This is a list of robotic

space probes Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually conside ...

that have flown by, impacted, orbited or landed on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

for the purpose of lunar exploration, as well as probes launched toward the Moon that failed to reach their target. The crewed

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

missions are listed at

List of missions to the Moon As part of human exploration of the Moon, numerous space missions have been undertaken to study Earth's natural satellite. Of the Moon landings, Luna 2 of the Soviet Union was the first spacecraft to reach its surface successfully, intentionall ...

. Major programs encompassing several probes include: *

Luna program The Luna programme (from the Russian word "Luna" meaning "Moon"), occasionally called ''Lunik'' by western media, was a series of robotic spacecraft missions sent to the Moon by the Soviet Union between 1959 and 1976. Fifteen were successful, ...

— USSR Lunar exploration (1959–1976) *

Ranger program The Ranger program was a series of unmanned space missions by the United States in the 1960s whose objective was to obtain the first close-up images of the surface of the Moon. The Ranger spacecraft were designed to take images of the lunar surf ...

— US Lunar hard-landing probes (1961–1965) *

Zond program Zond (russian: Зонд, lit=probe) was the name given to two distinct series of Soviet robotic spacecraft launched between 1964 and 1970. The first series, based on the 3MV planetary probe, was intended to gather information about nearby plan ...

— USSR Lunar exploration (1964–1970) *

Surveyor program The Surveyor program was a NASA program that, from June 1966 through January 1968, sent seven robotic spacecraft to the surface of the Moon. Its primary goal was to demonstrate the feasibility of soft landings on the Moon. The Surveyor craft w ...

— US Lunar soft-landing probe (1966–1968) *

Lunar Orbiter program The Lunar Orbiter program was a series of five uncrewed lunar orbiter missions launched by the United States from 1966 through 1967. Intended to help select Apollo landing sites by mapping the Moon's surface, they provided the first photographs f ...

— US Lunar orbital (1966–1967) *

Lunokhod program Lunokhod ( rus, Луноход, p=lʊnɐˈxot, "Moonwalker") was a series of Soviet robotic lunar rovers designed to land on the Moon between 1969 and 1977. Lunokhod 1 was the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on an extraterrestrial ...

— USSR

Lunar Rover A lunar rover or Moon rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of the Moon. The Apollo Program's Lunar Roving Vehicle was driven on the Moon by members of three American crews, Apollo 15, 16, and 17. Other rov ...

probes (1970–1973)

Key

Colour key: : *^† means "tentatively identified", as classified by NAS

These are Cold War-era Soviet missions, mostly failures, about which few or no details have been officially released. The information given may be speculative. *Date is the date of: :* closest encounter (flybys) :* impact (impactors) :* orbital insertion to end of mission, whether planned or premature (orbiters) :* landing to end of mission, whether planned or premature (landers) :* launch (missions that never got underway due to failure at or soon after launch) : In cases which do not fit any of the above, the event to which the date refers is stated. Note that as a result of this scheme missions are ''not'' always listed in order of launch. * In the case of flybys (such as gravity assists) that are incidental to the main mission, "success" indicates the successful completion of the flyby, not necessarily that of the main mission.

Key

Lunar probes by date

1958–1960

1962–1965

1966–1967

1968–1970

1971–1976

1983–1998

2001–2009

2010–2019

2020–present

Future

See also

Notes