The following table is a partial list of man-made objects on the surface of the Moon. The list does not include smaller objects such as the retroreflectors and Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package. Nor does it include several commemorative or personal objects left there by Apollo astronauts, such as the golf balls from Alan Shepard's lunar driving practice during Apollo 14, flags, or the Fallen Astronaut statuette left by the crew of Apollo 15.
Five third stages of rockets from the Apollo program are the heaviest pieces. While mankind has transported and left over 170,000 kg of debris on the Moon, only 382 kg of the Moon have been taken to Earth by Apollo and Luna missions.
The only artificial objects on the Moon that are still in use are the retroreflectors for the Lunar laser ranging experiments left there by Apollo astronauts and from Lunokhod 2.
Note that objects listed as being at greater than 90 degrees east or west are on the far side of the moon. These include Ranger 4, Lunar Orbiter 1, Lunar Orbiter 2 and Lunar Orbiter 3.
| Artificial object | Image | Nationality | Year | Mass (kg) | Status | Location | Picture from orbit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luna 2 |
 |
USSR | 1959 | 390.2 | Intent. crashed |
29°06′N 0°00′W / 29.1°N 0°W | |
| Ranger 4 |
 |
United States | 1962 | 331 | Intent. crashed |
12°54′S 129°06′W / 12.9°S 129.1°W[citation needed] | |
| Ranger 6 |
 |
United States | 1964 | 381 | Intent. crashed |
9°24′N 21°30′E / 9.4°N 21.5°E | |
| Ranger 7 |
|
United States | 1964 | 365.7 | Intent. crashed |
10°36′S 20°37′W / 10.6°S 20.61°W | |
| Luna 5 |
 |
USSR | 1965 | 1474 | Crashed | 1°36′S 25°00′W / 1.6°S 25°W | |
| Luna 7 |
|
USSR | 1965 | 1504 | Crashed | 9°48′N 47°48′W / 9.8°N 47.8°W | |
| Luna 8 |
|
USSR | 1965 | 1550 | Crashed | 9°36′N 62°00′W / 9.6°N 62°W | |
| Ranger 8 |
|
United States | 1965 | 367 | Intent. crashed |
2°38′N 24°46′E / 2.64°N 24.77°E | |
| Ranger 9 |
|
United States | 1965 | 367 | Intent. crashed |
12°47′S 2°22′W / 12.79°S 2.36°W | |
| Luna 9 |
 |
USSR | 1966 | 1580 | Landed | 7°08′N 64°22′W / 7.13°N 64.37°W | |
| Luna 10 |
 |
USSR | 1966 | 1600 | Crashed (post-mission) |
?[1] | |
| Luna 11 | USSR | 1966 | 1640 | Crashed | ?[1] | ||
| Luna 12 | USSR | 1966 | 1670 | Crashed | ?[1] | ||
| Luna 13 |
|
USSR | 1966 | 1700 | Landed | 18°52′N 63°03′W / 18.87°N 63.05°W | |
| Surveyor 1 |
 |
United States | 1966 | 270 | Landed | 2°27′S 43°13′W / 2.45°S 43.22°W | LROC page |
| Lunar Orbiter 1 |
.jpg){kind=small} |
United States | 1966 | 386 | Crashed (post-mission) |
6°21′N 160°43′E / 6.35°N 160.72°E | |
| Surveyor 2 |
|
United States | 1966 | 292 | Crashed | 4°00′S 11°00′W / 4.0°S 11.0°W | |
| Lunar Orbiter 2 |
|
United States | 1966 | 385 | Crashed (post-mission) |
2°54′N 119°06′E / 2.9°N 119.1°E | |
| Lunar Orbiter 3 |
|
United States | 1966 | 386 | Crashed (post-mission) |
14°36′N 97°42′W / 14.6°N 97.7°W | |
| Surveyor 3 |
|
United States | 1967 | 281[2] | Landed | 2°59′S 23°20′W / 2.99°S 23.34°W | |
| Lunar Orbiter 4 |
|
United States | 1967 | 386 | Crashed (post-mission) |
?[1] | |
| Surveyor 4 |
|
United States | 1967 | 283 | Crashed | 0°27′N 1°23′W / 0.45°N 1.39°W | |
| Explorer 35 (IMP-E) |
 |
United States | 1967 | 104.3 | Crashed | ?[1] | |
| Lunar Orbiter 5 |
|
United States | 1967 | 386 | Crashed (post-mission) |
2°48′S 83°06′W / 2.8°S 83.1°W | |
| Surveyor 5 |
|
United States | 1967 | 281 | Landed | 1°25′N 23°12′E / 1.42°N 23.2°E | |
| Surveyor 6 |
|
United States | 1967 | 282 | Landed | 0°32′N 1°24′W / 0.53°N 1.4°W | |
| Surveyor 7 |
|
United States | 1967 | 290 | Landed | 40°52′S 11°28′W / 40.86°S 11.47°W | |
| Luna 14 | USSR | 1968 | 1670 | Crashed | ?[1] | ||
| Apollo 10 LM descent stage |
 |
United States | 1969 | 2211 | Crashed (post-mission) |
?[1] | |
| Luna 15 |
 |
USSR | 1969 | 2718 | Crashed | ? | |
| Apollo 11 LM-5 (Eagle) descent stage |
 |
United States | 1969 | 2034 | Landed | 0°40′N 23°28′E / 0.67°N 23.47°E | LROC page |
| Apollo 11 LM ascent stage[3] | United States | 1969 | 2184 | Crashed (post-mission) |
? | ||
| Apollo 12 LM-6 (Snoopy) descent stage |
 |
United States | 1969 | 2211 | Landed | 2°59′S 23°20′W / 2.99°S 23.34°W | LROC page |
| Apollo 12 LM ascent stage[3] | United States | 1969 | 2164 | Intent. crashed |
3°56′S 21°12′W / 3.94°S 21.2°W | ||
| Luna 16 descent stage[4] |
|
USSR | 1970 | < 5727 | Landed | 0°41′S 56°18′E / 0.68°S 56.3°E | |
| Luna 17 & Lunokhod 1 |
|
USSR | 1970 | 5600 | Landed | 38°17′N 35°00′W / 38.28°N 35.0°W | |
| Apollo 13 S-IVB (S-IVB-508)[5] |
 |
United States | 1970 | 13454 | Intent. crashed |
2°45′S 27°52′W / 2.75°S 27.86°W | |
| Luna 18 | USSR | 1971 | 5600 | Crashed | 3°34′N 56°30′E / 3.57°N 56.5°E | ||
| Luna 19 |
|
USSR | 1971 | 5600 | Crashed | ?[1] | |
| Apollo 14 S-IVB (S-IVB-509) | United States | 1971 | 14016 | Intent. crashed |
8°05′S 26°01′W / 8.09°S 26.02°W | LROC page | |
| Apollo 14 LM-8 (Antares) descent stage |
 |
United States | 1971 | 2144 | Landed | 3°39′S 17°28′W / 3.65°S 17.47°W | |
| Apollo 14 LM-8 ascent stage[3] | United States | 1971 | 2132 | Intent. crashed |
3°25′S 29°40′W / 3.42°S 29.67°W | ||
| Apollo 15 S-IVB (S-IVB-510) | United States | 1971 | 14036 | Intent. crashed |
1°31′S 17°29′W / 1.51°S 17.48°W | ||
| Apollo 15 LM-10 (Falcon) descent stage | United States | 1971 | 2809 | Landed | 26°08′N 3°38′E / 26.13°N 3.63°E | ||
| Apollo 15 Lunar Rover |
.jpg) |
United States | 1971 | 462 | Landed | 26°05′N 3°40′E / 26.08°N 3.66°E | |
| Apollo 15 LM-10 ascent (Falcon) stage[3] | United States | 1971 | 2132 | Intent. crashed |
26°22′N 0°15′E / 26.36°N 0.25°E | ||
| Apollo 15 subsatellite | United States | 1971 | 36 | Crashed (post-mission) |
?[1] | ||
| Luna 20 descent stage[4] |
|
USSR | 1972 | < 5727 | Landed | 3°32′N 56°33′E / 3.53°N 56.55°E | |
| Apollo 16 S-IVB (S-IVB-511) | United States | 1972 | 14002 | Intent. crashed |
1°18′N 23°54′W / 1.3°N 23.9°W | ||
| Apollo 16 LM-11 (Orion) descent stage | United States | 1972 | 2765 | Landed | 8°58′S 15°30′E / 8.97°S 15.50°E | ||
| Apollo 16 Lunar Rover | United States | 1972 | 462 | Landed | 8°58′S 15°31′E / 8.97°S 15.51°E | ||
| Apollo 16 LM-11 (Orion) ascent stage[3] | United States | 1972 | 2138 | Crashed (post-mission) |
? | ||
| Apollo 16 subsatellite | United States | 1972 | 36 | Crashed (post-mission) |
?[1] | ||
| Apollo 17 S-IVB (S-IVB-512) | United States | 1972 | 13960 | Intent. crashed |
4°13′S 22°19′W / 4.21°S 22.31°W | ||
| Apollo 17 LM-12 (Challenger) descent stage | United States | 1972 | 2798 | Landed | 20°11′N 30°46′E / 20.19°N 30.77°E | LROC page | |
| Apollo 17 Lunar Rover | United States | 1972 | 462 | Landed | 20°10′N 30°46′W / 20.17°N 30.77°W | ||
| Apollo 17 LM-12 (Challenger) ascent stage[3] | United States | 1972 | 2150 | Intent. crashed |
19°58′N 30°30′E / 19.96°N 30.50°E | ||
| Luna 21 & Lunokhod 2[6] |
 |
USSR | 1973 | 4850 | Landed | 25°51′N 30°27′E / 25.85°N 30.45°E | |
| Explorer 49 (RAE-B) | United States | 1973 | 328 | Crashed | ?[1] | ||
| Luna 22 | USSR | 1974 | 4000 | Crashed | ?[1] | ||
| Luna 23 | USSR | 1974 | 5600 | Landed | ~12ºN, ~62ºE | ||
| Luna 24 descent stage[4] |
 |
USSR | 1976 | < 5800 | Landed | 12°45′N 62°12′E / 12.75°N 62.2°E | |
| Hiten Orbiter (Hagoromo)[7] |
 |
Japan | 1990 | 12 | Crashed (not confirmed) |
? | |
| Hiten |
|
Japan | 1993 | 143 | Intent. crashed |
34°18′S 55°36′E / 34.3°S 55.6°E | |
| Lunar Prospector |
 |
United States | 1998 | 126 | Intent. crashed |
87°42′S 42°06′E / 87.7°S 42.1°E | |
| SMART-1 | 18 ESA nations | 2006 | 307 | Intent. crashed |
34°14′S 46°07′W / 34.24°S 46.12°W | ||
| Moon Impact Probe | India | 2008 | 35 | Intent. crashed |
89°54′S 0°00′E / 89.9°S 0.0°E[8] | ||
| SELENE Rstar (Okina) | Japan | 2009 | 53 | Crashed | 28°12′N 201°00′E / 28.2°N 201.0°E[9] | ||
| Chang'e 1 |
 |
China | 2009 | 2000[10] | Intent. crashed |
1°30′S 52°22′E / 1.5°S 52.36°E | |
| SELENE (Kaguya) main orbiter | Japan | 2009 | 1984[10] | Intent. crashed |
65°30′S 80°24′E / 65.5°S 80.4°E[11] | ||
| LCROSS Shepherding Spacecraft | United States | 2009 | 700 | Intent. crashed |
84°43′44″S 310°38′24″E / 84.729°S 310.64°E, -3.80909 km elevation (Cabeus crater) [12] | ||
| LCROSS Centaur | United States | 2009 | 2270 | Intent. crashed |
84°40′30″S 311°16′30″E / 84.675°S 311.275°E, -3.82693 km elevation (Cabeus crater) [13] | ||
| Total estimated dry mass (kg) | 178,796 | ||||||
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Spacecraft was in lunar orbit but is assumed to have decayed from orbit and crashed into the moon, location unknown.
- ^ Apollo 12 returned about 10 kg of the Surveyor 3's original landing mass of 302 kg to Earth to study the effects of long term exposure.
- ^ a b c d e f The ascent stage of Apollo 10 was commanded to fire its engine, left lunar orbit and entered solar orbit. The ascent stage of Apollo 11 was left in orbit and thereafter its orbit decayed and it crashed onto the moon at an unknown location. The Apollo 16 ascent stage failed to crash onto moon when commanded and it decayed from orbit at a later date and also crashed at an unknown location. The ascent stages of the remaining successful missions (Apollo 12, 14, 15, and 17) were each deliberately crashed onto the moon. Apollo 13's complete Apollo Lunar Module re-entered Earth's atmosphere after having served as a lifeboat during the aborted mission.
- ^ a b c Luna program sample return mission; mass listed is for both ascent and descent stages, though only the descent stage was left on the moon.
- ^ Astronautix.com, Apollo 13: The S-IVB/IU impacted the lunar surface at 8:10 p.m. EST on April 14 at a speed of 259 meters per second (incorrect, should probably be 2590 meters/sec), […] 137.1 kilometers from the Apollo 12 seismometer.
- ^ Lander and rover weighed 1814 kg; the rest assumed to have decayed in orbit and impacted the moon.
- ^ Was injected into lunar orbit in 1990, assumed to have decayed from orbit.
- ^ MIP was crash-landed on the Shackleton crater
- ^ "JAXA Press Release (PDF)" (in Japanese). JAXA. 2009-02-18. http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2009/02/20090218_sac_kaguya.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ a b "Upcoming International Missions to the Moon" (PPT). NASA. 2007-01-11. http://ssedso.gsfc.nasa.gov/initiatives/lunar/LESWG/pubs_presentations/4thGM/bk_International_missions_lakew.ppt. Retrieved 2009-04-12. / cf. 2.3t with fuel ("Spacecrafts launched in 2007". http://claudelafleur.qc.ca/Spacecrafts-2007.html#Change-1. Retrieved 2009-04-12.)
- ^ "JAXA HOT TOPICS". JAXA. 2009-06-11. http://www.jaxa.jp/topics/2009/06_e.html. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
- ^ "Guide to Seeing the LCROSS Lunar Impact". http://spacefellowship.com/2009/10/08/guide-to-seeing-the-lcross-lunar-impact/. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ "Guide to Seeing the LCROSS Lunar Impact". http://spacefellowship.com/2009/10/08/guide-to-seeing-the-lcross-lunar-impact/. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
See also
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