Assorted Lunar Mission Facts First Earth Creatures to reach the Moon: Russian Turtles aboard the USSR's Zond 5 in 1968. They looped around the moon with some flies and worms, and returned safely to Earth 3 months before the Humans aboard Apollo 8 did the same. First Manmade object to touch the Moon: The USSR's Luna 2 impacted the Moon at roughly 6,500 mph on Sep 13th, 1959. It carried radio equipment and Russian Emblems and Ribbons, which were explosively dispersed across the Lunar surface on impact. Words learned while compiling this list: Mascon, Cislunar, Barycentric, Selenocentric Year with the most missions: 1969 had 13 attempts, with 4 successes, including Apollo 11, carrying the first Men on the Moon. Number of missions, tentatively identified by NASA, but not officially acknowledged by the USSR: 29. First Images Ever seen of the Moon's Far Side: 18 images made in 1959 by Russia's Luna 3, including the first image ever. Luna 3 carried a camera, 40 frames of 35mm film, several lenses, a film-developing apparatus, an electronic scanner and image transmitter. First Soft (controlled) landing on the Moon: Russia's Luna 9 in February of 1966. Number of Spacecraft still sitting intact on the Moon: 19, including 5 Lunar Rovers (3 US and 2 USSR) Length of time Russia's Lunokhod 1 Rover vehicle was operational on the surface: 322 days Number of Spacecraft still in orbit around the Moon: 4? Probably only One. Satellites are often listed as "in orbit" for decades after they were last heard from. What is most probable is that satellites in low Lunar orbit eventually fell from the sky and impacted the surface. The Moon has "lumpy" gravity that makes low orbits hard to maintain. Number of Humans sent to the Moon: 27 - All made up of of 3-men Apollo Crews. Number of Humans to set foot on the Moon: 12 - All made up of 2-man Apollo Lander Crews. Total haul of Lunar Samples: 381.3 kg (840.1 lbs) of Soil and Rocks. Of that, 381 kg (839.9 lbs) was returned by Manned US Missions. The USSR collected a total of 301 grams (10.5 oz) over three missions. Total time spent on the Moon by Humans: 12 Days, 12 hours, spread over 6 Apollo Missions. Total Time spent Walking on the moon: 3 Days, 8 hours, total time for 14 moonwalks (EVAs). Last Human Presence on the Moon: December 14th, 1972 - Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of Apollo 17 leave of the Lunar Surface for the last time.     Lunar Links NASA's Lunar Exploration Timeline NASA's Lunar Exploration Overview BBCi's Space Exploration Mission Timeline Michael Light's Full Moon, a wonderful photo book Apollo Image Gallery Apollo Lunar Surface Journal Apollo: The Epic Journey to the Moon also a good book National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) Image Catalog Astrolink.de Missionen Soviet & Russian Space Activities NASA's Tentatively Identified Soviet Missions and Launch Failures NASDA's Probes to explore the moon and unknown planets Apollo History Lunar and Planetary Institute Overview Wikipedia Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes