{
  "apollo-11": {
    "title": "Apollo 11",
    "description": "July 20, 1969 — the first crewed landing on the Moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin worked on the surface in the Mare Tranquillitatis region, deployed scientific instruments, collected lunar samples, and made humanity’s first steps on another celestial body. Lunar module — Eagle.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "apollo-12": {
    "title": "Apollo 12",
    "description": "November 19, 1969 — the second crewed landing on the Moon and the first truly precise landing of the Apollo program. Charles Conrad and Alan Bean landed in Oceanus Procellarum near the Surveyor 3 robotic spacecraft, inspected it, and returned some of its parts to Earth. Lunar module — Intrepid.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "apollo-14": {
    "title": "Apollo 14",
    "description": "February 5, 1971 — a crewed expedition to the Fra Mauro region, the site originally intended for Apollo 13. Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell collected samples of ancient rocks, performed experiments, and used a hand cart to transport equipment. Lunar module — Antares.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "apollo-15": {
    "title": "Apollo 15",
    "description": "July 30, 1971 — the first extended scientific Apollo expedition using the Lunar Roving Vehicle. David Scott and James Irwin explored the Hadley–Apennine region, traveled a significant distance across the surface, and collected important geological samples, including the famous “Genesis Rock.” Lunar module — Falcon.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "apollo-16": {
    "title": "Apollo 16",
    "description": "April 21, 1972 — a crewed expedition to the Descartes Highlands. John Young and Charles Duke investigated ancient lunar highland rocks, operated the rover, and helped refine scientific understanding of the Moon’s highland geology. Lunar module — Orion.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "apollo-17": {
    "title": "Apollo 17",
    "description": "December 11, 1972 — the final crewed landing of the Apollo program and the longest human surface stay on the Moon. Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt explored the Taurus–Littrow valley; Schmitt was the first professional geologist to walk on the Moon. The expedition returned a large collection of samples and scientific data. Lunar module — Challenger.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "luna-9": {
    "title": "Luna 9",
    "description": "February 3, 1966 — the first successful soft landing on the Moon. The Soviet robotic spacecraft landed in Oceanus Procellarum and transmitted the first panoramic photographs taken directly from the lunar surface. The mission proved that a lander could survive touchdown and continue operating after landing.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "luna-13": {
    "title": "Luna 13",
    "description": "December 24, 1966 — a Soviet robotic soft landing in Oceanus Procellarum. The spacecraft transmitted panoramic images of the surface and carried out early mechanical studies of the lunar soil using deployable instruments. The mission built on the success of Luna 9 and provided more detailed data on the properties of the regolith.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "luna-16": {
    "title": "Luna 16",
    "description": "September 20, 1970 — the first successful robotic return of lunar soil to Earth. The spacecraft landed in Mare Fecunditatis, drilled into the surface, collected a sample, and launched it back in a return capsule. It was the first mission to bring material from another celestial body back to Earth without a crew.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "luna-17": {
    "title": "Luna 17 / Lunokhod 1",
    "description": "November 17, 1970 — the Luna 17 lander delivered Lunokhod 1, the first successful rover on another celestial body. The mission operated in the Mare Imbrium region; the rover returned panoramas, studied the soil, measured the Earth–Moon distance with a laser reflector, and demonstrated long-duration mobile exploration on the lunar surface.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "luna-20": {
    "title": "Luna 20",
    "description": "February 21, 1972 — a Soviet robotic sample-return mission from the Mare Fecunditatis region. Unlike Luna 16, it collected material from a more rugged highland area near the mare, allowing scientists to compare different types of lunar terrain. The samples were successfully returned to Earth.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "luna-21": {
    "title": "Luna 21 / Lunokhod 2",
    "description": "January 15, 1973 — the Luna 21 lander delivered Lunokhod 2, the second Soviet lunar rover. It operated near Le Monnier crater on the eastern edge of Mare Serenitatis, returned images, studied soil properties, and traveled a much greater distance than the first Lunokhod.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "luna-23": {
    "title": "Luna 23",
    "description": "November 6, 1974 — a Soviet robotic landing in Mare Crisium. The mission was intended to collect lunar soil and return it to Earth, but the drilling mechanism was damaged during or shortly after landing, so the sample-return objective could not be completed. Even so, the mission helped confirm Mare Crisium as an important target for later exploration.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "luna-24": {
    "title": "Luna 24",
    "description": "August 18, 1976 — a Soviet robotic sample-return mission from Mare Crisium. The spacecraft drilled into the surface, collected a core of lunar soil, and successfully returned it to Earth. It was the final Soviet lunar mission and the last lunar sample-return mission before China’s Chang’e 5 in 2020.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "surveyor-1": {
    "title": "Surveyor 1",
    "description": "June 2, 1966 — the first successful U.S. soft landing on the Moon. The robotic spacecraft landed in Oceanus Procellarum and returned thousands of television images of the surface. The mission confirmed that the lunar soil was firm enough to support landers and future crewed Apollo missions.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "surveyor-3": {
    "title": "Surveyor 3",
    "description": "April 20, 1967 — a U.S. robotic lander in Oceanus Procellarum. The spacecraft studied the mechanical properties of the lunar soil with a small scoop and returned images of the surrounding terrain. In 1969, the Apollo 12 astronauts visited the landing site and brought some Surveyor 3 components back to Earth.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "surveyor-5": {
    "title": "Surveyor 5",
    "description": "September 11, 1967 — a soft landing in Mare Tranquillitatis. The spacecraft returned surface images and performed a chemical analysis of the soil using alpha scattering. These data helped confirm the basaltic nature of the lunar maria and supported the selection of future Apollo landing areas.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "surveyor-6": {
    "title": "Surveyor 6",
    "description": "November 10, 1967 — a robotic landing in Sinus Medii, near the central region of the Moon’s visible disk. The spacecraft studied the surface, returned images, and performed a short engine-powered “hop,” becoming the first spacecraft from Earth to lift off from the lunar surface and make a second soft landing.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "surveyor-7": {
    "title": "Surveyor 7",
    "description": "January 10, 1968 — the final mission of the Surveyor program and the only landing of the series in a lunar highland region, near Tycho crater. The spacecraft returned images, investigated the soil, and performed chemical measurements. The mission provided an important comparison between the composition of lunar maria and highland terrain.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "change-3": {
    "title": "Chang'e 3",
    "description": "December 14, 2013 — China’s first soft landing on the Moon. The spacecraft landed in Mare Imbrium and delivered the Yutu rover, marking a major step in China’s lunar program after the Chang’e 1 and Chang’e 2 orbital missions. The landing showed that China could not only orbit the Moon, but also operate directly on its surface.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "yutu": {
    "title": "Yutu Rover",
    "description": "December 15, 2013 — the Yutu rover, also known as the “Jade Rabbit,” rolled off the Chang’e 3 landing platform in the Mare Imbrium region. It studied the lunar soil and nearby terrain, returning panoramic images and instrument data. Although its mobility was later limited by a technical problem, the mission became China’s first experience operating a rover on the Moon.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "change-4": {
    "title": "Chang'e 4",
    "description": "January 3, 2019 — the first soft landing in history on the far side of the Moon. Chang’e 4 landed in Von Kármán crater within the giant South Pole–Aitken basin and delivered the Yutu-2 rover. Because direct radio communication with Earth is impossible from the far side, the mission used the Queqiao relay satellite, making it an important technology demonstration for future far-side lunar exploration.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "change-5": {
    "title": "Chang'e 5",
    "description": "December 1, 2020 — China’s robotic landing in Oceanus Procellarum near Mons Rümker. The mission collected lunar soil and returned it to Earth, becoming the first successful lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Luna 24 mission in 1976. The samples are especially valuable because they came from relatively young volcanic rocks.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "change-6": {
    "title": "Chang'e 6",
    "description": "June 1, 2024 — China’s sample-return mission from the far side of the Moon. The lander touched down in the southern part of Apollo basin, within the larger South Pole–Aitken basin. The mission collected soil and rock samples from the lunar far side, a region that is geologically different from the near side and had long remained almost inaccessible to landing missions.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "chandrayaan-3-vikram": {
    "title": "Chandrayaan-3 Vikram",
    "description": "August 23, 2023 — India’s first successful soft landing on the Moon and the first landing near the lunar south polar region. The Vikram lander delivered the small Pragyan rover to a site later named Shiv Shakti. The mission was a major demonstration of India’s landing, surface mobility, and in-situ lunar soil analysis technologies.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "slim": {
    "title": "SLIM",
    "description": "January 19, 2024 — Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon made a soft landing near Shioli crater. SLIM’s main goal was not long-duration surface science, but the demonstration of high-precision landing technology: the spacecraft was designed to land much closer to a selected target than earlier lunar missions typically could.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "im-1-odysseus": {
    "title": "IM-1 Odysseus",
    "description": "February 22, 2024 — the Nova-C Odysseus lander by Intuitive Machines landed in the Moon’s southern polar region, near the Malapert A area. It was a commercial mission under NASA’s CLPS program, designed to deliver scientific instruments and technology demonstrations to the Moon through private companies.",
    "link": ""
  },
  "blue-ghost": {
    "title": "Blue Ghost Mission 1",
    "description": "March 2, 2025 — Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander made a soft landing in the Mare Crisium region, near Mons Latreille. The mission delivered a set of NASA science and technology payloads under the CLPS program and became one of the early successful commercial lunar landings in the new wave of private Moon missions.",
    "link": ""
  }
}