Exploration of the Moon
In 1969, NASA's Project Apollo first successfully landed people on the Moon. They placed scientific experiments there and returned rocks and data that suggested the Moon is of a similar composition to the Earth.Early history
See also: Selenography and Lunar theory
In Mesopotamia, Babylonian astronomers by the early first millennium BC had discovered a repeating 18-year cycle of lunar eclipses. They had also known by this time that 19 solar years is about equal to 235 lunar months.[1][not in citation given] In the 2nd century BC, Seleucus of Seleucia correctly theorized that tides were caused by the Moon, although he believed that the interaction was mediated by the Earth's atmosphere. According to Strabo (1.1.9), Seleucus was the first to state that the tides are due to the attraction of the Moon, and that the height of the tides depends on the Moon's position relative to the Sun.[2]By the mid-first millennium BC, Indian astronomers described the Moon’s monthly elongation in the Aitareya Brāhmana.[3] By 499 AD, the Indian astronomer Aryabhata mentioned in his Aryabhatiya that reflected sunlight is the cause behind the shining of the moon.[4]
Among the first in the Western world to offer a scientific explanation for the Moon was the Greek philosopher Anaxagoras (d. 428 BC), who reasoned that the Sun and Moon were both giant spherical rocks, and that the latter reflected the light of the former. His atheistic view of the heavens was one cause for his imprisonment and eventual exile.[5] In Aristotle's (384–322 BC) description of the universe, the Moon marked the boundary between the spheres of the mutable elements (earth, water, air and fire), and the imperishable stars of aether. This separation was held to be part of Aristotelian physics for many centuries after.[6] In the philosophy of Aristotle, the heavens, starting at the Moon, were the realm of perfection, the sublunary region was the realm of change and corruption, and any resemblance between these regions was strictly ruled out. Aristotle himself suggested that the Moon partook perhaps of some contamination from the realm of corruption.[7] In his little book On the Face in the Moon's Orb, Plutarch expressed rather different views on the relationship between the Moon and Earth. He suggested that the Moon had deep recesses in which the light of the Sun did not reach and that the spots are nothing but the shadows of rivers or deep chasms. He also entertained the possibility that the Moon was inhabited. It had been suggested already in antiquity that the Moon was a perfect mirror and that its markings were reflections of earthly features, but this explanation was easily dismissed because the face of the Moon never changes as it moves about the Earth.[7] The explanation that finally became standard was that there were variations of "density" in the Moon that caused this otherwise perfectly spherical body to appear the way it does.[7] The perfection of the Moon, and therefore the heavens, was thus preserved. Aristarchus went a step further and computed the distance from Earth, together with its size, obtaining a value of 20 times the Earth radius for the distance (the real value is 60; the Earth radius was roughly known since Eratosthenes).
During the Warring States of China, astronomer Shi Shen (fl. 4th century BC) gave instructions for predicting solar and lunar eclipses based on the relative positions of the Moon and Sun.[8] Although the Chinese of the Han Dynasty (202 BC–202 AD) believed the Moon to be energy equated to qi, their 'radiating influence' theory recognized that the light of the Moon was merely a reflection of the Sun (mentioned by Anaxagoras above).[9] This was supported by mainstream thinkers such as Jing Fang (78–37 BC) and Zhang Heng (78–139 AD), but it was also opposed by the influential philosopher Wang Chong (27–97 AD).[9] Jing Fang noted the sphericity of the Moon, while Zhang Heng accurately described a lunar eclipse and solar eclipse.[9][10] These assertions were supported by Shen Kuo (1031–1095) of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) who created an allegory equating the waxing and waning of the Moon to a round ball of reflective silver that, when doused with white powder and viewed from the side, would appear to be a crescent.[11] He also noted that the reason for the Sun and Moon not eclipsing every time their paths met was because of a small obliquity in their orbital paths.[11]
Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi, a Persian astronomer, conducted various observations at the Al-Shammisiyyah observatory in Baghdad between 825 and 835 AD.[12] Using these observations, he estimated the Moon's diameter as 3,037 km (equivalent to 1,519 km radius) and its distance from the Earth as 215,209 miles, which come close to the currently accepted values.[13] In 1021, the Islamic physicist, Alhazen, accurately explained the Moon illusion in the Book of Optics, which stated that judging the distance of an object depends on there being an uninterrupted sequence of intervening bodies between the object and the observer. With the Moon, there are no intervening objects, therefore since the size of an object depends on its observed distance, which is in this case inaccurate, the Moon appears larger on the horizon. Through Alhazen's work, the Moon illusion gradually came to be accepted as a psychological phenomenon.[14] He also investigated moonlight, which he proved through experimentation that it originates from sunlight and correctly concluded that it "emits light from those portions of its surface which the sun's light strikes."[15]
By the Middle Ages, before the invention of the telescope, an increasing number of people began to recognise the Moon as a sphere, though many believed that it was "perfectly smooth".[16] In 1609, Galileo Galilei drew one of the first telescopic drawings of the Moon in his book Sidereus Nuncius and noted that it was not smooth but had mountains and craters. Later in the 17th century, Giovanni Battista Riccioli and Francesco Maria Grimaldi drew a map of the Moon and gave many craters the names they still have today. On maps, the dark parts of the Moon's surface were called maria (singular mare) or seas, and the light parts were called terrae or continents.
The medieval followers of Aristotle, in the Islamic world and then in Christian Europe, tried to make sense of the lunar spots in Aristotelian terms.[7] Thomas Harriot, as well as Galilei, drew the first telescopic representation of the Moon and observed it for several years. His drawings, however, remained unpublished.[7] The first map of the Moon was made by the Belgian cosmographer and astronomer Michael Florent van Langren in 1645.[7] Two years later a much more influential effort was published by Johannes Hevelius. In 1647 Hevelius published Selenographia, the first treatise entirely devoted to the Moon. Hevelius's nomenclature, although used in Protestant countries until the eighteenth century, was replaced by the system published in 1651 by the Jesuit astronomer Giovanni Battista Riccioli, who gave the large naked-eye spots the names of seas and the telescopic spots (now called craters) the name of philosophers and astronomers.[7] In 1753 the Croatian Jesuit and astronomer Roger Joseph Boscovich discovered the absence of atmosphere on the Moon. In 1824 Franz von Gruithuisen explained the formation of craters as a result of meteorite strikes.[17]
The possibility that the Moon contains vegetation and is inhabited by selenites was seriously considered by major astronomers even into the first decades of the 19th century. The contrast between the brighter highlands and darker maria create the patterns seen by different cultures as the Man in the Moon, the rabbit and the buffalo, among others. In 1835, the Great Moon Hoax fooled some people into thinking that there were exotic animals living on the Moon.[18] Almost at the same time however (during 1834–1836), Wilhelm Beer and Johann Heinrich Mädler were publishing their four-volume Mappa Selenographica and the book Der Mond in 1837, which firmly established the conclusion that the Moon has no bodies of water nor any appreciable atmosphere.
[edit] Space race
Main articles: Space race and Moon race
See also: Soviet Moonshot
The Cold War-inspired "space race" and "moon race" between the Soviet Union and the United States of America accelerated with a focus on the Moon. This included many scientifically important firsts, such as the first photographs of the then-unseen far side of the Moon in 1959 by the Soviet Union, and culminated with the landing of the first humans on the Moon in 1969, widely seen around the world as one of the pivotal events of the 20th century, and indeed of human history in general.
"First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space."[19]The Soviets nonetheless remained in the lead for some time. Luna 9 was the first probe to soft land on the Moon and transmit pictures from the Lunar surface on February 3, 1966. It was proven that a lunar lander would not sink into a thick layer of dust, as had been feared. The first artificial satellite of the Moon was the Soviet probe Luna 10 (launched March 31, 1966).
On December 24, 1968, the crew of Apollo 8, Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders, became the first human beings to enter lunar orbit and see the far side of the Moon in person. Humans first landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The first man to walk on the lunar surface was Neil Armstrong, commander of the U.S. mission Apollo 11. The first robot lunar rover to land on the Moon was the Soviet vessel Lunokhod 1 on November 17, 1970 as part of the Lunokhod program. To date, the last man to stand on the Moon was Eugene Cernan, who as part of the mission Apollo 17 walked on the Moon in December 1972. See also: A full list of lunar Apollo astronauts.
Moon rock samples were brought back to Earth by three Luna missions (Luna 16, 20, and 24) and the Apollo missions 11 through 17 (excepting Apollo 13, which aborted its planned lunar landing).
From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s there were 65 Moon landings (with 10 in 1971 alone), but after Luna 24 in 1976 they suddenly stopped. The Soviet Union started focusing on Venus and space stations and the U.S. on Mars and beyond, on Skylab and Space Shuttle programs.
Before "moon race" US had a avan-projects of scientific and military moonbases of Werner von Braun, Lunex Project, Project Horizon. Besides the manned landings, abandoned Soviet moon program included a building the multipurpose moonbase Zvezda, first detailed such project with developed mockups of expedition vehicles[20] and surface modules.[21]
[edit] Recent exploration
In 1990 Japan visited the Moon with the Hiten spacecraft, becoming the third country to place an object in orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft released the Hagoromo probe into lunar orbit, but the transmitter failed, thereby preventing further scientific use of the mission. In September 2007, Japan launched the SELENE spacecraft, with the objectives "to obtain scientific data of the lunar origin and evolution and to develop the technology for the future lunar exploration", according to the JAXA official website.[22]The BMDO and NASA launched the Clementine mission in 1994, and Lunar Prospector in 1998.
The European Space Agency launched a small, low-cost lunar orbital probe called SMART 1 on September 27, 2003. SMART 1's primary goal was to take three-dimensional X-ray and infrared imagery of the lunar surface. SMART 1 entered lunar orbit on November 15, 2004 and continued to make observations until September 3, 2006, when it was intentionally crashed into the lunar surface in order to study the impact plume.[23]
The People's Republic of China has begun the Chang'e program for exploring the Moon and is investigating the prospect of lunar mining, specifically looking for the isotope helium-3 for use as an energy source on Earth.[24] China launched the Chang'e 1 robotic lunar orbiter on October 24, 2007. Originally planned for a one-year mission, the Chang'e 1 mission was very successful and ended up being extended for another four months. On March 1, 2009, Chang'e 1 was intentionally impacted on the lunar surface completing the 16 month mission.
On October 1, 2010, China launched the Chang'e 2 lunar orbiter.
India's national space agency, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), launched Chandrayaan-1, an unmanned lunar orbiter, on October 22, 2008.[25] The lunar probe was originally intended to orbit the Moon for two years, with scientific objectives to prepare a three-dimensional atlas of the near and far side of the Moon and to conduct a chemical and mineralogical mapping of the lunar surface.[26][27] The unmanned Moon Impact Probe landed on the Moon at 15:04 GMT on November 14, 2008 [28] making India the fourth country to touch down on the lunar surface. Among its many achievements was the discovery of the widespread presence of water molecules in lunar soil.[29]
NASA launched a preliminary unmanned mission, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, on June 18, 2009. LRO will take high resolution imagery of the Moon's surface and carries the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), which will investigate the possible existence of water in Cabeus crater.
[edit] Future plans
Following the abandoned US Constellation program, plans for manned flights followed by moonbases were declared by Russia, Europe (ESA), China, Japan and India. All of them intend to continue the exploration of Moon with more unmanned spacecraft.
China plans to land the rover Chang'e 3 on the Moon in 2012[30] or 2013, and to conduct a sample return mission in 2017. If successful, Chang'e 3 will be the first spacecraft to land on lunar surface, since Luna 24 in 1976.
India expects to launch another indigenous lunar mission by 2013 which would place a motorized rover on the surface of the Moon.[31]
Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans a manned lunar landing around 2020 that would lead to a manned lunar base by 2030; however, there is no budget yet for this project and plan reverts to robotic missions.[32]
Russia also announced to resume its previously frozen project Luna-Glob, an unmanned lander and orbiter, which is slated to launch in 2012.[33]
Germany also announced in March 2007 that it will launch a national lunar orbiter, LEO in 2012.[34] However the mission was cancelled due to budgetary constraints.[35]
In August 2007, NASA stated that all future missions and explorations of the Moon will be done entirely using the metric system. This was done to improve cooperation with space agencies of other countries which already use the metric system.[36]
The European Space Agency has also announced its intention to send a manned mission to the Moon, as part of the Aurora programme. In September 2010 the agency introduces a "Lunar lander" programme with a target of autonomous mission to the moon in 2018.[37]
On September 13, 2007, the X Prize Foundation, in concert with Google, Inc., announced the Google Lunar X Prize. This contest requires competitors "to land a privately funded robotic rover on the Moon that is capable of completing several mission objectives, including roaming the lunar surface for at least 500 meters and sending video, images and data back to the Earth."[38]
[edit] 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) | |
| 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 |
| 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) | ||
| 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 | ||
| 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 | 14 September 2007 | 3 October 2007 | 10 June 2009 | Orbiter | Success |
 Chang'e 1 | 24 October 2007 | 5 November 2007 | 1 March 2009 | Orbiter | 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 | ongoing | Orbiter | Success |
| Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory | 10 September 2011 | ongoing | Two orbiters |
[edit] Future missions
| Name | Estimated launch | Elements | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer | 1 May 2012 | Orbiter | Instruments will include a dust detector, a neutral mass spectrometer, an ultraviolet-visible spectrometer, and a laser communications terminal. |
 Luna-Glob | 2012 | Orbiter | Orbiter to include astrophysics experiments, dust monitors, plasma sensors, including the LORD astronomy payload, designed to study ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.[39] Carries cancelled Lunar-A penetrators. |
| Lunar-A penetrators | Impactor | Two penetrators to deeply penetrate the lunar regolith on opposite sides of Moon.[citation needed] | |
| Chandrayaan-2 | 2014 | Orbiter, lander, rover | Orbiter to carry five payloads, three new, while other two are improved versions of those on Chandrayaan-1.The Russian Federal Space Agency will provide the lander that will carry the Indian rover. |
| Chang'e 3 | 2013 | Rover | Six-wheeled lunar vehicle to be landed at Sinus Iridum. |
| Astrobotic Technology | 2013–2014 | Lander, Rover | First scheduled launch of a private lander, rover and moon payload competing for various prizes including the Google Lunar X Prize.[40] |
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