In every decade since the Apollo moon landing program ended, conceptual missions for returning to the moon have been proposed. Most of these involve tourism, lunar mining or the establishment of a lunar base. As of 2014, no single mission has a firm launch date, but several have been imagined:
SPACE ADVENTURES
Name: Deep Space Expedition Alpha (DSE-Alpha)
Mission: Lunar flyby for two paid tourists
Duration: Nine days
Crew: Two
Spacecraft: Russian Soyuz docked to habitation module
Target date: 2017
NASA
Name: Exploration Mission 2
Mission: Lunar orbit test of NASA spacecraft
Duration: 14 days
Crew: Two
Spacecraft: Orion Crew Module
Target date: 2021
GOLDEN SPIKE
Name: Golden Spike
Mission: Manned lunar landing for two paid tourists
Duration: TBD
Crew: Two
Spacecraft: Lander/Crew Module
Target date: 2020
How Golden Spike's Moon Landing Plan Works (Infographic)
SHACKLETON ENERGY CO.
Name: TBD
Mission: Human-tended robotic mining at lunar south pole
Duration: TBD
Crew: Six to eight
Spacecraft: TBD
Target date: 2020
EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY
Name: Aurora Exploration Programme
Mission: Manned lunar landing
Duration: TBD
Crew: TBD
Spacecraft: TBD
Target date: 2024
Moon Base Visions: How to Build a Lunar Colony (Photos)
RUSSIAN LUNAR EXPLORATION PROGRAM
Name: TBD
Mission: Manned lunar landing
Duration: TBD
Crew: TBD
Spacecraft: TBD, launched on Angara rocket
Target date: 2030
CHINESE LUNAR EXPLORATION PROGRAM
Name: CLEP
Mission: Manned lunar landing
Duration: TBD
Crew: TBD
Spacecraft: TBD
Target date: TBD
OPENLUNA
Name: OpenLuna
Mission: Return humans to moon by private enterprise
Duration: Two-week surface stay
Crew: One
Spacecraft: "Tranquility" lander
Target date: TBD
NASA's Historic Apollo 11 Moon Landing in Pictures
NASA's Historic Apollo 11 Moon Landing in Pictures
NASA's 17 Apollo Moon Missions in Pictures
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