The "Apollo 11" spacecraft "Eagle" lunar module on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It was launched on July 16, 1969 and returned to Earth from the moon on July 24.

From the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, the United States and the Soviet Union were chasing each other in the fierce space competition, each taking the lead. The lunar exploration activities were in full swing and achieved remarkable results. Although lunar exploration activities in various countries have been silent for a time due to huge costs and other reasons, in recent years, the world's space powers have once again launched a new round of lunar exploration craze.

In the past massive lunar exploration activities, human "messengers" had "close contact" with the moon again and again, making history time and time again. Humanity's insight and understanding of the moon have also improved again and again. The lunar exploration industry has made brilliant achievements.

·Between 1608 and 1610, the famous scientist Galileo used a telescope to discover that the terrain on the moon's surface was rugged and colorful. The shadowed parts were widely distributed lunar maria, while the parts that reflected stronger sunlight were the moon. The highlands on the lunar surface are covered with craters. In 1610, Galileo Galilei drew the first front-side view of the moon from what he observed with a telescope.

·On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched mankind’s first artificial earth satellite, which marked the arrival of mankind’s space age.

·In January 1959, the Soviet Union successfully launched the lunar probe "Lunar 1" that passed by the moon and sent back data.

·On September 12, 1959, the Soviet Union launched the "Lunar 2" probe and hit the moon two days later, hitting the east side of the "Sea Tranquility" on the lunar surface. This was the first time that humans had achieved this. The hard landing of a man-made object on the moon marked the beginning of mankind's close and direct scientific exploration of the moon. The Lunar 2 probe also sent back precious photos of the lunar surface to mankind for the first time, confirming that the moon does not have a global magnetic field.

·In October 1959, the "Lunar 3" probe launched by the Soviet Union bypassed the far side of the moon, and scientists obtained photos of the far side of the moon for the first time.

·On April 12, 1961, Soviet astronauts piloted the "Vostok 1" spacecraft to complete the first space flight in history. They observed the earth from space for the first time in human history and the first time in outer space. I saw what the moon looked like. Gagarin represented mankind's first entry into space, which was an important milestone in the Soviet Union's exploration of the universe. Although he did not fly around the moon, nor did he land on the moon, people later put the back of the moon in order to commemorate his contribution to the aerospace industry. A crater named "Gagarin Mountain".

·On February 3, 1966, the "Lunar 9" probe launched by the Soviet Union achieved a soft landing on the lunar surface for the first time in the history of human lunar exploration, and sent back a batch of lunar panoramic photos from the moon.

·On March 31, 1966, the Soviet Union launched the "Lunar 10" probe. The probe flew around the moon for the first time and took a large number of photos of the moon.

·On October 11, 1968, the United States successfully launched the "Apollo 7" spacecraft, which conducted the first manned flight test around the moon.

·On December 21, 1968, the United States successfully launched the "Apollo 8" spacecraft, achieving the first manned flight around the moon.

·On July 20, 1969, the American "Apollo 11" spacecraft successfully achieved the first manned landing on the moon, ushering in a new era of human understanding of the moon. Astronaut Neil Armstrong took the lead in setting foot on the moon and became the first human being to land on the moon. What he said at the time, "It's a small step for a man, but a giant step for mankind" became what he later became. A quote that has been quoted on countless occasions. On July 24 of the same year, the spacecraft successfully returned to Earth carrying astronauts.

·On September 12, 1970, the Soviet Union launched the "Lunar 16" probe. Since then, the probe has achieved the first unmanned spacecraft landing on the moon and retrieved lunar samples and returned them to the earth for the first time.

·On November 10, 1970, the Soviet Union launched the "Lunokhod 17" probe, which carried the first unmanned lunar rover "Lunokhod 1" on the lunar surface for the first time. Traveled and conducted scientific exploration, ultimately working on the moon for 11 months.

·Between 1969 and 1972, the United States carried out 6 more technically complex lunar exploration activities. Except for the "Apollo 13" spacecraft that failed to land on the moon as planned, the remaining several times were successful. success. *** 12 astronauts landed on the moon and brought back 440 kilograms of lunar rock samples to the ground. They obtained a large number of lunar photos, scientific data on the lunar surface, and orbital test data around the moon, which enabled researchers to better understand the moon. Rising to unprecedented heights also laid the foundation for future U.S. lunar exploration.

·On October 18, 1989, the United States launched the "Galileo" probe. The probe conducted multi-band imaging of the moon in November 1992, and the data obtained were widely used in lunar imaging. and research on the composition of lunar materials.

·On January 24, 1990, Japan launched the "Hiten" lunar probe. The probe did not send back data from the lunar orbit, but this was the first time it was launched by a country other than the United States and the Soviet Union. lunar probe.

·On January 25, 1994, the United States launched the "Clementine" unmanned spacecraft to conduct new landform mapping of the moon.

·On November 23, 1997, the United States launched the "Lunar Prospector" probe. The probe was designed to map the topography of the lunar surface, analyze the lunar geological structure, and search for evidence of ice or water on the moon. , completed its mission in July 1999. The instruments it carried discovered the possible presence of water at the bottom of basins at the moon's poles.

·On September 27, 2003, the European Space Agency's first lunar probe "Smart 1" was launched into space. After 14 months of flight, it arrived in near-lunar orbit over the moon on November 15, 2004. After precise position adjustment and operation, "Intelligent 1" entered a large elliptical final orbit ranging from 470 kilometers to 2,900 kilometers from the lunar surface.

While orbiting its final orbit, "Intelligent 1" conducted a large number of scientific experiments, mapped the topography and mineral distribution of the moon's surface in detail, and collected important information such as the chemical composition of its surface rocks. . According to the original plan, "Smart 1" was supposed to end its lunar exploration journey in August 2005, but due to its "excellent performance", experts from the European Space Agency unanimously decided to extend its service time by one year. On September 3, 2006, "Smart 1" completed its final mission of impacting the moon at a speed of 7,000 kilometers per hour. Scientists hope to find the answer to the mystery of the moon's origin from the dust it stirred up.

·On September 14, 2007, Japan's first lunar exploration satellite "Moon Goddess" was successfully launched. On October 5 of the same year, "Moon Goddess" entered the lunar orbit and became Japan's first lunar exploration satellite. The first lunar orbiter. This marks that Japan's space exploration has reached a new level, officially launching the world's most technologically complex, largest-scale lunar exploration program since the United States' "Apollo Project", with a total cost of US$478 million. "Moon Goddess" will conduct comprehensive observations of the moon with unprecedented precision during its one-year orbit around the moon, and pave the way for Japan's next manned lunar landing.

·In October 2007, China plans to launch the first lunar exploration satellite "Chang'e-1".

Link: A brief history of human lunar exploration

·Before the 17th century, the moon was observed with the naked eye;

·Since the 17th century, the moon was observed with telescopes;

·From the 1950s to the 1970s, the United States and the Soviet Union competed for hegemony, and the two countries launched 83 unmanned lunar probes;

·From the 1980s to the 1990s , lunar exploration has recovered after being relatively silent;

Since the 21st century, the United States, Russia, Europe, China, Japan, India, etc. have taken actions to set off another climax of lunar exploration. (