Question: The Japanese came within minutes of a successful lunar landing this week, then lost contact with the lander. How many lunar landings have there been previous to this attempt?
Answer: 21 in total – 19 by US and Russian landers between 1966 and 1976. After a 37-year hiatus, China joined the group with a landing in 2013, and also made the first-ever landing on the far side of the moon earlier this year.
