| Name | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location | Detailed Location | Country | Cislunar Status | Orbit Type | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name Icube-Q | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Elliptical Frozen Lunar Orbit An elliptical frozen lunar orbit (EFLO) is an orbit about the moon that typically is highly eccentric, with a much lower periapse altitude than apoapse. Because the Moon's gravity is very irregular, there is a limited range of stable orbits. "Frozen" orbits maintain desirable orbit geometry in the face of these gravity perturbations, and are thus popular for use. Many high-altitude Lunar orbits are in elliptical frozen orbits for this reason |
Detailed Location
140.6 degree inclination, 200 x 8890 km altitude, 270 deg argument of periapse |
Country Pakistan | Cislunar Status On-orbit/Operational | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20240725042353/https://www.ist.edu.pk/icube-q, https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=CHANG-E-6 |
| Name Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) + Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Gateway L2S NRHO The Gateway L2S NRHO (Near-Rectilinear-Halo-Orbit) is a subset of the L2 Southern Halo family with a low periapse over the lunar north pole and a high periapse over the lunar south pole. NASA's Gateway station will be placed in this orbit, so it is of high-interest. |
Detailed Location
Gateway L2S NRHO The Gateway L2S NRHO (Near-Rectilinear-Halo-Orbit) is a subset of the L2 Southern Halo family with a low periapse over the lunar north pole and a high periapse over the lunar south pole. NASA's Gateway station will be placed in this orbit, so it is of high-interest. |
Country ESA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Cislunar Three-Body Orbit | Sources https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20200002143/downloads/20200002143.pdf, https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-awards-contract-to-launch-initial-eleme…, https://www.nasa.gov/reference/gateway-about/ |
| Name Artemis 2 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Lunar Free-Return Trajectory A trajectory that is launched from Earth, encounters the Moon, then ballistically returns to Earth. |
Detailed Location
Lunar Free-Return Trajectory A trajectory that is launched from Earth, encounters the Moon, then ballistically returns to Earth. |
Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Cislunar Three-Body Orbit | Sources https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-first-flight-with-crew-important-step-on-lo…, https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/ |
| Name Lunar Trailblazer | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Chaotic uncontrolled cislunar trajectory This describes a trajectory that is in the Earth-Moon system, but not placed on a stable, controlled path. Objects on such trajectories often chaotically traverse much of the Earth-Moon system. |
Detailed Location
Vehicle failed to perform correction burns after launch, likely bouncing around the Earth-Moon system |
Country USA | Cislunar Status On-orbit/End-of-life | Orbit Type Cislunar Three-Body Orbit | Sources https://trailblazer.caltech.edu/files/Ehlmann_etal(2022)IEEE_LunarTrailblazer.p…, https://web.archive.org/web/20250313224051/https://blogs.nasa.gov/trailblazer/ |
| Name SMILE | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location xGEO The term "xGEO" can refer to anything above geosynchronous altitude of ~36,000 km above Earth, but in this document it is used specifically to refer to Earth-orbiting missions. XGEO describes high-altitude Earth orbiters, but those that are still dominated by Earth's gravity as opposed to the Moon's gravity or combined three-body effects. |
Detailed Location
Highly elliptical Earth orbit. Inclination of 70 or 98 deg depending on launch, apogee of 121,182 km, perigee of 5,000 km |
Country ESA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type xGEO | Sources https://www.cosmos.esa.int/documents/1655046/0/SMILE_RedBook_ESA_SCI_2018_1.pdf, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Smile/Smiles_all_round_Ve… |
| Name IMAP | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point 1/2 in the Sun-Earth system, as opposed to the Earth-Moon system. |
Detailed Location
Lissajous |
Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Heliocentric Orbit | Sources https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=9438493 |
| Name SWFO-L1 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point 1/2 in the Sun-Earth system, as opposed to the Earth-Moon system. |
Detailed Location
Unknown |
Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Heliocentric Orbit | Sources https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/our-satellites/future-programs/swfo/space-weather-f… |
| Name Beresheet 2 Orbiter | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Lunar Orbit Any vehicle that orbits the Moon (as opposed to relying on three-body effects) can be called a lunar orbit. In this document, it often refers to something that is not known to fall cleanly in the LLO or EFLO categories defined above. |
Detailed Location
Unknown Orbit likely highly inclined to allow for broad surface coverage. Landing location unknown. |
Country Israel | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://eng.spaceil.com/beresheet-2 |
| Name Parsec-1 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Elliptical Frozen Lunar Orbit An elliptical frozen lunar orbit (EFLO) is an orbit about the moon that typically is highly eccentric, with a much lower periapse altitude than apoapse. Because the Moon's gravity is very irregular, there is a limited range of stable orbits. "Frozen" orbits maintain desirable orbit geometry in the face of these gravity perturbations, and are thus popular for use. Many high-altitude Lunar orbits are in elliptical frozen orbits for this reason |
Detailed Location
56.2 degree inclination, 2458 x 9828km altitude, 90 degree argument of periapse (apoapse over south pole), 0 degree right ascension of ascending node |
Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_se…, https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2023-03-28-Crescent-Space-to-Deliver-Critical-S… |
| Name Parsec-2 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Elliptical Frozen Lunar Orbit An elliptical frozen lunar orbit (EFLO) is an orbit about the moon that typically is highly eccentric, with a much lower periapse altitude than apoapse. Because the Moon's gravity is very irregular, there is a limited range of stable orbits. "Frozen" orbits maintain desirable orbit geometry in the face of these gravity perturbations, and are thus popular for use. Many high-altitude Lunar orbits are in elliptical frozen orbits for this reason |
Detailed Location
56.2 degree inclination, 2458 x 9828km altitude, 90 degree argument of periapse (apoapse over south pole), 0 degree right ascension of ascending node |
Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_se…, https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2023-03-28-Crescent-Space-to-Deliver-Critical-S… |
| Name Parsec-3 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Elliptical Frozen Lunar Orbit An elliptical frozen lunar orbit (EFLO) is an orbit about the moon that typically is highly eccentric, with a much lower periapse altitude than apoapse. Because the Moon's gravity is very irregular, there is a limited range of stable orbits. "Frozen" orbits maintain desirable orbit geometry in the face of these gravity perturbations, and are thus popular for use. Many high-altitude Lunar orbits are in elliptical frozen orbits for this reason |
Detailed Location
60.5 degree inclination, 2616 x 10466km altitude, 90 degree argument of periapse (apoapse over south pole), 0 degree right ascension of ascending node |
Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_se…, https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2023-03-28-Crescent-Space-to-Deliver-Critical-S… |
| Name Parsec-4 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Elliptical Frozen Lunar Orbit An elliptical frozen lunar orbit (EFLO) is an orbit about the moon that typically is highly eccentric, with a much lower periapse altitude than apoapse. Because the Moon's gravity is very irregular, there is a limited range of stable orbits. "Frozen" orbits maintain desirable orbit geometry in the face of these gravity perturbations, and are thus popular for use. Many high-altitude Lunar orbits are in elliptical frozen orbits for this reason |
Detailed Location
60.5 degree inclination, 2616 x 10466km altitude, 90 degree argument of periapse (apoapse over south pole), 0 degree right ascension of ascending node |
Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/ib/forms/reports/swr031b.hts?q_se…, https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2023-03-28-Crescent-Space-to-Deliver-Critical-S… |
| Name DOGE-1 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Elliptical Frozen Lunar Orbit An elliptical frozen lunar orbit (EFLO) is an orbit about the moon that typically is highly eccentric, with a much lower periapse altitude than apoapse. Because the Moon's gravity is very irregular, there is a limited range of stable orbits. "Frozen" orbits maintain desirable orbit geometry in the face of these gravity perturbations, and are thus popular for use. Many high-altitude Lunar orbits are in elliptical frozen orbits for this reason |
Detailed Location
Exact details TBA, targeting stable elliptical orbit with apoapse altitude < 10,000 km and periapse altitude > 100 km |
Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://apps.fcc.gov/els/GetAtt.html?id=315495&x=. |
| Name Carruthers (GLIDE) | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point 1/2 in the Sun-Earth system, as opposed to the Earth-Moon system. | Detailed Location Halo | Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Heliocentric Orbit | Sources https://blogs.nasa.gov/carruthersgeocoronaobservatory/2022/02/04/glide-one-step… |
| Name Khon 1 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Cislunar Orbit The term "Cislunar Orbit" is used here to describe an object that is expected to be significantly affected by three-body dynamics, but does not cleanly fit into a specific category (often for lack of information). | Detailed Location TBD To Be Determined | Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Cislunar Three-Body Orbit | Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20250207155933/https://www.intuitivemachines.com/da… |
| Name Khon 2 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location L2S Halo A halo orbit is a three-body orbit near a Lagrange point that includes significant motion out of the Earth-moon plane. Halo orbits are typically described with a family designator such as "L1S" to describe which Lagrange point they are near (in this case, 1) and whether they are in the "northern" or "southern" family, which indicates which direction the out-of-plane motion is focused on. These orbits also exist for the Sun-Earth system, but assume descriptions here are for the Earth-Moon system unless stated otherwise. | Detailed Location TBD To Be Determined | Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Cislunar Three-Body Orbit | Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20250207155933/https://www.intuitivemachines.com/da…, https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=IM-3-NOVA |
| Name Garatéa-L | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Elliptical Frozen Lunar Orbit An elliptical frozen lunar orbit (EFLO) is an orbit about the moon that typically is highly eccentric, with a much lower periapse altitude than apoapse. Because the Moon's gravity is very irregular, there is a limited range of stable orbits. "Frozen" orbits maintain desirable orbit geometry in the face of these gravity perturbations, and are thus popular for use. Many high-altitude Lunar orbits are in elliptical frozen orbits for this reason |
Detailed Location
a = 3312km, e = 0.379227 (300km x 3000km altitude), 90-degree inclination, 180-degree argument of periapse, raan of 90 or 180or
|
Country Brazil | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-024-04297-4, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10509-024-04297-4 |
| Name Lunar Pathfinder | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Elliptical Frozen Lunar Orbit An elliptical frozen lunar orbit (EFLO) is an orbit about the moon that typically is highly eccentric, with a much lower periapse altitude than apoapse. Because the Moon's gravity is very irregular, there is a limited range of stable orbits. "Frozen" orbits maintain desirable orbit geometry in the face of these gravity perturbations, and are thus popular for use. Many high-altitude Lunar orbits are in elliptical frozen orbits for this reason |
Detailed Location
54.856 degree inclination, 673 x 7331 km altitude, 86 degree argument of periapse, 0 degree RAAN |
Country UK | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://www.sstl.co.uk/getmedia/690f1da3-a935-4c4d-b48c-616ac8417cb1/LunarPathf… |
| Name Chang'e-7 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Low Lunar Orbit A low lunar orbit (LLO) is an orbit about the Moon that stays near the Lunar surface. There is no official definition, but altitudes under 1000 km is a reasonable working definition of "low". |
Detailed Location
Polar LLO Low Lunar Orbit Any vehicle that orbits the Moon (as opposed to relying on three-body effects) can be called a lunar orbit. In this document, it often refers to something that is not known to fall cleanly in the LLO or EFLO categories defined above. A low lunar orbit (LLO) is an orbit about the Moon that stays near the Lunar surface. There is no official definition, but altitudes under 1000 km is a reasonable working definition of "low". |
Country China | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=CHANG-E-7, https://academic.oup.com/nsr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nsr/nwad329/7503932?lo… |
| Name Artemis 3 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Gateway L2S NRHO The Gateway L2S NRHO (Near-Rectilinear-Halo-Orbit) is a subset of the L2 Southern Halo family with a low periapse over the lunar north pole and a high periapse over the lunar south pole. NASA's Gateway station will be placed in this orbit, so it is of high-interest. |
Detailed Location
Gateway L2S NRHO The Gateway L2S NRHO (Near-Rectilinear-Halo-Orbit) is a subset of the L2 Southern Halo family with a low periapse over the lunar north pole and a high periapse over the lunar south pole. NASA's Gateway station will be placed in this orbit, so it is of high-interest. , Lunar Surface |
Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Cislunar Three-Body Orbit | Sources https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Orion/Art…, https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/ |
| Name Blue Ghost Mission 2 - Elytra orbiter | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Low Lunar Orbit A low lunar orbit (LLO) is an orbit about the Moon that stays near the Lunar surface. There is no official definition, but altitudes under 1000 km is a reasonable working definition of "low". |
Detailed Location
TBD To Be Determined , payload references 50km altitude |
Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20250619215224/https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefl… |
| Name PLATO | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Sun-Earth L2 Lagrange point 1/2 in the Sun-Earth system, as opposed to the Earth-Moon system. |
Detailed Location
Halo |
Country ESA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Heliocentric Orbit | Sources https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Plato |
| Name Alpine | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location High-Circular Polar Orbit |
Detailed Location
Specific altitude range unknown |
Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://ispace-inc.com/news-en/?p=6236 |
| Name Lupine | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location High-Circular Polar Orbit |
Detailed Location
Specific altitude range unknown |
Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://ispace-inc.com/news-en/?p=6236 |
| Name Ayap-1 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Low Lunar Orbit A low lunar orbit (LLO) is an orbit about the Moon that stays near the Lunar surface. There is no official definition, but altitudes under 1000 km is a reasonable working definition of "low". | Detailed Location 100 km polar LLO Low Lunar Orbit Any vehicle that orbits the Moon (as opposed to relying on three-body effects) can be called a lunar orbit. In this document, it often refers to something that is not known to fall cleanly in the LLO or EFLO categories defined above. A low lunar orbit (LLO) is an orbit about the Moon that stays near the Lunar surface. There is no official definition, but altitudes under 1000 km is a reasonable working definition of "low". | Country Turkiye | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources |
| Name Khon 3 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Lunar Orbit Any vehicle that orbits the Moon (as opposed to relying on three-body effects) can be called a lunar orbit. In this document, it often refers to something that is not known to fall cleanly in the LLO or EFLO categories defined above. | Detailed Location TBD To Be Determined | Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20250207155933/https://www.intuitivemachines.com/da… |
| Name Khon 4 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Lunar Orbit Any vehicle that orbits the Moon (as opposed to relying on three-body effects) can be called a lunar orbit. In this document, it often refers to something that is not known to fall cleanly in the LLO or EFLO categories defined above. | Detailed Location TBD To Be Determined | Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20250207155933/https://www.intuitivemachines.com/da… |
| Name Khon 5 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Lunar Orbit Any vehicle that orbits the Moon (as opposed to relying on three-body effects) can be called a lunar orbit. In this document, it often refers to something that is not known to fall cleanly in the LLO or EFLO categories defined above. | Detailed Location TBD To Be Determined | Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20250207155933/https://www.intuitivemachines.com/da… |
| Name Gateway Logistics Services 1 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Gateway L2S NRHO The Gateway L2S NRHO (Near-Rectilinear-Halo-Orbit) is a subset of the L2 Southern Halo family with a low periapse over the lunar north pole and a high periapse over the lunar south pole. NASA's Gateway station will be placed in this orbit, so it is of high-interest. | Detailed Location Gateway L2S NRHO The Gateway L2S NRHO (Near-Rectilinear-Halo-Orbit) is a subset of the L2 Southern Halo family with a low periapse over the lunar north pole and a high periapse over the lunar south pole. NASA's Gateway station will be placed in this orbit, so it is of high-interest. | Country USA | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Cislunar Three-Body Orbit | Sources https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-awards-artemis-contract-for-gateway-logi… |
| Name Luna 26 | Historical/Estimated Launch | Location Low Lunar Orbit A low lunar orbit (LLO) is an orbit about the Moon that stays near the Lunar surface. There is no official definition, but altitudes under 1000 km is a reasonable working definition of "low". |
Detailed Location
Polar, Alt 60-80km year 1, raise to at least 140 km after |
Country Russia | Cislunar Status Upcoming | Orbit Type Lunar Orbit | Sources https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021cosp...43E.350P/abstract |
Cislunar Database
This database contains XGEO, cislunar, and heliocentric missions currently on orbit or planned, based on publicly available sources found by our team (including manufacturer websites, conference papers, press releases, etc.).