1966 – today
The ghost timeline
Follow the robots from the first Moon landing attempts to today.
Surveyor 1 makes the first US soft landing on the Moon.
Surveyor 3 mission →Surveyor 3 launches aboard an Atlas-Centaur rocket.
Launch and journey →Surveyor 3 lands, bounces twice, then tests lunar soil with its surface sampler.
The lunar landing →Surveyor 6 hops about 4 metres, the first time a spacecraft lifts off from the Moon on purpose.
Did you know? →Surveyor 7 lands on the rim of Tycho crater.
Surveyor facts →Eagle lands the first astronauts. Its descent stage stays behind.
The landing →Mission control switches on the EASEP science station from Earth while the astronauts are still outside.
EASEP science →Apollo 12 astronauts walk up to Surveyor 3 and take its camera home.
The Apollo 12 visit →Apollo 17 launches, carrying the last Lunar Module flown to the Moon.
Apollo 11 mission →Spirit lands in Gusev Crater.
Two landing sites →Opportunity lands on Meridiani Planum, on the opposite side of Mars.
Two landing sites →Spirit gets stuck in soft sand at Troy, near Home Plate.
Spirit: the long climb →Spirit sends its last message from Troy.
Spirit: the long climb →NASA stops calling Spirit after more than a year of trying.
Endurance and legacy →A global dust storm silences Opportunity.
Endurance and legacy →NASA announces the end of Opportunity's mission.
Endurance and legacy →Perseverance passes Opportunity's off-world driving record.
A record falls →