Race to the Moon
Who did what first on and around the Moon. Some “firsts” depend on definitions (NASA’s own history and NASA’s catalogue pages credit the first soft landing differently), so where sources disagree we show both.
Data reviewed against sources as of · All dates UTC unless a local time is shown
| Record | Holder | Date | Detail and sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| First spacecraft to pass the Moon | USSR (Soviet Union)Luna 1 | Passed at about 5,995 km (NSSDCA) or 6,400 km (Siddiqi) after missing its intended impact. Definitions differ: Siddiqi credits the "first spacecraft to fly by the Moon" to Luna 3 (6 Oct 1959) because Luna 1 was a failed impactor. Sources: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog (Internet Archive copy) (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) | |
| First object to hit the Moon | USSR (Soviet Union)Luna 2 | Definitions differ: The cited sources print different impact times (Siddiqi 21:02:23 UT on 14 Sep; NSSDCA 23:02:23 UT or about 07:30 UT). 00:02:24 Moscow time on 14 Sep, as announced, is 21:02:24 UTC on 13 Sep. Sources: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog (Internet Archive copy) (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) | |
| First images of the far side | USSR (Soviet Union)Luna 3 | First image at 03:30 UT on 7 Oct; closest approach was 6 Oct, the date Siddiqi’s ledger uses. Sources: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog (Internet Archive copy) (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) | |
| First soft landing | USSR (Soviet Union)Luna 9 (USSR), or Surveyor 1 (US) by definition | Luna 9 landed on 3 Feb 1966 and returned the first images from the surface. Definitions differ: Siddiqi’s NASA history lists "first survivable landing: Luna 9 (3 Feb 1966)" and "first soft-landing: Surveyor I (2 Jun 1966)". NSSDCA credits the Soviet programme with the first soft landing. We show both. Sources: NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) · NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First lunar orbiter | USSR (Soviet Union)Luna 10 | Entered lunar orbit at 18:44 UT on 3 Apr 1966. Definitions differ: Definitions differ by date: Siddiqi’s list of firsts gives "First spacecraft to orbit the Moon: USSR / Luna 10 / 2 April 1966", while his own Luna 10 entry and NSSDCA put the orbit insertion on 3 Apr 1966 (18:44 UT), the date we use. We show both. Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) | |
| First spacecraft in polar lunar orbit | US (United States)Lunar Orbiter 4 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) | |
| First powered takeoff from the lunar surface | US (United States)Surveyor 6 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) | |
| First flight around the Moon and back to Earth (with living organisms) | USSR (Soviet Union)Zond 5 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog (Internet Archive copy) (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First crewed lunar orbit | US (United States)Apollo 8 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First crewed landing | US (United States)Apollo 11 | The United States is the only nation to have landed people on the Moon: six landings, 1969–72. Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First sample return (crewed) | US (United States)Apollo 11 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First robotic sample return | USSR (Soviet Union)Luna 16 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First robotic rover | USSR (Soviet Union)Lunokhod 1 (Luna 17) | Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First crewed rover | US (United States)Apollo 15 Lunar Roving Vehicle | Unloaded and driven on the first moonwalk, 13:13–19:46 UTC (NSSDCA). Sources: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| Last crewed landing (to date) | US (United States)Apollo 17 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First spacecraft to orbit the Earth–Moon L2 point | US (United States)ARTEMIS P1 | Sources: NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) | |
| First communications relay at the Earth–Moon L2 point | CN (China)Queqiao | Launched 20 May 2018; halo orbit 14 Jun 2018. Definitions differ: First relay, not the first spacecraft at L2, which was ARTEMIS P1 in 2010. Sources: NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025) · NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) | |
| First landing on the far side | CN (China)Chang’e 4 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025) · The Planetary Society (read 23 Sep 2026, secondary) | |
| First privately funded spacecraft in lunar orbit | IL (Israel)Beresheet (SpaceIL) | Sources: UPI (11 Apr 2019) | |
| First robotic rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit | CN (China)Chang’e 5 | Repeated by Chang’e 6 in June 2024. Sources: China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) (6 Dec 2020) · NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025) | |
| First landing in the south polar region | IN (India)Chandrayaan-3 | About 69.37°S: the landing site is named Statio Shiv Shakti, at 69.37°S, 32.32°E (IAU). ISRO’s mission details page gives the planned site (69.367621°S, 32.348126°E); its Chandrayaan-3 page carries the 23 Aug 2023 soft-landing announcement. Definitions differ: "South polar region" has no agreed boundary. The tracker’s own south-polar rung uses 80°S, which Chandrayaan-3 does not meet. Sources: ISRO (read 24 Sep 2026) · IAU Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature (USGS) (19 Mar 2024) · ISRO (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First "pinpoint" landing | JP (Japan)SLIM | JAXA: positional accuracy before the obstacle-avoidance manoeuvre "approximately 10m or less, possibly about 3 - 4m" against a 100 m goal; SLIM came to rest about 55 m east of its original target. Sources: JAXA (25 Jan 2024) | |
| First commercial soft landing | US (United States)IM-1 Odysseus (Intuitive Machines) | It came to rest tilted, at 80.13°S (NASA LRO). Sources: NASA APOD (24 Feb 2024) · NASA (Feb 2024) · NASA Science (updated 23 Oct 2026) | |
| Southernmost landing | US (United States)IM-1 (80.13°S), then IM-2 (84.79°S) | Both landed tilted or on their sides. NASA: IM-2 "landed closer to the lunar South Pole than any previous lander". Sources: NASA (release 25-025) (7 Mar 2025) · LROC team (Arizona State University, NASA LRO) (Mar 2025) · NASA (Feb 2024) | |
| First samples from the far side | CN (China)Chang’e 6 (1,935.3 g) | Sources: China National Space Administration (Xinhua) (28 Jun 2024) | |
| First fully successful commercial landing | US (United States)Blue Ghost Mission 1 (Firefly) | Firefly’s description; NASA reports that all 10 NASA payloads operated on the surface. Sources: Firefly Aerospace (read 24 Sep 2026) · NASA (18 Mar 2025) · NASA (2 Mar 2025) | |
| Greatest distance from Earth reached by humans | US (United States)Artemis II: 252,756 miles (406,771 km) | Beat Apollo 13’s 248,655 miles by 4,101 miles (NASA’s flight-day blog prints 4,111, which does not match its own two figures). Sources: NASA (mission blog) (6 Apr 2026) |
Sources: NASA (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (mission blog) (23 Oct 2026) · NASA (updated 16 Mar 2026) · NASA (RELEASE 26-022) (27 Feb 2026) · China Manned Space Agency (CMSE site) (23 May 2026)
Sources: China Manned Space Agency (CMSE site) (23 Aug 2026) · NASA (release 26-046) (26 May 2026)
Sources: China Manned Space Agency (CMSE site) (23 May 2026) · NASA (9 Apr 2024)
Sources: Korea JoongAng Daily (20 Jul 2026) · Korea Herald (read 23 Sep 2026) · ESA (PR N°76–2025) (20 Nov 2025) · Firefly Aerospace (22 May 2025) · Dubai Media Office (MBRSC) (3 Nov 2025) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (15 Sep 2026)
Sources: Republic World (12 Dec 2025)
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