Moon exploration

Moon exploration involves scientific missions to study Earth's natural satellite. Starting with the Soviet Luna program in the 1950s, significant milestones include NASA’s Apollo missions, which put humans on the Moon from 1969 to 1972. These missions gathered samples and conducted experiments. More recent endeavors include robotic landers and orbiters, like NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which maps the surface. Goals of current and future missions include understanding the Moon's geology, searching for water, and preparing for potential human settlement, as well as paving the way for further space exploration beyond our lunar neighbor.