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Launch Date, Vehicle |
Target Encounter Dates
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Spacecraft Mass (kg)
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Trajectory Info
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Comments |
Web References |
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Mariner 10 |
Observe environment, atmosphere, surface and body characteristics of Mercury and Venus |
11/3/73, Atlas/Centaur |
2/5/74 )Venus GA); 3/29/74 (first Mercury pass) | 503 wet, 29 fuel | Venus GA to reach Mercury; flew by Mercury 3 times |
First craft to Mercury. First to use GA. First to visit 2 planets |
NASA |
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Pioneer Venus |
Study atmosphere, ionosphere, topography, gravity of Venus |
5/20/78, Atlas/Centaur |
12/4/78 (Venus orbit insertion) | 517 | Direct flight | NASA | |
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International Cometary Explorer (ICE) |
Study solar radiation and plasma |
8/12/78, Delta |
9/11/85 (closest to Giacobini-Zinner) | 390 | Halo orbit around Earth-Sun L1 |
Also known as ISEE-3. First in halo orbit. First craft ste4ered by chaotic control. After completing primary mission (1981), intercepted comet Giacobini-Zinner |
NASA |
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Venera 15 |
Study surface of Venus |
6/2/83, Proton |
10/10/83 (Venus orbit insertion) | 4000 | Direct flight |
Last ones in series of Soviet spacecraft. Tandem radar mission with Venera 16 |
NASA |
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Vega 1 |
Study surface and atmosphere of Venus; observe comet Halley |
12/15/84, Proton-8K82K |
3/6/86 (Halley pass at 8890 km) | 4920 | Venus GA (6/11/85) |
Balloon and lander for Venus. Soviet/French mission. |
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Vega 2 |
Study surface and atmosphere of Venus; observe comet Halley |
12/21/84, Proton-8K82K |
3/9/86 (Halley pass at 8030 km) | 4920 | Venus GA (6/15/85) |
Balloon and lander for Venus. Soviet/French mission. |
RSSI |
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Sakigake |
Observe comet Halley; technology testbed |
1/7/85, M-3SII-1 |
3/11/86 (Halley pass at 7 million km) | 138 | Direct flight |
First Japanese interplanetary probe. Also named MS-T5 |
ISAS |
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Giotto |
Study comet Halley |
7/2/85, Ariane 1 |
3/13/86 (closest passing of comet Halley); 7/10/92 (passing of Grigg-Skjellerup) | 960 wet, 583 dry | Direct flight; Earth GA in 7/2/90 (after fulfilling primary objective) |
ESA's first deep space mission. Passed Halley at 600 km. Mission extended for encounter with comet Grigg-Skjellerup (passed at 200 km, 1992) |
ESA |
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Suisei |
Study comet Halley |
8/18/85, M-3SII-2 |
3/8/86 (Halley pass at 152400 km) | 140 | Direct flight |
Also named Planet-A |
NASA |
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Magellan |
Study Venus surface, topography, gravity, geology |
5/4/89, Shuttle/IUS |
8/10/90 (Venus orbit insertion) | 1035 dry, 3460 wet | Direct flight; aerobraking |
First use of aerobraking. Perished in Venus atmosphere on 10/11/94 |
NASA |
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Ulysses |
Observation of solar polar regions from high latitudes |
10/6/90, Shuttle/IUS/PAM-S |
2/8/92 (Jupiter GA) in 3D heliocentric orbit | 367 dry | 3-dimensional GA at Jupiter |
ESA/NASA mission. Maximum solar latitude 80.2 deg. Highest energy ever used |
ESA |
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Genesis |
Observe solar wind and return particles to Earth |
8/8/01, Delta II-7326 |
11/16/91 Halo orbit insertion; 9/8/04 Earth return | Direct flight to Halo orbit around Earth-Sun L1; later around L2 for favorable Earth return conditions |
NASA Discovery mission. Drogue parachutes failed during landing at Earth |
NASA | |
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Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) |
Observe physical phenomena at Mercury |
8/3/04, Delta II-7925Heavy |
3/18/11 Mercury orbit insertion | 495 dry, 1093 wet | 1 Earth GA, 2 Venus GAs, 3 Mercury GAs |
First Mercury observations since Mariner 10 (1974-1975) |
JHUAPL |
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Venus Express |
Study atmosphere of Venus |
11/9/05, Soyuz-Fregat |
4/11/06 Venus orbit insertion | 1270 wet, 570 fuel | Direct flight |
Extended mission until 12/12. |
ESA |
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Hiten |
Test technologies for lunar and interplanetary missions |
1/24/90, M-3SII |
3/19/90 first lunar pass | 197 wet (incl 42 fuel, 12 for probe) | Highly elliptical Earth orbit, 10 times past moon; excursion to EM L4 and L5 |
Alson known as MUSES-A. Carried small sub-satellite Hagoromo. Hiten crashed into Moon on 4/10/93 |
NASA |
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Clementine |
Study topography and geology of Moon; technology demonstrator |
1/25/94, Titan IIG |
2/19/94, leave lunar orbit on 5/5/94 | Two Earth GAs |
Extension to flyby of asteroid 1620 Geographos failed. Faster-better-cheaper approach. BMDO/NASA mission |
USRA | |
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Lunar Prospector |
Mapping lunar resources and gravity and magnetic fields |
1/7/98, Athena II |
1/11/98 | 158 dry, 295 wet | Direct flight |
NASA Discovery mission |
NASA |
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SMART 1 |
Test solar-electric propulsion; lunar science |
9/27/03, Ariane 5 |
11/15/04 lunar orbit insertion | 370 wet | Ion thruster for primary propulsion; lunar GA |
First European satellite to travel around Moon. Lunar impact on 9/3/06. Piggyback launch |
ESA |
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SELENE |
Lunar exploration; technology demonstrator |
9/14/07, H-IIA |
10/3/07 insertion in lunar orbit | 3020 wet | Direct flight |
Also known as Kaguya. Large satellite + 2 small piggyback satellites. Crashed into Moon on 6/10/09 |
JAXA |
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Chang'e 1 |
Technology demonstrator; scientific lunar exploration |
10/24/07, CZ-3A |
11/5/07 lunar orbit insertion | 2350 wet (half of which fuel) | Direct flight |
Crashed into Moon on 3/1/09 |
NASA |
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Chandrayaan 1 |
Hi-res remote sensing of Moon |
10/22/08, PSLV-XL |
11/8/08 in lunar orbit | 523 dry, 1380 wet | 5 apogee raising maneuvers |
Mission ended on 8/29/09 |
ISRO |
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Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter(LRO) |
Identify landing sites and resources; measure radiation; technology demonstrator |
6/18/09, Atlas V-401 |
6/23/09 | 1000 (dry) + 700 (fuel) | Direct minimum-energy flight; lunar orbit insertion with 4 maneuvers |
First mission in NASA's Vision for Space. Accompanied by LCROSS, to observe impact of Centaur upper stage |
NASA |
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Pioneer 10 |
Explore Jupiter; safely cross asteroid belt |
3/3/72, Atlas/Centaur/TE-364 |
12/2/73 (Jupiter flyby) | 258 dry | Direct flight to Jupiter; Jupiter flyby; first to escape Solar System |
First to observe Jupiter. .First to travel through asteroid belt. Last signal detected on 1/23/03 |
NASA |
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Pioneer 11 |
Explore Jupiter and Saturn (incl ring system) |
4/6/73, Atlas/Centaur/TE-364 |
12/2/74 (Jupiter GA), 9/1/79 (Saturn flyby) | 259 dry | Direct flight to Jupiter; Jupiter GA, Saturn flyby |
First to observe Saturn + ring system. |
NASA |
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Viking 1 |
Mars orbital observation, landing, surface sample analysis; look for life |
8/20/75, Tital-IIIE/Centaur |
6/19/76 (Mars orbit insertion), 7/20/76 (lander touchdown) | Orbiter: 2328 wet, 1445 fuel. Lander: 657 wet, 85 fuel | Direct flight |
Orbiter+lander. No sign of life detected |
NASA |
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Viking 2 |
Mars orbital observation, landing, surface sample analysis; look for life |
9/9/75, Tital-IIIE/Centaur |
8/7/76 (Mars orbit insertion), 9/3/76 (lander touchdown) | Orbiter: 2328 wet, 1445 fuel. Lander: 657 wet, 85 fuel | Direct flight |
Orbiter+lander. No sign of life detected |
NASA |
| Voyager 2 | Close Jupiter and outer planet observations during flyby's | 8/20/77, Titan-IIIE/Centaur | 7/9/79 (Jupiter GA), 8/25/81 (Saturn GA), 1/24/86 (Uranus GA), 8/25/89 (Neptune flyby) | 722 dry | Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus GAs and Neptune flyby | NASA | |
| Voyager 1 | Close Jupiter and outer planet observations during flyby's | 9/5/77, Titan-IIIE/Centaur | 3/5/79 (Jupiter GA), 11/12/80 (Saturn flyby) | 722 dry | Jupiter GA, Saturn flyby | Most distant man-made object in space. Passed termination shock of heliosphere in 12/04 | NASA |
| Phobos 1 | Study interplanetary environment, Mars and moon Phobos | 7/7/88, Proton-K | 2600 | Direct flight | Mission failed due to communication problem. | RSSI | |
| Phobos 2 | Study interplanetary environment, Mars and moon Phobos | 7/12/88, Proton-K | 1/29/89 (Mars orbit insertion) | 2600 | Direct flight | Carried small "hopper" lander | RSSI |
| Galileo | Detailed exploration of Jupiter system | 10/18/89, Shuttle/IUS | 2/10/90 (Venus GA), 10/8/90 (Earth GA), 12/8/92 (Earth GA), 12/7/95 (Jupiter orbit insertion) | 2223 (main) + 339 (probe) dry, 925 fuel | VEEGA (Venus-Earth-Earth GA) | Discovered additional moons, IO volcanoes, Jupiter rings. First use of Earth swingby. Close flyby of asteroid Gaspra. Observed impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter. 9/21/03 Disintegrated in Jupiter atmosphere | NASA |
| Mars Observer | 9/25/92 | Mission failure | NASA | ||||
| Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous | Orbit 433 Eros and observe physical properties | 2/17/96, Delta II-7925 | 4/30/00 | 490 dry, 805 wet | Earth GA and flyby along asteroid Mathilde | First mission to orbit and land on asteroid. NASA Discover mission | JHUAPL |
| Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) | Study topography, geology and weather of Mars | 11/7/96, Delta II-7925 | 9/12/97 | 675 dry, 1060 wet | Direct flight; aerobraking at Mars | 2nd to use aerobraking stopped operations in 11/06 | NASA |
| Mars 96 | 11/16/96 | Failed to reach interplanetary orbit | RSSI | ||||
| Mars Pathfinder (MPF) | Study Martian atmosphere, meteorology and geology; technology demonstrator | 12/2/96, Delta II-7925 | 7/4/97 arrival at Mars | 890 wet, 264 lander, 10.5 rover | Direct transfer; landing with parachutes and rocket braking | NASA Discover mission. "Faster, better, cheaper" design. Mission consists of lander and Sojourner rover (for 30 SOLs) | NASA |
| Cassini/Huygens | Explore Saturnian system | 10/15/97, Titan-IVB/Centaur | 7/1/04 in orbit around Saturn | 2125 dry, 5712 wet (incl 318 for Huygens probe) | Venus (twice), Earth and Jupiter GAs | Cassini main vehicle. Huygens probe descended in atmosphere | ESA |
| Deep Space 2 | Penetrate Martian surface | 1/3/98, Delta II-7425 | 12/3/99 landing on Mars | 2 x 2.4 | Piggyback on MPL | 2 Probes on board Mars Polar Lander. No communication after landing on Mars | NASA |
| Nozomi | Study Martian upper atmosphere | 7/4/98, M-V-3 | 12//xx/03 close approach of Mars | 540 wet, 258 dry | 2 lunar GAs, 1 Earth GA | Also known as Planet-B. Mars orbit insertion failed. | ISAS |
| Deep Space 1 | Study asteroid 1992 KD and comet Borrelly; technology demonstrator | 10/24/98, Delta II-7326 | 7/28/99 flyby of asteroid 1992 KD; 9/22/01 flyby of comet Borrelly | 373.4 dry, 486.3 wet | Ion thruster for primary propulsion | First NASA New Millennium Program mission. Mission ended 12/18/01 | NASA |
| Mars Climate Orbiter | Mars weather observation; communication relay | 12/11//98, Delta II-7425 | 9/23/99 | 339 dry, 629 wet | Lost at arrival at Mars | NASA | |
| Mars Polar Lander (MPL) | Study Martian climate and resources | 1/3/99, Delta II-7425 | 12/3/99 Mars landing | 576 wet, 64 fuel | Direct flight | Cartries (2) Deep Space 2 landers. 3/1/00 Primary mission ending | NASA |
| Stardust | Capture dust from comet P/Wild 2, and return to Earth | 2/7/99 Delta II | 11/2/02 flyby of asteroid Anne Frank; 01/02/02 encounter comet P/Wild 2; 1/15/06 Earth return | 380 wet | Earth GA | First mission to return particles from beyond Moon orbit. NASA Discovery mission | NASA |
| Mars Odyssey | Map chemical elements and minerals; quantify | 4/7/01, Delta II | 10/24/01 arrival at Mars | 725 total, 348.7 fuel | Type I direct flight; aerobraking at Mars | Extended mission after 8/04 | NASA |
| CONTOUR | Study comets Encke and Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 | 7/3/02, Delta II-7425 | 775 wet | NASA Discovery mission. Engine burn failure, declared "lost" on 8/27/02. | NASA | ||
| Hayabusa | Technology demonstrator; explore asteroid Itokawa; sample return | 5/9/03, M-V-5 | 9/xx/05 arrival at Itokawa; 11/xx/05 landing on Itokawa | 510 | Ion engine; powered GA Earth on 5/19/04 | Also known as Muses-C | ISAS |
| Mars Express | Study topography, atmosphere and structure | 6/2/03, Soyuz/Fregat | 5/12/03 arrival at Mars | 1108 total, 428 fuel | Type I direct flight | Beagle-2 lander (malfunctioned) | ESA |
| Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) | Study past water activity on Mars | 6/10/03, Delta II-7925 (A); 7/3/03, Delta II-7925Heavy (B) | 1/4/04 (A), 1/25/04 (B) | each 1013 dry, 1063 wet; rovers: 195 each | Type I direct flight | Two rovers (MER-A, "Spirit" and MER-B, "Opportunity"), designed for 90 SOLs but still active at time of writing. Part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program | NASA |
| Rosetta | Orbit comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko | 3/2/04, Ariane 5G+ | 2014-2015 | 3000 wet, 1670 fuel | 3 Earth GAs, 1 Mars GA; passed asteroids 2867 Steins (9/5/08) | Orbiter + Lander | ESA |
| Deep Impact | Study comet Tempel 1 | 1/12/05, Delta II-2925 | 7/3/05 probe impact on Tempel | 650 wet (flyby), 370 wet (impactor) | Direct flight | NASA Discovery mission. Impactor + flyby orbiter | NASA |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) | Study Martian surface, minerals, water, atmosphere and weather | 8/12/05, Atlas V-401 | 3/xx/06 | 1031 dry, 2180 wet | Direct flight; 8 months for aerobraking | Acts as communication and navigation link | NASA |
| New Horizons | Study atmosphere, surface, geology and solar interaction of Pluto | 1/19/06, Atlas V-551 | 7/14/15 Pluto flyby | 477 wet | Jupiter GA (2/28/07) | NASA | |
| Dawn | Observe asteroids Ceres and Vesta | 9/27/07, Delta II-7925Heavy | Vesta:07/xx/11-07/xx/12. Ceres: 02/xx/15-07/xx/15 | 740 dry, 1210 wet | Ion propulsion system; Mars GA on 2/xx/09 | First satellite to observe 2 asteroids. NASA Discovery mission | NASA |