Timeline of Moon Exploration
| Mission (1950–1959) | Launch | Arrival at Moon | Termination | Objective | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer 0 | 17 August 1958 | 17 August 1958 | Orbiter | Launch failure | |
| Luna E-1 No.1 | 23 September 1958 | 23 September 1958 | Impactor | Launch failure | |
| Pioneer 1 | 11 October 1958 | 13 October 1958 | Orbiter | Launch failure | |
| Luna E-1 No.2 | 11 October 1958 | 11 October 1958 | Impactor | Launch failure | |
| Pioneer 2 | 8 November 1958 | 8 November 1958 | Orbiter | Launch failure | |
| Luna E-1 No.3 | 4 December 1958 | 4 December 1958 | Impactor | Launch failure | |
| Pioneer 3 | 6 December 1958 | 7 December 1959 | Flyby | Launch failure | |
| Luna 1 | 2 January 1959 | 4 January 1959 | Impactor | Partial success (first successful flyby 5,995 km) | |
| Pioneer 4 | 3 March 1959 | 4 March 1959 | 7 March 1959 | Flyby | Partial success (flyby 60,000 km) |
| Luna E-1A No.1 | 18 June 1959 | 18 June 1959 | Impactor | Launch failure | |
| Luna 2 | 12 September 1959 | 13 September 1959 | Impactor | Success (first spacecraft reaching the moon surface, impacted east of Mare Serenitatis, discovered time variations in the electron flux and energy spectrum in the Van Allen radiation belt) | |
| Pioneer P-1 | 24 September 1959 | 24 September 1959 | Orbiter | Launch failure | |
| Luna 3 | 4 October 1959 | 6 October 1959 | Flyby | Success (first pictures of Moon far side) | |
| Pioneer P-3 | 26 November 1959 | 26 November 1959 | Orbiter | Launch failure | |
| Mission (1960–1969) | Launch | Arrival at Moon | Termination | Objective | Result |
| Luna E-3 No.1 | 15 April 1960 | 15 April 1960 | Flyby | Launch failure | |
| Luna E-3 No.2 | 16 April 1960 | 16 April 1960 | Flyby | Launch failure | |
| Pioneer P-30 | 25 September 1960 | 25 September 1960 | Orbiter | Launch failure | |
| Pioneer P-31 | 15 December 1960 | 15 December 1960 | Orbiter | Launch failure | |
| Ranger 3 | 26 January 1962 | 28 January 1962 | Impactor | Failure (flyby) | |
| Ranger 4 | 23 April 1962 | 26 April 1962 | 26 April 1962 | Impactor | Failure (no mid-course correction, crashed at Moon far-side) |
| Ranger 5 | 18 October 1962 | 21 October 1962 | Impactor | Failure (flyby) | |
| Luna E-6 No.2 | 4 January 1963 | 11 January 1963 | Lander | Launched into wrong orbit | |
| Luna E-6 No.3 | 3 February 1963 | 3 February 1963 | Lander | Launch failure | |
| Luna 4 | 2 April 1963 | >6 April 1963 | Lander | Failure (flyby) | |
| Ranger 6 | 30 January 1964 | 2 February 1964 | 2 February 1964 | Impactor | Failure (TV camera, only instrument, did not work) |
| Luna E-6 No.6 | 21 March 1964 | 21 March 1964 | Lander | Launch failure | |
| Luna E-6 No.5 | 20 April 1964 | 20 April 1964 | Lander | Launch failure | |
| Ranger 7 | 28 July 1964 | 31 July 1964 | Impactor | Success | |
| Ranger 8 | 17 February 1965 | 20 February 1965 | Impactor | Success | |
| Cosmos 60 | 12 March 1965 | Lander | Failed to leave Earth orbit | ||
| Ranger 9 | 21 March 1965 | 24 March 1965 | Impactor | Success | |
| Luna E-6 No.8 | 10 April 1965 | 10 April 1965 | Lander | Launch failure | |
| Luna 5 | 9 May 1965 | 12 May 1965 | Lander | Failure (crashed at Sea of Clouds) | |
| Luna 6 | 8 June 1965 | 11 June 1965 | Lander | Failure (flyby) | |
| Zond 3 | 18 July 1965 | 20 July 1965 | Flyby | Success | |
| Luna 7 | 4 October 1965 | 7 October 1965 | Lander | Failure (crashed at Oceanus Procellarum) | |
| Luna 8 | 3 December 1965 | 6 December 1965 | Lander | Failure (crashed at Oceanus Procellarum) | |
| Luna 9 | 31 January 1966 | 3 February 1966 | 6 February 1966 | Lander | Success (first pictures from Moon surface, landed at Oceanus Procellarum) |
| Cosmos 111 | 1 March 1966 | 3 March 1966 | Orbiter | Launched into wrong orbit | |
| Luna 10 | 31 March 1966 | 3 April 1966 | 30 May 1966 | Orbiter | Success (first lunar orbiter) |
| Surveyor 1 | 30 May 1966 | 2 June 1966 | 7 January 1967 | Lander | Success (landed at Oceanus Procellarum) |
| Lunar Orbiter 1 | 10 August 1966 | 14 June 1966 | 29 October 1967 | Orbiter | Success |
| Luna 11 | 24 August 1966 | 27 August 1966 | 1 October 1966 | Orbiter | Success |
| Surveyor 2 | 20 September 1966 | 23 September 1966 | 23 September 1966 | Lander | Failure (crashed near Copernicus crater) |
| Luna 12 | 22 October 1966 | 25 October 1966 | 19 January 1967 | Orbiter | Success |
| Lunar Orbiter 2 | 6 November 1966 | 10 November 1966 | 11 October 1967 | Orbiter | Success |
| Luna 13 | 21 December 1966 | 24 December 1966 | 28 December 1966 | Lander | Success (landed at Oceanus Procellarum) |
| Lunar Orbiter 3 | 5 February 1967 | 8 February 1967 | 9 October 1967 | Orbiter | Partial success (picture acquisition cut short) |
| Surveyor 3 | 17 April 1967 | 20 April 1967 | 3 May 1967 | Lander | Success (portions subsequently retrieved by Apollo 12 astronauts) |
| Lunar Orbiter 4 | 4 May 1967 | 8 May 1967 | <31 October 1967 | Orbiter | Partial success (picture acquisition cut short) |
| Surveyor 4 | 14 July 1967 | 17 July 1967 | 17 July 1967 | Lander | Failure (may have exploded before reaching surface) |
| Lunar Orbiter 5 | 1 August 1967 | 5 August 1967 | 31 January 1968 | Orbiter | Success |
| Surveyor 5 | 8 September 1967 | 11 September 1967 | 17 December 1967 | Lander | Success |
| Surveyor 6 | 7 November 1967 | 10 November 1967 | 14 December 1967 | Lander | Success |
| Surveyor 7 | 7 January 1968 | 10 January 1968 | 20 February 1968 | Lander | Success |
| Luna E-6LS No.112 | 7 February 1968 | 7 February 1968 | Lander | Launch failure | |
| Luna 14 | 7 April 1968 | 10 April 1968 | Orbiter | Success | |
| Zond 5 | 15 September 1968 | 18 September 1968 | 21 September 1968 | Flyby | Success (first spacecraft and living beings to return to Earth from lunar flyby) |
| Zond 6 | 10 November 1968 | 14 November 1968 | 17 November 1968 | Flyby | Partial success (depressurisation lead to biologicals death, crashed due to failure in parachute) |
| Apollo 8 | 21 December 1968 | 24 December 1968 | 27 December 1968 | Orbiter | Success (first manned lunar orbiter) |
| Luna E-8 No.201 | 19 February 1969 | 19 February 1969 | Rover | Launch failure | |
| Apollo 10 | 18 May 1969 | 21 May 1969 | 26 May 1969 | Orbiter | Success (lander test in Moon orbit) |
| Luna E-8-5 No.402 | 14 June 1969 | 14 June 1969 | Sample return | Launch failure | |
| Luna 15 | 13 July 1969 | 21 July 1969 | Sample return | Failure (crashed at Mare Crisium) | |
| Apollo 11 | 16 July 1969 | 19 July 1969 | 24 July 1969 | Orbiter | Success |
| 20 July 1969 | 21 July 1969 | Sample return | Success (21.5 kg of lunar rocks retrieved, first humans on the Moon surface) | ||
| Zond 7 | 7 August 1969 | 11 August 1969 | 14 August 1969 | Flyby | Success |
| Cosmos 300 | 23 September 1969 | 23 September 1969 | Sample return | Launched into wrong orbit | |
| Cosmos 305 | 22 October 1969 | 22 October 1969 | Sample return | Launched into wrong orbit | |
| Apollo 12 | 14 November 1969 | 17 November 1969 | 24 November 1969 | Orbiter | Success |
| 19 November 1969 | 20 November 1969 | Sample return | Success (First precise landing, recovered parts from Surveyor 3) | ||
| Mission (1970–1979) | Launch | Arrival at Moon | Termination | Objective | Result |
| Apollo 13 | 11 April 1970 | 15 April 1970 | 17 April 1970 | Sample return | Failure (flyby, crew returned to Earth) |
| S-IV | 14 April 1970 | 14 April 1970 | Impactor | Success (provided signal for the Apollo 12 Passive Seismic Experiment) | |
| Luna E-8-5 No.405 | 6 February 1970 | 6 February 1970 | Sample return | Launch failure | |
| Luna 16 | 12 September 1970 | 20 September 1970 | 24 September 1970 | Sample return | Success (first robotic lunar sample return, 101 g) |
| Zond 8 | 20 October 1970 | 24 October 1970 | 27 October 1970 | Flyby | Success |
| Luna 17 | 10 November 1970 | 17 November 1970 | 17 November 1970 | Lander | Success (soft-landed the Lunokhod 1) |
| Lunokhod 1 | 14 September 1971 | Rover | Success (First lunar rover, travelled 10,54 kmd) | ||
| Apollo 14 | 31 January 1971 | 4 February 1971 | 9 February 1971 | Orbiter | Success |
| 5 February 1971 | 6 February 1971 | Sample return | Success | ||
| Apollo 15 | 26 July 1971 | 29 July 1971 | 7 August 1971 | Orbiter | Success |
| 30 July 1971 | 2 August 1971 | Sample return | Success (first manned Lunar Roving Vehicle) | ||
| PFS-1 | 4 August 1971 | January 1973 | Orbiter | Success (measured plasma, energetic particle intensities and lunar magnetic fields) | |
| Luna 18 | 2 September 1971 | 11 September 1971 | 11 September 1971 | Sample return | Failure (crashed near the edge of the Sea of Fertility) |
| Luna 19 | 28 September 1971 | 3 October 1971 | 3–20 October 1972 | Orbiter | Success |
| Luna 20 | 14 February 1972 | 21 February 1972 | 25 February 1972 | Sample return | Success |
| Apollo 16 | 16 April 1972 | 19 April 1972 | 27 April 1972 | Orbiter | Success |
| 21 April 1972 | 23 April 1972 | Sample return | Success | ||
| PFS-2 | 24 April 1972 | 29 May 1972 | Orbiter | Partial success (orbit decayed earlier than anticipated) | |
| Apollo 17 | 7 December 1972 | 10 December 1972 | 19 December 1972 | Orbiter | Success |
| 11 December 1972 | 15 December 1972 | Sample return | Success (first geologist on the Moon) | ||
| Luna 21 | 8 January 1973 | 15 January 1973 | 15 January 1973 | Lander | Success (soft-landed the Lunokhod 2) |
| Lunokhod 2 | 3 June 1973 | Rover | Success (longest rover journey on a celestial bodyi, 37 km) | ||
| Luna 22 | 29 May 1974 | 2 June 1974 | early November 1975 | Orbiter | Success |
| Luna 23 | 28 October 1974 | 6 November 1974 | 9 November 1975 | Sample return | Partial success (sample drilling failed) |
| Luna 24 | 9 August 1976 | 18 August 1976 | 22 August 1976 | Sample return | Success |
| Mission (1990–1999) | Launch | Arrival at Moon | Termination | Objective | Result |
| Hiten | 24 January 1990 | 19 March 1990 | 10 April 1993 | Orbiter | Success (first aerobraking maneuver by a deep space probe) |
Clementine |
25 January 1994 | 19 February 1994 | June 1994 | Orbiter | Success |
| Lunar Prospector | 7 January 1998 | 11 January 1998 | 31 July 1999 | Orbiter | Success |
| Mission (2000–2009) | Launch | Arrival at Moon | Termination | Objective | Result |
| SMART-1 | 27 September 2003 | 15 November 2004 | 3 September 2006 | Orbiter | Success (first use of an ion engine to reach the Moon) |
| SELENE (Kaguya) | 14 September 2007 | 3 October 2007 | 10 June 2009 | Orbiter | Success |
| Chang'e 1 | 24 October 2007 | 5 November 2007 | 1 March 2009 | Orbiter/impactor | Success |
| Chandrayaan-1 | 22 October 2008 | 12 November 2008 | 29 August 2009 | Orbiter | Success (discovery of water on the moon) |
| Moon Impact Probe | 14 November 2008 | 14 November 2008 | Impactor | Success (first Asian object on the surface of the moon) | |
| Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter | 18 June 2009 | 23 June 2009 | ongoing | Orbiter | Success |
| Shepherding spacecraft (LCROSS) | 9 October 2009 | 9 October 2009 | Impactor | Success (near observation of Centaur impact) | |
| Centaur upper stage (LCROSS) | 9 October 2009 | 9 October 2009 | Impactor | Success | |
| Mission (2010–Present) | Launch | Arrival at Moon | Termination | Objective | Result |
| Chang'e 2 | 1 October 2010 | 5 October 2010 | 9 June 2011 | Orbiter | Success (on extended mission to asteroid 4179 Toutatis) |
| Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory | 10 September 2011 | 1 January 2011 | ongoing | Two orbiters | Success |
Read more about this topic: Exploration Of The Moon
Famous quotes containing the words moon and/or exploration:
“Seen from the moon we are all the same size.”
—Multatuli [Eduard Douwer Dekker] (1820–1887)
“For women who do not love us, as for the “disappeared”, knowing that we no longer have any hope does not prevent us form continuing to wait. We live on our guard, on watch; women whose son has gone asea on a dangerous exploration imagine at any minute, although it has long been certain that he has perished, that he will enter, miraculously saved, and healthy.”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)