5 other Moon missions

1 – Luna 2
This Soviet Union spacecraft was the first man-made object to reach the Moon’s surface. The mission lasted roughly 33 hours, and the spacecraft impacted on 14 September 1959.

2 – Luna 3
In October 1959, the next spacecraft in the Luna programme sent back 17 photos. While they are considered of poor quality today, they were the first shots of the never-before-seen far side of the Moon.

3 – Surveyor 1
The first American Moon landing occurred on 2 June 1966. It returned important data about the Moon’s surface, as well as more than 10,000 photographs.

4 – Apollo 8
Apollo 8 became the first manned spacecraft to escape Earth orbit, reach the Moon and orbit it before returning. It launched on 21 December 1968 and performed reconnaissance of potential landing sites.

5 – Apollo 17
Launching in September 1972, Apollo 17 was the last manned landing on the Moon. In addition to collecting more information, it broke the records for longest time in Moon orbit, longest time on the surface and largest lunar sample return.