Sources
Primary Reference Works
Siddiqi, Asif A. Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016. NASA History Program Office, 2018. The core chronology for the robotic era and the source for most pre-2016 spacecraft masses, launch vehicles, durations, and mission narratives. nasa.gov
Orloff, Richard W. Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference. NASA SP-2000-4029. NASA History Division, 2000. Mission-elapsed-time figures for Apollo 8 through 17, used for the crewed-mission durations and the transit gauge.
NASA, including the NASA History Series, NASA Science (science.nasa.gov), and the NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (NSSDCA) for spacecraft and launch data. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the Government of China. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and its Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). Roscosmos, with Soviet-era programs drawn from the NASA retrospective record. European Space Agency (ESA). Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), United Arab Emirates.
Commercial and Nonprofit Missions
Data for missions flown outside the national agencies comes from the operators themselves: ispace, Intuitive Machines, Firefly Aerospace, Astrobotic Technology, and Blue Origin. The record for Beresheet comes from SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries.
Methodology
Where sources disagree, precedence goes to the agency or operator that flew the mission, then to NASA’s archival record (the NSSDCA and the NASA History Series), then to contemporary reporting. Dates are given in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), so some events appear one day off from accounts that use local time at the launch site. Figures for planned missions reflect the operator’s most recent public statements and are subject to change.
Corrections
If you spot an error, send a note through the Contact page. Corrections are checked against the sources above and logged. This page was last reviewed on July 7, 2026.
Notes
Mission Type. Each mission is classified by its intended profile into one of seven types: Flyby, Impactor, Orbiter, Lander, Rover, Sample Return, and Crewed. A mission may carry a secondary type where it fits two, for example an orbiter that also carried a lander. Missions that failed at launch are classified by their intended type.
Outcome. Successful, Partial Success, Active, or Unsuccessful. In the site's counts a mission is treated as a success until it fails, so partial successes and still-operating missions count toward the success total. Partial Successes share one trait: each returned some of its primary-objective results.
COSPAR ID. The international designator assigned to each spacecraft, for example 1969-059A for Apollo 11. Shown as "N/A" for launch failures that never reached orbit and for missions not yet launched.
Arrival. The date of a mission's defining arrival event, labeled by what it was: Landing (touchdown on the surface), Lunar Orbit Insertion, Impact, or Flyby.
Duration. Given as up to four measures: the total mission (launch to end), the time to the Moon (launch to lunar arrival or orbit insertion), the time in lunar orbit, and the time on the surface. Apollo transit times run from launch to Lunar Orbit Insertion.
Spacecraft Mass. The launch mass of the spacecraft, shown in kilograms with pounds. Planned missions are left blank where a reliable figure has not been published.
Landmark Missions. A curated set of the milestones that most shaped lunar exploration, from the first impact and the first images of the far side through the first crewed landing and the modern sample returns.
Dates. Launch and arrival dates are shown as Month Day, Year.