close side of the moon

apollo-17-landing

Apollo 17 

The last Apollo mission landed on the moon on December 11th, 1972. The crew, American astronauts Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt, spend three days exploring the moon's surface. Cernan is the last human being to walk on the moon.

  • Location: Taurus-Littrow Valley
  • Space Agency: NASA

apollo 15 landing

Apollo 15

The first extended Apollo mission, Apollo 15, landed on the lunar surface on July 30th, 1971. The crew, American astronauts David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin, spent 12 days in space, including 18 hours and a half on the moon's surface. The mission included a lunar rover, which allowed the astronauts to travel further from their landing site than in any previous mission.

  • Location: Hadley Rille
  • Space Agency: NASA

apollo 11 landing

Apollo 11

The first manned mission to land on the moon was Apollo 11. On July 20th, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin landed the Eagle lander on the moon's surface. Armstrong became the first human being to walk on the moon.

  • Location: Tranquility Base
  • Space Agency: NASA

apollo 16

Apollo 16

Apollo 16 was the fifth manned mission to the moon. The crew, American astronauts John Young, Charles Duke, and Thomas Mattingly, landed on the moon's surface on April 21st, 1972. They used a lunar roving vehicle to travel around the moon's surface (about 17 miles in total!)

  • Location: Cayley Plains
  • Space Agency: NASA

apollo 14

Apollo 14

The Apollo 14 mission was the third manned mission to land on the moon. The crew, American astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, and Stuart Roosa, landed on the moon's surface on February 5th, 1971. They spent more than 33 hours on the lunar surface.

  • Location: Fra Mauro Formation
  • Space Agency: NASA

apollo 12

Apollo 12

The Apollo 12 mission was the second manned mission to land on the moon. The crew, American astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr., Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean, landed on the moon's surface on November 19th, 1969. They spent more than 31 hours on the lunar surface.

  • Location: Ocean of Storms
  • Space Agency: NASA

luna 9 landing

Luna 9

The Luna 9 was an unmanned Soviet spacecraft that landed on the moon on February 3rd, 1966. It was the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon.

  • Location: West of the Reiner and Marius craters
  • Space Agency:  Soviet Union

luna 13 landing

Luna 13

Luna 13 was an unmanned Soviet spacecraft that landed on the moon on December 24th, 1966. It was the third spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon. It took 5 panoramas of the lunar surface.

  • Location: Ocean of Storms
  • Space Agency:  Soviet Union

luna 17 rover

Luna 17

The Luna 17 was an unmanned Soviet spacecraft that landed on the moon on November 17th, 1970. It was the fifth spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon. It deployed the Lunokhod 1 rover, which became the first wheeled vehicle to drive on the moon.

  • Location: Mare Imbrium
  • Space Agency:  Soviet Union

luna 21

Luna 21

Luna 21 was an unmanned Soviet spacecraft that landed on the moon on January 15th, 1973. It was the seventh spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon. It deployed the Lunokhod 2 rover, which operated for 4 months and drove more than 37 miles on the lunar surface.

  • Location: Le Monnier crater
  • Space Agency:  Soviet Union

luna 24 probe

Luna 24

Luna 24 was an unmanned Soviet probe that landed on the moon on August 22nd, 1976. It was the ninth and final spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon. It collected samples of lunar soil and rocks, which were later brought back to Earth.

  • Location: Mare Crisium
  • Space Agency:  Soviet Union

Luna 20 probe model

Luna 20

Luna 20 was an unmanned Soviet spacecraft that landed on the moon on February 21st, 1972. It was the sixth spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon. It collected 55 grams of lunar soil and rocks, which were later brought back to Earth.

  • Location: Apollonius highlands
  • Space Agency:  Soviet Union

luna 16 probe

Luna 16

Luna 16 was an unmanned Soviet spacecraft that landed on the moon on September 24th, 1970. It was the fourth spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon and the first one to collect a lunar soil sample and return it back to Earth.

  • Location: Sea of Fertility
  • Space Agency:  Soviet Union

surveyor 1

Surveyor 1

Surveyor 1 was an unmanned American spacecraft that landed on the moon on June 2nd, 1966. It was the second spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon. This robotic spacecraft was sent to the moon to gather data in preparation for NASA's Apollo missions.

  • Location: Southwest part of Oceanus Procellarum
  • Space Agency: NASA

surveyor 3

Surveyor 3

The Surveyor 3 was an unmanned American spacecraft that landed on the moon on April 20th, 1967. The same landing site was later visited by the Apollo 12 mission.

  • Location: Southeastern region of Oceanus Procellarum
  • Space Agency: NASA

Surveyor 6

Surveyor 6

The Surveyor 6 was an unmanned American spacecraft that landed on the moon on November 10th, 1967. It was equipped with a camera and sent more than 30,000 images back to Earth.

  • Location: Sinus Medii
  • Space Agency: NASA

surveyor 5

Surveyor 5

The Surveyor 5 was an unmanned American spacecraft that landed on the moon on September 11th, 1967. About two years later, Apollo 11 landed 25 miles away from the lunar lander.

  • Location: Mare Tranquillitatis
  • Space Agency: NASA

surveyor 7 view

Surveyor 7

The Surveyor 7 was an unmanned American spacecraft that landed on the moon on January 10th, 1968. It was the final mission of the Surveyor program. It was equipped with a surface sampler capable of conducting chemical analysis of the lunar surface.

  • Location: Outer rim of the crater Tycho
  • Space Agency: NASA

change 5

Chang'e 5

Chang'e 5 was an unmanned Chinese spacecraft that landed on the moon on December 1st, 2020. It is the first spacecraft to collect a sample of the lunar regolith since Luna 24 in 1976.

  • Location: Mons Rümker
  • Space Agency: China National Space Administration (CNSA)

chang'e 3

Chang'e 3

The Chang'e 3 was an unmanned Chinese spacecraft that landed on the moon on December 14th, 2013. It was the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the moon since Luna 24 in 1976. The mission included the Yutu rover, which became the first rover to operate on the moon's surface since Lunokhod 2 in 1973.

  • Location: Mare Imbrium
  • Space Agency: China National Space Administration (CNSA)
far side of the moon

chang'e 4 rover yutu 2

Chang'e 4

The Chang'e 4 was an unmanned Chinese spacecraft that landed on the moon on January 3rd, 2019. It is the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon. The mission included the Yutu 2 rover, which is currently the only rover operating on that side of our natural satellite.

  • Landing site: Von Kármán crater
  • Space Agency: China National Space Administration (CNSA)

Every Successful Moon Landings So Far