Missions

An interactive museum of spaceflight — Apollo to Artemis and beyond

Lunar

114

The Moon — Apollo, Luna, Chang’e and the new Artemis era

Mars

Orbiters, landers and rovers at the red planet

MMX (Martian Moons eXploration)PlannedJAXA · 2026MMX — Martian Moons eXploration, JAXA's mission to return the first sample from the Mars system.ESCAPADEActiveNASA · 2025ESCAPADE — Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, NASA's pair of identical Mars orbiters, “Blue” and “Gold”.IngenuityCompletedNASA · 2020Ingenuity — the Mars helicopter that made the first powered, controlled flight on another world in 2021; planned for five fligh…PerseveranceActiveNASA · 2020Perseverance is NASA's Mars 2020 rover, working since February 2021 in Jezero crater, a dry river delta where a lake once stood.Tianwen-1ActiveCNSA · 2020Tianwen-1 — China's first independent Mars mission (2021): an orbiter that also delivered the Zhurong rover, making China the s…ZhurongCompletedCNSA · 2020Zhurong — China's first Mars rover, in Utopia Planitia (Tianwen-1).HopeActiveUAE Space Agency / MBRSC · 2020Hope (the Emirates Mars Mission) — the Arab world's first interplanetary mission (2021), studying the whole Martian climate and…InSightCompletedNASA · 2018InSight — measured the deep interior of Mars (2018–2022), recording the first marsquakes with its seismometer.ExoMars Trace Gas OrbiterActiveESA / Roscosmos · 2016ExoMars TGO — sniffs Mars' atmosphere for trace gases and relays rover data.MAVENLostNASA · 2013MAVEN — NASA's Mars orbiter that studied how the planet loses its atmosphere to space, from 2014 until contact was lost in Dece…MangalyaanCompletedISRO · 2013Mangalyaan (the Mars Orbiter Mission) — India's first interplanetary mission (2014), which made ISRO the first space agency to…CuriosityActiveNASA · 2011Curiosity — climbing Mount Sharp in Gale crater since 2012.Phobos-GruntLostLavochkin / IKI (Russia) · 2011Phobos-Grunt — a Russian mission to land on Mars's moon Phobos and bring a sample back to Earth, carrying China's first Mars or…Yinghuo-1LostCNSA · 2011Yinghuo-1 — China's first Mars orbiter, a small craft meant to study Mars alongside Russia's Phobos-Grunt, which carried it ins…PhoenixCompletedNASA · 2007Phoenix — landed in the Martian arctic (2008) and was the first to touch and confirm water ice in the soil.Mars Reconnaissance OrbiterActiveNASA · 2005MRO — high-resolution Mars imaging and the planet's primary communications relay.OpportunityCompletedNASA · 2003Opportunity (MER-B) — roamed Meridiani Planum for 14 years (2004–2018), confirming ancient liquid water on Mars.SpiritCompletedNASA · 2003Spirit (MER-A) — explored Gusev crater (2004–2010), finding mineral evidence of past water on Mars.Mars ExpressActiveESA · 2003Mars Express — ESA's long-lived Mars orbiter, mapping the surface since 2004.2001 Mars OdysseyActiveNASA / JPL · 20012001 Mars Odyssey — NASA's longest-running Mars mission, mapping the planet's minerals and near-surface ice from orbit since 20…Deep Space 2 (Amundsen and Scott)LostNASA / JPL · 1999Deep Space 2 — two small NASA probes, named Amundsen and Scott, that rode to Mars on Mars Polar Lander under NASA's New Millenn…Mars Polar LanderLostNASA / JPL · 1999Mars Polar Lander — a NASA lander launched on 3 January 1999 to set down on the layered terrain near the south pole of Mars, re…Mars Climate OrbiterLostNASA / JPL · 1998Mars Climate Orbiter — a NASA orbiter launched on 11 December 1998 to study the weather and climate of Mars.Nozomi (PLANET-B)CompletedISAS (Japan) · 1998Nozomi (PLANET-B) — Japan's first mission to Mars, launched by ISAS on 3 July 1998 (UTC) to study the upper atmosphere of Mars…Mars PathfinderCompletedNASA · 1996Mars Pathfinder — delivered Sojourner, the first rover on Mars, to Ares Vallis (1997) and pioneered airbag landing.Mars 96LostLavochkin / IKI (Russia) · 1996Mars 96 — Russia's first mission to Mars: an orbiter carrying two small surface stations and two penetrators (launched 16 Novem…Mars Global SurveyorCompletedNASA / JPL · 1996Mars Global Surveyor — a NASA orbiter launched on 7 November 1996, in orbit around Mars from 12 September 1997.Mars ObserverLostNASA / JPL · 1992Mars Observer — a NASA orbiter launched on 25 September 1992 to study the surface, atmosphere, climate and magnetic field of Mars.Phobos 2CompletedLavochkin / IKI (USSR) · 1988Phobos 2 — Phobos 1's twin, in Mars orbit from 29 January 1989.Phobos 1LostLavochkin / IKI (USSR) · 1988Phobos 1 — a Soviet orbiter built to study Mars and its moon Phobos (launched 7 July 1988).Viking 2CompletedNASA · 1975Viking 2 — NASA's second Mars lander (Utopia Planitia, 1976), searching for signs of life with its biology experiments.Viking 1CompletedNASA · 1975Viking 1 — the first U.S.Mars 7LostLavochkin (USSR) · 1973Mars 7 — a Soviet flyby craft carrying a lander (launched 9 August 1973).Mars 6CompletedLavochkin (USSR) · 1973Mars 6 — a Soviet lander (reached the surface 12 March 1974, in Margaritifer Sinus).Mars 5CompletedLavochkin (USSR) · 1973Mars 5 — a Soviet orbiter, in Mars orbit from 12 February 1974.Mars 4LostLavochkin (USSR) · 1973Mars 4 — a Soviet Mars orbiter (launched 21 July 1973).Mariner 9CompletedNASA / JPL · 1971Mariner 9 — NASA's 1971 Mars orbiter and the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.Mars 3CompletedLavochkin (USSR) · 1971Mars 3 — the Soviet mission that achieved the first soft landing on Mars in 1971.Mars 2CompletedLavochkin (USSR) · 1971Mars 2 — a Soviet orbiter and lander (launched 19 May 1971).Mariner 7CompletedNASA / JPL · 1969Mariner 7 — Mariner 6's identical twin (Mars flyby 5 August 1969).Mariner 6CompletedNASA / JPL · 1969Mariner 6 — the first of NASA/JPL's twin 1969 Mars flybys (closest approach 31 July 1969, about 3,430 km up).Zond 2LostOKB-1 (USSR) · 1964Zond 2 — a Soviet Mars probe (launched 30 November 1964).Mariner 4CompletedNASA · 1964Mariner 4 — returned the first close-up images of Mars during its 1965 flyby, revealing a cratered, Moon-like surface.Mars 1LostOKB-1 (USSR) · 1962Mars 1 — the first spacecraft to fly past Mars, though it had fallen silent by then (launched 1 November 1962).Mariner ProgrammeCompletedNASA / JPL · 1962The Mariner programme — NASA's first probes to the planets, built by JPL and launched from 1962 to 1973.Soviet and Russian Mars ProgrammeCompletedOKB-1 / Lavochkin (USSR / Russia) · 1960The Soviet and Russian Mars programme — robotic missions to Mars and its moon Phobos, 1960–2011.

Outer System

Grand tours of the giant planets and beyond

Europa ClipperActiveNASA · 2024Europa Clipper — NASA's mission, launched in 2024 and en route to Jupiter (arrival 2030) to investigate whether Europa's subsur…JUICEActiveESA · 2023JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) — ESA's mission, launched in 2023 and now cruising to Jupiter (arrival 2031) to study the oc…JunoActiveNASA · 2011Juno — polar Jupiter orbiter probing the planet's interior and magnetosphere.New HorizonsActiveNASA · 2006New Horizons — flew past Pluto in 2015 and Arrokoth in 2019; now exploring the Kuiper belt.CassiniCompletedNASA / ESA / ASI · 1997Cassini — orbited Saturn 2004–2017, studying its rings and moons; ended with a planned plunge into the planet (the Grand Finale).HuygensCompletedESA · 1997Huygens — ESA's probe carried to Saturn aboard Cassini, which parachuted onto Titan in 2005 — the first landing in the outer So…GalileoCompletedNASA · 1989Galileo — first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter (1995–2003), studying the giant planet and its Galilean moons; ended with a planned…Voyager 1ActiveNASA · 1977Voyager 1 is a NASA probe launched in 1977 that explored Jupiter and Saturn before continuing outward.Voyager 2ActiveNASA · 1977Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited all four giant planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.Pioneer 11CompletedNASA · 1973Pioneer 11 — first spacecraft to fly past Saturn; contact lost in 1995.Pioneer 10CompletedNASA · 1972Pioneer 10 — first spacecraft through the asteroid belt and past Jupiter; contact lost in 2003.

Small Bodies

Asteroids & comets — flybys, orbiters, sample returns, impactors

Tianwen-2ActiveCNSA · 2025Tianwen-2 — China's first asteroid sample-return mission.Odin (Brokkr-2)LostAstroForge · 2025Odin (Brokkr-2) — the second mission of the asteroid-mining company AstroForge, launched on 27 February 2025 (UTC) on the Falco…HeraActiveESA · 2024Hera — ESA's planetary-defence mission, launched in October 2024 to the Didymos asteroid system.PsycheActiveNASA · 2023Psyche — NASA's mission, launched in 2023 and cruising to the metal asteroid 16 Psyche (arrival 2029), a possible exposed plane…DARTCompletedNASA · 2021DART — humanity's first planetary-defense test, deliberately impacting the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos in 2022 to alter its orbit.LICIACubeCompletedASI / Argotec · 2021LICIACube — a small Italian satellite built and operated by Argotec for the Italian Space Agency, and Italy's first mission int…LucyActiveNASA · 2021Lucy — NASA's twelve-year tour of the Jupiter Trojan asteroids (launched 2021), the swarms of primitive bodies sharing Jupiter'…OSIRIS-APEXActiveNASA · 2016OSIRIS-APEX — the extended mission of OSIRIS-REx.Hayabusa2ActiveJAXA · 2014Hayabusa2 — JAXA mission to asteroid 162173 Ryugu (2018–2019); returned samples to Earth in 2020 and continues to an extended-m…PROCYONLostUniversity of Tokyo / JAXA · 2014PROCYON — a 65 kg micro-spacecraft built by the University of Tokyo and JAXA and launched with Hayabusa2 on 3 December 2014 (UT…DawnCompletedNASA · 2007Dawn — used ion propulsion to orbit two protoplanets, Vesta (2011–2012) then Ceres (2015–2018); the first mission to orbit a dw…Deep ImpactCompletedNASA · 2005Deep Impact — fired an impactor into comet Tempel 1 (2005) to expose and study its interior; later flew by comet Hartley 2.RosettaCompletedESA · 2004Rosetta — ESA's comet chaser; escorted 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (2014–2016) and deployed the Philae lander, ending with a cont…HayabusaCompletedJAXA · 2003Hayabusa — JAXA's first asteroid sample-return mission; visited 25143 Itokawa (2005) and returned the first samples from an ast…CONTOURLostNASA / Johns Hopkins APL · 2002CONTOUR (Comet Nucleus Tour) — a NASA Discovery mission launched on 3 July 2002 to fly past comets Encke in 2003 and Schwassman…StardustCompletedNASA · 1999Stardust — flew through the coma of comet Wild 2 (2004) and returned its dust samples to Earth (2006); later visited comet Temp…Deep Space 1CompletedNASA / JPL · 1998Deep Space 1 — a NASA technology test launched on 24 October 1998: in JPL's words the first interplanetary spacecraft to use an…NEAR ShoemakerCompletedNASA · 1996NEAR Shoemaker — first spacecraft to orbit (2000) and then land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.Suisei (PLANET-A)CompletedISAS (Japan) · 1985Suisei (PLANET-A) — ISAS's probe to Halley's Comet, launched on 18 August 1985 (UTC).GiottoCompletedESA · 1985Giotto — ESA's first deep-space mission (1985), which flew through the coma of Halley's Comet in 1986 to capture the first clos…Sakigake (MS-T5)CompletedISAS (Japan) · 1985Sakigake (MS-T5) — Japan's first interplanetary probe, launched by ISAS on 7 January 1985 (UTC) as a test craft for its twin Su…

Venus

Beneath the clouds — landers, mappers and orbiters

Mercury

The innermost world — flybys and orbiters

BepiColomboActiveESA / JAXA · 2018BepiColombo — twin orbiters en route to Mercury orbit insertion.MESSENGERCompletedNASA · 2004MESSENGER — first spacecraft to orbit Mercury (2011–2015), mapping the planet in full before impacting its surface.Mariner 10CompletedNASA · 1973Mariner 10 — the first spacecraft to visit Mercury (three flybys, 1974–1975) and the first to use a gravity assist (at Venus).

Sun & Heliophysics

Touching the Sun and watching the solar wind

Carruthers Geocorona ObservatoryActiveNASA · 2025Carruthers Geocorona Observatory — a small NASA satellite at the Sun–Earth L1 point (launched 24 September 2025, in its halo or…IMAPActiveNASA · 2025IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) — a NASA observatory at the Sun–Earth L1 point, launched on 24 September 202…SOLAR-1ActiveNOAA · 2025SOLAR-1 (launched as SWFO-L1) — NOAA's space-weather satellite at the Sun–Earth L1 point, launched on 24 September 2025 and ren…Aditya-L1ActiveISRO (India) · 2023Aditya-L1 — India's first space mission dedicated to the Sun (ISRO), launched on 2 September 2023 and placed in a halo orbit ar…Solar OrbiterActiveESA / NASA · 2020Solar Orbiter — images the Sun's poles from an inclined inner-system orbit.Parker Solar ProbeActiveNASA · 2018Parker Solar Probe — repeatedly dives through the solar corona; the fastest human-made object.DSCOVRActiveNOAA / NASA · 2015DSCOVR — stationed at the Earth–Sun L1 point (since 2015); its EPIC camera images the full sunlit disk of Earth.STEREO-AActiveNASA · 2006STEREO-A — the "Ahead" spacecraft of NASA's twin STEREO solar observatories, launched on 26 October 2006 into an orbit around t…STEREO-BLostNASA · 2006STEREO-B — the "Behind" spacecraft of NASA's twin STEREO solar observatories, launched with STEREO-A on 26 October 2006 into an…GenesisCompletedNASA · 2001Genesis — collected solar-wind particles at the Earth–Sun L1 point (2001–2004) and returned them despite a hard capsule landing.ACEActiveNASA · 1997ACE (Advanced Composition Explorer) — a NASA observatory at the Sun–Earth L1 point, about 1.5 million km sunward of Earth (laun…SOHOActiveESA / NASA · 1995SOHO — solar observatory stationed at the Sun–Earth L1 point since 1996.WindActiveNASA · 1994Wind — a NASA solar-wind observatory, launched on 1 November 1994.UlyssesCompletedESA / NASA · 1990Ulysses — the first spacecraft to orbit the Sun's poles (1990–2009), via a Jupiter gravity assist out of the ecliptic.ISEE-3 / ICECompletedNASA · 1978ISEE-3 / ICE — NASA's International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 (launched 12 August 1978), the first spacecraft placed in orbit around…Helios 2CompletedDFVLR (West Germany) / NASA · 1976Helios 2 — the second West German–American solar probe, launched on 15 January 1976.Helios 1CompletedDFVLR (West Germany) / NASA · 1974Helios 1 — a West German solar probe launched by NASA on 10 December 1974.Pioneer 9CompletedNASA · 1968Pioneer 9 — the last successful member of the network (launched 8 November 1968), and the one placed closest to the Sun, inside…Pioneer 8CompletedNASA · 1967Pioneer 8 — the third node of the solar-weather network (launched 13 December 1967), monitoring the solar wind and cosmic dust…Pioneer 7CompletedNASA · 1966Pioneer 7 — the second solar-weather monitor, placed in a solar orbit just outside Earth's (17 August 1966).Pioneer 6CompletedNASA · 1965Pioneer 6 — the first of a spin-stabilised quartet placed in solar orbit to watch the solar wind, magnetic field and cosmic ray…Pioneer 5CompletedNASA · 1960Pioneer 5 — the first spacecraft to return data from deep interplanetary space (launched 11 March 1960).

Observatories

Space telescopes mapping the universe

Nancy Grace Roman Space TelescopeActiveNASA · 2026Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope — NASA's next flagship observatory, a wide-field infrared survey telescope.SMILEActiveESA / CAS · 2026SMILE — the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, a joint mission of the European Space Agency and the Chinese Aca…SPHERExActiveNASA · 2025SPHEREx — the Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer.EuclidActiveESA · 2023Euclid — surveys dark energy and dark matter from a halo orbit at Sun–Earth L2.James Webb Space TelescopeActiveNASA / ESA / CSA · 2021JWST — the infrared flagship observatory, halo-orbiting the Sun–Earth L2 point.Spektr-RGActiveIKI / Lavochkin (Russia) and MPE (Germany) · 2019Spektr-RG — a Russian-German X-ray observatory orbiting the Sun–Earth L2 point, about 1.5 million km from Earth (launched 13 Ju…TESSActiveNASA · 2018TESS — surveys the whole sky for transiting exoplanets around nearby bright stars from a high Earth orbit (since 2018).NICERActiveNASA · 2017NICER — an X-ray telescope mounted on the International Space Station (since 2017) that studies the densest matter in the unive…GaiaCompletedESA · 2013Gaia — ESA's astrometry observatory, which charted the positions and motions of nearly two billion stars from an orbit around t…Kepler Space TelescopeCompletedNASA · 2009Kepler — discovered thousands of exoplanets (2009–2018) by watching for transits, from an Earth-trailing orbit.Fermi Gamma-ray Space TelescopeActiveNASA · 2008Fermi — NASA's gamma-ray observatory (since 2008), mapping the most energetic phenomena in the universe, from pulsars to gamma-…Swift ObservatoryActiveNASA · 2004Swift — NASA's gamma-ray-burst hunter (since 2004), which slews within seconds to catch the fleeting afterglows of the universe…Spitzer Space TelescopeCompletedNASA · 2003Spitzer Space Telescope — NASA's great infrared observatory (2003–2020), trailing Earth in a heliocentric orbit.Chandra X-ray ObservatoryActiveNASA · 1999Chandra — NASA's flagship X-ray observatory (since 1999), imaging the hot, violent universe of black holes, exploded stars and…Hubble Space TelescopeActiveNASA / ESA · 1990Hubble Space Telescope — orbiting since 1990, it has transformed astronomy with deep-field views across the universe.

Human Spaceflight & Earth Orbit

Stations, crew & cargo vehicles and constellations in Earth orbit

329 missions — organised by destination, from the first satellites to the craft flying now. Each page carries the dates and figures on record for the mission, and its timeline where one exists. Open in 3D ↗ · Catalogue