This is a list of robotic space probes that have flown by, impacted, orbited or landed on the Moon for the purpose of lunar exploration, as well as probes launched toward the Moon that failed to reach their target. The crewed Apollo missions are listed at List of missions to the Moon. Major programs encompassing several probes include: Luna program — USSR Lunar exploration (1959–1976) Ranger program — US Lunar hard-landing probes (1961–1965) Zond program — USSR Lunar exploration (1964–1970) Surveyor program — US Lunar soft-landing probe (1966–1968) Lunar Orbiter program — US Lunar orbital (1966–1967) Lunokhod program — USSR Lunar Rover probes (1970–1973) Key Colour key: {| |- | – Mission or flyby completed successfully (or partially successfully) | | – Failed or cancelled mission |- | – Mission en route or in progress (including mission extensions) | | – Planned mission | |} † means "tentatively identified", as classified by NASA . These are Cold War-era Soviet missions, mostly failures, about which few or no details have been officially released. The information given may be speculative. Date is the date of: closest encounter (flybys) impact (impactors) orbital insertion to end of mission, whether planned or premature (orbiters) landing to end of mission, whether planned or premature (landers) launch (missions that never got underway due to failure at or soon after launch) In cases which do not fit any of the above, the event to which the date refers is stated. Note that as a result of this scheme missions are not always listed in order of launch. In the case of flybys (such as gravity assists) that are incidental to the main mission, "success" indicates the successful completion of the flyby, not necessarily that of the main mission. Lunar probes by date 1958–1960 1962–1965 1966–1967 1968–1970 1971–1976 1983–1998 2001–2009 2010–2019 2020–present Future See also Lists of spacecraft List of landings on extraterrestrial bodies List of missions to the Moon List of Solar System probes Robotic spacecraft Timeline of Solar System exploration Notes Exploration of the Moon Lunar probes