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Missions
CURRENT MISSIONS
Voyager 2
(USA)
Launched on 20 August 1977. Jupiter and
Saturn flybys, and first Uranus and Neptune flybys. It
escaped from the solar system and is still transmitting useful
data. (1977-?)
Voyager 1
(USA)
Launched on 5 September 1977. Jupiter
and Saturn flybys. It escaped from the solar system and is
still transmitting useful data. (1977-?)
Cassini-Huygens
(USA/ESA)
Launched
on 15 October 1997. First Saturn orbiter (Cassini) and
Titan probe (Huygens). Entered orbit on 30 June 2004.
The Huygens probe was released from Cassini on 25 December 2004 and landed on
the surface of Titan on 14 January 2005. (1997-?)
Nozomi
(Japan)
Launched
on 3 July 1998. It was intended to orbit Mars and study
the upper atmosphere and its interaction with the solar wind. Owing
to damage inflicted by solar flares on its communications and power systems,
it instead flew by Mars on 14 December 2003 and is now monitoring solar
activity from beyond Mars' orbit. (1998-?)
Mars Express
(ESA) with Beagle 2 lander
(UK)
Launched on 2
June 2003 and reached Mars on 25 December 2003. The Mars Express
orbiter is studying the Martian atmosphere and surface, and their
interaction. All attempts to communicate with Beagle 2 since it
landed on 25 December have failed. (2003-?)
Mars Exploration Rovers
(USA)
Spirit (MER-A)
launched on 10 June 2003 and landed on Mars on 4 January 2004. Opportunity
(MER-B) launched on 7 July 2003 and landed on Mars on 25 January 2004.
Each rover is travelling many kilometres, analyzing rock and soil samples
with a set of five scientific instruments and an abrasion tool.
(2003-?)
Hayabusa (Japan)
Launched
on 9 May 2003. First asteroid sample return mission.
It was damaged during its second touchdown on asteroid Itokawa on 26 November 2005,
but it is still hoped that its re-entry capsule will land via parachute near Woomera, Australia in June 2010. (2003-2010)
Rosetta (ESA and France)
Launched on 2 March 2004. It will rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
in May 2014 and land a probe named RoLand (short for Rosetta
Lander) on its nucleus in November 2014. (2004-2015)
MESSENGER (USA)
Launched on 3 August 2004. First Mercury orbiter. It will go into orbit
around Mercury on 18 March 2011 and investigate its characteristics and
environment. (2004-2012)
Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter (USA)
Launched on 12
August 2005. Entered orbit around Mars on 10 March 2006 and is imaging the surface at 30-centimetre resolution. (2005-2010)
Venus Express
(ESA)
Launched on 9 November 2005. Entered orbit around Venus
on 11 April 2006 and is studying the atmosphere and surface, and their
interaction. (2005-2009)
New Horizons
(USA)
Launched on 19 January 2006. First reconnaisance
of Pluto, Charon and the Kuiper Belt. It will fly by Pluto and
Charon on 14 July 2015, and then visit one or more Kuiper Belt Objects (in
the region beyond Neptune) by 2020. (2006-?)
Dawn (USA)
Launched on 27 September 2007. It will orbit and examine the two
most massive members of the asteroid belt - the asteroid Vesta and the
dwarf planet Ceres. It is using
three xenon ion thrusters to take it in a long outward spiral from Earth. It is due to encounter Vesta in mid 2011 and Ceres in early 2015. (2007-2015)
Kaguya
(Japan)
Launched
on 14 September 2007. It consists of a lunar orbiter and two
small relay satellites. The latter are enabling mapping of the gravity
field on the far side of the Moon by relaying radio transmissions from
that region to Earth in real time. Instruments on the orbiter are
measuring elemental and mineral distribution, surface structure and the
lunar environment. The orbiter will make a controlled impact onto the lunar surface in August 2009. (2007-2009)
Chandrayaan-1
(India)
Launched on 22 October 2008.
It is mapping the lunar surface and searching for the presence of radioactive
isotopes, which will help researchers determine the origins of the Moon.
(2008-2010)
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