1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s
Aug 22, 2014 The most amazing part that will blow you away isn't so much the hardware, as the software they used to get to the Moon. In fact, the real-time operating system in the Apollo 11 spacecraft could multi-task eight jobs at a time, something we take entirely for granted today, but no small feat for the time it was developed. Lunar Mission Escape Room in Koreatown, LA is a fairly difficult escape room game that will test your observation and reasoning skills on board a space station that is quickly running out of oxygen.
1950s: Dawn of the Space Age
Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pioneer 0 | USA | Aug. 17, 1958 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Sept. 23, 1958 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Pioneer 1 | USA | Oct. 11, 1958 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Oct. 11, 1958 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Pioneer 2 | USA | Nov. 8, 1958 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Dec. 4, 1958 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Pioneer 3 | USA | Dec. 7, 1958 | N/A | Flyby | Unsuccessful |
Luna 1 | USSR | Jan. 2, 1959 | Jan. 4, 1959 | Impact | Partial Success; first Moon flyby |
Pioneer 4 | USA | March 3, 1959 | Mar. 4., 1959 | Flyby | Partial Sucess |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | June 18, 1959 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Luna 2 | USSR | Sept. 12, 1959 | Sept. 13, 1959 | Impact | Successful; first spacecraft to impact the Moon's surface |
Pioneer P-1 | USA | Sept. 24, 1959 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Luna 3 | USSR | Oct. 4, 1959 | Oct. 6, 1959 | Flyby | Successful; first pictures of the lunar farside. |
Pioneer P-3 | USA | Nov. 26, 1959 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
1960s: Race to the Moon
Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 15, 1960 | N/A | Flyby | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 16, 1960 | N/A | Flyby | Unsuccessful |
Pioneer P-30 | USA | Sep. 25, 1960 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Pioneer P-31 | USA | Dec. 15. 1960 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 3 | USA | Jan. 26, 1962 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 4 | USA | April 26, 1962 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 5 | USA | Oct. 21, 1962 | N/A | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Jan. 4, 1963 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Feb. 3, 1963 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Luna 4 | USSR | April 2, 1963 | April 6, 1963 | Lander | Unsuccessful; flew past Moon. |
Ranger 6 | USA | Jan. 30, 1964 | Feb. 2, 1965 | Impact | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | March 21, 1964 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 20, 1964 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 7 | USA | July 28, 1964 | July 31, 1964 | Impact | Successful; first U.S. close-up pictures of the Moon |
Ranger 8 | USA | Feb. 17, 1965 | Feb. 20, 1965 | Impact | Successful |
Kosmos 60 | USSR | March 12, 1965 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Ranger 9 | USA | March 21, 1965 | March 24, 1965 | Impact | Successful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | April 10, 1965 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Luna 5 | USSR | May 9, 1965 | May 12, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
Luna 6 | USSR | June 8, 1965 | June 11, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; flyby |
Zond 3 | USSR | July 18, 1965 | July 20, 1965 | Flyby | Successful |
Luna 7 | USSR | Oct. 4, 1965 | Oct. 7, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
Luna 8 | USSR | Dec. 3, 1965 | Dec. 6, 1965 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
Luna 9 | USSR | Jan. 31, 1966 | Feb. 3, 1966 | Lander | Successful; first lunar soft landing and first picture from the lunar surface |
Kosmos 111 | USSR | March 1, 1966 | N/A | Orbiter | Unsuccessful |
Luna 10 | USSR | March 31, 1966 | April 3, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful; first lunar orbiter |
Surveyor 1 | USA | May 30, 1966 | June 2, 1966 | Lander | Successful; first U.S. Moon landing and first U.S. photo from the lunar surface. |
Lunar Orbiter 1 | USA | Aug. 10, 1966 | Aug. 14, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
Luna 11 | USSR | Aug. 24, 1966 | Aug. 27, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
Surveyor 2 | USA | Sept. 20, 1966 | Sept. 23, 1966 | Lander | Unsuccessful; impacted Moon |
Luna 12 | USSR | Oct. 22, 1966 | Oct. 25, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
Lunar Orbiter 2 | USA | Nov. 6, 1966 | Nov. 10, 1966 | Orbiter | Successful |
Luna 13 | USSR | Dec. 21, 1966 | Dec. 24, 1966 | Lander | Successful |
Lunar Orbiter 3 | USA | Feb. 5, 1967 | Feb. 8, 1967 | Orbiter | Partial success; camera failure |
Surveyor 3 | USA | April 17, 1967 | April 20, 1967 | Lander | Successful; visited on the Moon by Apollo 12 crew. |
Lunar Orbiter 4 | USA | May 4, 1967 | May 8, 1967 | Orbiter | Partial success; camera failure |
Surveyor 4 | USA | July 14, 1967 | July 17, 1967 | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Lunar Orbiter 5 | USA | Aug. 1, 1967 | Aug. 5, 1967 | Orbiter | Successful |
Surveyor 5 | USA | Sept. 8, 1967 | Sept. 11, 1967 | Lander | Successful |
Surveyor 6 | USA | Nov. 7, 1967 | Nov. 10, 1967 | Lander | Successful |
Surveyor 7 | USA | Jan. 7, 1968 | Jan. 10, 1968 | Lander | Successful |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Feb. 7, 1968 | N/A | Lander | Unsuccessful |
Luna 14 | USSR | April 7, 1968 | April 10, 1968 | Orbiter | Successful |
Zond 5 | USSR | Sept. 15, 1968 | Sept. 18, 1968 | Flyby | Successful; |
Zond 6 | USSR | Nov. 10, 1968 | Nov. 14, 1968 | Flyby | Partial success; animal cargo lost on landing. |
Apollo 8 | USA | Dec. 21, 1968 | Dec. 24, 1968 | Orbiter | Success; first humans to orbit the Moon |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | Feb. 19, 1969 | N/A | Rover | Unsuccessful; first attempted Moon rover |
Apollo 10 | USA | May 18, 1969 | May 21, 1969 | Orbiter | Successful; lander test in lunar orbit |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | June 14, 1969 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
Luna 15 | USSR | July 13, 1969 | July 18, 1969 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Partial success; orbiter successful, sample return crashed on the Moon |
Apollo 11 | USA | July 16, 1969 | July 20, 1969 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful; first humans to land on the Moon |
Zond 7 | USSR | Aug. 7, 1969 | Aug. 11, 1969 | Flyby | Successful |
Kosmos 300 | USSR | Sept. 23, 1969 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
Kosmos 305 | USSR | Oct. 22, 1969 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
Apollo 12 | USA | Nov. 14, 1969 | Nov. 17,1969 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful; rendezvous with Surveyor 3 on the surface of the moon. |
1970s: Sampling the Moon
Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apollo 13 | USA | 4/11/1970 | 4/15/1970 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Unsuccessful; crew returned safely to Earth. |
Unnamed Luna | USSR | 2/6/1970 | N/A | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
Luna 16 | USSR | 9/12/1970 | 9/20/1970 | Sample Return | Successful; first robotic sample return from beyond Earth. |
Zond 8 | USSR | 10/20/1970 | 10/24/1970 | Flyby | Successful |
Luna 17 | USSR | 11/10/1970 | 11/17/1970 | Lander | Successful; delivered Lunokhod 1 rover to the surface of the Moon |
Lunokhod 1 | USSR | 11/10/1970 | 11/17/1970 | Rover | Successful; first robotic rover to explore the surface of a world beyond Earth |
Apollo 14 | USA | 1/31/1971 | 2/4/1971 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful |
Apollo 15 | USA | 7/26/1971 | 7/29/1971 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful |
PFS-1 | USA | 7/26/1971 | 8/4/1971 | Orbiter | Successful; deployed in lunar orbit by Apollo 15 crew |
Luna 18 | USSR | 9/2/1971 | 9/11/1971 | Sample Return | Unsuccessful |
Luna 19 | USSR | 9/28/1971 | 10/3/1971 | Orbiter | Successful |
Luna 20 | USSR | 2/14/1972 | 2/21/1972 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful |
Apollo 16 | USA | 4/16/1972 | 4/19/1972 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful |
PFS-2 | USA | 4/16/1972 | 4/24/1972 | Orbiter | Partial Success; orbit decayed prematurely |
Apollo 17 | USA | 12/7/1972 | 12/10/1972 | Orbiter/Sample Return | Successful; first scientist on the Moon and final Apollo mission |
Luna 21 | USSR | 1/8/1973 | 1/15/1973 | Orbiter | Successful; delivered Lunokhod 2 rover to the surface of the Moon |
Lunokhod 2 | USSR | 1/8/1973 | 1/15/1973 | Rover | Successful; longest-lived rover on the Moon, drove 24 miles (39 kilometers) |
Mariner 10 | USA | 11/3/1973 | 11/5/1973 | Flyby | Successful; studied Moon while en route to Mercury |
Luna 22 | USSR | 5/29/1974 | 6/2/1974 | Orbiter | Successful |
Luna 23 | USSR | 10/28/1974 | 11/6/1974 | Sample Return | Partial Success |
Luna 24 | USSR | 8/9/1976 | 8/18/1976 | Sample Return | Successful |
1980s: Quiet Moon
No lunar missions were launched in this decade.
1990s: Robots Return
Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hiten | Japan | 1/24/1990 | 3/19/1990 | Orbiter/Impact | Successful; first Japanese Moon mission |
Clementine | USA | 1/25/1994 | 2/19/1994 | Orbiter | Successful |
Lunar Prospector | USA | 1/7/1998 | 1//11/1998 | Orbiter/Impact | Successful |
2000s: International Moon
Lunar Display Mac
Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SMART-1 | Europe | 9/27/2003 | 11/15/2004 | Orbiter/Impact | Successful; first European Moon mission |
SELENE (Kaguya) | Japan | 9/14/2007 | 10/3/2007 | Orbiter/Impact | Successful |
Chang'e 1 | China | 10/24/2007 | 11/5/2007 | Orbiter/impactor | Successful; first Chinese Moon mission |
Chandrayaan-1 | India | 10/22/2008 | 11/12/2008 | Orbiter | Successful |
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) | USA | 6/18/2009 | 6/23/2009 | Orbiter | (Active Mission) Successful; extended mission in progress |
LCROSS | USA | 6/18/2009 | 10/9/2009 | Impact | Successful; impact of LRO upper stages |
2010s: Delving Deeper
Lunar Mission Mac Os 7
Name | Nation | Launch | Arrival | Type | Results |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chang'e 2 | China | 10/1/2010 | 10/5/2010 | Orbiter | Successful |
ARTEMIS | USA | 2010 | 2011 | Orbiters | (Active Mission) Successful; twin spacecraft on an extended lunar mission after successful Earth observartions |
Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) | USA | 9/10/2011 | 1/1/2012 | Orbiters | Successful; twin spacecraft |
Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) | USA | 9/7/2013 | 10/6/2013 | Orbiter | Successful |
Chang'e 3 | China | 12/6/2013 | 12/14/2013 | Lander | (Active Mission) Successful; delivered Yutu rover to lunar surface |
Yutu | China | 12/6/2013 | 12/14/2013 | Rover | Successful; first non-Soviet rover on the Moon |
Chang'e 5-Test Vehicle | China | 10/23/2014 | 10/27/2014 | Flyby | Successful |
Queqiao | China | 5/20/2018 | Orbiter | Successful; lunar relay satellite | |
Chang'e 4 and Yutu 2 | China | 12/7/2018 | 01/03/2019 | Lander, Rover | Successful; first lunar farside landing |
Beresheet | Israel | 2/22/2019 | 4/11/2019 | Lander | Unsuccessful; first lunar landing attempt by a private company |
Chandrayaan-2 | India | 7/22/2019 | N/A | Orbiter | Successful |
The Soviet Union's Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to make a survivable landing on the Moon. This also was the first soft landing on a world beyond Earth.
- Luna 9 sent back nine images from the surface of the Moon.
- The lander proved spacecraft would not simply sink into lunar dust, a finding that paved the way for future Moon landings, including the Apollo missions.
Nation | Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) |
Objective(s) | Lunar Soft-Landing |
Spacecraft | Ye-6M (no. 202) |
Spacecraft Mass | About 3,500 pounds (1,583.7 kilograms) |
Mission Design and Management | GSMZ imeni Lavochkina |
Launch Vehicle | Molniya-M + Blok L (8K78M no. U103-32, also U15000-49) |
Launch Date and Time | Jan. 31, 1966 / 11:41:37 UT |
Launch Site | Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazahkstan (NIIP-5 / Site 31/6) |
Scientific Instruments | 1. Imaging System 2. Gamma-Ray Spectrometer 3. KS-17M Radiation Detector |
Firsts
- First survivable landing on the Moon: Feb. 3, 1966
Results
Mister money bags. With this mission, the Soviets accomplished another spectacular first in the space race, the first survivable landing of a human-made object on another celestial body and the transmission of photographs from its surface.
Dealer (itch) mac os. Luna 9 was the 12th attempt at a soft-landing by the Soviets. It was also the first deep space probe built by the Lavochkin design bureau that would design and build all future Soviet (and Russian) lunar and interplanetary spacecraft.
All operations prior to landing occurred without fault. A 48-second mid-course correction at 19:29 UT on Feb. 1, 1966 some 145,000 miles (233,000 kilometers) from the Moon directed the probe to its target in the Ocean of Storms. About one hour before touchdown at a distance of 5,200 miles (8,300 kilometers), Luna 9 was put in proper attitude for retrofire. Just prior to engine ignition, two side compartments were jettisoned, followed by inflation of two shock-absorbing airbags covering the lander to a pressure of 1 atmosphere. Its main S5.5A engine ignited at an altitude of 46.5 miles (74.885 kilometers) above the surface and fired for 48 seconds until the probe was just 850 to 870 feet (260 to 265 meters) above ground, thus decelerating Luna 9 from 8,500 feet (2,600 meters) per second to a few feet per second.
Just above the surface, a long boom sensor made contact with the lunar surface, thus issuing a command to eject the 23-inch (58-centimeter) spheroid ALS capsule weighing 220 pounds (99.8 kilograms) from the main bus. The ALS (still enclosed in surrounded airbags) landed a few yards (meters) away. The impact time was recorded as 18:45:30 UT on Feb. 3, 1966 west of the Reiner and Marius craters in the Ocean of Storms (reported as 7 degrees 8 minutes north latitude and 64 degrees 32 minutes west longitude but closer to 8 degrees north latitude and 64 degrees west longitude).
About four minutes after landing, the airbags split open, and the petals covering the top of the ALS were deployed.
Precisely 4 minutes and 10 seconds after touchdown, Luna 9 began transmitting initial telemetry data back to Earth, although it would be another 7 hours (at 01:50 UT on Feb. 4, after the Sun climbed from 3 degrees to 7 degrees elevation) before the probe began sending back the first of nine images (including five panoramas) of the surface of the Moon.
The first panoramic images arrived very early in the morning in Moscow, and because officials were afraid to wake up Soviet space program curator Dmitriy Ustinov (1908-1984) (whose permission was required for publication in the Soviet media), the first panoramic images were actually published in the British media courtesy of Sir Bernard Lovell (1913-2012) at the Jodrell Bank Observatory who had intercepted and analyzed the same data.
Cyber lover mac os. The later images had the Sun much higher, up to 41 degrees, thus causing the shadow relief of the images to change. These were the first images sent back from the surface of another planetary body.
Controllers noticed at one point that Luna 9's vantage point had slightly shifted over the sequence of images, possibly caused by the diminishing water supply of its thermal control system which changed its weight distribution. This change in perspective (of about 4 inches or 100 mm) opened up the possibility of stereo photography of the surface.
The KS-17M radiation detector measured a dosage of 30 millirads per day.
Perhaps the most important discovery from the mission was determining that a foreign object would not simply sink into the lunar dust, i.e., that the ground could support a heavy lander.
Mission controllers expected that the last communications session would be on Feb. 5, 1966 (from 16:00 to 17:41 UT) but were pleased to have an additional one, on Feb. 6, 1966 (from 20:37 to 22:55 UT). By the time contact was lost, controllers had communicated with Luna 9 over seven communications sessions lasting 8 hours and 5 minutes.
Source
Siddiqi, Asif A. Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958-2016. NASA History Program Office, 2018.