Exploration Spacecraft

A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, planetary exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo.

All spacecraft except single-stage-to-orbit vehicles cannot get into space on their own, and require a launch vehicle (carrier rocket).

This article covers spacecraft that left Earth orbit to explore our Solar System and were fully or partially successful.

Reference: Wikipedia - Spacecraft

A robotic spacecraft is an uncrewed spacecraft, usually under telerobotic control.

Space missions are more suited to telerobotic rather than crewed operation, due to lower cost and lower risk factors. In addition, some planetary destinations are too hostile for human survival or are too distant to reach with current crewed spacecraft technology.

The only crewed missions to explore the Solar System, so far, were the Apollo missions to the moon. All other missions were telerobotic.

Reference: Wikimedia - Robotic Spacecraft

Spacecraft List

The table below lists all spacecraft, to date, used to study our Solar System. It only includes spacecraft that left Earth orbit and were fully or partially successful.

Point to ℹ for table information. (Table head remains visible while scrolling). Select Spacecraft name for Wikipedia page; Select Target for rdata_space page; Select thumbnail image to enlarge.

Spacecraft

ℹ

Used to perform the mission.

Launcher

ℹ

Used to carry the spacecraft out of the Earth's atmosphere.

Country

ℹ

Main country which developed the mission.

Year

ℹ

Year the spacecraft was launched.

Target

ℹ

The main objective of the spacecraft mission.

Notes

ℹ

General information.

Image

ℹ

Thumbnail image of the spacecraft and launcher. click to enlarge.

Aditya-L1	PSLV C57	India	2023	Our Sun	Studying the solar atmosphere, solar magnetic storms, and their impact on the environment around the Earth.
Advanced Composition Explorer	Delta 7920-8	U.S.	1997		ACE studies energetic particles from the solar wind, the interplanetary medium, and other sources.
Akatsuki	H-IIA 202	Japan	2010	Planet Venus	Uses cameras to study atmospheric stratification and cloud physics. Also known as the Venus Climate Orbiter (VCO) and Planet-C.
Apollo 8	Saturn V	U.S.	1968	Our Moon	First crewed mission to the Moon. Completed ten orbits of the Moon, returned to Earth on 27 December.
Apollo 10			1969		Lunar Module with two astronauts descended to a distance of 14 km above the lunar surface.
Apollo 11					Lunar Module Eagle landed on 20 July 1969. First crewed landing on the Moon.
Apollo 12					Lunar Module landed on 19 November 1969. Second crewed landing on the Moon.
Apollo 13			1970		Mission aborted following Service Module tank explosion. Flew around the Moon and returned safely to Earth.
Apollo 14			1971		Lunar Module landed on 5 February in the Fra Mauro highlands. Third crewed landing on the Moon.
Apollo 15					Lunar Module landed on 30 July. Fourth crewed landing on the Moon and first to use a rover.
Apollo 16			1972		Lunar Module landed and used the Lunar Roving Vehicle. Fifth crewed landing on the Moon and second rover.
Apollo 17					Lunar Module landed and used the Lunar Roving Vehicle. Sixth and last crewed landing on the Moon.
ARTEMIS P1,2	Delta II 7925	U.S.	2011		Orbital studies of the Moon's interaction with the Sun. Separate craft launched on the same rocket.
BepiColombo	Ariane 5 ECA	Europe	2018	Planet Mercury	Study magnetic field, magnetosphere, and both interior and surface structure. The Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) were launched together and will arrive in 2025.
CAPSTONE	Electron	U.S.	2022	Our Moon	Test and verify the calculated orbital stability planned for the Lunar Gateway space station.
Cassini	Titan IV(401)B B-33	U.S., ESA, ASI.	1997	Planet Saturn, Moon Titan	Cassini-Huygens space-research mission studied Saturn, its rings and natural satellites. Comprised both NASA's Cassini probe and ESA's Huygens lander, which landed on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
Chandrayaan-1	PSLV-XL	India	2008	Our Moon	Luna observation from orbit and deployed a luna impactor. Terminated in 2009, remains in luna orbit.
Chandrayaan-2	GSLV Mk III				Luna observation from orbit and deployed a luna lander. Failure of lander.
Chandrayaan-3	LVM3-M4		2023		Vikram lunar lander and Pragyan lunar rover similar to Chandrayaan-2, as well as an orbital propulsion module.
Chang'e 1	Long March 3A	China	2007		Luna observation from orbit. Impacted moon 1 March 2009.
Chang'e 2	Long March 3C		2010		Luna observation from orbit for 6 months. Left orbit to flyby asteroid 4179 Toutatis.
Chang'e 3	Long March 3B		2013		Soft landed on 6 December and deployed a rover. Continues to operate.
Chang'e 4	Long March 3B		2018		Soft landed on 3 January 2019 and deployed a rover. Continues to operate.
Chang'e 5	Long March 5		2020		Orbiter and lander with sample return to Earth.
Chang'e 5-T1	Long March 3C		2014		Demonstration of re-entry capsule for Chang'e 5 sample-return mission at lunar return velocity.
Clementine	Titan II(23)G	U.S.	1994		Luna observation from orbit. Failed following departure from luna orbit.
Danuri	Falcon 9 Blk 5	S.Korea	2022		Survey lunar resources, water ice, uranium, helium-3, silicon, and aluminium, and produce a topographic map.
Dawn	Delta II 7925H	U.S.	2007	Dwarf 4 Vesta, Dwarf 1 Ceres	First spacecraft to orbit two extraterrestrial bodies, the first spacecraft to visit Vesta, and the first to orbit a dwarf planet.
Deep Impact	Delta II 7925		2005	Comet 9P Tempel	Studied 9P interior composition by releasing an impactor which successfully collided with the comet's nucleus.
Deep Impact	Delta II 7925		2005	Comet 103P Hartley	Flyby in 2010 of 103P/Hartley as part of the EPOXI mission. Was able to approach within 700 kilometers.
Deep Space 1	Delta II 7326		1998	Asteroid 9969 Braille, Comet 19P Borrelly	NASA technology demonstration spacecraft part of the New Millennium Program. Carried out a flyby of asteroid 9969 Braille. Extended to include an encounter with comet 19P/Borrelly.
DSCOVR	SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1		2015	Our Sun	Solar wind and coronal mass ejection monitoring, as well as Earth climate monitoring. Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR; formerly known as Triana) is a NOAA satellite.
EQUULEUS	SLS Block 1	Japan	2022	Our Moon	demonstrate low-thrust trajectory control techniques, such as multiple lunar flybys, within the Earth-Moon region.
Explorer 35	Delta E1	U.S.	1967		Magnetospheric probe, studying the Moon and space. Deactivated in 1973 and presumed to have impacted the Moon.
Explorer 49	Delta 1913		1973		Radio astronomy spacecraft operated in lunar orbit. Orbit to avoid interference from terrestrial radio sources.
Galileo	Space Shuttle STS-34 / IUS		1989	Asteroid 951 Gaspra	Flew past 951 Gaspra which is an S-type asteroid that orbits very close to the inner edge of the asteroid belt.
				Planet Jupiter	First spacecraft to orbit Jupiter and record its atmospheric composition. Also studied moon Io's volcanism and interactions with Jupiter. It launched the first probe into Jupiter, measuring atmosphere.
				Asteroid 243 Ida	Destined for Jupiter, flew past 243 Ida which is an S-type asteroid in the Koronis family of the asteroid belt.
Genesis	Delta 7326-9.5		2001	Our Sun	Part of NASA's Discovery program, it flew to the Earth-Sun L1 point and spent two years collecting samples of the solar wind. It crash landed on return to Earth but useful data was salvaged.
Giotto	Ariane 1	Europe	1985	Comet 1P Halley	Flew by and studied Halley's Comet and was the first spacecraft to make close up observations of a comet. It approached the nucleus at a distance of 596 kilometers.
Giotto	Ariane 1	Europe	1985	Comet 26P	Flew by the Comet 26P Grigg-Skjellerup in 1992 at a distance of about 200 km.
GRAIL A, B	Delta II 7920H	U.S.	2011	Our Moon	Gravitational field mapping of Moon. Two craft, "Ebb" and "Flow" launched together and impacted the Moon seperately.
Hayabusa	M-V	Japan	2003	Asteroid 25143 Itokawa	Formerly known as MUSES-C, studied the asteroid in 2005 then landed on it and collected samples. These were returned to Earth aboard the spacecraft in 2010. Also carried a minilander which failed.
Hayabusa2	H-IIA 202		2014	Asteroid 162173 Ryugu	Carried multiple science payloads for remote sensing, sampling, and four small rovers that investigated the asteroid surface and collected samples. It is expected to return to Earth in 2020.
Helios A	Titan IIIE	Germany	1974	Our Sun	Observations of solar wind, magnetic and electric fields, cosmic rays and cosmic dust between Earth and Sun. A pair of probes launched into heliocentric orbit for the purpose of studying solar processes.
Helios B			1976		Observations of solar wind, magnetic and electric fields, cosmic rays and cosmic dust between Earth and Sun. A pair of probes launched into heliocentric orbit for the purpose of studying solar processes.
Hiten	Mu-3S-II	Japan	1990	Our Moon	Designed for flyby, placed into luna orbit to extend mission. De-orbited and impacted on the moon on 10 April 1993.
Hope	H IIA	U.A.E.	2020	Planet Mars	Study daily and seasonal weather cycles and weather events in the lower atmosphere such as dust storms.
IKAROS	H-IIA 202	Japan	2010	Planet Venus	Solar sail technology development and interplanetary space exploration. IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun). First spacecraft to use solar sailing as the main propulsion.
InSight	Atlas V 401	U.S.	2018	Planet Mars	Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight). Lander to study the deep interior. Carried two Mars Cube One (MarCO) Cubesats to test them.
International Cometary Explorer (ICE)	Delta-2914		1978	Comet 21P Giacobini-Zinner	Formally known as ISEE-3 which observed solar phenomena. It was then directed to Comet Giacobini-Zinner where it passed through the plasma tail of comet within about 7,800 km of the nucleus in 1985.
International Cometary Explorer (ICE)	Delta-2914		1978	Comet 1P Halley	Flew through comet Halley's tail with a minimum distance to the nucleus of 28 million km.
ISEE-3	Delta-2914		1978	Our Sun	Observed solar phenomena. ISEE 3 (International Sun-Earth Explorer 3), was part of the mother / daughter / heliocentric mission (ISEE 1, ISEE 2, and ISEE 3).
JUICE	Ariane 5 ECA	ESA	2023	Planet Jupiter	Study three of Jupiter's Galilean moons; Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. These may have significant bodies of liquid water beneath their icy surfaces which would make them potentially habitable environments.
Juno	Atlas V 551 (AV-029)	U.S.	2011		Orbiter to measure composition, gravity field and magnetic field. It will also attempt to measure if Jupiter has a rocky core, the amount of water present, mass distribution, and its strong winds.
LADEE	Minotaur V		2013	Our Moon	Orbital study of lunar exosphere and dust in the Moon's vicinity. Intentionally crashed into the far side of the Moon.
LCROSS	Atlas V 401		2009		Observed impact of Centaur upper stage that launched it. Also impacted itself.
Luna 2	Luna 8K72	U.S.S.R.	1959	Our Moon	Successful impact on 14 September 1959. First spacecraft to reach lunar surface.
Luna 3					First gravity assist to fly around the moon and return towards earth. Returned first images of the far side of the Moon.
Luna 9	Molniya-M		1966		Landed on 3 February 1966 and returned data until 6 February. First spacecraft to land successfully on the Moon.
Luna 10					Entered orbit on 3 April 1966 and continued to return data until 30 May. First spacecraft to orbit the Moon.
Luna 11					Entered orbit on 28 August 1966. Failed to return images; other instruments operated correctly.
Luna 12					Entered orbit on 25 October and returned data until 19 January 1967. Completed photography of Luna 11.
Luna 13					Landed on 24 December. Returned images from the surface and studied soil. Operated until 28 December.
Luna 14	Molniya-M		1968		Entered orbit on 10 April. Tested communications for proposed crewed missions and studied the mass concentration.
Luna 16	Proton-K/D		1970		Soft landed on 20 September. First robotic probe to land on the Moon and return a sample of lunar soil to Earth.
Luna 17					Soft landed on the Sea of Rains and deployed the Lunokhod 1 rover. First robotic rover to be used on the lunar surface.
Luna 19			1971		Systematic study of lunar gravitational fields and location of mascons (mass concentrations).
Luna 20			1972		Soft landed on the Moon in the Apollonius highlands. Returned samples to Earth.
Luna 21			1973		Soft landed and deployed the Lunokhod 2 rover. Second robotic rover to be used on the lunar surface.
Luna 22			1974		Soft landed and deployed the Lunokhod 2 rover. Second robotic rover to be used on the lunar surface.
Luna 24			1976		Landed in Mare Crisium and returned a sample of lunar regolith. Final mission of the Soviet Luna programme.
Lunar Orbiter 1	Atlas-Agena	U.S.	1966	Our Moon	Orbital insertion on 14 August. De-orbited early due to lack of fuel, impacted the Moon on 29 October 1966.
Lunar Orbiter 2					Orbital insertion in November for photographic mapping. De-orbit burn to impact on the far side of the moon.
Lunar Orbiter 3			1967		Orbital insertion on 8 February 1967 for photographic mapping mission. De-orbit burn to impact on the moon.
Lunar Orbiter 4					Orbital insertion on 8 May 1967 and operated until 17 July. De-orbit burn to impact on the moon.
Lunar Orbiter 5					Orbital insertion on 5 August 1967 and operated until 18 August. De-orbit burn to impact on the moon.
Lunar Prospector	Athena II		1998		Low polar orbit investigation including mapping of surface composition and polar ice deposits.
Luna Reconnaissance Orbiter	Atlas V 401		2009		Luna Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), observation from orbit.
Magellan	Space Shuttle STS-30 / IUS		1989	Planet Venus	Map the surface using synthetic aperture radar and measure the planetary gravitational field. Also referred to as the Venus Radar Mapper.
Mariner 2	Atlas LV-3 Agena-B		1962		Tets communications from the spacecraft near Venus and perform radiometric temperature measurements of Venus. First successful Venus flyby; minimum distance 34,773 km
Mariner 4	Atlas LV-3 Agena-D		1965	Planet Mars	Conduct closeup scientific observations of Mars and transmit observations to Earth. First spacecraft to reach and provide close-up images of Mars.
Mariner 5	Atlas-SLV3 Agena-D		1967	Planet Venus	Probe atmosphere by radio occultation, measure the ultraviolet spectrum, and sample solar particles and magnetic field above the planet. Built as a backup to Mariner 4, but improved for an extra mission.
Mariner 6	Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D		1969	Planet Mars	Study the surface and atmosphere of Mars during close flybys. With Mariner 7, the first dual mission to Mars.
Mariner 7	Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D				Study the surface and atmosphere of Mars during close flybys. With Mariner 6, the first dual mission to Mars.
Mariner 9	Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D		1971		Continued the atmospheric studies of Mariner 6 and 7, and maped over 70% of the Martian surface. First spacecraft to orbit another planet.
Mariner 10	Atlas SLV-3D, Centaur-D1A		1973	Planet Mercury	Measured environment, atmosphere, surface, and body characteristics. It was was the first spacecraft to perform flybys of multiple planets (Mercury and Venus).
Mars 2020	Atlas V 541		2020	Planet Mars	Investigate environment, surface geological processes, the possibility of past life, the potential for biosignatures within geological materials.
Mars 2	Proton K/D	U.S.S.R.	1971	Planet Mars	Consisted of orbiter and lander to study the solar wind, magnetic fields and martian surface. First spacecraft to reach the surface of Mars.
Mars 3					Consisted of orbiter and lander to study the solar wind, magnetic fields and martian surface. First spacecraft to soft land on the surface of Mars.
Mars 4			1973		Carried instruments to study Mars from orbit, including cameras, a radio telescope, a magnetometer, and a gamma-ray spectrometer. Failed to orbit.
Mars 5					Carried instruments to study Mars from orbit, including cameras, a radio telescope, a magnetometer, and a gamma-ray spectrometer. successfuly orbited Mars.
Mars 6					Both consisted of a coast stage (flyby) and lander to study Mars including magnetic fields and the martian surface. Part of the Soviet Mars program.
Mars 7
Mars Exploration Rovers	Delta II 7925	U.S.	2003	Planet Mars	Two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, landed on opposite sides of Mars. Provided extensive geological analysis of Martian rocks and planetary surface features. Spirit functioned until it got stuck and ceased communications in 2010. Opportunity was able to stay operational until 2018.
Mars Express	Soyuz-FG Fregat	Europe	2003		Consisted of Orbiter and a lander designed to perform exobiology and geochemistry research. First planetary mission by the European Space Agency (ESA). Lander failed to fully deploy.
Mars Global Surveyor	Delta II 7925	U.S.	1996		Global mapping mission that examined all of Mars, from the ionosphere to the surface. Completed primary mission in 2001 and was in its third extended mission phase in 2006 when it failed.
Mars Odyssey			2001		Studying climate and geology from orbit; communications relay for Spirit and Opportunity rovers.Longest surviving spacecraft in orbit around a planet other than Earth.
Mars Orbiter Mission	PSLV-XL	India	2013		A project to develop the technologies for designing, planning, management, and operations of an interplanetary mission. India's first interplanetary mission and the fourth space agency to reach Mars.
Mars Pathfinder	Delta II 7925	U.S.	1996		Lander and rover with scientific objectives and "proof-of-concept" for various technologies. Second project from NASA's Discovery Program, which promotes low-cost spacecraft and frequent launches.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter	Atlas V 401		2005		Multipurpose spacecraft designed to conduct reconnaissance and exploration from orbit. Used to analyze the landforms, stratigraphy, minerals, and ice. MRO's telecommunications will transfer more data back to Earth than all previous missions combined. It has enough propellant to keep functioning into the 2030s.
Mars Science Laboratory	Atlas V 541		2011		MSL Lander and rover to determine the landing site's habitability, the role of water, the study of climate and the geology. Part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program.
MAVEN	Atlas V 401		2013		Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) is an orbital spacecraft developed by NASA to study Mars' atmosphere. Part of the Mars Scout Program.
MESSENGER	Delta II 7925H-9.5		2004		Studied chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field. MESSENGER is a backronym for "MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging".
NEAR Shoemaker	Delta II 7925-8		1996	Asteroid 253, Asteroid 433	Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous – Shoemaker (NEAR Shoemaker) flew within 1200 km of 253 Mathilde. Flew past 433 Eros in 1998, orbited it in 2000 and photographed its surface, and landed on it in 2001.
New Horizons	Atlas V (551) Star 48B		2006	Dwarf Pluto, Asteroid 132524	Part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Primary mission to perform a flyby study of the Pluto system in 2015. Secondary mission to fly by and study one or more other Kuiper belt objects.
Orion	SLS Block 1		2022	Our Moon	Artemis 1 was the first flight test of Orion and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket test the Orion spacecraft.
OSIRIS-REx	Atlas V 411, AV-067		2016	Asteroid 101955 Bennu	Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer is to obtain a sample from 101955 Bennu. It is expected to return with its sample to Earth in 2023.
Parker Solar Probe	Delta-4H (upg.)		2018	Our Sun	Close-range solar coronal study. Parker Solar Probe (previously Solar Probe, Solar Probe Plus, or Solar Probe+) is a NASA robotic spacecraft.
Phobos 2	Proton K/D	U.S.S.R.	1988	Planet Mars	Designed to explore the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, from orbit and with landers. Orbital operations successful but landers not deployed.
Phoenix	Delta II 7925	U.S.	2007		Lander used instruments to assess the local habitability and to research the history of water there. Part of the Mars Scout Program in partnership of universities in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Pioneer 4	Juno II		1959	Our Moon	Flew by at greater altitude than expected, out of instrument range. First U.S. spacecraft to leave Earth orbit.
Pioneer 5	Thor Able		1960	Our Sun	Investigated interplanetary space between the orbits of Earth and Venus. It Measured magnetic fields, solar flare particles, and ionization in space. A spin-stabilized space probe in the NASA Pioneer program.
Pioneer 6	Thor Delta E		1965		Part of the NASA Pioneer program to investigate space between the orbits of Earth and Venus. Network of solar-orbiting "space weather" monitors, observing solar wind, cosmic rays and magnetic fields.
Pioneer 7			1966
Pioneer 8			1967
Pioneer 9			1968
Pioneer 10	Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D Star-37E		1972	Planet Jupiter	Studied the asteroid belt, the environment around Jupiter, the solar wind and cosmic rays. First probe to cross the asteroid belt; first to Jupiter; first on an interstellar trajectory; now in the outer regions of the Solar System but un-contactable.
Pioneer 11	Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1A Star-37E		1973	Planet Jupiter, Planet Saturn	Studied the asteroid belt, the environment around Jupiter, solar wind and cosmic rays. First probe to encounter Saturn. Became the second to achieve the escape velocity to leave the Solar System.
Pioneer Venus Multiprobe	Atlas SLV-3D, Centaur-D1AR		1978	Planet Venus	Carried 1 large and 3 small probes to collect data as they descended into the atmosphere. All probes continued transmitting until impact. One survived and continued to transmit data from the surface.
Pioneer Venus Orbiter			1971		Carried 17 experiments to study various aspects. Was also able to observe Halley's Comet from Venus orbit. Also known as Pioneer Venus 1 or Pioneer 12.
Psyche	Falcon Heavy		2023	Asteroid 16 Psyche	Explore the origin of planetary cores by orbiting and studying the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche beginning in 2029.
Ranger 6	Atlas-Agena	U.S.	1964	Our Moon	Impacted on 2 February 1964. Failed to return images due to power system failure.
Ranger 7					Impacted on 30 July 1964. Transmitted photographs of the lunar surface during the final minutes to impact.
Ranger 8			1965		Impacted on 20 February 1965. Transmitted photographs of the surface during the final minutes to impact.
Ranger 9					Impacted on 24 March 1965. Transmitted television pictures of the surface during the final minutes to impact.
Rosetta	Ariane 5G, V-158	Europe	2004	Asteroids 2867, 21, Comet 67P	Part of ESA's Horizon 2000 programme. Flew past asteroids 2867 Šteins and 21 Lutetia on its way to study of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Sakigake	Mu-3S-II	Japan	1985	Comet 1P Halley	Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft. The first deep space probe other than the U.S. and U.S.S.R. Observed space plasma and magnetic field in space. Identical to Suisei, but carried a different payload.
SELENE	H-IIA 2022		2007	Our Moon	Luna observation from orbit. Also called Kaguya. Impacted moon 10 June 2009.
SLIM	H-IIA 202		2023		Smart Lander for Investigating Moon. Precision lunar landing by recognizing lunar craters using facial recognition systems.
SMART-1	Ariane 5G	Europe	2003		Luna observation from orbit. Impacted moon 3 September 2006.
SOHO	Atlas II AS		1996	Our Sun	Investigation of Sun's core, corona, and solar wind; comet discoveries. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) was built in Europe. Originally planned as a two-year mission, it continues to operate after 20 years.
Solar Orbiter	Atlas V 411 (AV-087)	Europe	2020		Intended to perform detailed measurements of the inner heliosphere and nascent solar wind, and perform close observations of the polar regions of the Sun. NASA is a joint operator and contributor.
Stardust	Delta II 7426-9	U.S.	1999	Asteroid 5535, Comet 81P Wild	Flew by and studied the asteroid 5535 Annefrank en route to its primary mission to collect dust samples from the coma of comet Wild 2.
STEREO A, STEREO B	Delta 7925-10L		2006	Our Sun	Stereoscopic imaging of coronal mass ejections and other solar phenomena. STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is the third mission in NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes program.
Suisei	Mu-3S-II	Japan	1985	Comet 1P Halley	Took UV images of the hydrogen corona and measured solar wind parameters. Encountered Comet Halley at 151,000 km on sunward side during 1986. Identical to Sakigake, but had a different payload.
Surveyor 1	Atlas-Centaur	U.S.	1966	Our Moon	Landed on 2 June 1966 and Returned data until 13 July. First U.S. spacecraft to successfully land on the Moon.
Surveyor 3			1967		Landed on 20 April 1967 and Returned data until 3 May. Visited by Apollo 12 astronauts in 1969.
Surveyor 5					Landed in Mare Tranquillitatis on 11 September. Returned data until 17 December.
Surveyor 6					Landed on 10 November, Took off and landed again 2.4 m away. Returned data until 14 December.
Surveyor 7			1968		Landed 29 kilometres from Tycho crater on 10 January. Returned data until 21 February.
Tianwen-1	Long March 5 (Y4)	China	2020	Planet Mars	Find evidence of life, produce surface maps, characterize soil composition and water ice distribution, examine the atmosphere.
Trace Gas Orbiter	Proton-M Briz-M	Europe	2013		ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO or ExoMars Orbiter) is an atmospheric research orbiter and the Schiaparelli demonstration lander. A European Space Agency and Russian Roscosmos project.
Ulysses	Space Shuttle STS-41		1990	Our Sun	Solar south and north polar observations to investigate the solar wind, interplanetary magnetic field, cosmic rays and energetic particles. Formerly the International Solar Polar Mission (ISPM).
Vega 1, Vega 2	Proton 8K82K	Russia	1984	Planet Venus, Comet 1P Halley	Both Contained a landing probe and balloon to study the atmosphere and the surface. After releasing the lander the spacecraft was redirected by Venus' gravity to intercept and study Halley's Comet.
Venera 4	Molniya 8K78M	U.S.S.R.	1967	Planet Venus	A probe to parachute to the surface, and a carrier/flyby spacecraft for delivery and communications. First successful probe to perform in-place analysis of the environment of another planet.
Venera 5			1969		A capsule containing scientific instruments was jettisoned and parachuted to the surface returning data from the atmosphere. Similar to Venera 4 but of a stronger design.
Venera 6			1969
Venera 7			1970		The lander remained attached to the interplanetary bus during the initial stages of atmospheric entry and then ejected. First successful landing on another planet; signals from surface for 23 minutes.
Venera 8	Molniya-M/MVL		1972		Atmospheric probe and lander with instrumentation for temperature, pressure, light sensors, gamma ray spectrometer, gas analyzer. Signals returned from surface for 50 minutes.
Venera 9	Proton-K/D		1975		Acted as communications relay for landers, explored cloud layers and atmospheric parameters with several instruments. Sent the first images from the surface; operated on surface for 53 minutes.
Venera 10					Acted as communications relay for landers, explored cloud layers and atmospheric parameters with several instruments.
Venera 11	Proton-K/D-1 8K82K	Russia	1978		Minimum distance 34,000 km; deployed lander and then acted as communications relay. Soft landings; failure of some instruments.
Venera 12	Proton-K/D-1 8K82K	Russia	1978
Venera 13			1981		The lander had cameras to take pictures of the ground and spring-loaded arms to measure the compressibility of the soil. Survived on surface for 127 minutes.
Venera 14					The lander had cameras to take pictures of the ground and spring-loaded arms to measure the compressibility of the soil. Survived on surface for 57 minutes.
Venera 15	Proton-K/D-1		1983		Radar mapping from orbit.
Venera 16					Radar mapping from orbit.
Venus Express	Soyuz-FG Fregat	Europe	2005		Atmospheric studies; planetary imaging; magnetic observations. First Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency (ESA).
Viking 1, Viking 2	Titan IIIE Centaur	U.S.	1975	Planet Mars	Included an orbiter for photography and mapping and a lander for photography and experiments. Viking 1 was the first lander to fully complete its mission. Viking 2 last contact in 1980.
Voyager 1	Titan IIIE	U.S.	1977	Planet Jupiter	Part of the Voyager program, flybys of Jupiter. Studied the weather, magnetic fields, and rings. The first probe to provide detailed images of Jupiter's moons.
Voyager 1	Titan IIIE	U.S.	1977	Planet Saturn	Part of the Voyager program, flybys of Saturn and its largest moon, Titan. Studied the weather, magnetic fields, and rings. The first probe to provide detailed images of Saturn's moons.
Voyager 2				Planet Jupiter, Planet Saturn, Planet Uranus, Planet Neptune	Part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System. It remains in contact through the NASA Deep Space Network. Only spacecraft to visit Uranus and Neptune.
WIND	Delta II 7925-10	U.S.	1994	Our Sun	Solar wind measurements. Global Geospace Science (GGS) Wind satellite, a NASA science spacecraft.
Zond 3	Molniya 8K78	U.S.S.R.	1965	Our Moon	Flew past the Moon on 20 July 1965 and conducted technology demonstration for future planetary missions.
Zond 5	Proton-K/D		1968		First Lunar spacecraft recovered after return to Earth. First life (tortoises) to travel around the Moon.
Zond 6					Closest approach 2,420 km on 14 November, returned to Earth on 17 November. Failed to be recovered.
Zond 7			1969		Closest approach 1,200 km on 10 August, returned to Earth on 14 August. Landed in Kazakhstan.
Zond 8			1970		Investigations of the Moon and testing of onboard systems. Photographed the Earth and luna surface.

Spacecraft List

General References