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.
Six nations have placed lunar orbiters since 2007 — a 4× increase in 15 years.
| Attribute | |
|---|---|
| Agency | NASA |
| Status | Mission Complete |
| Mission type | Orbiter |
| Launch date | 2013-09-06 |
| End date | 2014-04-17 |
| Orbit | Low equatorial orbit ~50 km (primary); final phase 2-5 km altitude |
| Mass | 383 kgas of [1] |
| Instruments | 3 science instruments + 1 tech demoas of [1] |
| Key findings |
|
| Outcome | NASA Discovery-class orbiter that characterized the tenuous lunar atmosphere (exosphere) and dust environment. LADEE's Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration achieved 622 Mbps download from lunar orbit — a record at the time. Controlled impact on the lunar far side on 17 April 2014. |
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.