Exploration of the Moon

Apollo 12 lunar module Intrepid prepares to descend towards the surface of the Moon. NASA photo.

The physical exploration of the Moon began when Luna 2, a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made an impact on the surface of the Moon on September 14, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of exploration had been observation from Earth. The invention of the optical telescope brought about the first leap in the quality of lunar observations. Galileo Galilei is generally credited as the first person to use a telescope for astronomical purposes; having made his own telescope in 1609, the mountains and craters on the lunar surface were among his first observations using it.

NASA's Apollo program was the first, and to date only, mission to successfully land humans on the Moon, which it did six times. The first landing took place in 1969, when astronauts placed scientific instruments and returned lunar samples to Earth.

Early history

A study of the Moon from Robert Hooke's Micrographia, 1665

The ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras (d. 428 BC) reasoned that the Sun and Moon were both giant spherical rocks, and that the latter reflected the light of the former. His non-religious view of the heavens was one cause for his imprisonment and eventual exile.[1] In his little book On the Face in the Moon's Orb, Plutarch suggested that the Moon had deep recesses in which the light of the Sun did not reach and that the spots are nothing but the shadows of rivers or deep chasms. He also entertained the possibility that the Moon was inhabited. Aristarchus went a step further and computed the distance from Earth, together with its size, obtaining a value of 20 times the Earth radius for the distance (the real value is 60; the Earth radius was roughly known since Eratosthenes).

Although the Chinese of the Han Dynasty (202 BC–202 AD) believed the Moon to be energy equated to qi, their 'radiating influence' theory recognized that the light of the Moon was merely a reflection of the Sun (mentioned by Anaxagoras above).[2] This was supported by mainstream thinkers such as Jing Fang,[2] who noted the sphericity of the Moon.[2] Shen Kuo (1031–1095) of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) created an allegory equating the waxing and waning of the Moon to a round ball of reflective silver that, when doused with white powder and viewed from the side, would appear to be a crescent.[2]

By 499 AD, the Indian astronomer Aryabhata mentioned in his Aryabhatiya that reflected sunlight is the cause behind the shining of the Moon.[3]

The earliest surviving daguerrotype of the Moon by John W. Draper (1840)
Photo of the Moon made by Lewis Rutherfurd in 1865

Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi, a Persian astronomer, conducted various observations at the Al-Shammisiyyah observatory in Baghdad between 825 and 835 AD.[4] Using these observations, he estimated the Moon's diameter as 3,037 km (equivalent to 1,519 km radius) and its distance from the Earth as 346,345 km (215,209 mi), which come close to the currently accepted values.[4] In the 11th century, the Islamic physicist, Alhazen, investigated moonlight, which he proved through experimentation originates from sunlight and correctly concluded that it "emits light from those portions of its surface which the sun's light strikes."[5]

By the Middle Ages, before the invention of the telescope, an increasing number of people began to recognise the Moon as a sphere, though many believed that it was "perfectly smooth".[6] In 1609, Galileo Galilei drew one of the first telescopic drawings of the Moon in his book Sidereus Nuncius and noted that it was not smooth but had mountains and craters. Later in the 17th century, Giovanni Battista Riccioli and Francesco Maria Grimaldi drew a map of the Moon and gave many craters the names they still have today. On maps, the dark parts of the Moon's surface were called maria (singular mare) or seas, and the light parts were called terrae or continents.

Thomas Harriot, as well as Galilei, drew the first telescopic representation of the Moon and observed it for several years. His drawings, however, remained unpublished.[7] The first map of the Moon was made by the Belgian cosmographer and astronomer Michael Florent van Langren in 1645.[7] Two years later a much more influential effort was published by Johannes Hevelius. In 1647 Hevelius published Selenographia, the first treatise entirely devoted to the Moon. Hevelius's nomenclature, although used in Protestant countries until the eighteenth century, was replaced by the system published in 1651 by the Jesuit astronomer Giovanni Battista Riccioli, who gave the large naked-eye spots the names of seas and the telescopic spots (now called craters) the name of philosophers and astronomers.[7] In 1753 the Croatian Jesuit and astronomer Roger Joseph Boscovich discovered the absence of atmosphere on the Moon. In 1824 Franz von Gruithuisen explained the formation of craters as a result of meteorite strikes.[8]

The possibility that the Moon contains vegetation and is inhabited by selenites was seriously considered by major astronomers even into the first decades of the 19th century. In 1834–1836, Wilhelm Beer and Johann Heinrich Mädler published their four-volume Mappa Selenographica and the book Der Mond in 1837, which firmly established the conclusion that the Moon has no bodies of water nor any appreciable atmosphere.

Space race

The Cold War-inspired "space race" and "Moon race" between the Soviet Union and the United States of America accelerated with a focus on the Moon. This included many scientifically important firsts, such as the first photographs of the then-unseen far side of the Moon in 1959 by the Soviet Union, and culminated with the landing of the first humans on the Moon in 1969, widely seen around the world as one of the pivotal events of the 20th century, and indeed of human history in general.

The first image returned of another world from space, photographed by Luna 3, showed the Moon's far side.
Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to achieve a landing on the Moon.

The first man-made object to reach the Moon was the unmanned Soviet probe Luna 2, which made a hard landing on September 14, 1959, at 21:02:24 Z. The far side of the Moon was first photographed on October 7, 1959, by the Soviet probe Luna 3. Though vague by today's standards, the photos showed that the far side of the Moon almost completely lacked maria. In an effort to compete with these Soviet successes, U.S. President John F. Kennedy proposed the national goal of landing a human on the Moon. Speaking to a Joint Session of Congress on May 25, 1961, he said

"First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space."[9]

The Soviets nonetheless remained in the lead for some time. Luna 9 was the first probe to soft land on the Moon and transmit pictures from the lunar surface on February 3, 1966. It was proven that a lunar lander would not sink into a thick layer of dust, as had been feared. The first artificial satellite of the Moon was the Soviet probe Luna 10, launched March 31, 1966.

Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt standing next to a boulder at Taurus-Littrow during the third EVA (extravehicular activity). NASA photo.

On December 24, 1968, the crew of Apollo 8, Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders, became the first human beings to enter lunar orbit and see the far side of the Moon in person. Humans first landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The first human to walk on the lunar surface was Neil Armstrong, commander of the U.S. mission Apollo 11. The first robot lunar rover to land on the Moon was the Soviet vessel Lunokhod 1 on November 17, 1970, as part of the Lunokhod programme. To date, the last human to stand on the Moon was Eugene Cernan, who as part of the mission Apollo 17, walked on the Moon in December 1972. See also: A full list of lunar Apollo astronauts.

Moon rock samples were brought back to Earth by three Luna missions (Luna 16, 20, and 24) and the Apollo missions 11 through 17 (except Apollo 13, which aborted its planned lunar landing).

From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s there were 65 Moon landings (with 10 in 1971 alone), but after Luna 24 in 1976 they suddenly stopped. The Soviet Union started focusing on Venus and space stations and the U.S. on Mars and beyond, and on the Skylab and Space Shuttle programs.

Before the Moon race the US had pre-projects for scientific and military moonbases: the Lunex Project and Project Horizon. Besides manned landings, the abandoned Soviet manned lunar programs included the building of a multipurpose moonbase "Zvezda", the first detailed project, complete with developed mockups of expedition vehicles[10] and surface modules.[11]

Recent exploration

Cassini–Huygens took this image during its lunar flyby, before it traveled to Saturn

In 1990 Japan visited the Moon with the Hiten spacecraft, becoming the third country to place an object in orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft released the Hagoromo probe into lunar orbit, but the transmitter failed, thereby preventing further scientific use of the spacecraft. In September 2007, Japan launched the SELENE spacecraft, with the objectives "to obtain scientific data of the lunar origin and evolution and to develop the technology for the future lunar exploration", according to the JAXA official website.[12]

The European Space Agency launched a small, low-cost lunar orbital probe called SMART 1 on September 27, 2003. SMART 1's primary goal was to take three-dimensional X-ray and infrared imagery of the lunar surface. SMART 1 entered lunar orbit on November 15, 2004 and continued to make observations until September 3, 2006, when it was intentionally crashed into the lunar surface in order to study the impact plume.[13]

China has begun the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program for exploring the Moon and is investigating the prospect of lunar mining, specifically looking for the isotope helium-3 for use as an energy source on Earth.[14] China launched the Chang'e 1 robotic lunar orbiter on October 24, 2007. Originally planned for a one-year mission, the Chang'e 1 mission was very successful and ended up being extended for another four months. On March 1, 2009, Chang'e 1 was intentionally impacted on the lunar surface completing the 16-month mission. On October 1, 2010, China launched the Chang'e 2 lunar orbiter. China landed the rover Chang'e 3 on the Moon on December 14, 2013, became the third country to have done so.[15] Chang'e 3 is the first spacecraft to soft-land on lunar surface since Luna 24 in 1976.

India's national space agency, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), launched Chandrayaan-1, an unmanned lunar orbiter, on October 22, 2008.[16] The lunar probe was originally intended to orbit the Moon for two years, with scientific objectives to prepare a three-dimensional atlas of the near and far side of the Moon and to conduct a chemical and mineralogical mapping of the lunar surface.[17][18] The unmanned Moon Impact Probe landed on the Moon at 15:04 GMT on November 14, 2008 [19] making India the fourth country to touch down on the lunar surface. Among its many achievements was the discovery of the widespread presence of water molecules in lunar soil.[20]

Animation of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's trajectory from 23 June 2009 to 30 June 2009
   Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter ·   Moon

The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and NASA launched the Clementine mission in 1994, and Lunar Prospector in 1998. NASA launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, on June 18, 2009, which has collected imagery of the Moon's surface. It also carried the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), which investigated the possible existence of water in Cabeus crater. GRAIL is another mission, launched in 2011.

The first commercial mission to the Moon was accomplished by the Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M), led by LuxSpace, an affiliate of German OHB AG. The mission was launched on 23 October 2014 with the Chinese Chang'e 5-T1 test spacecraft, attached to the upper stage of a Long March 3C/G2 rocket.[21][22] The 4M spacecraft made a Moon flyby on a night of 28 October 2014, after which it entered elliptical Earth orbit, exceeding its designed lifetime by four times.[23][24]

Plans

The NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Following the abandoned US Constellation program, plans for manned flights followed by moonbases were declared by Russia, Europe (ESA), China, Japan and India. All of them intend to continue the exploration of Moon with more unmanned spacecraft.

China planned to conduct a sample return mission with its Chang'e 5 spacecraft in 2017, but that mission has been postponed until 2019 due to the 2017 failure of the Long March 5 launch vehicle.[25] It will also send Chang'e 4, the backup model of the Chang'e 3 lander) to the lunar farside in 2018.[26] Since the Chang'e 3 mission was a success, the backup lander Chang'e 4 is re-purposed for the mission to the farside, which will be the first time it is attempted by any of the space faring countries.

India expects to launch another lunar mission by 2018, the Chandrayaan-2, which would place a motorized rover on the Moon.[27]

Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plans a manned lunar landing around 2020 that would lead to a manned lunar base by 2030; however, there is no budget yet for this project and the plan reverts to robotic missions.[28]

Russia also announced to resume its previously frozen project Luna-Glob, an unmanned lander and orbiter, which is slated to launch in 2016.[29] In 2015, Roscosmos stated that Russia plans to place an astronaut on the Moon by 2030 leaving Mars to NASA. The purpose is to work jointly with NASA and avoid a space race[30]

Germany also announced in March 2007 that it would launch a national lunar orbiter, LEO in 2012.[31] However the mission was cancelled due to budgetary constraints.[32]

In August 2007, NASA stated that all future missions and explorations of the Moon will be done entirely using the metric system. This was done to improve cooperation with space agencies of other countries which already use the metric system.[33]

The European Space Agency has also announced its intention to send a manned mission to the Moon, as part of the Aurora programme. In September 2010, the agency introduced a "Lunar lander" programme with a target of autonomous mission to the Moon in 2018.[34]

On September 13, 2007, the X Prize Foundation, in concert with Google, Inc., announced the Google Lunar X Prize. This contest requires competitors "to land a privately funded robotic rover on the Moon that is capable of completing several mission objectives, including roaming the lunar surface for at least 500 meters and sending video, images and data back to the Earth."[35]

In March 2014, SpaceX indicated that while their current focus is not on Lunar space transport, they will consider commercial launch contracts for one-off Moon missions.[36]

Russian Federation spacecraft is planned to send cosmonauts to the moon orbit in 2025.[37] Russian Lunar Orbital Station is then proposed to orbit around the Moon after 2030.

Timeline of Moon exploration

Mission (1950–1959) Launch Arrival at Moon Termination Objective Scientific result
Pioneer 017 August 195817 August 1958OrbiterLaunch failure (Thor first stage)
Luna E-1 No.123 September 195823 September 1958ImpactorLaunch failure
Pioneer 111 October 195813 October 1958OrbiterLaunch failure
Luna E-1 No.211 October 195811 October 1958ImpactorLaunch failure
Pioneer 28 November 19588 November 1958OrbiterLaunch failure
Luna E-1 No.34 December 19584 December 1958ImpactorLaunch failure
Pioneer 36 December 19587 December 1959FlybyLaunch failure
Luna 1
(Mechta, Dream, E-1 No.4)		2 January 19594 January 1959ImpactorPartial success (first successful flyby 5,995 km, shown Moon's magnetic field absence)
Pioneer 43 March 19594 March 19597 March 1959FlybyPartial success (flyby 60,000 km)
Luna E-1A No.118 June 195918 June 1959ImpactorLaunch failure
Luna 212 September 195913 September 1959ImpactorSuccess (first spacecraft reaching the Moon surface, impacted east of Mare Serenitatis, discovered time variations in the electron flux and energy spectrum in the Van Allen radiation belt)
Pioneer P-124 September 195924 September 1959OrbiterLaunch failure
Luna 34 October 19596 October 1959FlybySuccess (first pictures of Moon far side)
Pioneer P-326 November 195926 November 1959OrbiterLaunch failure
Mission (1960–1969) Launch Arrival at Moon Termination Objective Result
Luna E-3 No.115 April 196015 April 1960FlybyLaunch failure
Luna E-3 No.216 April 196016 April 1960FlybyLaunch failure
Pioneer P-3025 September 196025 September 1960OrbiterLaunch failure
Pioneer P-3115 December 196015 December 1960OrbiterLaunch failure
Ranger 326 January 196228 January 1962ImpactorFailure (flyby)
Ranger 423 April 196226 April 196226 April 1962ImpactorFailure (no mid-course correction, crashed at Moon far-side)
Ranger 518 October 196221 October 1962ImpactorFailure (flyby)
Luna E-6 No.24 January 196311 January 1963LanderLaunched into wrong orbit
Luna E-6 No.33 February 19633 February 1963LanderLaunch failure
Luna 42 April 1963>6 April 1963LanderFailure (flyby)
Ranger 630 January 19642 February 19642 February 1964ImpactorFailure (TV camera, only instrument, did not work)
Luna E-6 No.621 March 196421 March 1964LanderLaunch failure
Luna E-6 No.520 April 196420 April 1964LanderLaunch failure
Ranger 728 July 196431 July 1964ImpactorSuccess
Ranger 817 February 196520 February 1965ImpactorSuccess
Cosmos 6012 March 1965LanderFailed to leave Earth orbit
Ranger 921 March 196524 March 1965ImpactorSuccess
Luna E-6 No.810 April 196510 April 1965LanderLaunch failure
Luna 59 May 196512 May 1965LanderFailure (crashed at Sea of Clouds)
Luna 68 June 196511 June 1965LanderFailure (flyby)
Zond 318 July 196520 July 1965FlybySuccess
Luna 74 October 19657 October 1965LanderFailure (crashed at Oceanus Procellarum)
Luna 83 December 19656 December 1965LanderFailure (crashed at Oceanus Procellarum)
Luna 931 January 19663 February 19666 February 1966LanderSuccess (first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing and first pictures from Moon surface, landed at Oceanus Procellarum)
Cosmos 1111 March 19663 March 1966OrbiterLaunched into wrong orbit
Luna 1031 March 19663 April 196630 May 1966OrbiterSuccess (first lunar orbiter)
Surveyor 130 May 19662 June 19667 January 1967LanderSuccess (landed at Oceanus Procellarum)
Lunar Orbiter 110 August 196614 August 196629 October 1966OrbiterSuccess
Luna 1124 August 196627 August 19661 October 1966OrbiterSuccess
Surveyor 220 September 196623 September 196623 September 1966LanderFailure (crashed near Copernicus crater)
Luna 1222 October 196625 October 196619 January 1967OrbiterSuccess
Lunar Orbiter 26 November 196610 November 196611 October 1967OrbiterSuccess
Luna 1321 December 196624 December 196628 December 1966LanderSuccess (landed at Oceanus Procellarum)
Lunar Orbiter 35 February 19678 February 19679 October 1967OrbiterPartial success (picture acquisition cut short)
Surveyor 317 April 196720 April 19673 May 1967LanderSuccess (portions subsequently retrieved by Apollo 12 astronauts)
Lunar Orbiter 44 May 19678 May 1967<31 October 1967OrbiterPartial success (picture acquisition cut short)
Surveyor 414 July 196717 July 196717 July 1967LanderFailure (may have exploded before reaching surface)
Lunar Orbiter 51 August 19675 August 196731 January 1968OrbiterSuccess
Surveyor 58 September 196711 September 196717 December 1967LanderSuccess
Surveyor 67 November 196710 November 196714 December 1967LanderSuccess
Surveyor 77 January 196810 January 196820 February 1968LanderSuccess
Luna E-6LS No.1127 February 19687 February 1968LanderLaunch failure
Luna 147 April 196810 April 19684 July 1968OrbiterSuccess
Zond 515 September 196818 September 196821 September 1968FlybySuccess (first spacecraft and living beings to return to Earth from lunar flyby)
Zond 610 November 196814 November 196817 November 1968FlybyPartial success (depressurisation lead to biologicals death, crashed due to failure in parachute)
Apollo 821 December 196824 December 196827 December 1968OrbiterSuccess (first manned lunar orbiter)
Luna E-8 No.20119 February 196919 February 1969RoverLaunch failure
Apollo 1018 May 196921 May 196926 May 1969OrbiterSuccess (lander test in Moon orbit)
Luna E-8-5 No.40214 June 196914 June 1969Sample returnLaunch failure
Luna 1513 July 196921 July 1969Sample returnFailure (crashed at Mare Crisium)
Apollo 11 16 July 1969 18 July 196924 July 1969OrbiterSuccess
20 July 196921 July 1969Sample returnSuccess (21.5 kg of lunar rocks retrieved, first humans on the Moon surface)
Zond 77 August 196911 August 196914 August 1969FlybySuccess
Cosmos 30023 September 196923 September 1969Sample returnLaunched into wrong orbit
Cosmos 30522 October 196922 October 1969Sample returnLaunched into wrong orbit
Apollo 12 14 November 1969 17 November 196924 November 1969OrbiterSuccess
19 November 196920 November 1969Sample returnSuccess (First precise landing, recovered parts from Surveyor 3)
Mission (1970–1979) Launch Arrival at Moon Termination Objective Result
Apollo 13 11 April 1970 15 April 197017 April 1970Sample returnFailure (flyby, crew returned to Earth)
S-IV14 April 197014 April 1970ImpactorSuccess (provided signal for the Apollo 12 Passive Seismic Experiment)
Luna E-8-5 No.4056 February 19706 February 1970Sample returnLaunch failure
Luna 1612 September 197020 September 197024 September 1970Sample returnSuccess (first robotic lunar sample return, 101 g)
Zond 820 October 197024 October 197027 October 1970FlybySuccess
Luna 17 10 November 1970 17 November 197017 November 1970LanderSuccess (soft-landed the Lunokhod 1)
Lunokhod 114 September 1971RoverSuccess (First lunar rover, traveled 10,54 km)
Apollo 14 31 January 1971 4 February 19719 February 1971OrbiterSuccess
5 February 19716 February 1971Sample returnSuccess
Apollo 15 26 July 1971 29 July 19717 August 1971OrbiterSuccess
30 July 19712 August 1971Sample returnSuccess (first manned Lunar Roving Vehicle)
PFS-14 August 1971January 1973OrbiterSuccess (measured plasma, energetic particle intensities and lunar magnetic fields)
Luna 182 September 197111 September 197111 September 1971Sample returnFailure (crashed near the edge of the Sea of Fertility)
Luna 1928 September 19713 October 19713–20 October 1972OrbiterSuccess
Luna 2014 February 197221 February 197225 February 1972Sample returnSuccess
Apollo 16 16 April 1972 19 April 197227 April 1972OrbiterSuccess
21 April 197223 April 1972Sample returnSuccess
PFS-224 April 197229 May 1972OrbiterPartial success (orbit decayed earlier than anticipated)
Apollo 17 7 December 1972 10 December 197219 December 1972OrbiterSuccess
11 December 197215 December 1972Sample returnSuccess (first geologist on the Moon)
Luna 21 8 January 1973 15 January 197315 January 1973LanderSuccess (soft-landed the Lunokhod 2)
Lunokhod 23 June 1973RoverSuccess (longest rover journey on the Moon, 37 km)
Mariner 10November 3, 1973November 5, 1973November 6, 1973FlybySuccess (took close-up photos of Lunar North Pole on way to Venus and Mercury)
Luna 2229 May 19742 June 1974early November 1975OrbiterSuccess
Luna 2328 October 19746 November 19749 November 1975Sample returnPartial success (sample drilling failed)
Luna 249 August 197618 August 197622 August 1976Sample returnSuccess (returned first samples where water was detected)
Mission (1990–1999) Launch Arrival at Moon Termination Objective Result
Hiten24 January 199019 March 199010 April 1993Orbiter/impactorSuccess (first aerobraking maneuver by a deep-space probe and first Asian object on the surface of the Moon)

Clementine		25 January 199419 February 1994June 1994OrbiterSuccess
Lunar Prospector7 January 199811 January 199831 July 1999Orbiter/impactorSuccess
Mission (2000–2009) Launch Arrival at Moon Termination Objective Result
SMART-127 September 200315 November 20043 September 2006Orbiter/impactorSuccess (first use of an ion engine to reach the Moon)
SELENE (Kaguya)14 September 20073 October 200710 June 2009Orbiter/impactorSuccess
Chang'e 124 October 20075 November 20071 March 2009Orbiter/impactorSuccess
Chandrayaan-1 22 October 2008 12 November 200829 August 2009OrbiterSuccess
Moon Impact Probe14 November 200814 November 2008ImpactorSuccess
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter 18 June 2009 23 June 2009ongoingOrbiterSuccess
Shepherding spacecraft (LCROSS)9 October 20099 October 2009ImpactorSuccess (near observation of Centaur impact)
Centaur upper stage (LCROSS)9 October 20099 October 2009ImpactorSuccess
Mission (2010–Present) Launch Arrival at Moon Termination Objective Result
Chang'e 21 October 20105 October 20109 June 2011OrbiterSuccess (on extended mission to asteroid 4179 Toutatis)
ARTEMISSpring 2010April 2011OrbiterSuccess (two probes from the THEMIS mission orbiting Earth were diverted to the Moon in 2010)
Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)10 September 20111 January 201217 December 2012Two orbiters/impactorsSuccess
Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)7 September 2013 6 October 201318 April 2014OrbiterSuccess
Chang'e 3 6 December 2013 14 December 2013ongoingLanderSuccess
Yutu31 July 2016RoverPartial success (encountered operational difficulties after the first Lunar night)
Chang'e 5-T123 October 201427 October 201431 October 2014FlybySuccess (Service module on extended mission to L2 point and Lunar orbit)
Manfred Memorial Moon Mission (4M)23 October 201428 October 201411 November 2014FlybySuccess (commercial payload attached to Chang'e 5-T1's launcher; measured radiation environment with dosimeter)

Future missions

Name Estimated launch Elements Notes
Chang'e 42018[38]Lander, roverBuilt as back-up to Chang'e 3. Re-purposed to land on the far side of the Moon.
Chandrayaan-2January 2019[39]Orbiter, lander, roverOrbiter to carry five payloads, three new, while other two are improved versions of those on Chandrayaan-1. All the three orbiter, lander and rover will be designed and manufactured by India according to the latest ISRO press-release.
Chang'e 52019Sample returnChinese lunar sample return mission consisting of a 2-stage lander and an orbiter for collection of lunar samples.
EM-1 2019 [40][41][42] OrionUnmanned test flight of Orion interplanetary spacecraft, which would pass the Moon on a free return trajectory.
LunaH-MapOrbiter

The orbiter will be tasked to locate water and ice at the south pole and also carry out mapping of the deposits. The orbiter will carry a neutron counter which will measure the neutrons that leak from the lunar surface as it flies over the south pole.

OMOTENASHI Lander[43] Inflatable nano lander to measure radiation and soil shear strength, will hard land with an impact velocity of 100 km/h (62 mph) utilizing airbags and crushable material.[44][45]
SLIM 2019[46]Lander, rover[47] Lander to perform pinpoint landing with error range of 100 m (330 ft),[48] will land near a lava tube entrance.[49]
(Private) Peregrine2020[50]Lander, roverFirst scheduled launch of a private lander, rover and Moon payload competing for various prizes.[51]
Chang'e 62020Sample returnBackup to Chang'e 5.
Luna-Glob 2021OrbiterOrbiter to include astrophysics experiments, dust monitors, plasma sensors, including the LORD astronomy payload, designed to study ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.[52]
EM-22023OrionManned test flight of Orion spacecraft, which would orbit the Moon in the first mission of its kind in decades.
Luna-Glob 2024[53]LanderLander to explore the polar regions of the Moon, as well as testing landing technologies.[52]

Under study

Name Proposed
launch		 Elements Notes
Private mission: Shackleton Energy Company2018Lander, roverRobotic precursor exploration rover to "identify and characterize the nature, composition and locations of the optimum ice concentrations at the north and south pole craters".[54]
Blue Origin Blue Moon2024Large robotic landerRobotic lander with capability for 4,500 kg (9,900 lb) of payload.[55][56] Would target lunar south pole.

See also

References

  1. ↑ O'Connor, J.J.; Robertson, E.F. (February 1999). "Anaxagoras of Clazomenae". University of St Andrews. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Needham, Joseph (1986). Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and Earth. Science and Civilization in China. 3. Taipei: Caves Books. p. 227; 411–416. ISBN 0-521-05801-5.
  3. ↑ Hayashi (2008), Aryabhata I
  4. 1 2 Langermann, Y. Tzvi (1985). "The Book of Bodies and Distances of Habash al-Hasib". Centaurus. 28 (2): 111–112. Bibcode:1985Cent...28..108T. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0498.1985.tb00831.x.
  5. ↑ Toomer, G. J. (December 1964). "Review: Ibn al-Haythams Weg zur Physik by Matthias Schramm". Isis. 55 (4): 463–465. doi:10.1086/349914.
  6. ↑ Van Helden, A. (1995). "The Moon". Galileo Project. Archived from the original on 2004-06-23. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  7. 1 2 3 "The Galileo Project". Archived from the original on September 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  8. ↑ Энциклопедия для детей (астрономия). Москва: Аванта+. 1998. ISBN 5-89501-016-4.
  9. ↑ Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs Page 4 - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum Archived March 16, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ "LEK Lunar Expeditionary Complex". astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "DLB Module". astronautix.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  12. ↑ "Kaguya (SELENE)". JAXA. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  13. ↑ "SMART-1 Impacts Moon". ESA. 4 September 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-10-25. Retrieved 2006-09-03.
  14. ↑ David, Leonard (4 March 2003). "China Outlines its Lunar Ambitions". Space.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2006. Retrieved 2006-03-20.
  15. ↑ "Technological advancements and promotion roles of Chang'e-3 lunar probe mission". Sci China Tech Sci. 56 (11): 2702. 2013.
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-12-12. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  17. ↑ "Chandrayaan-1 Scientific Objectives". Indian Space Research Organisation. Archived from the original on 2009-10-12.
  18. ↑ http://www.deccanherald.com/CONTENT/Sep192008/national2008091890838.asp%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  19. ↑ "India sends probe on to the Moon". BBC. November 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  20. ↑ Lunar Missions Detect Water on Moon Archived 2009-10-03 at the Wayback Machine.
  21. ↑ "First commercial mission to the Moon launched from China". Spaceflight Now. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  22. ↑ "China Readies Moon Mission for Launch Next Week". Space.com. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  23. ↑ "Saft lithium batteries powered the 4M mini-probe to success on the world's first privately funded Moon mission" (Press release). paris: Saft. 21 January 2015. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  24. ↑ "Flyby has occurred this night". LuxSpace. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  25. ↑ Jeff Foust (25 September 2017). "Long March 5 failure to postpone China's lunar exploration program". SpaceNews. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  26. ↑ Emily Lakdawalla (Jan 14, 2016). "Updates on China's lunar missions". The Planetary Society. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  27. ↑ Joe, Emma (2 March 2017). "India set to launch its second Moon mission, Chandrayaan-2 in 2018". Science Examiner. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  28. ↑ Staff Writers (2006-08-03). "Japan Plans Moon Base By 2030". Moon Daily. SpaceDaily. Retrieved 2006-11-17.
  29. ↑ Covault, Craig (2006-06-04). "Russia Plans Ambitious Robotic Lunar Mission".
  30. ↑ http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/russia-place-man-moon-by-2030-leaving-mars-nasa-1508202
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  32. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-11-06. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
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  34. ↑ esa. "Next step for ESA's first Moon lander". European Space Agency. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
  35. ↑ "Google Sponsors Lunar X PRIZE to Create a Space Race for a New Generation". X PRIZE Foundation. Archived from the original on 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  36. ↑ Gwynne Shotwell (2014-03-21). Broadcast 2212: Special Edition, interview with Gwynne Shotwell (audio file). The Space Show. Event occurs at 12:00–13:30 and 27:10–28:15. 2212. Archived from the original (mp3) on 2014-03-22. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  37. ↑ "Russia may select first crew for its Federation spacecraft next year". Spaceflightinsider.com.
  38. ↑ Emily Lakdawalla (Jan 14, 2016). "Updates on China's lunar missions". The Planetary Society. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  39. ↑ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/jan-30-not-3rd-best-date-for-chandrayaan-2-review-panel/articleshow/66074297.cms
  40. ↑ Clark, Stephen (28 April 2017). "NASA confirms first flight of Space Launch System will slip to 2019". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  41. ↑ "The science behind the Lunar Hydrogen Polar Mapper mission". Moon Daily. January 19, 2017. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
  42. ↑ "International Partners Provide Science Satellites for America's Space Launch System Maiden Flight". NASA. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  43. ↑ "小型衛星を月へ打ち上げ　ＪＡＸＡ・東大、着陸にも挑戦 18年に２基". Nikkei (in Japanese). May 28, 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  44. ↑ "SLS EM-1 secondary payload OMOTENASHI" (PDF). JAXA Institute of Space and Astronautical Science. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
  45. ↑ Hayashi, Kimiyo (8 August 2016). "世界最大のロケットSLSが運ぶ、世界最小の月着陸機 —JAXA「OMOTENASHI」とは" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  46. ↑ "Japan delays launch of unmanned lunar lander to second half of fiscal 2019". The Japan Times. June 4, 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  47. ↑ "The tiny rover payload in SLIM mission" (PDF). 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-23.
  48. ↑ "Small lunar-lander "SLIM" for the pinpoint landing technology demonstration" (PDF). 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-23.
  49. ↑ Haruyama, Junichi; Sawai, Shujiro; Nakatani, Kouji (2012-03-07). "SLIMが目指す月の縦穴。縦穴探査に期待される科学" (PDF) (in Japanese). JAXA Institute of Space and Astronautical Science. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  50. ↑ Astrobiotic Ready to Become Delivery Service to the Moon. Michael Coli, Spaceflight Insider. 19 March 2018.
  51. ↑ "SpaceX Lands Contract To Fly To Moon". Aviation Week. 2011-02-08. Retrieved 2011-02-08. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology, a Carnegie Mellon University spin-off company, has signed a launch services contract with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) for a Falcon 9 rocket to deliver a lander, small rover and up to about 240 lb. of payload to the surface of the Moon
  52. 1 2 Anatoly Zak (2014-08-28). "Russian Moon missions face three-year delay". Russianspaceweb.com. Retrieved 2014-09-22.
  53. ↑ "Russia presenting model of Luna-25 Moon exploration spacecraft at Le Bourget Air Show 2015". Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  54. ↑ Shackleton Energy's cislunar economic development plans Archived 2013-01-05 at the Wayback Machine. David Livingston interview with James Keravala, The Space Show, 14 Dec 2012, at 55:25-57:40, accessed 2012-12-22.
  55. ↑ 'Moon Race' Backed by Blue Origin, Airbus Aims for 2024 Lunar Flight. Elizabeth Howell, Space.com. October 3, 2018.
  56. ↑ Frank Morring, Jr. (3 March 2017). "Blue Origin Developing 10,000-lb. Lunar Polar Lander". Aviation Week and Space Technology.
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