Three eras, one long gap
The Moon's launch history falls into three stretches. From 1958 to 1976, the Soviet Union and the United States launched 95 missions in the Space Race. Between 1977 and 1989 there were no launches. Since 1990, 46 more have flown, from a growing list of countries and companies. The last stretch is the one that's still growing.
The race years are messy. The first attempts, in 1958, failed at launch on both sides. Ranger 7, launched on July 28, 1964, returned close-up pictures before its planned impact, and NASA says no close-up photographs of the lunar surface existed before 1964. Luna 9 made the first soft landing on February 3, 1966, and Surveyor 1 was the first American one, on June 2, 1966. Five Lunar Orbiters flew between August 1966 and August 1967.
When they flew
All projectsFull successes
The 1960s were the busiest decade by far, with 63 missions, as the United States and the Soviet Union raced each other. The longest quiet spell ran 13 years, from Luna 24 in 1976 to Hiten / Hagoromo in 1990.
Who has sent them
The United States and the Soviet Union / Russia account for 81% of the list. China is third with 12 missions, followed by Japan and India.
What kind of missions
Many of these aren't landers. Orbiters, flybys and impactors mapped and measured the Moon from space or ended in a planned crash. Only 28 spacecraft have put themselves down in one piece, and they're on the landing list.
What isn't counted
We left out 4 early Soviet launches that sources don't agree happened (Luna 1966A, Luna 1969B, Luna 1970B and Zond 1964A), and 2 cubesats whose lunar goals the sources don't settle (ArgoMoon and LunIR). A satellite sent to the Moon years after it launched (ARTEMIS) and a stranded commercial satellite that used lunar flybys to reach orbit are on a separate support list. Two US Earth-orbit tests, Ranger 1 and 2, never aimed at the Moon.
After the pause: looking for water
The silence ended with Japan's Hiten in 1990 and the United States' Clementine in 1994. Lunar Prospector followed, and in March 1998 NASA reported hydrogen findings that suggested water ice at both poles. In 2009 NASA's LCROSS measured about 5.6 percent water ice by weight in its target regolith.
China's steady program
China accounts for 12 of the 141 missions, counting orbiters, relay satellites, landers and sample returns. Chang'e-3 made the first soft landing since the Soviet Luna 24 in 1976, on December 14, 2013. Chang'e-4 landed on the far side on January 3, 2019. Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6 both brought samples back to Earth. The countries page compares China's landings with those of other programs.
Small spacecraft and rideshares
A newer kind of mission is the small satellite that rides along on someone else's rocket. Several have their own lunar goals and count as separate missions, which is why the list is longer than the roster of big launches. They're also the hardest to grade, because a cubesat that returned one measurement before it died can be called a success or a failure depending on its goals. The ledger's rule is that one stated goal met earns a partial. The failures are told one by one on Moon missions that failed.
Crews return
Artemis II lifted off on April 1, 2026 and carried four astronauts around the Moon. NASA says it came within about 4,067 miles of the surface and took the crew 252,756 miles from Earth, a record that beat Apollo 13's 248,655 miles. The crew is named on how many people have walked on the Moon, although they didn't land.
What the missions were
50 of the 141 missions were orbiters, 47 were landers and 18 were flybys. 14 were impactors, built to hit the Moon.
Who sent the most
The United States launched 57, the Soviet Union / Russia 57 and China 12. The 1960s were the busiest decade, with 63 missions, and the 2020s have already produced 26, of which 15 succeeded, 4 partly succeeded, 7 failed.
Relays, not just landers
Some of the newer missions don't land or orbit for science at all. China launched the relay satellite Queqiao-2 in March 2024 so that landers on the far side could talk to Earth. Chang'e-6 used it when it landed in the Apollo Basin on June 2, 2024 (Beijing time). Its sample capsule came down in China on June 25, 2024. A relay is a mission in its own right, and the ledger counts it.
The crewed ones
10 of the 141 missions carried people, counting the flights that went to the Moon. That's a small share of the total. Most Moon missions have been robots, which is why the Apollo page is a separate story.
The busiest years
The years with the most Moon missions were 1969 (12), 1966 (11) and 1967 (10). Counting by launch group, the same years look less crowded, because several of those missions rode together on one rocket.
Questions people ask
How many missions have gone to the Moon?
128 launches and 141 separate missions have been aimed at the Moon since 1958, counted through October 19, 2026.
How many reached the Moon?
71 succeeded, 16 partly succeeded and 54 failed. 32 of the failures never got past Earth orbit.
Which countries have sent the most?
The United States has sent 57 missions and the Soviet Union / Russia 57, followed by China with 12.