Here's a look at moon landing hits and misses

by Marcia Dunn

March 8, 2025

Landing a spacecraft on the moon has long been a series of hits and misses. The history of lunar exploration is punctuated by numerous successes and failures, reflecting the complexities of space travel and the challenges inherent in reaching the lunar surface.

The latest casualty came this week after Intuitive Machines put another lander sideways on the moon through a NASA-sponsored program. Within 24 hours, the lander's batteries were dead and the mission was over.

Last year's mission by Intuitive Machines lasted a little longer. Despite hampered operations, it put the U.S. back on the moon for the first time since the end of the Apollo program. Another U.S. company—Firefly Aerospace—added its lunar lander to the win list, becoming the first private entity to pull off a fully successful moon landing.

Both Texas businesses are part of NASA's effort to support commercial deliveries to the moon ahead of astronaut missions later this decade.

The moon is littered with wreckage from failed landings over the years. Below is a rundown of the moon's winners and losers:

First Victories

The Soviet Union's Luna 9 successfully touched down on the moon in 1966, after its predecessors crashed or missed the moon altogether. The U.S. followed four months later with Surveyor 1. Both countries achieved more robotic landings, as the race heated up to land men on the moon.

Apollo Rules

NASA clinched the space race with the Soviets in 1969 with a moon landing by Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Twelve astronauts explored the surface over six missions, before the program ended with Apollo 17 in 1972. The U.S. remains the only country to send humans to the moon, with hopes to return crews to the surface by the end of 2026, a year after a planned lunar fly-around by astronauts.

China Emerges

In 2013, China became the third country to successfully land on the moon, delivering a rover named Yutu, which translates as 'jade rabbit.' China followed this with the Yutu-2 rover in 2019, landing on the moon's unexplored far side—an impressive first. A sample return mission on the moon's near side in 2020 yielded nearly 4 pounds (1.7 kilograms) of lunar rocks and dirt. Another sample return mission from the far side is expected in 2024, aiming to recover rocks and soil from the lesser-explored section of the moon. Seen as NASA's biggest moon rival, China aims to land its astronauts on the moon by 2030.

Russia Stumbles

In 2023, Russia attempted its first moon landing in nearly half a century, but the Luna 25 spacecraft crashed into the moon. This marked a stark contrast to the country's previous lander—1976's Luna 24—not only landed but successfully returned moon rocks to Earth.

India Triumphs on Take 2

After its first lander crashed into the moon in 2019, India regrouped and launched Chandrayaan-3 (Hindi for 'moon craft') in 2023. The craft successfully landed, making India the fourth country to achieve a lunar landing, and this triumph came just four days after Russia's crash.

Japan Lands Sideways

Japan became the fifth country to successfully land on the moon, with its spacecraft touching down in January. Although the craft landed on the wrong side, limiting its ability to generate solar power, it managed to send back pictures and scientific data before falling silent as the long lunar night began.

Private Moon Landing Attempts

A privately funded lunar lander from Israel, named Beresheet (Hebrew for 'in the beginning'), crashed in 2019. A Japanese entrepreneur launched another lander through the company ispace in 2023, but this too met with failure.

Recently, Intuitive Machines became the first private outfit to achieve a safe moon landing. Although their lander tipped over on its side in 2024, it operated briefly, offering limited communications. Furthermore, another U.S. company, Astrobotic Technology, aimed to send a lander to the moon in the same year but had to abort due to a fuel leak, ultimately returning to Earth and burning up in the Pacific.

This year's private rush to the moon commenced with Firefly achieving a successful landing with its Blue Ghost lander, delivering experiments for NASA. Shortly afterward, Intuitive Machines suffered a second toppled landing, while Japan’s ispace company is slated for a landing on June 5, following a shared rocket ride from Florida with Blue Ghost in January.

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