Palus Putredinis region
Luna 2
The first human-made object to reach the Moon, Luna 2 deliberately impacted the lunar surface and demonstrated that spacecraft could successfully navigate from Earth to the Moon.
Mission profileInteractive lunar explorer
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Use the maps to locate major landing sites and lunar landmarks, then move directly into mission dossiers, geology and observation resources.
Surface geography
Lunar mission and feature map
The two panels separate the hemisphere centred on Earth from the far side. Pins use approximate selenographic latitude and longitude for orientation rather than precision navigation.
Near side
Landing site Lunar feature
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Choose a mission architecture, programme, or both. Open a mission dossier to see its spacecraft, instruments, operational sequence and scientific contribution.
Oceanus Procellarum
Luna 9
Luna 9 achieved the first successful soft landing on the Moon and transmitted panoramic images from the surface.
Mission profileOceanus Procellarum
Surveyor 1
Surveyor 1 was the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon, returning thousands of images and engineering data from Oceanus Procellarum.
Mission profileMare Tranquillitatis
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins on the first mission to land people on the Moon and return them safely to Earth.
Mission profileHadley-Apennine
Apollo 15
Apollo 15 was the first J-class Apollo mission, designed for longer surface stays, greater scientific capability and extensive geological exploration.
Mission profileTaurus-Littrow
Apollo 17
Apollo 17 was the final Apollo lunar landing and carried geologist Harrison Schmitt alongside commander Eugene Cernan to Taurus-Littrow.
Mission profileLunar orbit
Clementine
Clementine mapped the Moon in multiple wavelengths and demonstrated lightweight spacecraft technologies.
Mission profileLunar orbit
Lunar Prospector
Lunar Prospector conducted a low-cost global survey of lunar composition, gravity and magnetic fields.
Mission profileLunar orbit
SMART-1
SMART-1 was ESA's first Moon mission and demonstrated solar-electric propulsion while conducting lunar science.
Mission profileLunar orbit
Kaguya (SELENE)
Kaguya was a comprehensive Japanese lunar orbiter carrying a large suite of instruments and two small relay satellites.
Mission profileLunar orbit
Chandrayaan-1
India's first lunar mission carried Indian and international instruments to map mineralogy, chemistry and topography.
Mission profileLunar orbit
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
LRO is a long-running lunar orbiter mapping the Moon at high resolution and measuring topography, temperature, illumination, radiation and surface composition.
Mission profileCabeus crater
LCROSS
LCROSS deliberately impacted a permanently shadowed region near the lunar south pole and observed the resulting debris plume.
Mission profileLunar orbit
GRAIL
The twin GRAIL spacecraft mapped variations in the Moon's gravity field with exceptional precision.
Mission profileMare Imbrium
Chang'e 3
Chang'e 3 delivered the Yutu rover to Mare Imbrium and achieved China's first soft landing on another world.
Mission profileVon Kármán crater
Chang'e 4
Chang'e 4 achieved the first soft landing on the Moon's far side, operating in Von Kármán crater with the Yutu-2 rover.
Mission profileLunar orbit / south polar region
Chandrayaan-2
Chandrayaan-2 combined an orbiter with the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover. The landing attempt was unsuccessful, while the orbiter continued lunar science.
Mission profileOceanus Procellarum
Chang'e 5
Chang'e 5 collected and returned young lunar material from Oceanus Procellarum to Earth.
Mission profileLunar orbit
Danuri (KPLO)
Danuri is South Korea's first lunar mission, operating in lunar orbit with instruments from KARI and international partners.
Mission profileSouthern high latitudes
Chandrayaan-3
Chandrayaan-3 successfully soft-landed the Vikram lander in the high southern lunar latitudes and deployed the Pragyan rover.
Mission profileShioli crater region
SLIM
SLIM demonstrated high-precision lunar landing technology near Shioli crater.
Mission profileMalapert A region
IM-1 Odysseus
Intuitive Machines' Odysseus delivered NASA and commercial payloads to the lunar south polar region under the CLPS initiative.
Mission profileMare Crisium
Blue Ghost Mission 1
Blue Ghost Mission 1 delivered NASA science and technology payloads to Mare Crisium and operated through a full planned surface mission.
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