List of retroreflectors on the Moon

Retroreflectors are devices which reflect light back to its source. Six retroreflectors were left at six sites on the Moon by three crews of the Apollo program, two by remote landers of the Lunokhod program, one by the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program and one by the Chandrayaan program.^[1] Lunar reflectors have enabled precise measurement of the Earth–Moon distance since 1969 using lunar laser ranging.^[2]

The locations of lunar retroreflectors left by Apollo (A) and Luna (L) missions.

There have been several additional attempts to land retroreflectors on the lunar surface which were unsuccessful, and several future attempts are planned.

Successfully placed reflectors

Operator	Mission	Name	Date	Location	Coordinates	Size	Status	Comment
NASA	Apollo 11	LRRR	21 July 1969	Mare Tranquillitatis	0.6734°N 23.4731°E / 0.6734; 23.4731[3]	46×46 cm[4]	Operational	[5]
Soviet Union	Luna 17	Lunokhod 1	17 November 1970	Mare Imbrium	38.3152°N 35.0080°W / 38.3152; -35.0080[3]	44×19 cm[1]	Operational	Rediscovered in 2010[6][7][8][9]
NASA	Apollo 14	LRRR	31 January 1971	Fra Mauro formation	3.6442°S 17.4786°W / -3.6442; -17.4786[3]	46×46 cm	Operational	[10]
NASA	Apollo 15	LRRR	31 July 1971	Hadley–Apennine	26.1334°N 3.6285°E / 26.1334; 3.6285[3]	105×65 cm	Operational	[11]
Soviet Union	Luna 21	Lunokhod 2	15 January 1973	Le Monnier crater	25.8323°N 30.9221°E / 25.8323; 30.9221[3]	44×19 cm[1]	Operational	[12][13]
ISRO	Chandrayaan-3	Vikram	23 August 2023	Statio Shiv Shakti	69.367621°S 32.348126°E / -69.367621; 32.348126	5.11 cm diameter[14]	Operational	[15][16][17][18]
University of Maryland	Blue Ghost Mission 1	Next Generation Lunar Retroreflectors (NGLR) on Blue Ghost Mission 1	March 2, 2025	Mare Crisium near Mons Latreille	18.56°N 61.81°E / 18.56; 61.81[19]	17x13x12 cm	Operational	[20][21][22]

Attempted and planned reflectors

Operator	Mission	Name	Date	Location	Coordinates	Status	Comment
SpaceIL, IAI	Beresheet	Beresheet	11 April 2019	Mare Serenitatis	32.5956°N 19.3496°E / 32.5956; 19.3496	Crashed	[23][24][25]
ISRO	Chandrayaan-2	Vikram	6 September 2019		70.8810°S 22.7840°E / -70.8810; 22.7840	Crashed	[26][27]
Moon Express	Lunar Scout	MoonLIGHT on MX-1E	July 2020	Malapert Mountain	84.9°S 12.9°E / -84.9; 12.9	Cancelled	[28][29]
Astrobotic	Mission One	LRA on Peregrine	May 2023	Lacus Mortis		Aborted, controlled re-entry	[30]
Roscosmos	Luna 25	Luna 25	August 2023	Pontécoulant G crater	57.865°S 61.360°E / -57.865; 61.360	Crashed	[31][32][33]
Intuitive Machines	IM-1	LRA on Nova-C IM-1	February 2024	Malapert (crater)	80.13°S 1.44°E / -80.13; 1.44	Failed	[34][30]
Intuitive Machines	IM-2	LRA on Nova-C IM-2	6 March 2025	Mons Mouton	85°S 31°W	Failed

Gallery

• 
  Apollo 11 Lunar Laser Ranging Retroreflector
• 
  Apollo 14 retroreflector
• 
  Close-up of Apollo 15 retroreflector
• 
  Model of Lunokhod 2. The retroreflector is the hexagonal box with open lid in the front.

See also

• Lunar Laser Ranging experiment
• List of artificial objects on the Moon
• List of missions to the Moon