-8 No.203)	10 November 1970	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna 17	Lander	Success
					Lunokhod 1	Rover	Success
		Luna 17 deployed Lunokhod 1.
82	Apollo 14	31 January 1971	NASA	Saturn V	Apollo 14	Orbiter	Success
					Lunar Module Antares	Lander/Launch Vehicle	Success
		Third crewed lunar landing.
83	Apollo 15	26 July 1971	NASA	Saturn V	Apollo 15	Orbiter	Success
					Lunar Module Falcon	Lander/Launch Vehicle	Success
					Lunar Roving Vehicle	Rover	Success
		Fourth crewed lunar landing, and first to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle.
84	PFS-1	26 July 1971	NASA	Saturn V	PFS-1	Orbiter	Success
		PFS-1 was deployed from Apollo 15.
85	Luna 18 (E-8-5 No.407)	2 September 1971	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna 18	Lander	Spacecraft failure
					Luna 18 return craft	Sample return	Spacecraft failure
		Failed during descent to lunar surface.
86	Luna 19 (E-8LS No.202)	28 September 1971	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna 19	Orbiter	Success
		Entered an orbit around the Moon on 2 October 1971 after two midcourse corrections on 29 September and 1 October.
87	Luna 20 (E-8-5 No.408)	14 February 1972	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna 20	Lander	Success
					Luna 20 return craft	Sample return	Success
		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.
88	Apollo 16	16 April 1972	NASA	Saturn V	Apollo 16	Orbiter	Success
					Lunar Module Orion	Lander/Launch Vehicle	Success
					Lunar Roving Vehicle	Rover	Success
		5th crewed lunar landing.
89	PFS-2	16 April 1972	NASA	Saturn V	PFS-2	Orbiter	Success
		PFS-2 deployed from Apollo 16.
90	Soyuz 7K-LOK No.1	23 November 1972	OKB-1	N1	Soyuz 7K-LOK No.1	Orbiter	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit; intended to orbit the Moon and return to Earth.
91	Apollo 17	7 December 1972	NASA	Saturn V	Apollo 17	Orbiter	Success
					Lunar Module Challenger	Lander/Launch Vehicle	Success
					Lunar Roving Vehicle	Rover	Success
		Sixth and last crewed lunar landing and last use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle; the orbiting command module included five mice.
92	Luna 21 (E-8 No.204)	8 January 1973	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna 21	Lander	Success
					Lunokhod 2	Rover	Success
		Deployed Lunokhod 2.
93	Explorer 49 (RAE-B)	10 June 1973	NASA	Delta 1913	Explorer 49	Orbiter	Success
		Radio astronomy spacecraft, operated in selenocentric orbit to avoid interference from terrestrial radio sources.
94	Mariner 10	3 November 1973	NASA	Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1A	Mariner 10	Flyby	Success
		Interplanetary spacecraft, mapped lunar north pole to test cameras.
95	Luna 22 (E-8LS No.206)	29 May 1974	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna 22	Orbiter	Success
		Inserted into a circular lunar orbit on 2 June 1974
96	Luna 23 (E-8-5M No.410)	28 October 1974	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna 23	Lander	Partial failure
					Luna 23 return craft	Sample Return	Precluded
		Tipped over upon landing, precluding any sample return attempt. Functioned for three days on surface.
97	Luna E-8-5M No.412	16 October 1975	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna E-8-5M No.412	Lander	Launch failure
					Luna E-8-5M No.412 return craft	Sample Return	Launch failure
		Failed to orbit.
98	Luna 24 (E-8-5M No.413)	9 August 1976	Lavochkin	Proton-K/D	Luna 24	Lander	Success
					Luna 24 return craft	Sample Return	Success
		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. Returned 170.1 grams (6.00 oz) of lunar regolith. Final mission to the Moon from the Soviet Union.
99	ISEE-3 (ICE/Explorer 59)	12 August 1978	NASA	Delta 2914	ISEE-3	Flyby	Success
		Five flybys in 1982 and 1983 en route to comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner.
100	Hiten (MUSES-A)	24 January 1990	ISAS	Mu-3S-II	Hiten	Orbiter	Success
					Hagoromo	Orbiter	Spacecraft failure
		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. Hagoromo was deployed from Hiten. The impact made Japan the 3rd country to impact the surface of the Moon.
101	Geotail	24 July 1992	ISAS/NASA	Delta II 6925	Geotail	Flyby	Success
		Series of flybys to regulate high Earth orbit.
102	WIND	1 November 1994	NASA	Delta II 7925-10	WIND	Flyby	Success
		Made two flybys on 1 December 1994 and 27 December 1994 to reach the Earth–Sun L1 Lagrangian point.
103	Clementine (DSPSE)	25 January 1994	USAF/NASA	Titan II (23)G Star-37FM	Clementine	Orbiter	Success
		Completed Lunar objectives successfully; failed following departure from selenocentric orbit.
104	HGS-1	24 December 1997	Hughes	Proton-K/DM3	HGS-1	Flyby	Success
		Communications satellite; made two flybys in May and June 1998 en route to geosynchronous orbit after delivery into wrong orbit.
105	Lunar Prospector (Discovery 3)	7 January 1998	NASA	Athena II	Lunar Prospector	Orbiter	Success
		The mission ended on July 31, 1999
106	Nozomi (PLANET-B)	3 July 1998	ISAS	M-V	Nozomi	Flyby	Success
		Two flybys en route to Mars.

21st century

Legend

⚀ Cubesat or similar

Mission		Launch date	Operator	Carrier rocket	Spacecraft	Mission type	Outcome
107	WMAP	30 June 2001	NASA	Delta II 7425-10	WMAP	Flyby	Success
		Flyby on 30 July 2001 to reach the Earth–Sun L2 Lagrangian point.
108	SMART-1	27 September 2003	ESA	Ariane 5G	SMART-1	Orbiter	Success
		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.
109	STEREO	25 October 2006	NASA	Delta II 7925-10L	STEREO A	Flyby	Success
					STEREO B	Flyby	Success
		Both component spacecraft entered heliocentric orbit on 15 December 2006.
110	ARTEMIS	17 February 2007	NASA	Delta II 7925	ARTEMIS P1	Orbiter	Operational
					ARTEMIS P2	Orbiter	Operational
		Two THEMIS spacecraft moved to selenocentric orbit for extended mission; entered orbit July 2011.
111	SELENE	14 September 2007	JAXA	H-IIA 2022	Kaguya	Orbiter	Success
					Okina	Orbiter	Success
					Ouna	Orbiter	Success
		Deployed Okina and Ouna satellites. Kaguya and Okina impacted the Moon at end of mission. Ouna completed operations on 29 June 2009 but remains in selenocentric orbit.
112	Chang'e 1	24 October 2007	CNSA	Long March 3A	Chang'e 1	Orbiter	Success
		Impacted Moon in USGS quadrangle LQ21 on 1 March 2009, at end of mission. The impact made China the 5th country and 6th as an agency to impact the surface of the Moon.
113	Chandrayaan-1	22 October 2008	ISRO	PSLV-XL C11	Chandrayaan-1	Orbiter	Success
					Moon Impact Probe	Impactor	Success
		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. 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.
114	LRO & LCROSS	18 June 2009	NASA	Atlas V 401	Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter	Orbiter	Operational
					LCROSS	Impactor	Success
		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.
115	Chang'e 2	1 October 2010	CNSA	Long March 3C	Chang'e 2	Orbiter	Success
		Following completion of six month Lunar mission, departed selenocentric orbit for Earth–Sun L2 Lagrangian point 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.
116	GRAIL	10 September 2011	NASA	Delta II 7920H	Ebb (GRAIL-A)	Orbiter	Success
					Flow (GRAIL-B)	Orbiter	Success
		Impacted the Moon in USGS quadrangle LQ01 on 17 December 2012 at end of mission.
117	LADEE	7 September 2013	NASA	Minotaur V	LADEE	Orbiter	Success
		Mission ended on 18 April 2014, when the spacecraft's controllers intentionally crashed LADEE into the far side of the Moon.
118	Chang'e 3	1 December 2013	CNSA	Long March 3B	Chang'e 3	Lander	Operational
					Yutu	Rover	Success
		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.
119	Chang'e 5-T1	23 October 2014	CNSA	Long March 3C	Chang'e 5-T1	Orbiter	Operational
					Chang'e 5-T1 Return Capsule	Orbiter	Success
			LuxSpace		Manfred Memorial Moon Mission	Flyby / Impactor (post mission)	Success
		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 7th country to impact the surface of the Moon.
120	TESS	18 April 2018	NASA	Falcon 9 Full Thrust	TESS	Flyby	Success
		Flyby on 17 May 2018 to designated high Earth orbit.
121	Queqiao	21 May 2018	CNSA	Long March 4C	Queqiao relay satellite	Relay Satellite	Operational
					Longjiang-1	Orbiter	Spacecraft failure
					Longjiang-2	Orbiter	Success
		Launched on the same rocket as Queqiao. Longjiang-1 never entered Moon orbit, while Longjiang-2 operated in lunar orbit until 31 July 2019, when it impacted the lunar surface. Queqiao entered designated Earth–Moon L2 orbit on 14 June in preparation of Chang'e 4 far-side lunar lander in December 2018.
122	Chang'e 4	7 December 2018	CNSA	Long March 3B	Chang'e 4	Lander	Operational
					Yutu-2	Rover	Operational
		First spacecraft to soft land on the far side of the Moon (South Pole–Aitken basin). Landed 3 January 2019 and deployed the Yutu-2 rover. Cottonseeds sprouted in the lander in a biological experiment, the first plants to sprout on the Moon.
123	Beresheet	22 February 2019	SpaceIL	Falcon 9	Beresheet	Lander	Spacecraft failure
		First Israeli and first privately funded lunar lander mission. Technology demonstration. Instrumentation included a magnetometer and laser retroreflector. Spacecraft crashed into the lunar surface after main engine failure during descent from lunar orbit phase. The impact made Israel the 8th country to impact the surface of the Moon.
124	Chandrayaan-2	22 July 2019	ISRO	LVM3	Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter	Orbiter	Operational
					Vikram	Lander	Spacecraft failure
					Pragyan	Rover	Precluded
		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.
125	Chang'e 5	23 November 2020	CNSA	Long March 5	Chang'e 5 Orbiter	Orbiter	Operational
					Chang'e 5 Lander	Lander	Success
					Chang'e 5 Ascender	Launch Vehicle	Success
					Chang'e 5 Returner	Sample Return	Success
		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.
126	CAPSTONE	28 June 2022	NASA	Electron	⚀ CAPSTONE	Orbiter	Operational
		Lunar orbiting CubeSat that will test and verify the calculated orbital stability planned for the Gateway space station.
127	Danuri	4 August 2022	KARI	Falcon 9	Danuri	Orbiter	Operational
		Lunar Orbiter by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) of South Korea. The orbiter, its science payload and ground control infrastructure are technology demonstrators. The orbiter will also be tasked with surveying lunar resources such as water ice, uranium, helium-3, silicon, and aluminium, and produce a topographic map to help select future lunar landing sites.
128	Artemis I	16 November 2022	NASA	SLS Block 1	Artemis I Orion MPCV CM-002	Orbiter	Success
					⚀ LunaH-Map	Orbiter	Spacecraft failure
					⚀ Lunar IceCube	Orbiter	Spacecraft failure
					⚀ CubeSat for Solar Particles	Flyby	Spacecraft failure
					⚀ Near-Earth Asteroid Scout	Flyby	Spacecraft failure
					⚀ BioSentinel	Flyby	Success
			JAXA		⚀ OMOTENASHI	Lander	Spacecraft failure
			ASI		⚀ ArgoMoon	Flybys	Success
			JAXA		⚀ EQUULEUS	Flybys	Success
			Lockheed Martin		⚀ LunIR	Flyby	Spacecraft failure
			Fluid & Reason		⚀ Team Miles	Flyby	Success
		Uncrewed test of Orion spacecraft in lunar flyby and lunar Distant retrograde orbit.
129	Hakuto-R Mission 1	11 December 2022	ispace	Falcon 9 Block 5	Hakuto-R	Lander	Spacecraft failure
			Tomy/JAXA/Dodai		SORA-Q	Rover	Precluded
			UAESA/MBRSC		Rashid	Rover	Precluded
			NASA		⚀ Lunar Flashlight	Orbiter	Spacecraft failure
		Lunar lander technology demonstration. 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., 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.
130	Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer	14 April 2023	ESA	Ariane 5 ECA	Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer	Flyby	Success
		Flew by the Moon on 19 August 2024 en route to Jupiter.
131	Chandrayaan-3	14 July 2023	ISRO	LVM3	Propulsion Module	Orbiter	Success
					Vikram	Lander	Success
					Pragyan	Rover	Success
		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 first country to successfully land near lunar south pole and fourth country to successfully land on the lunar surface. Later during extended operations, the Propulsion Module returned to Earth's orbit.
132	Luna 25	10 August 2023	Roscosmos	Soyuz-2.1b/Fregat	Luna 25	Lander	Spacecraft failure
		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.
133	SLIM	6 September 2023	JAXA	H-IIA	SLIM	Lander	Success
					LEV-1	Hopper	Success
			Tomy / JAXA / Doshisha University		LEV-2 (Sora-Q)	Rover	Success
		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. 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.
134	Peregrine Mission One	8 January 2024	Astrobotic Technology	Vulcan Centaur VC2	Peregrine	Lander	Spacecraft failure
			UNAM		Colmena × 5	Rovers	Precluded
			CMU		⚀ Iris	Rover	Precluded
		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.
135	IM-1	14 February 2024	Intuitive Machines	Falcon 9 B5	Nova-C Odysseus	Lander	Success
			ERAU		⚀ EagleCam	Deployable camera	Spacecraft failure
		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. EagleCam was not ejected prior to landing. It was later ejected on 28 February but minimal data was obtained.
136	DRO A/B	13 March 2024	CAS	Long March 2C	DRO-A	Relay Satellite	Operational
					DRO-B	Relay Satellite	Operational
		Yuanzheng 1S upper stage failed to deliver spacecrafts into correct orbit. The satellites were intended to test Distant retrograde orbit. Tracking data appears to show China is attempting to salvage spacecraft and they appear to have succeeded in reaching their desired orbit.
137	Queqiao-2	20 March 2024	CNSA	Long March 8	Queqiao-2	Relay Satellite	Operational
			Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL, Tiandu Lab)		Tiandu-1	Orbiter	Operational
					Tiandu-2	Orbiter	Operational
		Relay satellite to support future missions of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program targeting south pole region. Tiandu satellites are launched with them to test communications for future lunar satellite constellation technologies.
138	Chang'e 6	3 May 2024	CNSA	Long March 5	Chang'e 6 Orbiter	Orbiter	Success
					Chang'e 6 Lander	Lander	Success
					Chang'e 6 Ascender	Launch Vehicle	Success
					Chang'e 6 Returner	Sample Return	Success
					Jinchan	Rover	Success
			SUPARCO		⚀ ICUBE-Q	Orbiter	Success
		First spacecraft to have collected lunar samples from the far side of the Moon (Apollo crater, South Pole–Aitken basin). ICUBE-Q is Pakistan's first lunar mission. Lander carries international payloads from ESA, France, Italy, and Sweden. It also carried a mini rover to conduct infrared spectroscopy of lunar surface. The orbiter went to Sun Earth L2 under mission extension.
139	Blue Ghost M1	15 January 2025	Firefly Aerospace	Falcon 9 B5	Blue Ghost Lander	Lander	Success
		Lunar lander, carrying NASA-sponsored experiments and commercial payloads to Mare Crisium. First fully-successful private lunar landing.
140	Hakuto-R Mission 2	15 January 2025	ispace	Falcon 9 B5	Hakuto-R	Lander	Spacecraft failure
			ispace Europe		Tenacious	Rover	Precluded
		Launched on the same rocket as Blue Ghost. On 5 June 2025, the lander failed to complete its landing, impacting the lunar surface.
141	Lunar Trailblazer	27 February 2025	NASA	Falcon 9 B5	Lunar Trailblazer	Orbiter	Spacecraft failure
		Lunar orbiter aimed to aid in the understanding of lunar water and the Moon's water cycle. Flyby on 3 March 2025.
142	Brokkr-2	27 February 2025	AstroForge	Falcon 9 B5	Brokkr-2	Flyby	Spacecraft failure
		Asteroid probe intended to flyby the near-Earth asteroid 2022 OB5. Communication failure. Flyby on 3 March 2025.
143	Chimera-1	27 February 2025	Epic Aerospace	Falcon 9 B5	Chimera-1	Flyby	Success
		Space tug planned TLI to Geosynchronous. Communication failure?. Flyby on 3 March 2025.
144	IM-2	27 February 2025	Intuitive Machines	Falcon 9 B5	Nova-C	Lander	Partial failure
					μNova	Hopper	Precluded
			Lunar Outpost/ Nokia		MAPP	Rover	Precluded
			MIT		AstroAnt	Rover	Precluded
			Dymon		Yaoki	Rover	Precluded
		Second Nova-C. Payloads delivery for NASA's CLPS and for private customers. MAPP and μNova were to test a new Nokia lunar communication system. Lander achieved a soft landing on 6 March but landed on its side, precluding recharging and deployment of payloads. Mission concluded one day after landing.
145	Artemis II	1 April 2026	NASA	SLS Block 1	Orion CM-003	Flyby	Success
		Crewed test of the Orion spacecraft on a free-return trajectory around the Moon.

Statistics

Launches by decade

This is a list of 145 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
* Done in collaboration with another country

Country/ Agency	Flyby	Orbit	Impact	Soft landing	Rover	Sample return	Crewed Orbiting/Flyby	Crewed landing
United States	Pioneer 4, 1959	Lunar Orbiter 1, 1966	Ranger 4, 1962	Surveyor 1, 1966	LRV (Apollo 15), 1971	Apollo 11, 1969 †	Apollo 8, 1968 †	Apollo 11, 1969 †
Soviet Union	Luna 1, 1959 †	Luna 10, 1966 †	Luna 2, 1959 †	Luna 9, 1966 †	Lunokhod 1, 1970 †	Luna 16, 1970	—	—
China	Chang'e 5-T1, 2014	Chang'e 1, 2007	Chang'e 1, 2009	Chang'e 3, 2013	Yutu, 2013	Chang'e 5, 2020	—	—
India	Chandrayaan 3, 2023	Chandrayaan 1, 2008	MIP, 2008	Chandrayaan 3, 2023	Pragyan, 2023	—	—	—
Japan	Hiten, 1990	Hiten, 1993	Hiten, 1993	SLIM, 2024	LEV-1, 2024	—	—	—
Israel	—	Beresheet, 2019	Beresheet, 2019	Beresheet, 2019	—	—	—	—
Russia	—	Luna 25, 2023	Luna 25, 2023	Luna 25, 2023	—	—	—	—
ESA	—	SMART-1, 2003	SMART-1, 2006	—	—	—	—	—
Canada	—	—	—	—	—	—	Artemis II, 2026*	—
Luxembourg	4M, 2014	—	4M, 2022	—	—	—	—	—
South Korea	—	Danuri, 2022	—	—	—	—	—	—
Italy	ArgoMoon, 2022	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
UAE	—	—	Rashid, 2023	—	Rashid, 2023	—	—	—
Pakistan	—	ICUBE-Q, 2024	—	—	—	—	—	—
Mexico	—	—	—	—	Colmena, 2024	—	—	—

Missions by organization/company

Analysis of numbers of lunar missions

Country/ Agency	Agency or company	Successful	Partial failure	Failure	Success rate	Operational	Total	Total for country
USSR	Lavochkin	16	2	22	40%	–	40	58
	Energia	2	–	16	11.11%	–	18
USA	NASA	37	2	14	67.27%	4	55	57
	USAF	1	–	1	50%	–	2
China	CNSA	10	–	–	100%	8	10	10
Japan	ISAS	2	–	2	50%	–	4	8
	JAXA	2	–	1	66.6%	1	4
India	ISRO	2	1	–	66.6%	2	3	3
Various member states	ESA	1	–	–	100%	–	1	1
Luxembourg	LuxSpace	1	–	–	100%	–	1	1
South Korea	KARI	1	–	–	100%	1	1	1
USA (private company)	Lockheed Martin	1	–	–	100%	–	1	1
USA (private company)	Fluid & Reason	1	–	–	100%	–	1	1
USA (private company)	Astrobotic Technology	–	–	1	0%	–	1	1
USA (private company)	Intuitive Machines	1	1	–	50%	–	2	2
USA (private university)	ERAU	–	–	1	0%	–	1	1
USA (private company)	Firefly Aerospace	1	–	–	100%	–	1	1
Italy	ASI	1	–	–	100%	–	1	1
Israel	SpaceIL	–	–	1	0%	–	1	1
Russia	Roscosmos	–	–	1	0%	–	1	1
UAE	UAESA	–	–	1	0%	–	1	1
Japan (private company)	ispace	–	–	1	0%	–	1	1
Pakistan	IST / SUPARCO	1	–	–	100%	1	1	1
Canada	CSA	1	–	–	100%	-	1	1

Landing sites

Quick facts for kids Clickable map of the locations of all successful soft landings on the near side of the Moon to date (top)       Luna program (USSR)       Surveyor program (USA)       Apollo program (USA)       Chang'e program (China)       Chandrayaan program (India)       SLIM (Japan)       Commercial Lunar Payload Services (USA) Dates are landing dates in Coordinated Universal Time. Except for the Apollo program, all soft landings were uncrewed. Asterisk indicates a partial success.

As of March 2025, there have been a total twenty eight successful soft landings on the Moon carried out by five countries that include China, India, Japan, the Soviet Union, and the United States. Among these, a total of six soft landings were crewed (Apollo); all crewed soft landings were conducted by the 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 and IM-2 Nova-C Athena lander.

Future missions

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

Funded and are under development

Robotic

Mission	Spacecraft	Launch date	Carrier rocket	Operator	Mission type
Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1	Blue Moon	NET Q1 2027	New Glenn	Blue Origin	Lander
	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 3000 kg.
Blue Ghost M2	Blue Ghost lander	NET December 2026	Falcon 9 B5	Firefly Aerospace	Lander
	Elytra orbital vehicle				Orbiter
	Second mission of Firefly Aerospace, part of CLPS, includes 2 stage variant of blue ghost.
Lunar Pathfinder	Lunar Pathfinder	NET December 2026	Falcon 9 B5	ESA	Relay satellite
	Lunar communications satellite to support future lunar missions, along with Blue Ghost M2.
Griffin Mission 1	Griffin lander	NET late 2026	Falcon Heavy	Astrobotic Technology	Lander
Chang'e 7	Chang'e 7 Orbiter	August 2026	Long March 5	CNSA	Orbiter
	Chang'e 7 Lander				Lander
	Chang'e 7 Rover				Rover
	Chang'e 7 Hopper				Hopper
	Payloads include an orbiter, south pole lander, rover, and a mini flying probe to look for the presence of water-ice.
IM-3	Nova-C	NET late 2026	Falcon 9 B5	Intuitive Machines	Lander
	Khon2				Relay satellite
	CADRE x3			NASA	Rovers
	Lunar Vertex			NASA Lunar Outpost	Rover
	Third Nova-C. Payloads delivery for NASA's CLPS and for private customers. Lunar Vertex mission.
Starship Demo mission	Starship HLS	March 2027	Starship	SpaceX	Lander
	Uncrewed demo mission of Starship HLS.
Starship cargo mission	Starship HLS	TBD	Starship	SpaceX	Lander
	First SpaceX lunar cargo mission, yet to be announced by SpaceX itself.
FLEX	FLEX	TBD	Starship	Astrolab	Rover
	Large Lunar rover, can accommodate cargo and 2 astronauts.
Astrobotic mission 3	TBA	2026	Falcon Heavy	Astrobotic	Lander
	⚀ LunaGrid-Lite CubeRover				Rover
	Lunaris Platform				Deployable platform
	Third lunar mission by Astrobotic, will land at lunar south pole. LunaGrid-Lite mission.
ZeusX	ZeusX service module	Q4 2027	TBD	Qosmosys	Orbiter
	ZeusX lunar lander				Lander
	LIBER				Rover
	First lunar landing attempt for Singapore, lander can carry up to 800 kg to lunar surface.
Mission 2.5	Argo OTV	2027	TBD	Argo Space	Transfer vehicle
	Alpine			ispace-U.S.	Relay satellite
	ispace Mission 2.5. First satellite for ispace's Lunar Connect Service.
Chandrayaan-4	Chandrayaan-4	2027–2028	LVM3	ISRO	Lander
Luna 26	Luna 26	2028	Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat	Roscosmos	Orbiter
	Orbiter, part of the Luna-Glob programme. Will scout for Luna 27 landing site.
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
	South pole lander. Testing technology for using local resources and manufacturing with 3D printing.
Mission 3	ULTRA	2028	TBD	ispace	Lander
	Lupine			ispace-U.S.	Relay satellite
	ispace Mission 3. First flight of ispace's ULTRA lunar lander.
TBD (Lunar Rover)	South pole Rover	2028	Long March 5	SUPARCO	Rover
	Pakistans first Lunar Rover that will be launched aboard the Chang'e 8 mission as a part of the wider ILRS program.
Uncrewed Blue Moon Demo mission	Blue Moon HLS	2028	New Glenn	Blue Origin	Lander
	Cislunar Transporter	2028	New Glenn	Lockheed Martin	Transfer vehicle
	Demo mission of Blue Moon lander system in preparation for crewed landing in 2029.
Artemis IV Starship HLS delivery	Starship HLS	2028	Starship	SpaceX	Lander
	Delivery of Starship HLS for Artemis IV mission.
Artemis V Blue Moon HLS delivery	Blue Moon HLS	2028	New Glenn	Blue Origin	Lander
	Cislunar Transporter	2028	New Glenn	Lockheed Martin	Transfer vehicle
	Delivery of Blue Moon HLS for Artemis V mission.
Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX)	LUPEX lander	2028–2029	H3	ISRO	Lander
	LUPEX rover			JAXA	Rover
Canadian lunar rover mission	Canadensys Lunar Rover	2029	TBD	Canadensys CSA	Rover
	First Canadian lunar rover. Will fly as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative with Blue Ghost 4.
Mission 4	ULTRA	2029	TBD	ESA ispace	Lander
	Lunar Orbiting Satellite 3 & 4			ispace-U.S.	Relay satellites
	ispace Mission 4. ESA Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration (MAGPIE).
Luna 27	Luna 27A and Luna 27B	2029–2030	Angara A5 / Fregat	Roscosmos	Lander
	Landers, part of the Luna-Glob programme.
TBD (CLPS Lander)	Moon to Mars Initiative: Trailblazer (Roo-ver)	2029–2030	TBD	Australian Space Agency	Rover
Mission 5	ULTRA	2030	Falcon 9 B5	ispace-U.S. Draper	Lander
	Lunar Orbiting Satellite 5			ispace-U.S.	Relay satellite
	ispace Mission 5. CLPS CP-12.
Argonaut M1	Argonaut Lander	2031	Ariane 64	ESA	Lander
	Robotic Lander system. Will act as resupply vehicle for future Moonbase.
KLEP	KLLR Lander	NET 2032	KSLV-III	KARI	Lander
	KLLR Rover				Rover
	Second mission of the Korean Lunar Exploration Program.
Lunar Voyage 3	Mapp	TBA	TBA	Lunar Outpost	Rover
	First fully commercial mission of Lunar Outpost MAPP program.

Crewed

Agency or company	Name	Spacecraft	Launch date	Launch vehicle	Notes
NASA	Artemis IV	Orion, Starship HLS	H1 2028	SLS Block 1 Starship	First Artemis crewed lunar landing.
NASA	Artemis V	Orion, Blue Moon HLS	Late 2028	SLS Block 1 New Glenn	Crewed surface expedition.
CMSA	Chinese crewed lunar mission	Mengzhou, Lanyue	~2030	Long March 10	Two launches of LM-10 to put a pair of astronauts on the Moon for a 6-hour stay.

Proposed but full funding still unclear

Robotic and crewed

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

Agency or company	Mission	Name of spacecraft	Proposed launch	Notes
GEC	⚀ Doge-1		September 2026	12U CubeSat, the mission is being paid for entirely with the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. First Canadian lunar mission.
SpaceIL	Beresheet 2	Orbiter	TBD	One orbiter, two landers.
		Lander 1
		Lander 2
Airvantis	Garatéa-L		TBD	Proposed lunar CubeSat, Partnership between UKSA and ESA.
OHB IAI	LSAS lander		TBD	Proposed commercial lander, will rideshare with a Geostationary satellite.
Parsec	Parsec lunar satellites		2026	Parsec lunar communication constellation.
Turkish Space Agency	AYAP-1		2026	Turkey will perform a hard landing on the Moon.
ESA	Lunar Meteoroid Impact Observer		2027	Proposed CubeSat to observe asteroid impacts on Far side of Moon.
Delft University of Technology	Lunar zebro		NET 2028	Small swarming rover, radiation measurements
Turkish Space Agency	AYAP-2	Lander	2028	Soft landing mission
		Rover
Roscosmos	Zeus		2030	Nuclear Propelled Space Tug, might deliver payloads to the Moon
CNSA Roscosmos	International Lunar Research Station (ILRS 1–5)		2031–2035	5 crucial missions planned for comprehensive establishment of ILRS to complete the in-orbit and surface facilities.
Roscosmos	Luna 29		2032	Orbiter, part of the Luna-Glob program.
Roscosmos	Luna 28		2034	Proposed sample-return mission, part of the Luna-Glob program. May include a small rover.
Roscosmos	Luna 30		2036	Lander, part of the Luna-Glob program. Will include Luna-Grunt rovers.
ISRO	Indian Lunar Crewed Mission		~2040	National effort to send an Indian astronaut to the Moon using India's own rocket and technology
NASA	BOLAS		TBD	2 tethered CubeSats on a very low lunar orbit.
Magellan Aerospace	Autonomous Impactor for Lunar Exploration		TBD	Impactor for LEAP
NASA	Lunar Crater Radio Telescope		TBD	Radio telescope made by 4 rovers
LiftPort Group	Lunar space elevator		October 2028	Creating a reusable, replaceable and expandable Lunar elevator to open up the resources present on the Moon
ESC Aerospace	LVICE²		2027	Measuring the concentration of micrometeorites

Lunar rovers