The Moon has been one of humanity’s biggest destinations in space exploration. Over the decades, several nations have sent spacecraft toward the Moon, with a smaller group successfully achieving soft landings on the lunar surface.
According to lunar-mission records, the Soviet Union, United States, China, India and Japan have achieved successful soft landings on the Moon. Japan joined this group with its SLIM mission in January 2024.
India has made major progress in lunar exploration through the Chandrayaan programme. The historic Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully soft-landed on the Moon in 2023, making India one of the countries to accomplish a lunar soft landing. NASA also lists India among the nations that have successfully landed on the Moon.
The United States has a long history of lunar exploration, including the famous Apollo programme. NASA’s lunar missions have included both robotic spacecraft and human missions, with American astronauts becoming the only humans to have walked on the Moon so far.
China’s Chang’e programme has become a major part of modern lunar exploration. China has successfully landed multiple spacecraft on the Moon and achieved the first sample return from the lunar far side with Chang’e-6.
Japan became the fifth country to achieve a successful soft landing on the Moon when its SLIM spacecraft landed in January 2024. The mission was notable for its precision landing technology.
The Soviet Union was a pioneer in lunar exploration, beginning some of the earliest successful robotic missions to the Moon. Modern references generally distinguish the historic Soviet missions from today’s Russian space programme.
The image circulating online includes the EU alongside countries such as India, the USA, China and Japan. However, the EU is not a country, and saying that it has independently “landed on the Moon” can be misleading. European countries and the European Space Agency have participated in lunar exploration and missions, but that is different from saying the EU itself has achieved an independent lunar soft landing.
Lunar exploration is entering another exciting phase. The United States, China, India, Japan and European partners are working on new robotic and crewed missions. NASA’s Artemis programme is aimed at expanding human exploration of the Moon, while China is also developing future lunar missions.
The Moon is no longer just a destination from the past—it is becoming an important focus for the future of space science and exploration.
