From the Moon's birth through Galileo's observations, the Apollo landings,
and future missions.
Click on the dates to the right to find out more.
Image: NASA
~ 4.5 BILLION YEARS AGO
The Moon is formed, probably by the collision of a planet-sized object with the early Earth.
Image: NASA~3.8 - 4 BILLION YEARS AGO
The Earth, Moon and other planets are pelted with rocks from space. The Late Heavy Bombardment, as it is called, pockmarks the Moon's surface with craters.
Image: NASA~450 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST
The Greek philosopher Anaxagoras is imprisoned for claiming that the Sun is a red-hot stone rather than a deity. He proposes that the Moon shines by reflecting light from the Sun, and that it is populated by a race of humans.
Image: NASA~150 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST
Hipparchus of Nicaea uses trigonometry to determine the distance from the Earth to the Moon. He calculates that the distance is about 59-67 times the radius of the Earth - today it is known to be 60.
NOVEMBER 1609
Galileo Galilei observes the Moon with his telescope for the first time. With 20-fold magnification, Galileo could make out hills, valleys and what he thought were seas on the lunar surface.
Image: Virtual Space Museum2 JANUARY 1959
The Soviet Union launches Luna 1, the first spacecraft to fly by the Moon. Data from the mission enabled the discovery that the Moon has no magnetic field.
Image: NASA14 SEPTEMBER 1959
The Soviet Union's Luna 2 crash lands, becoming the first manmade object to contact the Moon.
Image: NASA4 OCTOBER 1959
The Soviet Union launches Luna 3, which goes on to take the first photos of the dark side of the Moon.
Image: NASA25 MAY 1961
US President John F. Kennedy pledges to land a man on the Moon "and
return him safely to earth" before 1970.
Image: NASA3 FEBRUARY 1966
The Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft makes the first soft landing on the Moon. The previous five Luna missions were designed to do the same, but four crash landed, and one missed the Moon altogether.
Image: NASA20 JULY 1969
Humans make direct contact with the Moon for the first time when Neil Armstrong takes "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" from NASA's Apollo 11.
Image: NASA13 APRIL 1970
NASA's Apollo 13's oxygen tank explodes en route to the Moon, canceling the mission. The astronauts landed safely back on Earth a few days later.
Image: NASA12 SEPTEMBER 1970
The USSR launches Luna 16. It becomes the first unmanned craft to land on the Moon and retrieve samples for return to Earth.
Image: NASA15 NOVEMBER 1970
The USSR's unmanned Luna 17 enters lunar orbit carrying Lunokhod 1, the first lunar rover. The vehicle covered more than 10 kilometres during nearly a year of operation, and transmitted 20,000 television pictures.
Image: NASA30 JULY 1971
Apollo 15's lunar module lands on the Moon, taking with it the first manned lunar buggy. Astronauts drive a total of 28 kilometres within 5 kilometres of the landing site.
Image: NASA11 DECEMBER 1972
NASA's Apollo 17, the last of the six Apollo manned landers, touches down on the Moon.
Image: NASA31 JULY 1999
NASA's Lunar Prospector intentionally crashes near the lunar south pole, after more than a year of mapping the Moon's composition. Data from the crash fail to confirm previous reports of ice spied at the lunar poles.
Image: NASA13 NOVEMBER 2004
SMART-1 enters lunar orbit. The craft is part of a European project to test new space technology including propulsion and navigation systems.
Image: ESA3 SEPTEMBER 2006
SMART-1 is due to crash on the Moon
Image: NASAFUTURE
MISSIONS
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here to read about future plans