Jump to content

List of landings on extraterrestrial bodies

Coordinates: 80°08′S 1°26′E / 80.13°S 1.44°E / -80.13; 1.44
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For a list of all planetary missions, including orbiters and flybys, see List of Solar System probes.

This is a list of all spacecraft landings on other planets and bodies in the Solar System, including soft landings and both intended and unintended hard impacts. The list includes orbiters that were intentionally crashed, but not orbiters which later crashed in an unplanned manner due to orbital decay.

Colour key:

  – Unsuccessful soft landing, intentional hard landing, or mission still in progress.
  – Successful soft landing with intelligible data return. The tannish hue indicates extraterrestrial soil.
  – Successful soft landing, intelligible data return, and sample return to Earth. The greenish hue indicates terrestrial return.
  – Successful soft landing, data/voice/video communication, sample return to Earth, and safe astronaut landing and return to Earth.

Planets

[edit]

Mercury

[edit]

Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
MESSENGER United States United States 30 April 2015 Probably around 54.4° N, 149.9° W, near the crater Janáček Intentionally crashed at end of mission.

Venus

[edit]

Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
Venera 3 Soviet Union USSR 1 March 1966 Probably around -20° to 20° N, 60° to 80° E First impact on the surface of another planet. Contact lost before atmospheric entry.
Venera 4 Soviet Union USSR 23 October 1967 Estimated near 19°N 38°E / 19°N 38°E / 19; 38.[1] Crushed by atmospheric pressure before impact.
Venera 5 Soviet Union USSR 16 May 1969 3°S 18°E / 3°S 18°E / -3; 18 Atmospheric probe; crushed by atmospheric pressure before impact.
Venera 6 Soviet Union USSR 17 May 1969 5°S 23°E / 5°S 23°E / -5; 23 Atmospheric probe; crushed by atmospheric pressure before impact.
Venera 7 Soviet Union USSR 15 December 1970 5°S 351°E / 5°S 351°E / -5; 351 First successful soft landing on another planet; transmitted from surface for 23 minutes.
The spacecraft definitively confirmed that humans cannot survive on the surface of Venus, and excluded the possibility of any liquid water on Venus.
Venera 8 Soviet Union USSR 22 July 1972 Within 150 km radius of 10°42′S 335°15′E / 10.70°S 335.25°E / -10.70; 335.25 Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 50 minutes.
Venera 9 lander Soviet Union USSR 22 October 1975 Within a 150 km radius of 31°01′N 291°38′E / 31.01°N 291.64°E / 31.01; 291.64 Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 53 minutes. First pictures from surface.
Venera 10 lander Soviet Union USSR 25 October 1975 Within a 150 km radius of 15°25′N 291°31′E / 15.42°N 291.51°E / 15.42; 291.51 Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 65 minutes.
Pioneer Venus Multiprobe United States USA 9 December 1978 Day Probe 31°18′S 317°00′E / 31.3°S 317.0°E / -31.3; 317.0 Survived impact and continued to transmit from the surface for 67 minutes.[2]
Night Probe 28.7°S 56.7°E Survived impact and continued to transmit from the surface for 2 seconds.[2]
North Probe 59.3°N 4.8°E Signal lost upon impact.
Large probe 4.4°N 304.0°E Signal lost upon impact.
Venera 12 lander Soviet Union USSR 21 December 1978 7°S 294°E / 7°S 294°E / -7; 294 Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 110 minutes.
Venera 11 lander Soviet Union USSR 25 December 1978 14°S 299°E / 14°S 299°E / -14; 299 Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 95 minutes.
Venera 13 lander Soviet Union USSR 1 March 1982 7°30′S 303°00′E / 7.5°S 303°E / -7.5; 303 Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 127 minutes. First photographs in color of its surface, and it records atmospheric wind noises, the first sounds heard from another planet.[3]
Venera 14 lander Soviet Union USSR 5 March 1982 13°15′S 310°00′E / 13.25°S 310°E / -13.25; 310 Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 57 minutes.
Vega 1 lander Soviet Union USSR 11 June 1985 7°12′N 177°48′E / 7.2°N 177.8°E / 7.2; 177.8 Soft landing; some instruments failed to return data.
Vega 2 lander Soviet Union USSR 15 June 1985 7°08′S 177°40′E / 7.14°S 177.67°E / -7.14; 177.67 Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 57 minutes.

Mars

[edit]

Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
Mars 2 lander Soviet Union USSR 27 November 1971 45°S 30°W / 45°S 30°W / -45; -30 First man-made object on Mars. No contact after crash landing.
Mars 3 lander Soviet Union USSR 2 December 1971 45°S 158°W / 45°S 158°W / -45; -158 First soft landing on Mars. Transmission began about 90 seconds after landing.[4] Transmitted a partial image for 14.5 seconds before the signal was lost. [5]
Mars 6 lander Soviet Union USSR 12 March 1974 23°54′S 19°25′W / 23.90°S 19.42°W / -23.90; -19.42 Contact lost at landing.
Viking 1 lander United States USA 20 July 1976 22°41′49″N 48°13′19″W / 22.697°N 48.222°W / 22.697; -48.222 Successful soft landing. First to send images in color, as well as to perform in situ biological experiments with the Martian soil.[6]
Viking 2 lander United States USA 3 September 1976 48°16′08″N 134°00′36″E / 48.269°N 134.010°E / 48.269; 134.010 Successful soft landing.
Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner rover United States USA 4 July 1997 19°08′N 33°13′W / 19.13°N 33.22°W / 19.13; -33.22 First airbag landing on Mars and first Mars rover.
Mars Polar Lander and two penetrators Deep Space 2 United States USA 3 December 1999

73°N 210°W / 73°N 210°W / 73; -210

Contact lost prior to landing.
Beagle 2 United Kingdom UK/
ESA		 25 December 2003 11°31′35″N 90°25′46″E / 11.5265°N 90.4295°E / 11.5265; 90.4295 Successful soft landing. No contact due to solar "petals" not deploying fully, blocking antenna.[7]
MER-A Spirit United States USA 3 January 2004 14°34′18″S 175°28′43″E / 14.5718°S 175.4785°E / -14.5718; 175.4785 Mars rover. Contact lost 22 March 2010.
MER-B Opportunity United States USA 25 January 2004 1°56′46″S 5°31′36″W / 1.9462°S 5.5266°W / -1.9462; -5.5266 Mars rover. Contact lost 10 June 2018.
Phoenix United States USA 25 May 2008 68°13′08″N 125°44′57″W / 68.2188°N 125.7492°W / 68.2188; -125.7492 Successful soft landing in the north polar region.
Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) United States USA 6 August 2012 4°35′22″S 137°26′30″E / 4.5895°S 137.4417°E / -4.5895; 137.4417 Mars rover. Landed in Gale Crater.
ExoMars Schiaparelli EDM lander ESA
Russia RFSA		 19 October 2016 2°04′S 353°47′E / 2.07°S 353.79°E / -2.07; 353.79 Contact lost after entry and parachute deployment, but before planned landing. Hard impact on the surface.[8]
InSight United States USA 26 November 2018 4°30′N 135°54′E / 4.5°N 135.9°E / 4.5; 135.9 (InSight landing site) Successful soft landing.
Mars 2020 Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter United States USA 18 February 2021 18°26′41″N 77°27′03″E / 18.4447°N 77.4508°E / 18.4447; 77.4508 Mars rover and helicopter. Successful soft landing in Jezero Crater. Helicopter deployed from rover on 3 April 2021.
Tianwen-1 lander and Zhurong rover China China 14 May 2021 25°06′N 109°54′E / 25.1°N 109.9°E / 25.1; 109.9 Successful soft landing in Utopia Planitia. Zhurong rover deployed on 22 May 2021.

Jupiter

[edit]

Jupiter is a gas giant with a very large atmospheric pressure and internal temperature and thus there is no known hard surface on which to "land". All missions listed here are impacts on Jupiter.

Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Notes
Galileo atmospheric probe United States USA 7 December 1995 Atmospheric probe of Jupiter.
Galileo United States USA 21 September 2003 Main craft was intentionally directed at Jupiter and disintegrated in Jovian atmosphere.

Saturn

[edit]

Saturn is a gas giant with a very large atmospheric pressure and internal temperature and thus there is no known hard surface on which to "land". All missions listed here are impacts on Saturn.

Mission Country/ Agency Date of landing/impact Notes
Cassini orbiter United States USA 15 September 2017 Main craft was intentionally directed at Saturn and disintegrated in Saturn's atmosphere

Planetary moons

[edit]

Earth's Moon

[edit]

Further information: Moon landings and List of artificial objects on the Moon
Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
Luna 2 Soviet Union USSR 13 September 1959 29°06′N 0°00′E / 29.1°N -0°E / 29.1; -0 Intentional hard impact.
Ranger 4 United States USA 26 April 1962 15°30′S 130°42′W / 15.5°S 130.7°W / -15.5; -130.7 Unintentional hard impact; hit lunar far side due to failure of navigation system.
Ranger 6 United States USA 2 February 1964 9°24′N 21°30′E / 9.4°N 21.5°E / 9.4; 21.5 Intentional hard impact.
Ranger 7 United States USA 31 July 1964 10°21′S 20°35′W / 10.35°S 20.58°W / -10.35; -20.58 Intentional hard impact.
Ranger 8 United States USA 20 February 1965 2°43′N 24°37′E / 2.72°N 24.61°E / 2.72; 24.61 Intentional hard impact.
Ranger 9 United States USA 24 March 1965 12°50′S 2°22′W / 12.83°S 2.37°W / -12.83; -2.37 Intentional hard impact.
Luna 5 Soviet Union USSR 12 May 1965 31°S 8°W / 31°S 8°W / -31; -8 Unsuccessful attempt at soft landing; crashed into Moon.
Luna 7 Soviet Union USSR 7 October 1965 9°48′N 47°48′W / 9.8°N 47.8°W / 9.8; -47.8 Unsuccessful attempt at soft landing; crashed into Moon.
Luna 8 Soviet Union USSR 6 December 1965 9°36′N 62°00′W / 9.6°N 62°W / 9.6; -62 Unsuccessful attempt at soft landing; crashed into Moon.
Luna 9 Soviet Union USSR 3 February 1966 7°08′N 64°22′W / 7.13°N 64.37°W / 7.13; -64.37 First successful soft landing; first pictures from the surface.
Surveyor 1 United States USA 2 June 1966 2°28′S 43°20′W / 2.47°S 43.33°W / -2.47; -43.33 Soft landing.
Surveyor 2 United States USA 23 September 1966 Unsuccessful attempt at soft landing; crashed into Moon.
Lunar Orbiter 1 United States USA 29 October 1966 Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed at end of mission.
Luna 13 Soviet Union USSR 24 December 1966 18°52′N 62°3′W / 18.867°N 62.050°W / 18.867; -62.050 Soft landing.
Surveyor 3 United States USA 20 April 1967 3°01′41″S 23°27′30″W / 3.028175°S 23.458208°W / -3.028175; -23.458208 Soft landing. First lander visited by a later crewed mission (Apollo 12) that even brought its components.
Surveyor 4 United States USA 17 July 1967 Contact lost on descent.
Surveyor 5 United States USA 11 September 1967 1°28′N 23°12′E / 1.46°N 23.20°E / 1.46; 23.20 Soft landing.
Surveyor 6 United States USA 10 November 1967 0°29′N 1°24′W / 0.49°N 1.40°W / 0.49; -1.40 Soft landing.
Surveyor 7 United States USA 10 January 1968 40°52′S 11°28′W / 40.86°S 11.47°W / -40.86; -11.47 Soft landing.
Apollo 11 United States USA 20 July 1969 0°40′26.69″N 23°28′22.69″E / 0.6740806°N 23.4729694°E / 0.6740806; 23.4729694 First crewed landing on an extraterrestrial body.
Luna 15 Soviet Union USSR 21 July 1969 Possible attempted sample return; crashed into Moon.

Not a crewed mission.

Apollo 12 United States USA 18 November 1969 3°00′45″S 23°25′18″W / 3.012389°S 23.421569°W / -3.012389; -23.421569 Crewed mission.
Apollo 13 United States USA 14 April 1970 S-IVB stage crashed for seismic research (rocket stages from some other Apollo missions that successfully landed were also crashed in this manner[9])
Luna 16 Soviet Union USSR 20 September 1970 0°41′S 56°18′E / 0.683°S 56.300°E / -0.683; 56.300 First successful robotic sample return.
Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 Soviet Union USSR 17 November 1970 38°17′N 35°0′W / 38.283°N 35.000°W / 38.283; -35.000 Robotic lunar rover.
Apollo 14 United States USA 5 February 1971 3°38′43.08″S 17°28′16.90″W / 3.6453000°S 17.4713611°W / -3.6453000; -17.4713611 Crewed mission.
Apollo 15 United States USA 30 July 1971 26°7′55.99″N 3°38′1.90″E / 26.1322194°N 3.6338611°E / 26.1322194; 3.6338611 (Apollo 15 landing) Crewed mission; lunar rover.
Luna 18 Soviet Union USSR 11 September 1971 Failed attempt at sample return; probable crash-landing.
Luna 20 Soviet Union USSR 21 February 1972 3°32′N 56°33′E / 3.533°N 56.550°E / 3.533; 56.550 Robotic sample return.
Apollo 16 United States USA 21 April 1972 8°58′22.84″S 15°30′0.68″E / 8.9730111°S 15.5001889°E / -8.9730111; 15.5001889 Crewed mission; lunar rover.
Apollo 17 United States USA 7 December 1972 20°11′26.88″N 30°46′18.05″E / 20.1908000°N 30.7716806°E / 20.1908000; 30.7716806 (Apollo 17 landing) Crewed mission; lunar rover. Last crewed landing on extraterrestrial bodies to date.
Luna 21/Lunokhod 2 Soviet Union USSR 8 January 1973 25°51′N 30°27′E / 25.850°N 30.450°E / 25.850; 30.450 Robotic lunar rover.
Luna 23 Soviet Union USSR 6 November 1974 Failed attempt at sample return; damaged on landing. Operated for 3 days on the surface.
Luna 24 Soviet Union USSR 18 August 1976 12°45′N 62°12′E / 12.750°N 62.200°E / 12.750; 62.200 Robotic sample return.
Hiten Japan Japan 10 April 1993 Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed at end of mission.
Lunar Prospector United States USA 31 July 1999 87°42′S 42°06′E / 87.7°S 42.1°E / -87.7; 42.1 Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed into polar crater at end of mission to test for liberation of water vapour (not detected).
SMART-1 ESA 3 September 2006 Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed at end of mission.
Chandrayaan-1 Moon Impact Probe  India 14 November 2008 Impactor. Water found.
SELENE Rstar (Okina)  Japan 12 February 2009 Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed at end of mission.
Chang'e 1  China 1 March 2009 Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed at end of mission.
Kaguya  Japan 10 June 2009 Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed at end of mission.
LCROSS (Centaur)  USA 9 October 2009 84°40′30″S 48°43′30″W / 84.675°S 48.725°W / -84.675; -48.725
84°43′44″S 49°21′36″W / 84.729°S 49.360°W / -84.729; -49.360 		Impactors. Water confirmed.
LCROSS (Shepherding Spacecraft)
Chang'e 3  China 14 December 2013 44°07′N 19°31′W / 44.12°N 19.51°W / 44.12; -19.51 First soft landing on the Moon since 1976, lunar rover.
Chang'e 4  China 3 January 2019 45°30′S 177°36′E / 45.5°S 177.6°E / -45.5; 177.6 First soft landing on the far side of the Moon, lunar rover.
Beresheet  Israel 11 April 2019 Israeli lunar lander crash landed on the Moon.
Chandrayaan-2  India 8 September 2019 First attempt to land near the Moon's south pole; lost contact at 2.1 km and crashed.
Chang'e 5  China 1 December 2020 43°03′27″N 51°54′58″W / 43.0576°N 51.9161°W / 43.0576; -51.9161[10][11] First lunar sample return mission by China. Sample successfully returned to Earth on 16 December 2020.
7 December 2020 30°S 0°E / 30°S 0°E / -30; 0[12] Intentional impact of ascent stage after delivering sample to orbiter.
Hakuto-R Mission 1 Japan Japan 25 April 2023 47°34′52″N 44°05′38″E / 47.581°N 44.094°E / 47.581; 44.094 Unsuccessful attempt; contact was lost before landing alongside the lander being crash-landed.
Luna 25  Russia 19 August 2023 Unsuccessful attempt; crashed on lunar surface after failure during lunar orbit insertion.
Chandrayaan-3  India 23 August 2023 69°22′23″S 32°19′08″E / 69.373°S 32.319°E / -69.373; 32.319[13] Soft landing. First Indian soft landing. First soft landing in the south pole region of the Moon. Lunar rover.
Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM)  Japan 19 January 2024 13°18′58″S 25°15′04″E / 13.316°S 25.251°E / -13.316; 25.251[14] Soft landing. First Japanese soft landing. Two lunar rovers.
IM-1 Odysseus  USA 22 February 2024 80°08′S 1°26′E / 80.13°S 1.44°E / -80.13; 1.44[15] First successful soft landing by a commercial lander (Nova-C lander made by Intuitive Machines).
Chang'e 6  China 1 June 2024 41°38′19″S 153°59′07″W / 41.6385°S 153.9852°W / -41.6385; -153.9852[16] First far side lunar sample return mission by China. Sample returned to Earth in June 2024.
6 June 2024 Intentional impact of ascent stage conducted after delivering sample to orbiter.
IM-2  USA January 2025 (planned) Connercial Nova-C lander made by Intuitive Machines.

Moons of Mars

[edit]

Phobos
Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
Phobos 2[citation needed] Soviet Union USSR February 1989 (planned) Phobos landing was planned but never attempted due to loss of contact

Moons of Saturn

[edit]

Titan
Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
Huygens probe ESA 14 January 2005 10°17′37″S 163°10′39″E / 10.2936°S 163.1775°E / -10.2936; 163.1775 Titan floating lander. Successful soft landing. Transmitted data for 90 minutes following landing.

Other bodies

[edit]

Asteroids

[edit]

Body Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
Eros NEAR Shoemaker United States USA 12 February 2001 Designed as an orbiter, but an improvised landing was carried out on completion of the main mission. Transmission from the surface continued for about 16 days.
Itokawa Hayabusa Japan Japan 19 November 2005 Accidentally stayed for 30 min.
25 November 2005 Stayed for 1 sec. Sample return (very small amount of dust successfully returned to Earth).
Ryugu Hayabusa2 Japan Japan 21 September 2018 MINERVA-II Rover-1A and Rover-1B, deployed successfully and returned data from the surface.
France France / Germany Germany 3 October 2018 MASCOT rover, deployed successfully and returned data from the surface.
Japan Japan 21 February 2019 Hayabusa2 first touchdown. Successfully collected sample from the surface. Sample returned to Earth on 5 December 2020.
5 April 2019 Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI), fired at surface to create a crater from which to sample sub-surface material
April 2019 Deployable Camera 3, photographed the impact created by the Small carry-on Impactor. Presumed to have fallen on the asteroid.
11 July 2019 Hayabusa2 second touchdown. Successfully collected sub-surface material sample from the crater created by the SCI. Sample returned to Earth on 5 December 2020.
October 2019 MINERVA-II Rover-2, failed before deployment, so it was released in orbit around the asteroid to perform gravitational measurements before it impacted a few days later.
Bennu OSIRIS-REx United States USA 20 October 2020 56°N 43°E OSIRIS-REx touchdown, collected sample from surface. Sample returned to Earth on 24 September 2023
Dimorphos Double Asteroid Redirection Test United States USA 26 September 2022 Intentional hard impact. First Solar System body intentionally deviated (slightly) of its orbit.[17]

Comets

[edit]

Body Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
Comet 9P/Tempel 1 Deep Impact United States USA 4 July 2005 Impactor.
Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko Rosetta ESA 12 November 2014 Philae lander. Successful soft landing, but anchors misfired and Philae bounced multiple times before coming to rest. Philae transmitted briefly but could not maintain power due to its awkward landing.
29 September 2016 The Rosetta orbiter was intentionally crashed into the comet.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Brian Harvey (2007). Russian planetary exploration. Springer. pp. 98–101. ISBN 978-0-387-46343-8.
  2. ^ a b "Pioneer Venus Probes".
  3. ^ "NSSDC Master Catalog - Venera 13 Descent Craft". NASA National Space Science Data Center. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Mars 2, 3 (Mars M71 #1, #2, #3)".
  5. ^ "Mars 3". Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  6. ^ Williams, David R. Dr. (18 December 2006). "Viking Mission to Mars". NASA. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  7. ^ "Lost Beagle2 probe found 'intact' on Mars", BBC News, 16 January 2015
  8. ^ "Schiaparelli crash site in colour". European Space Agency. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  9. ^ "The Sky is Falling" Archived 2010-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, NASA, April 28, 2006
  10. ^ Williams, David R. (7 December 2018). "Future Chinese Lunar Missions". NASA. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  11. ^ Jones, Andrew (7 June 2017). "China confirms landing site for Chang'e-5 Moon sample return". GB Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  12. ^ "Chang'e-5 spacecraft smashes into moon after completing mission". SpaceNews. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  13. ^ Chandrayaan 3 - After The Landing What Happens Next?, 27 August 2023, retrieved 28 August 2023
  14. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ Robinson, Mark (26 February 2024). "Intuitive Machines IM-1 On The Moon!". www.lroc.asu.edu. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  16. ^ "First Look: Chang'e 6". Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  17. ^ "NASA's DART Mission Hits Asteroid in First-Ever Planetary Defense Test". NASA. 27 September 2022.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_landings_on_extraterrestrial_bodies&oldid=1247512347"