Ranger Space Probes

First Flight of the Ranger space program

Aug 23, 1961

Ranger 1 was the first spacecraft in the Ranger program of unmanned space missions. The spacecraft was able to gather information for NASA but failed to land on the moon.

Ranger 3 is launched

Jan 26, 1962

The Ranger 3 spacecraft was unsuccessful and missed the moon entirely.

Ranger 6 is launched

Jan 30, 1964

Ranger 6 spacecraft impacted the moon but the cameras and video failed to show any images.

Ranger 7 launched

Jul 28, 1964

Ranger 7 was the first successful launch of the Ranger program. It was the first probe to reach the moon and return images to NASA.

Ranger 8 is launched

Feb 17, 1965

Ranger 8 successfully impacted the moon, took images of the lunar surface and the mission lasted 65 hours.

Ranger 9 is the last space probe launched

Mar 21, 1965

Ranger 9 took 5,800 images of the moon and provided confirmation of the moon's surface craters and it's images were broadcast on live television.