List of lunar probes

Surveyor 3 on the Moon.

The first image returned by Luna 3 showed the far side of the Moon

This is a list of space probes that have flown by, impacted, or landed on the Moon for the purpose of lunar exploration, as well as probes launched toward the Moon that failed to reach their target. Confirmed future probes are included, but missions that are still at the concept stage, or which never progressed beyond the concept stage, are not.

The list does not include the manned Apollo missions.

Key

Colour key:

– Mission or flyby completed successfully (or partially successfully)		– Failed or cancelled mission
– Mission en route or in progress (including mission extensions)		– Planned mission

• ^† means "tentatively identified", as classified by NASA . These are Cold War-era Soviet missions, mostly failures, about which few or no details have been officially released. The information given may be speculative.
• Date is the date of:

• closest encounter (flybys)
• impact (impactors)
• orbital insertion to end of mission, whether planned or premature (orbiters)
• landing to end of mission, whether planned or premature (landers)
• launch (missions that never got underway due to failure at or soon after launch)

In cases which do not fit any of the above, the event to which the date refers is stated. Note that as a result of this scheme missions are not always listed in order of launch.

• In the case of flybys (such as gravity assists) that are incidental to the main mission, "success" indicates the successful completion of the flyby, not necessarily that of the main mission.

Lunar probes by date

1958–1960

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Pioneer 0		DOD	17 August 1958	orbiter	failure	first attempted launch beyond Earth orbit; launch vehicle failure; maximum altitude 16 km
Luna E-1 No.1		USSR	23 September 1958	impactor	failure	launch vehicle failure
Pioneer 1		NASA/ DOD	11 October 1958	orbiter	failure	second stage premature shutdown; maximum altitude 113,800 km; some data returned
Luna E-1 No.2		USSR	12 October 1958	impactor	failure	launch vehicle failure
Pioneer 2		NASA/ STL	8 November 1958	orbiter	failure	third stage failure; maximum altitude 1,550 km; some data returned
Luna E-1 No.3		USSR	4 December 1958	impactor	failure	launch vehicle failure
Pioneer 3		NASA/ DOD	6 December 1958	flyby	failure	fuel depletion; maximum altitude 102,360 km; some data returned
Luna 1		USSR	4 January 1959	flyby	partial success	first spacecraft in the vicinity of the Moon (flew within 5,995 km, but probably an intended impactor)
Luna E-1A No.1		USSR	18 June 1959	impactor	failure	failed to reach Earth orbit
Pioneer 4		NASA/ DOD	4 March 1959	flyby	partial success	achieved distant flyby; first US probe to enter solar orbit
Luna 2		USSR	14 September 1959	impactor	success	first impact on Moon
Pioneer P-1		NASA	24 September 1959?	orbiter?	failure	designation sometimes given to a failed launch or launchpad explosion during testing; conflicting information between sources
Luna 3		USSR	6 October 1959	flyby	success	first images from the lunar farside
Pioneer P-3		NASA	26 November 1959	orbiter	failure	disintegrated shortly after launch
Luna 1960A†		USSR	15 April 1960	flyby	failure	failed to attain correct trajectory
Luna 1960B†		USSR	16 April 1960	flyby	failure	launch vehicle failure
Pioneer P-30		NASA	25 September 1960	orbiter	failure	second stage failure; failed to reach Earth orbit
Pioneer P-31		NASA	15 December 1960	orbiter	failure	first stage failure

1962–1965

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Ranger 3		NASA	28 January 1962	impactor	failure	missed target
Ranger 4		NASA	26 April 1962	impactor	failure	hit the lunar farside; no data returned
Ranger 5		NASA	21 October 1962	impactor	failure	power failure, missed target
Sputnik 25		USSR	5 January 1963	lander	failure	failed to escape Earth orbit
Luna 1963B†		USSR	2 February 1963	lander?	failure	failed to reach Earth orbit
Luna 4		USSR	5 April 1963	lander?	failure	missed target, became Earth satellite
Ranger 6		NASA	2 February 1964	impactor	partial success	impacted, but no pictures returned due to power failure
Luna 1964A†		USSR	21 March 1964	lander	failure	failed to reach Earth orbit
Luna 1964B†		USSR	20 April 1964	lander	failure	failed to reach Earth orbit
Ranger 7		NASA	31 July 1964	impactor	success	returned pictures until impact
Ranger 8		NASA	20 February 1965	impactor	success	returned pictures until impact
Cosmos 60		USSR	12 March 1965	lander	failure	failed to leave Earth orbit
Ranger 9		NASA	24 March 1965	impactor	success	TV broadcast of live pictures until impact
Luna 1965A†		USSR	10 April 1965	lander?	failure	failed to reach Earth orbit?
Luna 5		USSR	12 May 1965	lander	failure	crashed into Moon
Luna 6		USSR	8 June 1965	lander	failure	missed Moon
Zond 3		USSR	20 July 1965	flyby	success	possibly originally intended as a Mars probe, but target changed after launch window missed
Luna 7		USSR	7 October 1965	lander	failure	crashed into Moon
Luna 8		USSR	6 December 1965	lander	failure	crashed into Moon

1966–1967

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Luna 9		USSR	3 February 1966 – 6 February 1966	lander	success	first soft landing; first images from the surface
Cosmos 111		USSR	1 March 1966	orbiter	failure	failed to escape Earth orbit
Luna 10		USSR	3 April 1966 – 30 May 1966	orbiter	success	first artificial satellite of the moon
Luna 1966A†		USSR	30 April 1966	orbiter?	failure	failed to reach Earth orbit
Surveyor 1		NASA	2 June 1966	lander	success	first US soft landing; Surveyor program performed various tests in support of forthcoming manned landings
Explorer 33		NASA	1 July 1966 – 15 September 1971	orbiter	partial success	studied interplanetary plasma, cosmic rays, magnetic fields and solar X rays; failed to attain lunar orbit as intended, but achieved mission objectives from Earth orbit
Lunar Orbiter 1		NASA	14 August 1966 – 29 October 1966	orbiter	success	photographic mapping of lunar surface; intentionally impacted after completion of mission
Luna 11		USSR	28 August 1966 – 1 October 1966	orbiter	success	gamma-ray and X-ray-based observations of Moon's composition; gravity, radiation and meteorite studies
Surveyor 2		NASA	23 September 1966	lander	failure	crashed into Moon
Luna 12		USSR	25 October 1966 – 19 January 1967	orbiter	success	lunar surface photography
Lunar Orbiter 2		NASA	10 November 1966 – 11 October 1967	orbiter	success	photographic mapping of lunar surface; intentionally impacted after completion of mission
Luna 13		USSR	24 December 1966	lander	success	TV pictures of lunar landscape; soil measurements
Lunar Orbiter 3		NASA	8 February 1967 – 9 October 1967	orbiter	success	photographic mapping of lunar surface; intentionally impacted after completion of mission
Surveyor 3		NASA	20 April 1967 – 4 May 1967	lander	success	various studies, primarily in support of forthcoming manned landings
Lunar Orbiter 4		NASA	May–October 1967	orbiter	success	lunar photographic survey
Explorer 35		NASA	July 1967 – 24 June 1973	orbiter	success	studies of interplanetary plasma, magnetic fields, energetic particles and solar X rays
Surveyor 4		NASA	17 July 1967	lander	failure	crashed into Moon
Lunar Orbiter 5		NASA	5 August 1967 – 31 January 1968	orbiter	success	lunar photographic survey; intentionally impacted after completion of mission
Surveyor 5		NASA	11 September 1967 – 17 December 1967	lander	success	various studies, primarily in support of forthcoming manned landings
Zond 1967A†		USSR	28 September 1967		failure	lunar capsule test flight; launch failure
Surveyor 6		NASA	10 November 1967 – 14 December 1967	lander	success	various studies, primarily in support of forthcoming manned landings
Zond 1967B†		USSR	22 November 1967		failure	lunar capsule test flight; launch failure

1968–1970

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Surveyor 7		NASA	10 January 1968 – 21 February 1968	lander	success	various studies, primarily in support of forthcoming manned landings; fifth and final Surveyor mission to achieve soft landing
Luna 1968A†		USSR	7 February 1968	orbiter?	failure	failed to reach Earth orbit
Zond 4		USSR	2 March 1968 (launch)			lunar programme flight test, directed away from Moon, either intentionally or unintentionally
Luna 14		USSR	10 April 1968 – ?	orbiter	success	tests of radio communications technologies; lunar mascon studies
Zond 1968A†		USSR	23 April 1968	flyby?	failure	launch failure
Zond 5		USSR	18 September 1968	flyby	success	bioscience experiments; returned to soft landing on Earth
Zond 6		USSR	14 November 1968	flyby	success	cosmic-ray, micrometeoroid and bioscience studies; returned to soft landing on Earth
Zond 1969A†		USSR	20 January 1969	flyby	failure	launch aborted
Luna 1969A†		USSR	19 February 1969	rover	failure	launch vehicle failure
Zond L1S-1†		USSR	21 February 1969	orbiter	failure	launch vehicle failure
Luna 1969B†		USSR	15 April 1969	sample return?	failure	launch failure
Luna 1969C†		USSR	14 June 1969	sample return	failure	launch failure
Zond L1S-2†		USSR	3 July 1969	orbiter	failure	launch failure
Luna 15		USSR	21 July 1969	sample return?	failure?	completed 52 lunar orbits then crash-landed
Zond 7		USSR	11 August 1969	flyby	success	returned to soft landing on Earth
Cosmos 300		USSR	23 September 1969	sample return	failure	failed to escape Earth orbit
Cosmos 305		USSR	22 October 1969	sample return	failure	failed to escape Earth orbit
Luna 1970A†		USSR	6 February 1970	sample return?	failure	launch vehicle failure
Luna 1970B†		USSR	19 February 1970	orbiter?	failure	launch vehicle failure
Luna 16		USSR	20 September 1970	sample return	success	first robotic sample return
Zond 8		USSR	24 October 1970	flyby	success	returned to soft landing on Earth
Luna 17		USSR	17 November 1970 – 4 October 1971	lander	success	deployed rover
	Lunokhod 1			rover	success	first robotic rover; travelled over 10 km

1971–1976

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Luna 18		USSR	11 September 1971	lander/sample return?	failure	crashed into Moon
Luna 19		USSR	3 October 1971 – October 1972	orbiter	success
Luna 20		USSR	21 February 1972	sample return	success	second successful robotic sample return
Soyuz L3†		USSR	23 November 1972	orbiter	failure	launch failure
Luna 21		USSR	15 January 1973 – May 1973?	lander	success	deployed rover
	Lunokhod 2			rover	success	second robotic rover; travelled 37 km
Explorer 49		NASA	15 June 1973 – June 1975	orbiter	success	radio astronomy observations; last US lunar mission until 1994
Mariner 10		NASA	November 1973	flyby	success	en route to Venus and Mercury		[1]
Luna 22		USSR	2 June 1974 – November 1974	orbiter	success
Luna 23		USSR	6 November 1974	sample return	failure	damaged on landing, sample return failed
Luna 1975A†		USSR	16 October 1975	sample return	failure	failed to reach Earth orbit
Luna 24		USSR	18 August 1976	sample return	success	third and final successful sample return in Luna programme

1983–1998

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
ICE (formerly ISEE3)		NASA	22 December 1983	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to comet flybys
Hiten		ISAS	March 1990 – October 1991	flyby (approached 10 times)	success	in Moon-crossing Earth orbit from January 1990, later transferred to lunar orbit after failure of Hagoromo; intentionally impacted on Moon at end of mission; first Japanese probe to enter lunar orbit
			February 1992 – April 1993	orbiter	success
	Hagoromo	ISAS	March 1990	orbiter	failure	released by Hiten into lunar orbit, but transmitter failed and orbit never confirmed
GEOTAIL		ISAS / NASA	September 1992 – November 1994	flyby (approached 14 times)	success	gravity assist en route magnetotail around L2 / finally deployed into high Earth orbit
Clementine		BMDO/ NASA	February – June 1994	orbiter	partial success	lunar and Earth observations and component testing; planned Geographos flyby failed
HGS-1		Hughes Global Services	May/June 1998			errant communications satellite, flew within 6,200 kilometers of Moon during orbit correction manoeuvres
Lunar Prospector		NASA	January 1998 – July 1999	orbiter	success	lunar surface mapping; intentionally impacted into polar crater at end of mission to test for liberation of water vapour (not detected)
Nozomi		ISAS	24 September 1998	flyby	success	gravity assists on planned mission to Mars
			18 December 1998	flyby	success

2004–2009

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
SMART-1		ESA	13 November 2004 – 3 September 2006	orbiter	success	technology testbed and lunar geological studies; intentionally impacted at end of mission; first European probe to orbit the Moon
SELENE (Kaguya)		JAXA	3 October 2007 – 10 June 2009	orbiter	success	mineralogical, geographical, magnetic and gravitational observations
	Okina (Relay Star)		9 October 2007 – 12 February 2009	Kaguya subsatellite	success	relay for Kaguya's Far Side operations
	Ouna (VRAD)		12 October 2007 – 29 June 2009	Kaguya subsatellite	success (still in orbit)	Very Long Baseline Interferometry
Chang'e 1		CNSA	5 November 2007 – 1 March 2009	orbiter	success	3D lunar mapping and geological observations; first Chinese probe to orbit a body besides Earth
			1 March 2009	impactor	success	collect data in preparation for future soft landing.
Chandrayaan-1		ISRO	8 November 2008 – 29 August 2009	orbiter	partial success	high resolution three-dimensional mapping, search water in polar region (first detected water, published Science paper jointly with NASA) and spectral analysis of the Moon's surface and inner compositions
	Moon Impact Probe (MIP)		14 November 2008	impactor	success	test and demonstrate targeting technologies in anticipation of future soft landings, scientific observation of the Moon from close range
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter		NASA	23 June 2009 –	orbiter	in orbit	survey of lunar resources and identification of possible landing sites
	LCROSS		9 October 2009	impactor	success	analyzed upper-stage impact plume for traces of water liberated from the Moon's surface

2010–present

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Chang'e 2		CNSA	1 October 2010 – 27 August 2011	orbiter	success	capture high resolution images of soft landing site for Chang'e 3, measure and analyze content of the surface
ARTEMIS P1		NASA	2 July 2011 –	orbiter	in orbit	to study the effect of the solar wind on the lunar surface
ARTEMIS P2		NASA	17 July 2011 –	orbiter	in orbit	to study the effect of the solar wind on the lunar surface
GRAIL A		NASA	31 December 2011 – 17 December 2012	orbiter	success	mapped the Moon's gravitational field; intentionally impacted at end of mission
GRAIL B		NASA	1 January 2012 – 12 December 2012	orbiter	success	mapped the Moon's gravitational field; intentionally impacted at end of mission
LADEE		NASA	6 September 2013 – 8 April 2014	orbiter	success	designed to study the lunar exosphere and dust
Chang'e 3		CNSA	1 December 2013	orbiter	in progress	soft lander; successfully landed on Moon with Yutu rover 14 December 2013.
				lander/rover
Chang'e 5-T1		CNSA	23 October 2014	orbiter	in progress	Engineering test article for reentry from lunar trajectory, carries secondary private payload 4M

Future

See also

• Robotic spacecraft
• List of landings on extraterrestrial bodies
• List of Solar System probes
• Timeline of Solar System exploration

Notes

Manned lunar spacecraft
Orbiters	Apollo Command/Service Module LK-1 / LK-700 (VA) Zond (Soyuz 7K-L1) LOK (Soyuz 7K-L3) Orion Federation
Landers	Apollo Lunar Module Lunniy Korabl Altair
See also	Moon landing conspiracy theories List of lunar probes List of artificial objects on the Moon List of missions to the Moon proposed

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