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	🇰🇷 KPLO (Danuri) Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter Active · Last updated 2026-06-01 Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×	🇨🇳 Chang'e 2 (嫦娥二号) Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×	🇯🇵 SELENE (Kaguya) SELenological and ENgineering Explorer Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×
Agency	KARI / NASA	CNSA	JAXA
Status	Active	Mission Complete	Mission Complete
Mission type	Orbiter	Orbiter	Orbiter
Launch date	2022-08-05	2010-10-01	2007-09-14
End date	Active	2012-12-13	2009-06-10
Orbit	100 km circular polar orbit	100 km circular polar orbit, later 15 km periapsis for Sinus Iridum imaging	100 km circular polar orbit (primary phase)
Mass	678 kgas of 2022-08-05^[1]	2,480 kgas of 2010-10-01^[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 instrumentsas of 2022-08-05^[1]LUTI, PolCam, KMAG, KGRS, LVND, ShadowCam (NASA contributed)	7 instrumentsas of 2010-10-01^[1]	15 instrumentsas of 2007-09-14^[1] ↑ Most instruments
Key findings	• NASA ShadowCam (1000× more sensitive than LRO NAC) imaged permanently shadowed regions • Mapped near-side and far-side in high resolution for future Korean lander site selection • PolCam wide-angle polarimetric imager surveyed surface roughness and particle sizes • KGRS gamma-ray spectrometer mapping elemental composition	• 7 m/pixel global lunar map — highest-resolution complete lunar map at the time • 1.5 m/pixel images of Sinus Iridum (future Chang'e 3 candidate landing site) • First Chinese spacecraft to reach Earth-Sun L2 point (April 2011) • Flyby of asteroid 4179 Toutatis at 3.2 km distance (December 2012)	• 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	South Korea's first lunar spacecraft, a joint KARI–NASA mission. The NASA-provided ShadowCam instrument has revealed unprecedented detail inside permanently shadowed polar craters that could host water-ice. The mission is on an extended science phase as of 2026.	Chang'e 2 far exceeded its primary mission. After completing its lunar mapping goals, it traveled to the Earth-Sun L2 point (first Chinese L2 mission), then flew past asteroid 4179 Toutatis at 3.2 km — the closest-ever asteroid encounter. Now in a heliocentric orbit, drifting beyond Mars.	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 (1 slot left)

Clear comparison

🇮🇳 Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter+

ISRO

Active

🇺🇸 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)+

🇺🇸 Clementine (DSPSE)+

🇪🇺 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

🇰🇷 KPLO (Danuri)

Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter

Active · Last updated 2026-06-01

Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ

Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×

🇨🇳 Chang'e 2 (嫦娥二号)

Trust: Operator-primaryⓘ

Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×

🇯🇵 SELENE (Kaguya)

SELenological and ENgineering Explorer

Trust: Agency-primaryⓘ

Last verified 2026-06-01Remove ×

Agency

KARI / NASA

CNSA

JAXA

Status

Active

Mission Complete

Mission type

Orbiter

Launch date

2022-08-05

2010-10-01

2007-09-14

End date

Active

2012-12-13

2009-06-10

Orbit

100 km circular polar orbit

100 km circular polar orbit, later 15 km periapsis for Sinus Iridum imaging

100 km circular polar orbit (primary phase)

Mass

678 kgas of 2022-08-05^[1]

2,480 kgas of 2010-10-01^[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 instrumentsas of 2022-08-05^[1]LUTI, PolCam, KMAG, KGRS, LVND, ShadowCam (NASA contributed)

7 instrumentsas of 2010-10-01^[1]

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

↑ Most instruments

Key findings

• NASA ShadowCam (1000× more sensitive than LRO NAC) imaged permanently shadowed regions
• Mapped near-side and far-side in high resolution for future Korean lander site selection
• PolCam wide-angle polarimetric imager surveyed surface roughness and particle sizes
• KGRS gamma-ray spectrometer mapping elemental composition

• 7 m/pixel global lunar map — highest-resolution complete lunar map at the time
• 1.5 m/pixel images of Sinus Iridum (future Chang'e 3 candidate landing site)
• First Chinese spacecraft to reach Earth-Sun L2 point (April 2011)
• Flyby of asteroid 4179 Toutatis at 3.2 km distance (December 2012)

• 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

South Korea's first lunar spacecraft, a joint KARI–NASA mission. The NASA-provided ShadowCam instrument has revealed unprecedented detail inside permanently shadowed polar craters that could host water-ice. The mission is on an extended science phase as of 2026.

Chang'e 2 far exceeded its primary mission. After completing its lunar mapping goals, it traveled to the Earth-Sun L2 point (first Chinese L2 mission), then flew past asteroid 4179 Toutatis at 3.2 km — the closest-ever asteroid encounter. Now in a heliocentric orbit, drifting beyond Mars.

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.