Lunar Missions Database (MoonDB)
Contributors
Researcher (3):
Supervisor (2):
-
1.
Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO)
Description
The MoonDB is a database of past and present spacecraft in cislunar space, compiled through publicly available sources. It was designed to better understand the rationale behind missions, focusing on their final results, current status, funding agencies and nations. Particular attention has also been given to the surface of the Moon, where landing sites have been identified. The database is mainly based on data collected by NASA in the Master Catalogue of the NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive (NSSDCA) [1]. Other sources are also considered, such as the Satellite Catalog (SATCAT) from the Space-Track project [2], created by the US Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSCC). The work by McDowell (2020) [3] has also been considered an inspiration for this work, although the primary source of information has remained the NASA catalogue.
Some structural and logical changes have been introduced to follow the needs of this research project. Following a list provided by the NSSDCA, a certain number of tentative USSR missions were added to the statistics [4]. Most spacecraft were destroyed due to a launch failure and were not disclosed to the public: the available information results from an investigation.
Additional information and a version changelog are provided in the readme file.
Files
202510-ArticleIAC.pdf
Additional details
References
- NASA. "Space science data coordinated archive," NASA Space Science Data Co- ordinated Archive, [Online]. Available: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ (visited on Apr. 28, 2020).
- "Space-track.org," [Online]. Available: https://www.space-track.org/ (visited on Feb. 1, 2023)
- J. C. McDowell. "Deep space catalog {v1.0}," Jonathan's Space Report. (Aug. 2020), [Online]. Available: https : / / www . planet4589 . org / space / deepcat / index.html (visited on Feb. 3, 2023).
- NASA. "Tentatively identified missions and launch failures," NSSDC, [Online]. Available: https : / / nssdc . gsfc . nasa . gov / planetary / tent _ launch . html (visited on Jun. 9, 2020).
- A. A. Siddiqi, Beyond Earth: a chronicle of deep space exploration, 1958-2016 (NASA SP 2018-4041), Second edition, in collab. with U. States and U. States. Washington D.C., USA: NASA Office of Communications, 2018, isbn: 978-1-62683- 042-4.
- D. R. Williams. "Table of anthropogenic impacts and spacecraft on the moon," NASA. (2020), [Online]. Available: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/ lunar/lunar_artifact_impacts.html (visited on Jun. 26, 2020).
- P. Guardabasso, 'Study of Cislunar Space Dynamics and Environment for Orbital Debris Mitigation', PhD Thesis, ISAE-SUPAERO University of Toulouse, 2023. [Online]. Available: http://www.theses.fr/2023ESAE0037/document
- P. Guardabasso and S. Lizy-Destrez, 'MoonDB: A Data-Driven Investigation of Past, Present, and Future Lunar Missions for Sustainable Exploration', International Astronautical Congress, October 2025, Sydney, Australia.