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From Luna to Artemis

Robots first, then twelve people, then a long pause, then a lot of robots again. In April 2026, four astronauts went back around.

More than 105 robotic spacecraft have been launched to explore the Moon. NASA Science: Moon facts · checked 26 Oct 2026

The first robots

Nobody saw the far side of the Moon until a Soviet spacecraft flew past in 1959. NASA Science: Moon facts

Luna 2 (USSR) was the first spacecraft to hit the Moon, on 13 September 1959. NASA Science: Moon missions Luna 3 (USSR) took the first pictures of the far side in October 1959. NASA Science: Moon missions

Luna 9 (USSR) made the first soft landing and sent the first picture from the surface, in February 1966. NASA Science: Moon missions

Apollo 8: Earthrise

Apollo 8’s crew, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, were the first people to orbit the Moon, on Christmas Eve 1968. NASA: Apollo 8

Earth rising above the grey horizon of the Moon
“Earthrise”, Apollo 8, 24 December 1968.Photo: NASA/Bill Anders, Public domain, Commons

Bill Anders took the ‘Earthrise’ photo from lunar orbit on 24 December 1968. NASA: Apollo 8

Apollo 11: the landing

A huge white rocket lifting off on a column of flame and smoke
Apollo 11’s Saturn V lifting off on 16 July 1969.Photo: NASA, Public domain, Commons

Apollo 11 launched on 16 July 1969 with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. NASA: Apollo 11 mission overview

Landing the lunar module Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility, Armstrong flew it by hand past an area littered with boulders. NASA: July 20, 1969, One Giant Leap for Mankind When Eagle landed, only 30 seconds of fuel remained. NASA: July 20, 1969, One Giant Leap for Mankind

Armstrong radioed: “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” NASA: July 20, 1969, One Giant Leap for Mankind

An astronaut in a white spacesuit standing on grey ground, the gold visor reflecting the photographer and the lander
Buzz Aldrin on the Moon, photographed by Neil Armstrong, 20 July 1969.Photo: Neil Armstrong, Public domain, Commons

On 20 July 1969 Neil Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” NASA: July 20, 1969, One Giant Leap for Mankind An estimated 650 million people watched on television. NASA: Apollo 11 mission overview

Aldrin described the surface as “magnificent desolation”. NASA: July 20, 1969, One Giant Leap for Mankind Armstrong and Aldrin spent 21 hours, 36 minutes on the Moon’s surface. NASA: Apollo 11 mission overview

Michael Collins stayed in lunar orbit in the command module, Columbia. NASA: Apollo 11 mission overview

A spidery lander with gold foil flying above the grey Moon, with a small Earth on the horizon
The Apollo 11 lunar module above the Moon, with Earth beyond, photographed from Columbia by Michael Collins.Photo: Michael Collins, Public domain, Commons

Twelve moonwalkers

Twelve people have walked on the Moon, starting with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. NASA Science: Who has walked on the Moon? 24 American astronauts travelled from Earth to the Moon between 1968 and 1972. NASA Science: Who has walked on the Moon?

Three astronauts went to the Moon twice: James Lovell, John Young and Gene Cernan. NASA Science: Who has walked on the Moon?

Apollo 13 couldn’t land, but its crew returned safely to Earth. NASA Science: Moon missions

An astronaut beside a four-wheeled lunar rover with a dish antenna, with a mountain behind
Jim Irwin with the Lunar Roving Vehicle on Apollo 15, 1971. Photo by David Scott.Photo: NASA/David Scott, Public domain, Commons

Apollo 15, in 1971, was the fourth Moon landing mission and the first to use a lunar rover. NASA: Apollo 15

An astronaut standing next to a huge split boulder, with the lunar rover in front
Harrison Schmitt beside a huge split boulder on Apollo 17, 1972. Photo by Gene Cernan.Photo: NASA Eugene A. Cernan, Public domain, Commons

Apollo 17, in December 1972, was the last Apollo Moon landing and the first with a scientist on board, geologist Harrison Schmitt. NASA Science: Moon missions Gene Cernan, Apollo 17’s commander, was the last person to leave footprints on the Moon. NASA: Apollo 17

Apollo astronauts brought back 382 kg of Moon rocks and soil. Scientists are still studying them. NASA Science: Moon facts

The robots come back

Lunokhod 1 (USSR, 1970) was the first robotic rover to explore another world. NASA Science: Moon missions

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been studying the Moon up close since 2009, the longest-lived lunar orbiting mission ever. NASA Science: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter · checked 26 Oct 2026

China’s Chang’e 4 and its rover Yutu 2 made the first landing on the far side, in January 2019. NASA Science: Moon missions India’s Chandrayaan-3 was the first spacecraft to soft-land near the lunar south pole, in August 2023. NASA Science: Moon missions

China’s Chang’e 6 brought back the first samples from the far side, in 2024. NASA Science: Moon missions

Artemis

Artemis I (November 2022) was the first flight test of NASA’s SLS rocket and Orion capsule, with no crew. NASA Science: Moon missions

Artemis II launched on 1 April 2026 and splashed down on 10 April 2026, after 9 days, 1 hour and 32 minutes. NASA: Artemis II Its crew, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, travelled around the Moon. NASA Science: Who has walked on the Moon?

Artemis II carried its four astronauts around the far side of the Moon, flying past on 6 April 2026. NASA Science: Moon missions

The dark Moon covering the Sun, with a soft glow around it, seen from space
A solar eclipse seen by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby, 6 April 2026.Photo: NASA, Public domain, Commons

Timeline

  1. 1959 Luna 2 (USSR) was the first spacecraft to hit the Moon, on 13 September 1959. NASA Science: Moon missions
  2. 1959 Luna 3 (USSR) took the first pictures of the far side in October 1959. NASA Science: Moon missions
  3. 1966 Luna 9 (USSR) made the first soft landing and sent the first picture from the surface, in February 1966. NASA Science: Moon missions
  4. 1968 Apollo 8’s crew, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, were the first people to orbit the Moon, on Christmas Eve 1968. NASA: Apollo 8
  5. 1969 Apollo 11 launched on 16 July 1969 with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. NASA: Apollo 11 mission overview
  6. 1970 Apollo 13 couldn’t land, but its crew returned safely to Earth. NASA Science: Moon missions
  7. 1970 Lunokhod 1 (USSR, 1970) was the first robotic rover to explore another world. NASA Science: Moon missions
  8. 1971 Apollo 15, in 1971, was the fourth Moon landing mission and the first to use a lunar rover. NASA: Apollo 15
  9. 1972 Apollo 17, in December 1972, was the last Apollo Moon landing and the first with a scientist on board, geologist Harrison Schmitt. NASA Science: Moon missions
  10. 2008 The first definitive discovery of water on the Moon was made in 2008 by India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission. NASA Science: Moon facts
  11. 2009 NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been studying the Moon up close since 2009, the longest-lived lunar orbiting mission ever. NASA Science: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter · checked 26 Oct 2026
  12. 2019 China’s Chang’e 4 and its rover Yutu 2 made the first landing on the far side, in January 2019. NASA Science: Moon missions
  13. 2022 Artemis I (November 2022) was the first flight test of NASA’s SLS rocket and Orion capsule, with no crew. NASA Science: Moon missions
  14. 2023 India’s Chandrayaan-3 was the first spacecraft to soft-land near the lunar south pole, in August 2023. NASA Science: Moon missions
  15. 2024 China’s Chang’e 6 brought back the first samples from the far side, in 2024. NASA Science: Moon missions
  16. 2026 Artemis II launched on 1 April 2026 and splashed down on 10 April 2026, after 9 days, 1 hour and 32 minutes. NASA: Artemis II

Can you do what Armstrong did, with the fuel running out? Fly the Lunar Lander →

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