Past
Planetary exploration missions are conducted by some of the most sophisticated robots ever built. Through them we extend our senses to the farthest reaches of the Solar System and into remote and hostile environments, where the secrets of our origins and destiny lie hidden.
*Sort missions by clicking the column headers.
| Division | Name | Launch Date | Phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planets |
Chandrayaan-1 (M3)
The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) is one of two instruments that NASA is contributing to India's first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1, which is scheduled to be launched in 2008. This mission is part of SMD's Discovery Program. This mission ... | 20081022 October 22, 2008 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Clementine
The Clementine mission was designed to test lightweight miniature sensors and advanced spacecraft components by exposing them, over a long period of time, to the difficult environment of outer space. Clementine also completed the complex task of mapping the moon. | 19940125 January 25, 1994 | 4Past |
| Planets |
CONTOUR
The Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) was a mission intended to greatly expand what is known of comet nuclei and to assess their diversity. This mission is part of SMD's Discovery program. | 20020703 July 03, 2002 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Deep Impact
The Deep Impact mission was selected as a Discovery mission in 1999. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II rocket on January 12, 2005 and left Earth’s orbit toward Comet Tempel 1. The spacecraft consists of two main sections, ... | 20050112 January 12, 2005 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Deep Space 1
During its 11-month primary mission, DS1 successfully tested 12 revolutionary technologies destined for future missions. In 2001, DS-1 returned the best pictures and other scientific data ever collected at a comet. | 19981024 October 24, 1998 | 4Past |
| Planets |
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
The European Space Agency plans for the ExoMars rover to grind samples of Martian soil to fine powder and deliver them to a suite of analytical instruments, including Urey that will search for signs of life. | 4Past | |
| Planets |
Galileo
The Galileo mission produced a string of discoveries about asteroids, a fragmented comet, Jupiter's atmosphere, Jupiter's magnetic environment, and especially about the geologic diversity of Jupiter's four largest moons. This mission is part of SMD's Outer Planets Flagship program. | 19891018 October 18, 1989 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Genesis
The Genesis mission was designed to collect samples of the charged particles in the solar wind and return them to Earth laboratories for detailed analysis. This mission is part of SMD's Discovery program. | 20010808 August 08, 2001 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Hayabusa
The objective of Hayabusa (formerly Muses-C) mission was to collect a surface sample of material from the small asteroid and return the sample to Earth for analysis. | 20030509 May 09, 2003 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Lunar Prospector
Lunar Prospector was the third of NASA's Discovery missions. The project mapped the chemical composition of the lunar surface and the Moon's global magnetic and gravity fields at a level of detail greater than that achieved by previous missions. This ... | 19980107 January 07, 1998 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Magellan
The Magellan mission scientific objectives were to study land forms and tectonics, impact processes, erosion, deposition, chemical processes, and model the interior of Venus. | 19890504 May 04, 1989 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Mariner Missions
Between 1962 and 1973, NASA designed and built 10 spacecraft named Mariner to explore the inner solar system – visiting the planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars for the first time, and returning to Venus and Mars for additional close observations. | 19620721 July 21, 1962 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Mars Climate Orbiter
Mars Climate Orbiter was designed to function as an interplanetary weather satellite and a communications relay for Mars Polar Lander. This mission is part of the Mars program. | 19981211 December 11, 1998 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Mars Exploration Rover - Spirit
Mars Exploration Rover Spirit landed in Gusev crater on Mars in January 2004. The rover carries a sophisticated set of instruments that allow it to search for evidence of liquid water that may have been present in the planet's past. ... | 20030610 June 10, 2003 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Global Surveyor is returning an unprecedented amount of data regarding Mars' surface features, atmosphere, and magnetic properties. Scientists are using the data gathered from this mission both to learn about the Earth by comparing it to Mars, and to ... | 19961107 November 07, 1996 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Mars Observer
Mars Observer was designed to study the geoscience and climate of Mars. This mission is part of SMD's Mars Exploration program. | 19920925 September 25, 1992 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Mars Pathfinder
Mars Pathfinder launched December 2, 1996 and arrived on the surface of Mars on July 4, 1997. The mission was an engineering demonstration of key technologies and concepts for use in future missions to Mars; it also delivered science instruments ... | 19961204 December 04, 1996 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Mars Polar Lander
The Mars Polar Lander was to touch down on the southern polar layered terrain and record local meteorological conditions near the martian south pole. This mission is part of SMD's Mars Exploration program. | 19990103 January 03, 1999 | 4Past |
| Planets |
NEAR-Shoemaker
As the first spacecraft to orbit and land on an asteroid, the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Shoemaker mission continues to answer fundamental questions about the nature and origin of near-Earth objects. This mission is part of SMD's Discovery Program. | 19960217 February 17, 1996 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Phoenix
Phoenix seeks to verify the presence of the Martian Holy Grail: water and habitable conditions. | 20070804 August 04, 2007 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Pioneer 10 & 11
These Pioneer missions traveled through the asteroid belt to observe Jupiter, Saturn and continue on to the outer solar system. | 19720303 March 03, 1972 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Pioneer Venus Missions
Pioneer Venus consisted of two spacecraft to study Venus: the Orbiter and the Multiprobe. | 19780520 May 20, 1978 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Ranger
The Ranger project of the 1960s was the first U.S. effort to launch probes directly toward the Moon. The spacecraft were designed to relay pictures and other data as they approached the Moon and finally crash-landed into its surface. | 19610822 August 22, 1961 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Stardust
Stardust is the first U.S. space mission dedicated solely to the exploration of a comet, and the first robotic mission designed to return extraterrestrial material from outside the orbit of the Moon. This mission is part of SMD's Discovery Program. ... | 19990207 February 07, 1999 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Stardust-NExT
STARDUST-NExT - short for "New Exploration of Tempel-1" - is a follow-on mission for STARDUST, one of the great successes of NASA's Discovery program. | 4Past | |
| Planets |
Surveyor
Surveyor succeeded the Ranger program. Its primary focus was engineering work in preparation for Apollo, specifically soft landings and lifting off from the moon's surface. | 19660529 May 29, 1966 | 4Past |
| Planets |
Viking 1 - 2
Two Viking spacecraft, each composed of an orbiter and a lander, flew to Mars in the mid 1970's. They measured atmospheric water vapor, did chemical analysis of the soil, and took photographs of the entire surface. | 19750820 August 20, 1975 | 4Past |