Solar System Probes
Colors indicate countries: Russia | USA | Japan | Europe | China | India
The Sun | |||
 Ulysses solar probe |
Completed | Orbiters | Pioneer 5 (1960); Pioneer 6-9 (1965-1968+); Helios A & B (1974-1982); ISEE (1978-1982); Ulysses (1994-1995, 2000-2001, 2007-2008); |
| Sample return | Genesis (2001-2004) | ||
| Current | Orbiters | WIND (1994-Present); SOHO (1996-Present); ACE (1997-Present); Stereo A & B (2006-Present) | |
| Planned | Orbiters | Solar Sentinels (2015); Solar Orbiter (2015); Solar Probe+ (2015); | |
Mercury | |||
 MESSENGER - current mission to Mercury |
Completed | Fly-by's | Mariner 10 (1974); MESSENGER (2008 & 2009) |
| Current | Orbiter | MESSENGER (2011-Present) | |
| Planned | Orbiters | BepiColombo (launch in 2014 & arrival in 2020) | |
Venus | |||
 Mariner 2 - 1st fly-by of another planet  Venera 7 - 1st landing on another planet |
Completed | Fly-by's | Mariner 2 (1962); Mariner 5 (1967); Mariner 10 (1974), MESSENGER (2006 & 2007) |
| Impactor | Venera 3 (1966) | ||
| Atmospheric probes | Venera 4 (1967); Venera 5 & 6 (1969); Pioneer Venus (1978); Vega 1 & 2 (1985) | ||
| Soft landings | Venera 7 (1970); Venera 8 (1972); Venera 9 & 10 (1975); Venera 11 & 12 (1978); Venera 13 & 14 (1982) | ||
| Orbiters | Venera 9 & 10 (1975); Pioneer Venus (1978); Venera 15 & 16 (1983-1984); Vega 1 & 2 (1985); Magellan (1990-1994) | ||
| Current | Orbiter | Venus Express (2006-present) | |
| Proposed | Atmospheric probe | EVE (2013?) | |
| Soft landings | VISE (2013?) | ||
| Orbiter | Venera-D (2016?) | ||
Within Earth orbit | |||
 Sputnik 1 - 1st satellite to orbit earth |
Milestones | First rocket to reach space | V2 missile (1942 by Nazi Germany) |
| First orbiters | Sputnik 1 (1957); Sputnik 2 - carried Laika the dog (1957); Explorer 1 (1958); Vanguard 1 - oldest satellite still in orbit (1958) | ||
| For early human spaceflight milestones that occurred within Earth orbit, see: Human Spaceflight | |||
Along Earth's solar orbit | |||
| Current | Orbiters | WMAP (2001-Present); Spitzer Space Telescope (2003-Present); Kepler (2009-Present); Herschel Space Observatory & Planck Surveyor (2009-Present) | |
| Planned | Orbiters | James Webb Space Telescope (2017?); | |
The Moon | |||
 Luna 1 - 1st lunar fly-by  Apollo 11 - 1st human landing on the moon  Lunokhod - Soviet moon rover |
Completed | Fly-by's | Luna 1 (1959); Pioneer 4 (1959); Luna 3 (1959); Zond 3 (1965) |
| Impactors | Luna 2 (1959); Ranger 4 (1962); Ranger 6 & 7 (1964); Ranger 8 & 9 (1965); Moon Impact Probe (2008); LCROSS (2009) | ||
| Soft landings | Luna 9 (1966); Surveyor 1 (1966); Luna 13 (1966); Surveyor 3, 5 & 6 (1967); Surveyor 7 (1968) | ||
| Orbiters | Luna 10, 11 & 12 (1966); Lunar Orbiter 1 & 2 (1966); Lunar Orbiter 3, 4 & 5 (1967); Luna 14 (1968); Luna 19 (1971-1972); Luna 22 (1974); Hiten (1990); Clementine (1994); Lunar Prospector (1998-1999); SMART-1 (2004-2006); Selene (2007-2009); Chang'e 1 (2007-2009); Chandrayaan 1 (2008-2009) | ||
| Fly-by and returns | Zond 5 & 6 - included tortoises & other animals (1968); Zond 7 (1969); Zond 8 (1970) | ||
| Human fly-by and returns | Apollo 8 & 10 (1968); Apollo 13 (1970) | ||
| Human landings | Apollo 11 & 12 (1969); Apollo 14 & 15 (1971); Apollo 16 & 17 (1972) | ||
| Sample returns | Luna 16 (1970); Luna 20 (1972); Luna 24 (1976) | ||
| Rovers | Luna 17 / Lunokhod 1 (1970-1971); Luna 21 / Lunokhod 2 (1973) | ||
| Current | Orbiter | Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (2009-Present); Chang'e 2 (2010-Present); GRAIL (2011-Present) | |
| Planned or proposed | Orbiters | LADEE (2013); Luna-Glob 1 (2014); Chandrayaan 2 (2014) | |
| Soft landings & rovers | Chang'e 3 (2013); MoonLITE (2014); Luna-Glob 1 (2014); Luna-Glob 2 (2014?); Selene-2 (2015?); International Lunar Network (2018?) | ||
Mars & its moons | |||
 Viking lander  Curiosity - future Mars rover |
Completed | Fly-by's | Mariner 4 (1965); Mariner 6 & 7 (1969); Mars 4 & 7 (1974) |
| Orbiters | Mariner 9 (1971); Mars 2 & 3 (1971); Mars 5 (1974); Viking 1 & 2 (1976-1982); Phobos 2 - failed Phobos lander (1989); Mars Global Surveyor (1997-2006) | ||
| Impactor | Mars 2 (1971) | ||
| Soft landings | Mars 3 (1971); Mars 6 (1974); Viking 1 & 2 (1976-1982); Phoenix (2008) | ||
| Rover | Pathfinder / Sojourner (1997) | ||
| Current | Orbiters | 2001 Mars Odyssey (2001-Present); Mars Express (2003-Present); Mars Reconaissance Orbiter (2006-Present) | |
| Rovers | Spirit & Opportunity (2004-Present); Mars Science Laboratory / Curiosity (launched in 2011; landing expected in 2012) | ||
| Planned | Orbiters | MAVEN (2013) | |
| Rovers | ExoMars (2016 & 2018) | ||
Asteroids & Comets | |||
 Dawn - currently on its way to Vesta & Ceres |
Completed | Fly-by's | ICE formerly ISEE (comet Giacobini-Zinner in 1978); Vega 1 & 2, Sakigake & Suisei, Giotto (Halley's comet in 1986); Deep Space 1 (comet 9969 Braille in 1999 & comet Borelly in 2001); EPOXI formerly Deep Impact (comet Hartley 2 in 2010); Stardust (comet Tempel 1 in 2011) |
| Sample return | Stardust (taken from comet Wild 2 in 2004; returned in 2005); Hayabusa (taken from asteroid 25143 Itokawain in 2003; returned in 2010) | ||
| Impactor | Deep Impact (comet Tempel 1 in 2005) | ||
| Orbiter & lander | NEAR Shoemaker (asteroid 433 Eros in 2000-2001) | ||
| Current | Orbiter | Dawn (en route to asteroids Vesta & Ceres; arrival at Vesta in 2011 & Ceres in 2015) | |
| Soft landing | Rosetta (en route to comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko; arrival in 2014) | ||
Jupiter & its moons | |||
 Galileo - 1st Jupiter orbiter |
Completed | Fly-by's | Pioneer 10 (1972); Pioneer 11 (1977); Voyager 1 (1977); Voyager 2 (1977); Ulysses (1990); Cassini (2000); Ulysses (2004); New Horizons (2007) |
| Orbiter | Galileo (1995-2003); Juno (launched in 2011; expected to arrive in 2016) | ||
| Atmospheric probe | Galileo atmospheric entry probe into Jupiter (1995) | ||
| Proposed | Orbiters & landers | JUICE (Jupiter, Ganymede, and Europa orbiters & a Europa lander? launch in 2020's?) | |
Saturn & its moons | |||
 Cassini - 1st (and current) Saturn orbiter |
Completed | Fly-by's | Pioneer 11 (1979); Voyager 1 (1980); Voyager 2 (1981) |
| Soft landings | Huygens on Titan (2004) | ||
| Current | Orbiter | Cassini (2004-Present) | |
| Proposed | Orbiter, atmospheric probe & lander | Titan Saturn System Mission (A Saturn/Titan orbiter, a Titan atmospheric probe, and a Titan "lake lander"? launch in 2020's?) | |
Uranus & its moons | |||
 Voyager 2 - 1st (and only) fly-by of Uranus |
Completed | Fly-by | Voyager 2 (1986) |
Neptune & its moons | |||
Voyager 2 - 1st (and only) fly-by of Neptune |
Completed | Fly-by | Voyager 2 (1989) |
The Kuiper Belt | |||
 New Horizons - currently on its way to Pluto |
Current | Fly-by | New Horizons (en route to Pluto & Charon; arrival in 2015) |
Currently leaving the solar system | |||
| In order of distance from the sun: | Voyager 2; Pioneer 11; Pioneer 10; Voyager 1 | ||
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of the space shuttle