~4.5 billion years ago
The Moon is formed, probably by the collision of a planet-sized object
with the early Earth.
~3.8-4 billion years ago
The Earth, Moon and other planets are pelted with rocks from space. The Late Heavy Bombardment, as it is called, pockmarks the Moon's surface with craters.
~450 BC
The Greek philosopher Anaxagoras is imprisoned for claiming that the Sun is a red-hot stone rather than a deity. He proposes that the Moon shines by reflecting light from the Sun, and that it is populated by a race of humans.
~150 BC
Hipparchus of Nicaea uses trigonometry to determine the distance from the Earth to the Moon. He calculates that the distance is about 59-67 times the radius of the Earth - today it is known to be 60.
November 1609
Galileo Galilei observes the Moon with his telescope for the first time. With 20-fold magnification, Galileo could make out hills, valleys and what he thought were seas on the lunar surface.
2 January 1959
The Soviet Union launches Luna 1, the first spacecraft to fly by the Moon. Data from the mission enabled the discovery that the Moon has no magnetic field.
14 September 1959
The Soviet Union's Luna 2 crash lands, becoming the first manmade object to contact the Moon.
4 October 1959
The Soviet Union launches Luna 3, which goes on to take the first photos of the dark side of the Moon
25 May 1961
US President John F. Kennedy pledges to land a man on the Moon "and returning him safely to earth" before 1970.
3 February 1966
The Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft makes the first soft landing on the Moon. The previous five Luna missions were designed to do the same, but four crash landed, and one missed the Moon altogether.
20 July 1969
Humans make direct contact with the Moon for the first time when Neil Armstrong takes "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" from NASA's Apollo 11
13 April 1970
NASA's Apollo 13's oxygen tank explodes en route to the Moon, canceling the mission. The astronauts landed safely back on Earth a few days later.
~4.5 billion years ago
The Moon is formed, probably by the collision of a planet-sized object
with the early Earth.
12 September 1970
The USSR launches Luna 16. It becomes the first unmanned craft to land on the Moon and retrieve samples for return to Earth.
15 November 1970
The USSR's unmanned Luna 17 enters lunar orbit carrying Lunokhod 1, the first lunar rover. The vehicle covered more than 10 kilometres during nearly a year of operation, and transmitted 20,000 television pictures.
30 July 1971
Apollo 15's lunar module lands on the Moon, taking with it the first manned lunar buggy. Astronauts drive a total of 28 kilometres within 5 kilometres of the landing site.
11 December 1972
NASA's Apollo 17, the last of the six Apollo manned landers, touches down on the Moon.
31 July 1999
NASA's Lunar Prospector intentionally crashes near the lunar south pole, after more than a year of mapping the Moon's composition. Data from the crash fail to confirm previous reports of ice spied at the lunar poles.
13 November 2004
SMART-1 enters lunar orbit. The craft is part of a European project to test new space technology including propulsion and navigation systems.
3 September 2006
SMART-1 is due to crash on the Moon
Future missions
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read about future plans.
