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 UnionLuna 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 (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) | |
| First object to hit the Moon | USSR — Soviet UnionLuna 2 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog (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 UnionLuna 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 (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) | |
| First soft landing | USSR — Soviet UnionLuna 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 UnionLuna 10 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) | |
| First spacecraft in polar lunar orbit | US — United StatesLunar 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 StatesSurveyor 6 | Sources: NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) | |
| First flight around the Moon and back to Earth (with living organisms) | USSR — Soviet UnionZond 5 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog (read 23 Sep 2026) · NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First crewed lunar orbit | US — United StatesApollo 8 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First crewed landing | US — United StatesApollo 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 StatesApollo 11 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First robotic sample return | USSR — Soviet UnionLuna 16 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First robotic rover | USSR — Soviet UnionLunokhod 1 (Luna 17) | Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First crewed rover | US — United StatesApollo 15 Lunar Roving Vehicle | Unconfirmed — reported but not confirmed by a primary source:
Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| Last crewed landing (to date) | US — United StatesApollo 17 | Sources: NASA NSSDCA (read 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First spacecraft to orbit the Earth–Moon L2 point | US — United StatesARTEMIS P1 | Sources: NASA History Division (A. Siddiqi) (Sep 2018) | |
| First communications relay at the Earth–Moon L2 point | CN — ChinaQueqiao | 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 — ChinaChang’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 — IsraelBeresheet (SpaceIL) | Sources: UPI (11 Apr 2019) | |
| First robotic rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit | CN — ChinaChang’e 5 | Repeated by Chang’e 6 in June 2024. Sources: China National Space Administration (19 Dec 2020) · NASA NSSDCA (updated 10 Jul 2025) | |
| First landing in the south polar region | IN — IndiaChandrayaan-3 | About 69.37°S. 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 23 Sep 2026) | |
| First "pinpoint" landing (within about 10 m) | JP — JapanSLIM | Sources: JAXA (25 Jan 2024) | |
| First commercial soft landing | US — United StatesIM-1 Odysseus (Intuitive Machines) | It landed tilted after breaking a leg. Sources: NASA APOD (24 Feb 2024) · NASA Science (updated 6 May 2026) | |
| Southernmost landing | US — United StatesIM-1 (about 80°S), then IM-2 (about 84.8°S) | Both landed tilted or on their sides. Unconfirmed — reported but not confirmed by a primary source:
Sources: NASA (release 25-025) (7 Mar 2025) · Wikipedia (read 23 Sep 2026, secondary) | |
| First samples from the far side | CN — ChinaChang’e 6 (1,935.3 g) | Sources: China National Space Administration (Xinhua) (28 Jun 2024) | |
| First fully successful commercial landing | US — United StatesBlue Ghost Mission 1 (Firefly) | Sources: NASA (2 Mar 2025) | |
| Greatest distance from Earth reached by humans | US — United StatesArtemis II — 252,756 miles (406,771 km) | Beat Apollo 13’s 248,655 miles by 4,111 miles. Sources: NASA (mission blog) (6 Apr 2026) |
Sources: 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: NASA (9 Apr 2024)
Sources: Korea Herald (read 23 Sep 2026) · ESA (PR N°6–2025) (30 Jan 2025) · Aerospace America (AIAA) (15 Sep 2026)
Sources: Republic World (12 Dec 2025)