Featured Missions
Our mission milestones showcase the breadth and depth of NASA science.
Europa Clipper
Launched Oct. 14, 2024, Europa Clipper’s main science goal is to determine whether there are places below the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, that could support life.
Lunar Trailblazer
Launching in 2024, the goal of Lunar Trailblazer is to understand the form, abundance, and distribution of water on the Moon, and the lunar water cycle.
NISAR
Launching in 2024, NISAR will systematically map Earth and study changes to ice sheets, glaciers, and sea ice in fine detail, as climate change warms the air and ocean.
Why Does NASA Want to Explore Jupiter’s Ocean Moon?
Everywhere there’s water on Earth, there’s life. Does that hold true elsewhere in our solar system? NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will investigate Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, which — with its subsurface ocean — is one of the most promising places in our solar system to find environments capable of supporting life.
Learn More about Europa ClipperNASA Science Fleet Chart
NASA Science missions circle the Earth, the Sun, the Moon, Mars, and many other destinations within our Solar System, including spacecraft that look out even further into our universe. The Science Fleet depicts the scope of NASA’s activity and how our missions have permeated throughout the solar system.
Download the Science Fleet Chart
All Science Missions
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3D Tissue Chips
Developing tissue chips that can be used for modeling of acute and/or chronic exposures for 6 months or longer 3D…
Able 1 (Pioneer 0)
Pioneer 0, also known as Able 1, was the first-ever launch to the Moon — and humanity’s first attempt to…
Able 2 (Pioneer 1)
The U.S. Air Force shared management of this lunar mission with America's newly-formed space agency — NASA.
Able 4B (Pioneer P-3)
Able 4B, also known as Pioneer P-3, was part of a U.S. push to get to the Moon after the…
Able 5A (Pioneer P-30)
What was Able 5A (Pioneer P-30)? This U.S. probe had a mission similar to its failed predecessor, Able 4B. It…
Able 5B (Pioneer P-31)
What was Able 5B (Pioneer P-31)? LIke its two unsuccessful predecessors, this U.S. spacecraft was launched to orbit the Moon.…
ACE
NASA’s Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) collects and analyzes particles of solar, interplanetary, interstellar, and galactic origins. The data contributes to…
ACME
Advancing combustion technology via fundamental microgravity/Improving efficiency and reducing emission in practical terrestrial combustion The Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments…
ACRIMSAT
Earth Orbiter
Advanced Plant Habitat
Conducting plant bioscience research aboard the International Space Station The Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) is the largest, fully automated plant…
Akatsuki
Launch Date May 21, 2010 Launch Site Tanegashima Space Center, Tanegashima, Japan Destination Venus Type Orbiter Status Successful–In Progress Nation…
Apollo 15 Subsatellite
Launch Date Aug. 4, 1971 Launch Site Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA | Launch Complex 39A Destination Earth’s Moon Type Orbiter…
Apollo 16 Subsatellite
Launch Date Apr. 24, 1972 Launch Site Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA | Launch Complex 39A Destination Earth’s Moon Type Orbiter…
Aqua
Earth Orbiter
Aquarius
Eyes on Aquarius The joint U.S./Argentinian Aquarius/Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas (SAC)-D mission was launched June 10, 2011, and ended on…
ATLAS
The Atlas Program ATLAS-1, the first of the ATLAS series of Shuttle flights, was an important part of the long-term,…
ATS
Applications Technology Satellite Program The Applications Technology Satellite (ATS) series was conceived of as a follow-on to the successful experimental…
Aura
Earth Orbiter
AWE
The Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) is attached to the exterior of the Earth-orbiting International Space Station. From its space station…
BARREL
BARREL was a balloon-based mission to study X-rays in Earth’s atmosphere near the North and South poles.
BepiColombo
What is BepiColombo? BepiColombo is an international mission comprised of two spacecraft riding together to Mercury to orbit and to…
Beresheet
Beresheet was Israel's first lunar mission and the first attempt by a private company to land on the Moon.
BioExpt-01
Biological Experiment-01 on Artemis I Studying how life responds to conditions beyond low Earth orbit BioExperiment-01 (BioExpt-01) will serve as…
BurstCube
BurstCube is a shoebox-sized satellite designed to study the universe’s most powerful explosions.
CALIPSO
Earth Orbiter
Cassini-Huygens
Saturn Orbiter
Chandra
Space Telescope
Chandrayaan-1 / Moon Impact Probe
India's Chandrayaan-1 played a crucial role in the discovery of water molecules on the Moon.