Moon Missions
8 questions tagged Moon Missions — spanning every one of the seven Ws.
Which mission first returned samples from the Moon?
The Soviet Luna 16 mission was the first robotic mission to return lunar samples, in 1970.
Whose spacecraft first landed softly on the Moon?
The Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft achieved the first soft landing on the Moon in 1966. It transmitted the first close-up images from the lunar surface.
How does a lunar lander land gently on the Moon without parachutes?
It uses engines to slow down all the way to the surface, because the Moon has no atmosphere for parachutes to work. Landing depends on careful thrust control and navigation.
When was the first spacecraft sent to the Moon?
The Soviet Luna 1 mission was launched on 2 January 1959 and became the first spacecraft to fly past the Moon.
Which spacecraft was the first to land on the far side of the Moon?
China’s Chang’e 4 became the first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing on the Moon’s far side on 3 January 2019. It landed in Von Kármán crater inside the South Pole–Aitken Basin.
When was the first lunar orbit by humans completed?
The first human-crewed lunar orbit began on 24 December 1968, when Apollo 8 entered orbit around the Moon.
When was the first spacecraft to land on the Moon launched?
Luna 9 was launched on 31 January 1966, and it became the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon.
Whose spacecraft first reached the far side of the Moon?
Chang’e 4 achieved the first soft landing on the Moon’s far side in 2019. It used the Queqiao relay satellite to communicate with Earth.