Exploration of the Moon in the context of "Far side of the Moon"

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) (国立研究開発法人宇宙航空研究開発機構, Kokuritsu-kenkyū-kaihatsu-hōjin Uchū Kōkū Kenkyū Kaihatsu Kikō; lit. 'National Research and Development Agency Aerospace Research and Development Organisation') is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in many more advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration of the Moon. Its motto is One JAXA and its corporate slogan is Explore to Realize (formerly Reaching for the skies, exploring space).

The Artemis program is a Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1. The program is intended to reestablish a human presence on the Moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, with a stated long-term goal of establishing a permanent base on the Moon. This will facilitate human missions to Mars.

Two principal elements of the Artemis program are derived from the now-cancelled Constellation program: the Orion spacecraft (with the ESM instead of a US-built service module) and the Space Launch System's (SLS) solid rocket boosters (originally developed for the Ares V). Other elements of the program, such as the Lunar Gateway space station and the Human Landing System, are in development by government space agencies and private spaceflight companies, collaborations bound by the Artemis Accords and governmental contracts.

The geology of the Moon (sometimes called selenology, although the latter term can refer more generally to "lunar science") is the structure and composition of the Moon, which is quite different from that of Earth. The Moon lacks a true atmosphere outside of a sparse layer of gas. Because of this, the absence of free oxygen and water eliminates erosion due to weather. Instead, the surface is eroded much more slowly through the bombardment of the lunar surface by micrometeorites. It does not have any known form of plate tectonics, along with having a lower gravity compared to Earth. Because of its small size, it cooled faster in the early days of its formation. In addition to impacts, the geomorphology of the lunar surface has been shaped by volcanism, which is now thought to have ended less than 50 million years ago. The Moon is a differentiated body, with a crust, mantle, and core.

Geological studies of the Moon are based on a combination of Earth-based telescope observations, measurements from orbiting spacecraft, lunar samples, and geophysical data. Six locations were sampled directly during the crewed Apollo program landings from 1969 to 1972, which returned 382 kilograms (842 lb) of lunar rock and lunar soil to Earth. In addition, three robotic Soviet Luna spacecraft returned another 301 grams (10.6 oz) of samples, and the Chinese robotic Chang'e 5 returned a sample of 1,731 g (61.1 oz) in 2020.

Missions to the Moon have been numerous and represent some of the earliest endeavours in space missions, with continuous exploration of the Moon beginning in 1959.

The first partially successful lunar mission was Luna 1 in January 1959, which became the first probe to escape Earth's gravity and perform a flyby of another astronomical body, passing near the Moon. Soon after, the first Moon landing—and the first landing on any extraterrestrial body—was carried out by Luna 2, which intentionally impacted the Moon on 14 September 1959. The far side of the Moon, permanently hidden from Earth due to tidal locking, was imaged for the first time by Luna 3 on 7 October 1959, revealing terrain never before seen.

The Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, had three stages, and was powered by liquid fuel. Flown from 1967 to 1973, it was used for nine crewed flights to the Moon and to launch Skylab, the first American space station.

As of 2025, the Saturn V remains the only launch vehicle to have carried humans beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). The Saturn V holds the record for the largest payload capacity to low Earth orbit, 140,000 kg (310,000 lb), which included unburned propellant needed to send the Apollo command and service module and Lunar Module to the Moon.

Apollo 16 (April 16–27, 1972) was the tenth crewed mission in the United States Apollo space program, administered by NASA, and the fifth and penultimate to land on the Moon. It was the second of Apollo's "J missions", with an extended stay on the lunar surface, a focus on science, and the use of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The landing and exploration were in the Descartes Highlands, a site chosen because some scientists expected it to be an area formed by volcanic action, though this proved not to be the case.

The mission was crewed by Commander John Young, Lunar Module Pilot Charles Duke and Command Module Pilot Ken Mattingly. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 16, 1972, Apollo 16 experienced a number of minor glitches en route to the Moon. These culminated with a problem with the spacecraft's main engine that resulted in a six-hour delay in the Moon landing as NASA managers contemplated having the astronauts abort the mission and return to Earth, before deciding the problem could be overcome. Although they permitted the lunar landing, NASA had the astronauts return from the mission one day earlier than planned.