The number of rockets that have successfully landed on the moon is not a straightforward count, as it depends on how one defines ‘rockets’ and ‘landing.’ However, if we focus on missions that were designed to land on the lunar surface, several significant missions come to mind.
The most notable are the Apollo missions conducted by NASA between 1969 and 1972, during which six crewed landers successfully touched down on the moon. These include:
- Apollo 11
- Apollo 12
- Apollo 14
- Apollo 15
- Apollo 16
- Apollo 17
In addition to the crewed Apollo landers, there have been numerous robotic landers and missions from various countries, such as the Soviet Luna program and more recently, China’s Chang’e missions. These missions have also achieved successful landings on the lunar surface.
To summarize, while the exact number can vary based on definitions and criteria, the historical count includes at least 12 successful landings from the Apollo program alone, along with additional robotic landings by other missions. Thus, the total number of rockets or landers that have touched down on the moon is over 20 when considering all lunar exploration missions.