Several spacecraft from different countries orbit the Moon. NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has mapped it in detail since 2009, spotting the Apollo landing sites and the tracks left by astronauts. India’s Chandrayaan-2 orbiter and South Korea’s Danuri photograph the surface and look for water ice in craters that never see the Sun. NASA’s two ARTEMIS probes study the space environment, and China relies on relay satellites to talk with landers on the far side, which never faces the Earth. Some of these orbits pass low over the poles; others swing far out. The 3D view shows the spacecraft whose trajectories JPL Horizons publishes.
Which spacecraft are orbiting the Moon?
Computing…
| Name | Agency | Status | Altitude |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) | NASA | Active | … |
| Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter | ISRO | Active | … |
| Danuri (KPLO) | KASA / KARI | Active | … |
| ARTEMIS P1 (THEMIS-B) | NASA | Active | … |
| ARTEMIS P2 (THEMIS-C) | NASA | Active | … |
| CAPSTONE | Advanced Space (NASA mission complete) | Active | … |
| SWC-1 (Shams) | Saudi Space Agency (SSA) | Active | no published trajectory |
| Queqiao-2 relay satellite | CNSA | Active | no published trajectory |
| Tiandu-2 | Deep Space Exploration Laboratory | Status unknown | no published trajectory |
| Tiandu-1 | Deep Space Exploration Laboratory | Active | no published trajectory |
| Queqiao relay satellite | CNSA | Active | no published trajectory |
| DRO-A | CAS (CSU) | Active | no published trajectory |
| DRO-B | CAS (CSU) | Active | no published trajectory |
Questions and answers
Why are there relay satellites for the Moon?
The far side of the Moon never faces the Earth, so a lander there needs a satellite that sees both it and the Earth to pass its messages.
Why are some lunar missions missing from the 3D view?
Perigee only draws spacecraft whose trajectory is published; the others are listed without a position.
Where the numbers come from
Values refresh every second in your browser; the published data are checked every 10 minutes and updated several times a day.