List of artificial objects on the Moon

This is a list of things people have left on the Moon, mostly during the Apollo program. The table below does not include small items like tools, retroreflectors, science experiments, or special objects left by the twelve Apollo astronauts, such as the United States flags, commemorative plaques, or the Apollo Lunar Modules.

Five S-IVB third stages of Saturn V rockets from the Apollo program crashed into the Moon. They are the heaviest human-made objects there. People have left more than 187,400 kilograms (413,100 lb) of material on the Moon. Besides the 2019 Chang'e 4 and SLIM missions, the only objects still in use are the retroreflectors for the Lunar Laser Ranging experiments left by the Apollo 11, 14, and 15 astronauts, Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander, and by the Soviet Union's Lunokhod 1 and Lunokhod 2 missions.

Objects at more than 90 degrees east or west are on the far side of the Moon, including Ranger 4, Lunar Orbiter 1, Lunar Orbiter 2, Lunar Orbiter 3, Chang'e 4 lander and Yutu-2 rover.

Because there are more missions and objects on the Moon, a global registry of lunar activities was suggested in 2023 by the Open Lunar Foundation.

List

The Moon has many objects left by space missions, especially from the Apollo program. These objects include parts of rockets and tools left behind during moon landings.

One of the heaviest items on the Moon is the S-IVB third stage of Saturn V rockets. Five of these stages crashed into the Moon after helping the Apollo missions.

Image gallery

Here are some pictures showing where people and machines landed on the Moon. You can see a map of the Moon with landing spots marked. There is a picture of the Surveyor 3 robot on the Moon, taken by Alan Bean during the Apollo 12 mission in 1969. There are also maps showing where experiments with lasers were set up and a map showing all the places where landers landed safely on the Moon’s surface.