Lunar Probe
Exploration history

Lunar mission timeline

Follow how mission capability changed from simply reaching the Moon to soft landing, crewed field geology, global remote sensing, polar science and commercial delivery.

  1. 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.

  2. Luna 9

    Luna 9 achieved the first successful soft landing on the Moon and transmitted panoramic images from the surface.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. Apollo 15

    Apollo 15 was the first J-class Apollo mission, designed for longer surface stays, greater scientific capability and extensive geological exploration.

  6. Apollo 17

    Apollo 17 was the final Apollo lunar landing and carried geologist Harrison Schmitt alongside commander Eugene Cernan to Taurus-Littrow.

  7. Clementine

    Clementine mapped the Moon in multiple wavelengths and demonstrated lightweight spacecraft technologies.

  8. Lunar Prospector

    Lunar Prospector conducted a low-cost global survey of lunar composition, gravity and magnetic fields.

  9. SMART-1

    SMART-1 was ESA's first Moon mission and demonstrated solar-electric propulsion while conducting lunar science.

  10. Kaguya (SELENE)

    Kaguya was a comprehensive Japanese lunar orbiter carrying a large suite of instruments and two small relay satellites.

  11. Chandrayaan-1

    India's first lunar mission carried Indian and international instruments to map mineralogy, chemistry and topography.

  12. 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.

  13. LCROSS

    LCROSS deliberately impacted a permanently shadowed region near the lunar south pole and observed the resulting debris plume.

  14. GRAIL

    The twin GRAIL spacecraft mapped variations in the Moon's gravity field with exceptional precision.

  15. Chang'e 3

    Chang'e 3 delivered the Yutu rover to Mare Imbrium and achieved China's first soft landing on another world.

  16. 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.

  17. 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.

  18. Chang'e 5

    Chang'e 5 collected and returned young lunar material from Oceanus Procellarum to Earth.

  19. Danuri (KPLO)

    Danuri is South Korea's first lunar mission, operating in lunar orbit with instruments from KARI and international partners.

  20. Chandrayaan-3

    Chandrayaan-3 successfully soft-landed the Vikram lander in the high southern lunar latitudes and deployed the Pragyan rover.

  21. SLIM

    SLIM demonstrated high-precision lunar landing technology near Shioli crater.

  22. IM-1 Odysseus

    Intuitive Machines' Odysseus delivered NASA and commercial payloads to the lunar south polar region under the CLPS initiative.

  23. 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.