Lunar Mission Summaries
Details of robotic and human spacecraft missions that have been sent to the Moon to explore the lunar surface and determine the Moon's origin.
Lunar Exploration Timeline
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Lunar Exploration Timeline
Click here for a list of all lunar instruments
| 1959 | |||
| Luna 1 | Jan 2, 1959 | Flyby | Instruments |
| Pioneer 4 | Mar 3, 1959 | Flyby | Instruments |
| Luna 2 | Sep 12, 1959 | Impact | Instruments |
| Luna 3 | Oct 4, 1959 | Probe | Instruments |
1961 |
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| Ranger 1 | Aug 23, 1961 | Attempted Test Flight | |
| Ranger 2 | Nov 18, 1961 | Attempted Test Flight | |
1962 |
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| Ranger 3 | Jan 26, 1962 | Attempted Impact | |
| Ranger 4 | Apr 23, 1962 | Impact | |
| Ranger 5 | Oct 18, 1962 | Attempted Impact | |
1963 |
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| Luna 4 | Apr 2, 1963 | Flyby | Instruments |
1964 |
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| Ranger 6 | Jan 30, 1964 | Impact | |
| Ranger 7 | Jul 28, 1964 | Impact | Instruments |
1965 |
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| Ranger 8 | Feb 17, 1965 | Impact | Instruments |
| Ranger 9 | Mar 21, 1965 | Impact | Instruments |
| Luna 5 | May 9, 1965 | Impact | Instruments |
| Luna 6 | Jun 8, 1965 | Attempted Lander | Instruments |
| Zond 3 | Jul 18, 1965 | Flyby | Instruments |
| Luna 7 | Oct 4, 1965 | Impact | Instruments |
| Luna 8 | Dec 3, 1965 | Impact | Instruments |
1966 |
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| Luna 9 | Jan 31, 1966 | Lander | Instruments |
| Luna 10 | Mar 31, 1966 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Surveyor 1 | May 30, 1966 | Lander | Instruments |
| Lunar Orbiter 1 | Aug 10, 1966 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Luna 11 | Aug 24, 1966 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Surveyor 2 | Sep 20, 1966 | Attempted Lander | Instruments |
| Luna 12 | Oct 22, 1966 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Lunar Orbiter 2 | Nov 6, 1966 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Luna 13 | Dec 21, 1966 | Lander | Instruments |
1967 |
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| Lunar Orbiter 3 | Feb 4, 1967 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Surveyor 3 | Apr 17, 1967 | Lander | Instruments |
| Lunar Orbiter 4 | May 8, 1967 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Surveyor 4 | Jul 14, 1967 | Attempted Lander | Instruments |
| Lunar Orbiter 5 | Aug 1, 1967 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Surveyor 5 | Sep 8, 1967 | Lander | Instruments |
| Surveyor 6 | Nov 7, 1967 | Lander | Instruments |
1968 |
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| Surveyor 7 | Jan 7, 1968 | Lander | Instruments |
| Luna 14 | Apr 7, 1968 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Zond 5 | Sep 15, 1968 | Return Probe | Instruments |
| Apollo 7 | Oct 11, 1968 | ||
| Zond 6 | Nov 10, 1968 | Return Probe | Instruments |
| Apollo 8 | Dec 21, 1968 | Crewed Orbiter | Instruments |
1969 |
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| Apollo 9 | March 3, 1969 | ||
| Apollo 10 | May 18, 1969 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Luna 15 | Jul 13, 1969 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Apollo 11 | Jul 16, 1969 | Crewed Lander | Instruments |
| Zond 7 | Aug 7, 1969 | Return Probe | Instruments |
| Apollo 12 | Nov 14, 1969 | Crewed Lander | Instruments |
1970 |
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| Apollo 13 | Apr 11, 1970 | Crewed Lander (aborted) | Instruments |
| Luna 16 | Sep 12, 1970 | Sample Return | Instruments |
| Zond 8 | Oct 20, 1970 | Return Probe | Instruments |
| Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 | Nov 10, 1970 | Rover | Instruments |
1971 |
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| Apollo 14 | Jan 31, 1971 | Crewed Lander | Instruments |
| Apollo 15 | Jul 26, 1971 | Crewed Lander | Instruments |
| Luna 18 | Sep 2, 1971 | Impact | Instruments |
| Luna 19 | Sep 28, 1971 | Orbiter | Instruments |
1972 |
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| Luna 20 | Feb 14, 1972 | Sample Return | Instruments |
| Apollo 16 | Apr 16, 1972 | Crewed Landing | Instruments |
| Apollo 17 | Dec 7, 1972 | Crewed Landing | Instruments |
1973 |
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| Luna 21/Lunokhod 2 | Jan 8, 1973 | Rover | Instruments |
1974 |
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| Luna 22 | Jun 2, 1974 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Luna 23 | Oct 28, 1974 | Lander | Instruments |
1976 |
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| Luna 24 | Aug 14, 1976 | Sample Return | Instruments |
1990 |
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| Hiten | Jan 24, 1990 | Flyby, Orbiter, and Impact | Instruments |
1994 |
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| Clementine | Jan 25, 1994 | Orbiter | Instruments |
1997 |
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| AsiaSat 3/HGS-1 | Dec 24, 1997 | Lunar Flyby | |
1998 |
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| Lunar Prospector | Jan 7, 1998 | Orbiter and Impact | Instruments |
2003 |
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| SMART 1 | Sep 27, 2003 | Orbiter | Instruments |
2007 |
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| Kaguya (SELENE) | Sep 14, 2007 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Chang'e 1 | Oct 24, 2007 | Orbiter | Instruments |
2008 |
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| Chandrayaan-1 | Oct 22, 2008 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| Lunar-A | Cancelled | Orbiter and Penetrators | |
2009 |
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| LRO | Jun 18, 2009 | Orbiter | Instruments |
| LCROSS | Jun 18, 2009 | Impact | Instruments |
2010 |
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| Chang'e 2 | October 1, 2010 | Orbiter | |
| ARTEMIS | 2010 | Orbiter | |
2011 |
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| GRAIL | September 8, 2011 | Orbiter | |
2013 |
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| Chang'e 3 | Orbiter | ||
| LADEE | May 2, 2013 | Orbiter | |
2014 |
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| Delta IV-Orion (EFT-1) | September, 2014 | Orbiter | |
2017 |
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| SLS-Orion (EM-1) | 2017 | Orbiter | |
2018 |
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| Constellation Altair Lander (cancelled) |
2018 | Lander | |
| SELENE-2 (cancelled) |
2018 | Orbiter and Lander with Rover | |
2019 |
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| Chang'e 4 | Lander | ||
| Chandrayaan-2 | 2019 | Orbiter and Lander | |
| Chang'e 5 | 2019 | Lander | |
2020 |
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| Luna 25 | 2020 | Lander | |
| Artemis I | 2020 | Orbiter | |
2021 |
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| SELENE-3 | 2021 | Orbiter and Lander with Rover plus sample return ascent vehicle | |
| Luna 26 | 2021 | Orbiter | |
2022 |
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| Luna 27 | 2022 | Lander | |
| Artemis II | 2022 | Orbiter | |
2024 |
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| Artemis III | 2024 | Lander | |
2026 |
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| Luna 28 | 2026 | Lander | |
2028 |
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| Luna 29 | 2028 | Lander | |
