{
  "title": "Lunar Launches",
  "period": {
    "start": 1986,
    "end": 2025
  },
  "unit": "Primary lunar mission launches by mission country",
  "retrievedAt": "2026-10-12",
  "methodology": [
    "Period: 1 January 1986 through 31 December 2025, using launch year rather than arrival year.",
    "Unit: a launch carrying a primary lunar mission, counted once per mission country per rocket flight. Landers, orbiters, lunar flybys, sample-return craft, and lunar or Earth–Moon relay/orbit demonstrations are included. Unsuccessful launches and missions are included.",
    "Country follows the primary mission owner or lead organization, not the launch site, rocket supplier, instrument suppliers, or individual payload partners. ESA is shown separately as a multinational program.",
    "Companion spacecraft on the same flight do not add launches: LRO and LCROSS count once; GRAIL’s two orbiters count once; the Chang’e lander/rover pairs count once; DRO-A/B count once; and Queqiao relay spacecraft and their companion small satellites count once.",
    "Blue Ghost and RESILIENCE shared a Falcon 9 on 15 January 2025. That flight counts once for the United States and once for Japan. Thus 33 country-level entries represent 32 distinct rocket flights.",
    "Secondary payloads and hosted rovers do not create an additional country entry. This includes the UAE’s Rashid rover on HAKUTO-R, Pakistan’s iCUBE-Q on Chang’e 6, Luxembourg’s TENACIOUS rover on RESILIENCE, the secondary CubeSats on Artemis I, Lunar Flashlight on HAKUTO-R, and Lunar Trailblazer on IM-2. CAPSTONE is included because it was the primary mission on its dedicated launch.",
    "Missions launched for another destination and later redirected or using lunar gravity assists are excluded, including ARTEMIS-THEMIS, HGS-1/AsiaSat 3, and planetary probes. Scheduled but unlaunched missions are excluded.",
    "Filled marks identify government-led missions. Outlined marks identify commercial or nonprofit-led primary missions, including those funded by NASA. CAPSTONE is operated by Advanced Space for NASA; four U.S. lander launches are NASA CLPS deliveries. Clementine was a joint U.S. Department of Defense / NASA mission.",
    "NASA’s catalogs are cross-checked against operator and agency records for omitted missions and catalog inconsistencies. In particular, NASA’s Moon Missions page gives Blue Ghost an incorrect February date; the NSSDCA timeline and ispace’s shared-flight record place the launch in January 2025. The graphic uses years only.",
    "Cracked circles or explosion symbols identify primary lunar mission failures: Beresheet, HAKUTO-R Mission 1, Luna 25, Peregrine, RESILIENCE, and IM-2. IM-2 returned limited data but its landing configuration prevented primary surface operations. Uncracked circles, rockets, or satellites include mixed outcomes: Chandrayaan-2 retained a successful orbiter after losing its lander; IM-1 returned science data after tipping over; SLIM achieved a soft landing with limited solar power. Intended terminal impacts are not failures. Outcome notes and sources are provided per record."
  ],
  "missions": [
    {
      "id": "hiten",
      "country": "Japan",
      "year": 1990,
      "name": "Hiten",
      "operator": "ISAS",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Hiten",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "clementine",
      "country": "United States",
      "year": 1994,
      "name": "Clementine",
      "operator": "U.S. Department of Defense / NASA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Clementine",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "lunar-prospector",
      "country": "United States",
      "year": 1998,
      "name": "Lunar Prospector",
      "operator": "NASA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Lunar Prospector",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "smart-1",
      "country": "Europe (ESA)",
      "year": 2003,
      "name": "SMART-1",
      "operator": "ESA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "SMART-1",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "kaguya-selene",
      "country": "Japan",
      "year": 2007,
      "name": "Kaguya (SELENE)",
      "operator": "JAXA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Kaguya (SELENE)",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "chang-e-1",
      "country": "China",
      "year": 2007,
      "name": "Chang’e 1",
      "operator": "CNSA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Chang’e 1",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "chandrayaan-1",
      "country": "India",
      "year": 2008,
      "name": "Chandrayaan-1",
      "operator": "ISRO",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Chandrayaan-1",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "lro-lcross",
      "country": "United States",
      "year": 2009,
      "name": "LRO / LCROSS",
      "operator": "NASA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "LRO / LCROSS",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "chang-e-2",
      "country": "China",
      "year": 2010,
      "name": "Chang’e 2",
      "operator": "CNSA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Chang’e 2",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "grail",
      "country": "United States",
      "year": 2011,
      "name": "GRAIL",
      "operator": "NASA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "GRAIL",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "ladee",
      "country": "United States",
      "year": 2013,
      "name": "LADEE",
      "operator": "NASA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "LADEE",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "chang-e-3-yutu",
      "country": "China",
      "year": 2013,
      "name": "Chang’e 3 / Yutu",
      "operator": "CNSA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Chang’e 3 / Yutu",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "chang-e-5-t1",
      "country": "China",
      "year": 2014,
      "name": "Chang’e 5-T1",
      "operator": "CNSA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Chang’e 5-T1",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "queqiao",
      "country": "China",
      "year": 2018,
      "name": "Queqiao",
      "operator": "CNSA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Queqiao",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "chang-e-4-yutu-2",
      "country": "China",
      "year": 2018,
      "name": "Chang’e 4 / Yutu 2",
      "operator": "CNSA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Chang’e 4 / Yutu 2",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "beresheet",
      "country": "Israel",
      "year": 2019,
      "name": "Beresheet",
      "operator": "SpaceIL / Israel Aerospace Industries",
      "lead": "independent",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Beresheet",
      "failure": {
        "summary": "Failed lunar landing.",
        "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/"
      },
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "chandrayaan-2",
      "country": "India",
      "year": 2019,
      "name": "Chandrayaan-2",
      "operator": "ISRO",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Chandrayaan-2",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "Orbiter succeeded; lander failed.",
      "outcomeSource": "https://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan_2.html"
    },
    {
      "id": "chang-e-5",
      "country": "China",
      "year": 2020,
      "name": "Chang’e 5",
      "operator": "CNSA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Chang’e 5",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "capstone",
      "country": "United States",
      "year": 2022,
      "name": "CAPSTONE",
      "operator": "Advanced Space, for NASA",
      "lead": "independent",
      "source": "https://www.nasa.gov/smallspacecraft/capstone/",
      "flight": "CAPSTONE",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "danuri",
      "country": "South Korea",
      "year": 2022,
      "name": "Danuri",
      "operator": "KARI",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Danuri",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "artemis-i",
      "country": "United States",
      "year": 2022,
      "name": "Artemis I",
      "operator": "NASA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Artemis I",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "hakuto-r-mission-1",
      "country": "Japan",
      "year": 2022,
      "name": "HAKUTO-R Mission 1",
      "operator": "ispace",
      "lead": "independent",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "HAKUTO-R Mission 1",
      "failure": {
        "summary": "Failed lunar landing.",
        "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/"
      },
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "chandrayaan-3",
      "country": "India",
      "year": 2023,
      "name": "Chandrayaan-3",
      "operator": "ISRO",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Chandrayaan-3",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "luna-25",
      "country": "Russia",
      "year": 2023,
      "name": "Luna 25",
      "operator": "Roscosmos",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Luna 25",
      "failure": {
        "summary": "Failed lunar landing mission.",
        "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/"
      },
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "slim",
      "country": "Japan",
      "year": 2023,
      "name": "SLIM",
      "operator": "JAXA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "SLIM",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "Soft-landed with limited solar power.",
      "outcomeSource": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/"
    },
    {
      "id": "peregrine-mission-1",
      "country": "United States",
      "year": 2024,
      "name": "Peregrine Mission 1",
      "operator": "Astrobotic, NASA CLPS",
      "lead": "independent",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Peregrine Mission 1",
      "failure": {
        "summary": "Failed to reach the Moon.",
        "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/"
      },
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "im-1-odysseus",
      "country": "United States",
      "year": 2024,
      "name": "IM-1 / Odysseus",
      "operator": "Intuitive Machines, NASA CLPS",
      "lead": "independent",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "IM-1 / Odysseus",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "Soft-landed and returned science data despite tipping over.",
      "outcomeSource": "https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/clps/nasa-collects-first-surface-science-in-decades-via-commercial-moon-mission/"
    },
    {
      "id": "dro-a-dro-b",
      "country": "China",
      "year": 2024,
      "name": "DRO-A / DRO-B",
      "operator": "Chinese Academy of Sciences",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://www.cas.cn/yw/202504/t20250415_5064166.shtml",
      "flight": "DRO-A / DRO-B",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "Recovered into the intended lunar distant retrograde orbit after an initial launch anomaly.",
      "outcomeSource": "https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/cas_media/202504/t20250416_1041318.shtml"
    },
    {
      "id": "queqiao-2-tiandu",
      "country": "China",
      "year": 2024,
      "name": "Queqiao-2 / Tiandu",
      "operator": "CNSA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://www.cnsa.gov.cn/english/n6465652/n6465653/c10489434/content.html",
      "flight": "Queqiao-2 / Tiandu",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "chang-e-6",
      "country": "China",
      "year": 2024,
      "name": "Chang’e 6",
      "operator": "CNSA",
      "lead": "government",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "Chang’e 6",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "blue-ghost-mission-1",
      "country": "United States",
      "year": 2025,
      "name": "Blue Ghost Mission 1",
      "operator": "Firefly Aerospace, NASA CLPS",
      "lead": "independent",
      "source": "https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunartimeline.html",
      "flight": "Falcon 9 — 2025-01-15",
      "failure": null,
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "resilience-hakuto-r-mission-2",
      "country": "Japan",
      "year": 2025,
      "name": "RESILIENCE / HAKUTO-R Mission 2",
      "operator": "ispace",
      "lead": "independent",
      "source": "https://www.ispace-inc.com/2025/01/17/ispace-completes-success-4-of-mission-2-milestones/",
      "flight": "Falcon 9 — 2025-01-15",
      "failure": {
        "summary": "Failed lunar landing; mission ended after contact was lost.",
        "source": "https://www.ispace-inc.com/2025/06/06/status-update-on-ispace-mission-2-smbc-x-hakuto-r-venture-moon/"
      },
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    },
    {
      "id": "im-2-athena",
      "country": "United States",
      "year": 2025,
      "name": "IM-2 / Athena",
      "operator": "Intuitive Machines, NASA CLPS",
      "lead": "independent",
      "source": "https://science.nasa.gov/moon/missions/",
      "flight": "IM-2 / Athena",
      "failure": {
        "summary": "Landed on its side; primary surface operations failed. Returned limited data before its early end.",
        "source": "https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-receives-some-data-before-intuitive-machines-ends-lunar-mission/"
      },
      "outcomeNote": "",
      "outcomeSource": ""
    }
  ],
  "governmentChart": {
    "title": "US Government Falls Behind on Lunar Missions",
    "unit": "Successful state-led primary lunar mission launches per ten-year period",
    "period": {
      "start": 1986,
      "end": 2025
    },
    "countries": [
      "United States",
      "China",
      "Japan",
      "India"
    ],
    "filter": {
      "lead": "government",
      "failure": null
    },
    "methodology": [
      "Count missions separately in the launch-year batches 1986–1995, 1996–2005, 2006–2015, and 2016–2025; one entry per mission country per rocket flight.",
      "Exclude privately operated and failed missions. Include successful orbital components of mixed-outcome missions.",
      "Europe (ESA) and South Korea each have one qualifying mission and appear only in the records table.",
      "Private missions launched by SpaceX remain excluded; government-led missions launched on commercial rockets remain eligible."
    ],
    "batchYears": 10
  }
}