Compare Lunar Orbiters

Pick up to 4 missions to compare side-by-side. State lives in the URL — share the link and the comparison loads exactly as you left it.

Data methodology →

📊 Industry context

Six nations have placed lunar orbiters since 2007 — a 4× increase in 15 years.

Attribute	🇺🇸 Clementine (DSPSE) Deep Space Program Science Experiment Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×	🇯🇵 SELENE (Kaguya) SELenological and ENgineering Explorer Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×
Agency	USAF/NASA (BMDO)	JAXA
Status	Mission Complete	Mission Complete
Mission type	Orbiter	Orbiter
Launch date	1994-01-25	2007-09-14
End date	1994-07-20	2009-06-10
Orbit	Polar elliptical orbit 425 × 2,942 km	100 km circular polar orbit (primary phase)
Mass	424 kgas of 1994-01-25^[1]	2,855 kgas of 2007-09-14^[1]Main orbiter (2,230 kg) + Rstar relay sub-satellite (53 kg) + VRAD sub-satellite (52 kg) ↑ Heaviest
Instruments	6 cameras + laser ranger + charged particle telescopeas of 1994-01-25^[1]	15 instrumentsas of 2007-09-14^[1] ↑ Most instruments
Key findings	• First complete multispectral map of the Moon at 200–400 m/pixel • Bistatic radar experiment: first indirect evidence for water-ice at south pole • Mapped crustal thickness variations revealing the South Pole–Aitken Basin depth • Demonstrated miniaturized USAF sensor technology in deep space	• High-definition terrain camera (TC): global 10 m/pixel DEM covering 99% of the Moon • First direct detection of pure anorthosite on the near-side (LISM/MI data) • Gravity field mapped using 4-way Doppler ranging via Rstar/VRAD sub-satellites • Earth-rise movie in HD — first HD video from lunar orbit • Detected lava tubes and large sub-surface voids near Grail crater
Outcome	A USAF/NASA joint mission using miniaturized military sensor technology. Clementine produced the first global multispectral map of the Moon and provided the first indirect evidence for polar water-ice via bistatic radar. A computer malfunction during the planned asteroid flyby phase left it in an unusable orbit.	JAXA's flagship lunar orbiter, second only to LRO in scientific output. SELENE performed a controlled impact on the lunar near-side in June 2009, with the impact flash confirmed by ground telescopes. Its terrain camera produced the most complete global DEM of the Moon prior to LOLA/LRO.

Add another (2 slots left)

🇮🇳 Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter+

ISRO

Active

🇺🇸 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)+

🇪🇺 SMART-1 (Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology)+

About this tool

All 11 lunar orbital missions with primary-source citations from NASA, ESA, JAXA, ISRO, CNSA, and NASA NSSDCA. Coverage spans Clementine (1994) through LRO (active 2026). Pure URL state — bookmark or share the link and the comparison reproduces exactly.

📋 What changed recently

Jun 2026Updated KPLO/Danuri status and imagery data released by KARI in early 2026.
Jun 2026Updated LRO total years in operation to 17; revised total images to 1.5 million+.
Apr 2026Added Chandrayaan-2 orbiter mapping coverage update from ISRO's 2025–26 operations report.

Attribute

🇺🇸 Clementine (DSPSE)

Deep Space Program Science Experiment

Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ

Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×

🇯🇵 SELENE (Kaguya)

SELenological and ENgineering Explorer

Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ

Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×

Agency

USAF/NASA (BMDO)

JAXA

Status

Mission Complete

Mission type

Orbiter

Launch date

1994-01-25

2007-09-14

End date

1994-07-20

2009-06-10

Orbit

Polar elliptical orbit 425 × 2,942 km

100 km circular polar orbit (primary phase)

Mass

424 kgas of 1994-01-25^[1]

2,855 kgas of 2007-09-14^[1]Main orbiter (2,230 kg) + Rstar relay sub-satellite (53 kg) + VRAD sub-satellite (52 kg)

↑ Heaviest

Instruments

6 cameras + laser ranger + charged particle telescopeas of 1994-01-25^[1]

15 instrumentsas of 2007-09-14^[1]

↑ Most instruments

Key findings

• First complete multispectral map of the Moon at 200–400 m/pixel
• Bistatic radar experiment: first indirect evidence for water-ice at south pole
• Mapped crustal thickness variations revealing the South Pole–Aitken Basin depth
• Demonstrated miniaturized USAF sensor technology in deep space

• High-definition terrain camera (TC): global 10 m/pixel DEM covering 99% of the Moon
• First direct detection of pure anorthosite on the near-side (LISM/MI data)
• Gravity field mapped using 4-way Doppler ranging via Rstar/VRAD sub-satellites
• Earth-rise movie in HD — first HD video from lunar orbit
• Detected lava tubes and large sub-surface voids near Grail crater

Outcome

A USAF/NASA joint mission using miniaturized military sensor technology. Clementine produced the first global multispectral map of the Moon and provided the first indirect evidence for polar water-ice via bistatic radar. A computer malfunction during the planned asteroid flyby phase left it in an unusable orbit.

JAXA's flagship lunar orbiter, second only to LRO in scientific output. SELENE performed a controlled impact on the lunar near-side in June 2009, with the impact flash confirmed by ground telescopes. Its terrain camera produced the most complete global DEM of the Moon prior to LOLA/LRO.