Earth behind the moon

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.).
 
 
HISTORICAL/ESTIMATED LAUNCH

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Name Historical/Estimated Launch Location Detailed Location Country Cislunar Status Orbit Type Sources
Name Cis-Lunar Transfer Vehicle (CLTV) 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

Unknown

Country ESA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Lunar Orbit Sources https://www.airbus.com/sites/g/files/jlcbta136/files/79ef110cbaf060f1ab610187e2…
Name Thai Space Consortium 2 (TSC-2) 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 orbital height

Country Thailand Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Lunar Orbit Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20240424105752/https://www.narit.or.th/index.php/en…
Name Artemis 4 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/general/nasas-artemis-iv-building-first-lunar-space-statio…, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Orion/Art…
Name Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope 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

Quasi-halo

Country USA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Heliocentric Orbit Sources https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/frequently-asked-questio…
Name Oracle-P 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://afresearchlab.com/technology/oracle/, https://www.afrl.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3611977/afrls-oracle-famil…
Name LUMIO 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

Jacobi Constant of 3.09, lunar altitudes of approximately 36,000-86,000km

Country ESA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Cislunar Three-Body Orbit Sources https://doi.org/10.3389/fspas.2018.00029, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115213
Name MoonLight NAV 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

24-hour EFLO, apoapse over south pole

Country ESA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Lunar Orbit Sources https://www.esa.int/Applications/Connectivity_and_Secure_Communications/ESA_s_M…, https://bsgn.esa.int/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Charles-Cranstoun_Lunar-Comm-Na…
Name Gateway Logistics Services 2 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 Earth 2.0 (ET) 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 L2 Halo with 110,000 km amplitude Country China Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Heliocentric Orbit Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20240907012211/https://arxiv.org/pdf/2206.06693
Name Lunar Boomerang 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 Australia Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Lunar Orbit Sources http://web.archive.org/web/20250124192857/https://lunarascent.space/
Name Chang'e 8 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

Unknown

Country China Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Lunar Orbit Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20240503161827/https://www.cnsa.gov.cn/english/n646…
Name LExSO 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

50 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 USA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Lunar Orbit Sources https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lexso/
Name Near Earth Object Surveyor 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://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad0468, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/neo-surveyor/
Name HelioSwarm 1 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 2:1 resonant orbit. Periapse radius of about 70,000km, apoapse radius of about 380,000 km Country USA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type xGEO Sources https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-01019-0, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190029108/downloads/20190029108.pdf
Name HelioSwarm 2 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 2:1 resonant orbit. Periapse radius of about 70,000km, apoapse radius of about 380,000 km Country USA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type xGEO Sources https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-01019-0, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190029108/downloads/20190029108.pdf
Name HelioSwarm 3 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 2:1 resonant orbit. Periapse radius of about 70,000km, apoapse radius of about 380,000 km Country USA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type xGEO Sources https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-01019-0, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190029108/downloads/20190029108.pdf
Name HelioSwarm 4 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 2:1 resonant orbit. Periapse radius of about 70,000km, apoapse radius of about 380,000 km Country USA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type xGEO Sources https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-01019-0, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190029108/downloads/20190029108.pdf
Name HelioSwarm 5 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 2:1 resonant orbit. Periapse radius of about 70,000km, apoapse radius of about 380,000 km Country USA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type xGEO Sources https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-01019-0, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190029108/downloads/20190029108.pdf
Name HelioSwarm 6 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 2:1 resonant orbit. Periapse radius of about 70,000km, apoapse radius of about 380,000 km Country USA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type xGEO Sources https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-01019-0, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190029108/downloads/20190029108.pdf
Name HelioSwarm 7 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 2:1 resonant orbit. Periapse radius of about 70,000km, apoapse radius of about 380,000 km Country USA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type xGEO Sources https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-01019-0, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190029108/downloads/20190029108.pdf
Name HelioSwarm 8 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 2:1 resonant orbit. Periapse radius of about 70,000km, apoapse radius of about 380,000 km Country USA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type xGEO Sources https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-01019-0, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190029108/downloads/20190029108.pdf
Name HelioSwarm 9 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 2:1 resonant orbit. Periapse radius of about 70,000km, apoapse radius of about 380,000 km Country USA Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type xGEO Sources https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-01019-0, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20190029108/downloads/20190029108.pdf
Name Blue Ghost Mission 3 - 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 Canadarm 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. Country Canada Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Cislunar Three-Body Orbit Sources https://www.canada.ca/en/space-agency/news/2024/06/canada-begins-detailed-desig…
Name Lunar Navigation Satellite System (LNSS) Demo 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 12-hour period, apoapse over south pole Country Japan Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Lunar Orbit Sources https://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/icg/2024/WG-B_Lunar_PNT_Jun24/LunarPNT_Jun…
Name Unnamed Chinese Remote-Sensing Satellite 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 . Solicitation references low-latitude mineral data, suggesting low inclinations. The desire for high-precision topography and mineral composition data suggests low altitude. Country China Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Lunar Orbit Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20250214151054/https://www.cmse.gov.cn/xwzx/202502/…
Name DSL-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 300-km circular orbit, 30 degree inclination Country China Cislunar Status Orbit Type Lunar Orbit Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20240920145622/https://royalsocietypublishing.org/d…
Name DSL-2 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 300-km circular orbit, 30 degree inclination Country China Cislunar Status Orbit Type Lunar Orbit Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20240920145622/https://royalsocietypublishing.org/d…
Name DSL-3 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 300-km circular orbit, 30 degree inclination Country China Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Lunar Orbit Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20240920145622/https://royalsocietypublishing.org/d…
Name DSL-4 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 300-km circular orbit, 30 degree inclination Country China Cislunar Status Upcoming Orbit Type Lunar Orbit Sources https://web.archive.org/web/20240920145622/https://royalsocietypublishing.org/d…