Since 1959, the space programs of Earth have hurled machines at the moon. Many were intentionally crashed to gather scientific data, some crashed by accident, some were left to crash once their orbit decayed, and others landed softly and safely.
Here are some of the most significant artifacts now scattered across the face of the moon:
Luna 2 - 1959
Ranger 4 - 1962
Ranger 6 - 1964
Ranger 7 - 1964
Luna 5 - 1965
Luna 7 - 1965
Luna 8 - 1965
Ranger 8 - 1965
Ranger 9 - 1965
Luna 9 - 1966
Luna 10 - 1966
Luna 11 - 1966
Luna 12 - 1966
Luna 13 - 1966
Surveyor 1 - 1966
Lunar Orbiter 1 - 1966
Surveyor 2 - 1966
Lunar Orbiter 2 - 1966
Lunar Orbiter 3 - 1966
Surveyor 3 - 1967
Lunar Orbiter 4 - 1967
Surveyor 4 - 1967
Explorer 35 (IMP-E) - 1967
Lunar Orbiter 5 - 1967
Surveyor 5 - 1967
Surveyor 6 - 1967
Surveyor 7 - 1967
Luna 14 - 1968
Apollo 10 LM (Snoopy) ascent and descent stages - 1969
Luna 15 - 1969
Apollo 11 LM-5 (Eagle) descent stage - 1969
Apollo 11 LM (Eagle) ascent stage - 1969
Apollo 12 LM-6 (Intrepid) descent stage - 1969
Apollo 12 LM (Intrepid) ascent stage - 1969
Luna 16 descent stage - 1970
Luna 17 & Lunokhod 1 - 1970
Apollo 13 S-IVB (S-IVB-508) - 1970
Luna 18 - 1971
Luna 19 - 1971
Apollo 14 S-IVB (S-IVB-509) - 1971
Apollo 14 LM-8 (Antares) descent stage - 1971
Apollo 14 LM-8 (Antares) ascent stage - 1971
Apollo 15 S-IVB (S-IVB-510) - 1971
Apollo 15 LM-10 (Falcon) descent stage - 1971
Apollo 15 LM-10 (Falcon) ascent stage - 1971
Apollo 15 subsatellite - 1971
Luna 20 descent stage - 1972
Apollo 16 S-IVB (S-IVB-511) - 1972
Apollo 16 LM-11 (Orion) descent stage - 1972
Apollo 16 LM-11 (Orion) ascent stage - 1972
Apollo 16 subsatellite - 1972
Apollo 17 S-IVB (S-IVB-512) - 1972
Apollo 17 LM-12 (Challenger) descent stage - 1972
Apollo 17 LM-12 (Challenger) ascent stage - 1972
Luna 21 & Lunokhod 2 - 1973
Explorer 49 (RAE-B) - 1973
Luna 22 - 1974
Luna 23 - - 1974
Luna 24 descent stage - 1976
Hagoromo (satellite launched from Hiten) - 1990
Hiten - 1993
Lunar Prospector - 1998
SMART-1 - 2006
Moon Impact Probe (MIP) from Chandrayaan-1 - 2008
Kaguya Rstar (Okina) subsatellite - 2009
Chang'e 1 - 2009
Kaguya main orbiter - 2009
LCROSS Shepherding Spacecraft - 2009
LCROSS Centaur - 2009
GRAIL A/B (Ebb and Flow) - crashes planned for Dec. 17, 2012
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