List of landings on extraterrestrial bodies

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.

Landings

Colour key:

  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

Mercury

Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
MESSENGER United States30 April 2015Probably around 54.4° N, 149.9° W, near the crater JanáčekIntentionally crashed at end of mission.

Venus

Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
Venera 3 USSR1 March 1966Probably around -20° to 20° N, 60° to 80° EFirst impact on the surface of another planet. Contact lost before atmospheric entry.
Venera 4 USSR23 October 1967Estimated near 19°N 38°E.[1] Crushed by atmospheric pressure before impact.
Venera 5 USSR16 May 19693°S 18°EAtmospheric probe; crushed by atmospheric pressure before impact.
Venera 6 USSR17 May 19695°S 23°EAtmospheric probe; crushed by atmospheric pressure before impact.
Venera 7 USSR15 December 19705°S 351°EFirst 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 that there is any liquid water on Venus.
Venera 8 USSR22 July 1972Within 150 km radius of 10.70°S 335.25°E / -10.70; 335.25Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 50 minutes.
Venera 9 lander USSR22 October 1975Within a 150 km radius of 31.01°N 291.64°E / 31.01; 291.64Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 53 minutes. First pictures from surface.
Venera 10 lander USSR25 October 1975Within a 150 km radius of 15.42°N 291.51°E / 15.42; 291.51Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 65 minutes.
Pioneer Venus Multiprobe USA 9 December 1978 Day Probe 31.3°S 317.0°E / -31.3; 317.0Survived 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 USSR21 December 19787°S 294°ESoft landing; transmitted from surface for 110 minutes.
Venera 11 lander USSR25 December 197814°S 299°ESoft landing; transmitted from surface for 95 minutes.
Venera 13 lander USSR1 March 19827.5°S 303°E / -7.5; 303Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 127 minutes.
Venera 14 lander USSR5 March 198213.25°S 310°E / -13.25; 310Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 57 minutes.
Vega 1 lander USSR11 June 19857.2°N 177.8°E / 7.2; 177.8Soft landing; some instruments failed to return data.
Vega 2 lander USSR15 June 19857.14°S 177.67°E / -7.14; 177.67Soft landing; transmitted from surface for 57 minutes.

Mars

Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
Mars 2 lander USSR27 November 197145°S 30°WFirst man-made object on Mars. No contact after crash landing.
Mars 3 lander USSR2 December 197145°S 158°WFirst soft landing on Mars. Transmission began about 90 seconds after landing.[3] Transmitted a partial image for 14.5 seconds before the signal was lost. [4]
Mars 6 lander USSR12 March 197423.90°S 19.42°W / -23.90; -19.42Contact lost at landing.
Viking 1 lander USA20 July 197622.697°N 48.222°W / 22.697; -48.222Successful soft landing.
Viking 2 lander USA3 September 197648.269°N 134.010°E / 48.269; 134.010Successful soft landing.
Mars Pathfinder and Sojourner rover USA4 July 199719.13°N 33.22°W / 19.13; -33.22First airbag landing on Mars and first Mars rover.
Mars Polar Lander and two penetrators Deep Space 2 USA3 December 1999

73°N 210°W

Contact lost prior to landing.
Beagle 2 UK/
ESA
25 December 200311.5265°N 90.4295°E / 11.5265; 90.4295Successful soft landing. No contact due to solar "petals" not deploying fully, blocking antenna.[5]
MER-A 'Spirit' USA3 January 200414.5718°S 175.4785°E / -14.5718; 175.4785Mars rover. Contact lost 22 March 2010.
MER-B 'Opportunity' USA25 January 20041.9462°S 5.5266°W / -1.9462; -5.5266Mars rover. Contact lost 10 June 2018.
Phoenix USA25 May 200868.2188°N 125.7492°W / 68.2188; -125.7492Successful soft landing in the north polar region.
Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) USA6 August 20124.5895°S 137.4417°E / -4.5895; 137.4417Mars Rover. Landed in Gale Crater.
ExoMars Schiaparelli EDM lander ESA
RFSA
19 October 20162.07°S 353.79°E / -2.07; 353.79Contact lost after entry and parachute deployment, but before planned landing. Hard impact on the surface.[6]
InSight USA 26 November 2018 4.5°N 135.9°E / 4.5; 135.9 (InSight landing site)Successful soft landing.

Jupiter

Since Jupiter is a gas planet, there is no hard surface on which to "land". All missions listed here are impacts to Jupiter.

Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Notes
Galileo atmospheric probe USA7 December 1995Atmospheric probe of Jupiter.
Galileo USA21 September 2003Main craft was intentionally directed at Jupiter and disintegrated in Jovian atmosphere.

Saturn

Since Saturn is a gas planet, there is no hard surface on which to "land". All missions listed here are impacts to Saturn.

Mission Country/ Agency Date of landing/impact Notes
Cassini orbiter USA15 September 2017Main craft was intentionally directed at Saturn and disintegrated in Saturn's atmosphere

Planetary moons

Earth's Moon

Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
Luna 2 USSR13 September 195929.1°N -0°E / 29.1; -0Intentional hard impact.
Ranger 4 USA26 April 196215.5°S 130.7°W / -15.5; -130.7Unintentional hard impact; hit lunar far side due to failure of navigation system.
Ranger 6 USA2 February 19649.4°N 21.5°E / 9.4; 21.5Intentional hard impact.
Ranger 7 USA31 July 196410.35°S 20.58°W / -10.35; -20.58Intentional hard impact.
Ranger 8 USA20 February 19652.72°N 24.61°E / 2.72; 24.61Intentional hard impact.
Ranger 9 USA24 March 196512.83°S 2.37°W / -12.83; -2.37Intentional hard impact.
Luna 5 USSR12 May 196531°S 8°WUnsuccessful attempt at soft landing; crashed into Moon.
Luna 7 USSR7 October 19659.8°N 47.8°W / 9.8; -47.8Unsuccessful attempt at soft landing; crashed into Moon.
Luna 8 USSR6 December 19659.6°N 62°W / 9.6; -62Unsuccessful attempt at soft landing; crashed into Moon.
Luna 9 USSR3 February 19667.13°N 64.37°W / 7.13; -64.37First successful soft landing; first pictures from the surface.
Surveyor 1 USA2 June 19662.47°S 43.33°W / -2.47; -43.33Soft landing.
Surveyor 2 USA23 September 1966Unsuccessful attempt at soft landing; crashed into Moon.
Lunar Orbiter 1 USA29 October 1966Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed at end of mission.
Luna 13 USSR24 December 196618°52′N 62°3′WSoft landing.
Surveyor 3 USA20 April 19673.028175°S 23.458208°W / -3.028175; -23.458208Soft landing. First lander visited by a later crewed mission (Apollo 12).
Surveyor 4 USA17 July 1967Contact lost on descent.
Surveyor 5 USA11 September 19671.46°N 23.20°E / 1.46; 23.20Soft landing.
Surveyor 6 USA10 November 19670.49°N 1.40°W / 0.49; -1.40Soft landing.
Surveyor 7 USA10 January 196840.86°S 11.47°W / -40.86; -11.47Soft landing.
Apollo 11 USA20 July 19690°40′26.69″N 23°28′22.69″EFirst crewed landing on an extraterrestrial body.
Luna 15 USSR21 July 1969Possible attempted sample return; crashed into Moon.

Not a crewed mission.

Apollo 12 USA18 November 19693.012389°S 23.421569°W / -3.012389; -23.421569Crewed mission.
Apollo 13 USA14 April 1970S-IVB stage crashed for seismic research (rocket stages from some other Apollo missions that successfully landed were also crashed in this manner[7])
Luna 16 USSR20 September 19700°41′S 56°18′EFirst successful robotic sample return.
Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 USSR17 November 197038°17′N 35°0′WRobotic lunar rover.
Apollo 14 USA5 February 19713°38′43.08″S 17°28′16.90″WCrewed mission.
Apollo 15 USA30 July 197126°7′55.99″N 3°38′1.90″ECrewed mission; lunar rover.
Luna 18 USSR11 September 1971Failed attempt at sample return; probable crash-landing.
Luna 20 USSR21 February 19723°32′N 56°33′ERobotic sample return.
Apollo 16 USA21 April 19728°58′22.84″S 15°30′0.68″ECrewed mission; lunar rover.
Apollo 17 USA7 December 197220°11′26.88″N 30°46′18.05″ECrewed mission; lunar rover. Last crewed landing on extraterrestrial bodies to date.
Luna 21/Lunokhod 2 USSR8 January 197325°51′N 30°27′ERobotic lunar rover.
Luna 23 USSR6 November 1974Failed attempt at sample return; damaged on landing. Operated for 3 days on the surface.
Luna 24 USSR18 August 197612°45′N 62°12′ERobotic sample return.
Hiten Japan10 April 1993Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed at end of mission.
Lunar Prospector USA31 July 199987.7°S 42.1°E / -87.7; 42.1Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed into polar crater at end of mission to test for liberation of water vapour (not detected).
SMART-1 ESA3 September 2006Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed at end of mission.
Chandrayaan-1 Moon Impact Probe India14 November 2008Impactor. Water found.
SELENE Rstar (Okina) Japan12 February 2009 Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed at end of mission.
Chang'e 1 China1 March 2009Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed at end of mission.
Kaguya Japan10 June 2009Lunar orbiter, intentionally crashed at end of mission.
LCROSS (Centaur)  USA 9 October 2009 84.675°S 48.725°W / -84.675; -48.725
84.729°S 49.360°W / -84.729; -49.360
Impactors. Water confirmed.
LCROSS (Shepherding Spacecraft)
Chang'e 3 China14 December 201344.12°N 19.51°W / 44.12; -19.51First soft landing on moon since 1976, lunar rover.
Chang'e 4 China3 January 201945.5°S 177.6°E / -45.5; 177.6First soft landing on the far side of the moon, lunar rover.
Beresheet Israel11 April 2019Israeli lunar lander crash landed on the moon.
Chandrayaan-2 India8 September 2019First attempt to land near moon's south pole; lost contact at 2.1 km and crashed.
Chang'e 5  China 1 December 2020 (lander+ascender) First lunar sample return mission by China. Ascent stage deorbited on 7 December 2020. Capsule successfully returned sample via service module on 16 December 2020.
7 December 2020 (deorbit of ascender)

Moons of Mars

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

Moons of Saturn

Titan
Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
Huygens probe ESA14 January 200510.2936°S 163.1775°E / -10.2936; 163.1775Titan floating lander. Successful soft landing. Transmitted data for 90 minutes following landing.

Other bodies

Asteroids

Body Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
ErosNEAR Shoemaker USA12 February 2001Designed 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.
ItokawaHayabusa Japan19 November 2005Accidentally stayed for 30 min.
25 November 2005 Stayed for 1 sec. Sample return (very small amount of dust successfully returned to Earth).
RyuguHayabusa2 Japan21 September 2018MINERVA-II Rover-1A and Rover-1B, deployed successfully and returned data from the surface.
France / Germany3 October 2018MASCOT rover, deployed successfully and returned data from the surface.
Japan21 February 2019Hayabusa2 first touchdown, successfully collected sample from the surface.
5 April 2019Small 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 2019Hayabusa2 second touchdown, successfully collected sub-surface material sample from the crater created by the SCI.
October 2019MINERVA-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 USA 20 October 2020 56°N 43°E OSIRIS-REx touchdown, collected sample from surface.

Comets

Body Mission Country/Agency Date of landing/impact Coordinates Notes
Comet 9P/Tempel 1Deep Impact USA4 July 2005Impactor.
Comet 67P/Churyumov–GerasimenkoRosetta ESA 12 November 2014Philae 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 2016The Rosetta orbiter was intentionally crashed into the comet.

See also

References

  1. Brian Harvey (2007). Russian planetary exploration. Springer. pp. 98–101. ISBN 0-387-46343-7.
  2. "Pioneer Venus Probes".
  3. "Mars 2, 3 (Mars M71 #1, #2, #3)".
  4. "Mars 3". Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  5. "Lost Beagle2 probe found 'intact' on Mars", BBC News, 16 January 2015
  6. "Schiaparelli crash site in colour". European Space Agency. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  7. "The Sky is Falling" Archived 2010-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, NASA, April 28, 2006
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