Non-exhaustive list of artificial objects that are currently orbiting the Moon. It is not precisely known whether some of them have already decayed or not. Note that probes in Cislunar space, or more generally orbiting the Earth-Moon system, are also listed here.
Estimated number of artificial objects: 21
Estimated total mass: 7.1 tons
COSPAR ID | name | type | mission | quantity | dry mass (kg) | status | date/epoch (UTC) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990-007B | HAGOROMO + KM-L | Microsatellite lunar orbiter + Booster (insertion) | HITEN, MUSES-A | 1 | 12 | LOS, defunct, probably in heliocentric orbit or crashed on the surface | March 18, 1990 |
2007-004B | THEMIS B (TIME HISTORY OF EVENTS AND MACROSCALE INTERACTIONS DURING SUBSTORMS-B), THEMIS-P1, MIDEX-5B, ARTEMIS P1 | Scientific probe | EXPLORER 86 | 1 | 77 | active | June 27, 2011 |
2007-004C | THEMIS C (TIME HISTORY OF EVENTS AND MACROSCALE INTERACTIONS DURING SUBSTORMS-C), THEMIS-P2, MIDEX-5C, ARTEMIS P2 | Scientific probe | EXPLORER 87 | 1 | 77 | active | July 17, 2011 |
2008-052A | CHANDRAYAAN-1 | Lunar orbiter | CHANDRAYAAN-1 | 1 | 523 | EOM, defunct, probably crashed on the surface | August 28, 2009 |
2009-031A | LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER, LRO | Lunar orbiter | LRO-LCROSS | 1 | 1018 | active | June 23, 2009 |
2014-065A | DFH-3A FTD (FLIGHT TEST VEHICULE) | Lunar service module | CHANG'E 5-T1 | 1 | 1150 | EOM, defunct | December 15, 2020 |
2019-042A | CHANDRAYAAN-2 OC (ORBITER CRAFT) | Lunar orbiter | CHANDRAYAAN-2 | 1 | 682 | active | August 20, 2019 |
2020-087A | CE-5 GUIDAO QI | Lunar service module | CHANG'E 5 | 1 | 900 | active, lunar DRO (Distant Retrograde Orbit), probably in heliocentric orbit | January 16, 2022 |
2022-070A | CAPSTONE (CISLUNAR AUTONOMOUS POSITIONING SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS AND NAVIGATION EXPERIMENT) | Lunar orbiter, 12U CubeSat | CAPSTONE | 1 | 25 | active, lunar NRHO (Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit) | November 14, 2022 |
2022-094A | KPLO (KOREA PATHFINDER LUNAR ORBITER) | Lunar orbiter | DANURI | 1 | 550 | active | December 16, 2022 |
2022-156E | EQUULEUS (EQUILIBRIUM LUNAR-EARTH 6U SPACECRAFT) | Lunar orbiter, 6U CubeSat | ARTEMIS I | 1 | 12.8 | active, Earth-Moon L2 Lagrange point? | November 16, 2022 |
2022-156C | LUNAR ICECUBE | Lunar orbiter, 6U CubeSat | ARTEMIS I | 1 | 13.5 | technical failure, LOS, defunct in cislunar space | November 16, 2022 |
2022-156J | LUNAH-MAP (LUNAR POLAR HYDROGEN MAPPER, SIMPLEX1) | Lunar orbiter, 6U CubeSat | ARTEMIS I | 1 | 13.5 | technical failure, LOS, defunct in cislunar space | February 15, 2023 |
2022-156K | LUNIR (LUNAR INFRARED IMAGING, SKYFIRE) | Lunar fly-by probe, 6U CubeSat | ARTEMIS I | 1 | 13.5 | technical failure, LOS, defunct in cislunar space | December 8, 2022 |
2022-156D | OMOTENASHI (OUTSTANDING MOON EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES DEMONSTRATED BY NANO SEMI-HARD IMPACTOR) ORBITING MODULE + RETRO MOTOR MODULE + AIRBAG SYSTEM + LUNAR LANDER | Lunar orbiter, 6U CubeSat + retro + airbag + lunar lander | ARTEMIS I | 1? | 12.6 | technical failure, LOS, defunct in cislunar space | November 17, 2022 |
2024-048A | DRO-A | Lunar orbiter | DRO-A/B | 1 | 650 | active, lunar DRO (Distant Retrograde Orbit)? | August 20, 2024 |
2024-048D | DRO-B | Lunar orbiter | DRO-A/B | 1 | 650 | active, lunar DRO (Distant Retrograde Orbit)? | August 20, 2024 |
2024-051A | QUEQIAO-2 RELAY SATELLITE, MAGPIE BRIDGE 2 | Lunar orbiter | QUEQIAO-2, CHANG'E RELAY SATELLITE | 1 | 712 | active | March 24, 2024 |
2024-051C | TIANDU-1 | Lunar orbiter | QUEQIAO-2, CHANG'E RELAY SATELLITE | 1 | 61 | active | March 24, 2024 |
2024-051D | TIANDU-2 | Lunar orbiter | QUEQIAO-2, CHANG'E RELAY SATELLITE | 1 | 15 | active | March 24, 2024 |
2024-083G | ICUBE-Q (ICUBE-QAMAR, SJTU SIYUAN 2) | Lunar orbiter | CHANG'E 6 | 1 | 6.5 | active | May 8, 2024 |