[Apollo 12 astronaut and Surveyor 3]

Lunar Exploration Timeline

Lunar Missions


| 1959
|-- Luna 1 - Jan 2, 1959 - Flyby
|-- Pioneer 4 - Mar 3, 1959 - Flyby
|-- Luna 2 - Sep 12, 1959 - Impact
|-- Luna 3 - Oct 4, 1959 - Probe
| 1960
| 1961
|-- Ranger 1 - Aug 23, 1961 - Attempted Test Flight
|-- Ranger 2 - Nov 18, 1961 - Attempted Test Flight
| 1962
|-- Ranger 3 - Jan 26, 1962 - Attempted Impact
|-- Ranger 4 - Apr 23, 1962 - Impact
|-- Ranger 5 - Oct 18, 1962 - Attempted Impact
| 1963
|-- Luna 4 - Apr 2, 1963 - Flyby
| 1964
|-- Ranger 6 - Jan 30, 1964 - Impact
|-- Ranger 7 - Jul 28, 1964 - Impact
| 1965
|-- Ranger 8 - Feb 17, 1965 - Impact
|-- Ranger 9 - Mar 21, 1965 - Impact
|-- Luna 5 - May 9, 1965 - Impact
|-- Luna 6 - Jun 8, 1965 - Attempted Lander
|-- Zond 3 - Jul 18, 1965 - Flyby
|-- Luna 7 - Oct 4, 1965 - Impact
|-- Luna 8 - Dec 3, 1965 - Impact
| 1966
|-- Luna 9 - Jan 31, 1966 - Lander
|-- Luna 10 - Mar 31, 1966 - Orbiter
|-- Surveyor 1 - May 30, 1966 - Lander
|-- Lunar Orbiter 1 - Aug 10, 1966 - Orbiter
|-- Luna 11 - Aug 24, 1966 - Orbiter
|-- Surveyor 2 - Sep 20, 1966 - Attempted Lander
|-- Luna 12 - Oct 22, 1966 - Orbiter
|-- Lunar Orbiter 2 - Nov 6, 1966 - Orbiter
|-- Luna 13 - Dec 21, 1966 - Lander
| 1967
|-- Lunar Orbiter 3 - Feb 4, 1967 - Orbiter
|-- Surveyor 3 - Apr 17, 1967 - Lander
|-- Lunar Orbiter 4 - May 8, 1967 - Orbiter
|-- Surveyor 4 - Jul 14, 1967 - Attempted Lander
|-- Lunar Orbiter 5 - Aug 1, 1967 - Orbiter
|-- Surveyor 5 - Sep 8, 1967 - Lander
|-- Surveyor 6 - Nov 7, 1967 - Lander
| 1968
|-- Surveyor 7 - Jan 7, 1968 - Lander
|-- Luna 14 - Apr 7, 1968 - Orbiter
|-- Zond 5 - Sep 15, 1968 - Return Probe
|-- Zond 6 - Nov 10, 1968 - Return Probe
|-- Apollo 8 - Dec 21, 1968 - Crewed Orbiter
| 1969
|-- Apollo 10 - May 18, 1969 - Orbiter
|-- Luna 15 - Jul 13, 1969 - Orbiter
|-- Apollo 11 - Jul 16, 1969 - Crewed Landing
|-- Zond 7 - Aug 7, 1969 - Return Probe
|-- Apollo 12 - Nov 14, 1969 - Crewed Landing
| 1970
|-- Apollo 13 - Apr 11, 1970 - Crewed Landing (aborted)
|-- Luna 16 - Sep 12, 1970 - Sample Return
|-- Zond 8 - Oct 20, 1970 - Return Probe
|-- Luna 17 - Nov 10, 1970 - Rover
| 1971
|-- Apollo 14 - Jan 31, 1971 - Crewed Landing
|-- Apollo 15 - Jul 26, 1971 - Crewed Landing
|-- Luna 18 - Sep 2, 1971 - Impact
|-- Luna 19 - Sep 28, 1971 - Orbiter
| 1972
|-- Luna 20 - Feb 14, 1972 - Sample Return
|-- Apollo 16 - Apr 16, 1972 - Crewed Landing
|-- Apollo 17 - Dec 7, 1972 - Crewed Landing
| 1973
|-- Luna 21 - Jan 8, 1973 - Rover
| 1974
|-- Luna 22 - Jun 2, 1974 - Orbiter
|-- Luna 23 - Oct 28, 1974 - Lander
| 1975
| 1976
|-- Luna 24 - Aug 14, 1976 - Sample Return
| 1977
| 1978
| 1979
| 1980
| 1981
| 1982
| 1983
| 1984
| 1985
| 1986
| 1987
| 1988
| 1989
| 1990
|-- Hiten - Jan 24, 1990 - Flyby and Orbiter
| 1991
| 1992
| 1993
| 1994
|-- Clementine - Jan 25, 1994 - Orbiter
| 1995
| 1996
| 1997
|-- AsiaSat 3/HGS-1 - Dec 24, 1997 - Lunar Flyby
| 1998
|-- Lunar Prospector - Jan 7, 1998 - Orbiter
| 1999
| 2000
| 2001
| 2002
| 2003
|-- SMART 1 - Sep 27, 2003 - Lunar Orbiter
| 2004
| 2005
| 2006
| 2007
|-- Kaguya (SELENE) - Sep 14, 2007 - Lunar Orbiter
|-- Chang'e 1 - Oct. 24, 2007 - Lunar Orbiter
| 2008
|-- Chandrayaan-1 - Oct, 2008 - Lunar Orbiter
|-- Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter - Oct 28, 2008 - Lunar Orbiter
| 2009
| 2010
| 2011
|-- Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) - Sep, 2011 - Lunar Orbiter
|-- Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) - Sep, 2011 - Lunar Orbiter
|

If you don't see a mission listed on these pages, you may wish to query the complete NSSDC Master Catalog by typing in a name in the space below.

Spacecraft Name:

Chronology of Lunar and Planetary Exploration

Return to Lunar home page

[NASA Logo]
Author/Curator:
Dr. David R. Williams, dave.williams@nasa.gov
NSSDC, Mail Code 690.1
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771
+1-301-286-1258

NASA Official: Ed Grayzeck, edwin.j.grayzeck@nasa.gov
Last Updated: 11 August 2008, DRW