History of Lunar Exploration

An international fleet of unmanned lunar probes sent by the United States, Russia, Europe, India, Japan, and China has filled many gaps in our knowledge about the Moon. As the lunar quest continues into the 21st century -- and mankind returns to the Moon -- we will greatly increase our understanding of how the Moon, our world, and the entire solar system evolved.

Today, rockets and spaceships dominate our thoughts about the Moon, but mankind's fascination with the Moon goes back to the very earliest civilizations. Beginning during the Renaissance in Europe, the Moon was scrutinized for 350 years after the perfection of the astronomical telescope, but its lofty perch a quarter million miles away kept its secrets well shrouded.

The perfection of spaceflight in the mid-20th century allowed daring robotic and manned missions to the Moon. The amazing 20th century Apollo manned landings marked mankind's greatest scientific and technological achievement. The race between the world superpowers to send humans to the Moon created and defined the technology that continues to dominate our daily lives.

In the 21st century, mankind has transitioned from caveman to spaceman and humanity is on the cusp of establishing a permanent human presence on the bright orb that lights our night sky. Many nations, and even some private companies, are now capable of spaceflight and our return to the Moon is no longer the province of the classic Cold War superpowers. In the near future, a broad spectrum of nations will collectively return mankind to the surface of the Moon, and we will again see a "giant leap for mankind."

This is the full and detailed story of how the space race began, how the rockets were built and the triumphs and tragedies that resulted, what we have learned so far and a look at what we can expect in the near future as exploration of the Moon begins again.