| ROBOTIC SPACE MISSIONS |
| EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS |
| RESOURCES |
| FORTHCOMING EVENTS |
| ORGANISING EVENTS |
| FUNDING BODIES |
| USEFUL CONTACTS |
| PAST MISSIONS |
| CURRENT MISSIONS |
| FUTURE MISSIONS |
| ESA EXOMARS MISSION |
| UK VANGUARD MISSION |
ROBOT SPACE EXPLORERS
PAST MISSIONS
Luna 3 (USSR)
Launched on 4 October 1959.
First spacecraft to pass behind the Moon and send back pictures of the
far side. (1959)
Mariner 2 (USA)
Launched on 27 August 1962.
First successful planetary flyby. It flew within 35,000 km of Venus on 14 December. (1962)
Mariner 4 (USA)
Launched on 28 November 1964.
First Mars flyby. It flew within 10,000 km
of Mars on 14 July 1965, and sent back 21 pictures of the southern hemisphere.
(1964-1965)
Luna 9 (USSR)
Launched on 31 January 1966.
First successful soft-landing on the Moon, followed by first TV transmission
from the surface. (1966)
Luna 16 (USSR)
Launched on 12 September 1970.
First robotic sample-return mission. Approximately 0.1 kg of lunar soil was returned to Earth in a spherical
capsule and recovered on 24 September. (1970)
Luna 17 carrying
Lunokhod
1 (USSR)
Launched on 10 November 1970.
Lunokhod 1, the first robotic lunar rover, travelled 10.54 km, performed soil tests at 500 locations, and sent back
more than 20,000 pictures in 11 months. (1970-1971)
Mariner
9 (USA)
Launched
on 30 May 1971. First planetary orbiter. It went into orbit
around Mars on 13 November 1971 and sent back more than 7,000 detailed
pictures of Mars and its moons. (1971-1972)
Luna 20
(USSR)
Launched
on 14 February 1972. Robotic sample-return mission. The sample
return capsule was recovered on 25 February. (1972)
Pioneer 10
(USA)
Launched
on 2 March 1972. First Jupiter flyby. It escaped from the
solar system and is headed toward Taurus. (1972-2003)
Luna 21
carrying Lunokhod 2 (USSR)
Launched
on 8 January 1973. Lunokhod 2 travelled 36 km
in the Taurus mountains and sent back more than 80,000 pictures in 4 months.
(1973)
Pioneer 11 (USA)
Launched
on 5 April 1973. Jupiter flyby and first Saturn flyby. It
escaped from the solar system and is headed toward Aquila. (1973-1995)
Mariner 10
(USA)
Launched
on 3 November 1973. Venus flyby and first Mercury flybys (three).
It demonstrated the gravity assist technique for the first time, and sent
back 2,700 pictures during its three encounters with Mercury. (1973-1974)
Viking
1 and Viking 2 (USA)
Launched
on 20 August and 9 September 1975 respectively. First soft-landings
on Mars. The Viking landers analysed soil samples for signs of life.
The Viking orbiters mapped Mars in great detail. (1975-1982)
Magellan (USA)
Launched
on 4 May 1989. It used synthetic aperture radar to map 98% of Venus's
surface, and demonstrated the aerobraking technique for the first time.
(1989-1994)
Galileo (USA)
Launched on 18 October 1989. First Jupiter
orbiter and atmospheric probe. It entered the atmosphere of Jupiter
on 21 September 2003. (1989-2003)
Ulysses (ESA/USA)
Launched on 6 October 1990. It used a
Jupiter swingby to perform a 90° orbital plane change, and passed
over the sun's polar regions during solar minimum in 1994-1995,
solar maximum in 2000-2001, and solar minimum in 2006-2008. (1990-1998)
NEAR (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous)
Shoemaker (USA)
Launched
on 17 February 1996. It encountered asteroid Mathilde on 27 June
1997. It went into orbit around asteroid Eros on 14 February 2000
and descended onto its surface on 12 February 2001. (1996-2001)
Mars Pathfinder
carrying Sojourner
(USA)
Launched
on 4 December 1996. It demonstrated a direct planetary landing
technique for the first time. Sojourner, the first planetary rover,
travelled 100m, performed 16 chemical analyses of rocks and soil, and
sent back 550 pictures in 3 months. (1996-1997)
Deep Space 1 (USA)
Launched
on 24 October 1998. It demonstrated solar electric (ion) propulsion
and an autonomous navigation system for the first time. It encountered
asteroid 9969 Braille on 28 July 1999, and comet Borrelly on 22 September
2001. (1998-2001)
Stardust (USA)
Launched on 7 February 1999. First cometary
sample return mission. It encountered comet Wild 2 on 2 January 2004. It
collected cometary and interstellar dust samples which it returned to
Earth on 15 January 2006. (1999-2006)
Genesis (USA)
Launched on 8 August 2001. First solar wind
sample return mission. It orbited LaGrange point L1, collecting solar
wind samples which were returned to Earth (in a crash landing in the Utah
desert) on 8 September 2004. (2001-2004)
SMART-1 (ESA)
Launched on 27
September 2003. It used electric (ion) propulsion to transfer from
geostationary orbit to lunar orbit. It used several innovative instruments to image the lunar surface and
map its mineralogy and elemental composition. It impacted on the
lunar surface on 3 September 2006. (2003-2006)
Deep Impact (USA)
Launched on 12
January 2005. It encountered comet Tempel 1 in July 2005, releasing
a smart impactor on 3 July and observing the impact and its aftermath on 4
July. (2005)
Phoenix (USA)
Launched on 4 August 2007. It landed in an ice-rich region
of northern Mars on 25 May 2008 and analyzed excavated soil samples to determine
whether the site was ever hospitable to life. It confirmed the presence of water ice just below the surface at the landing site. (2007-2008)
Chang'e 1
(China)
Launched
on 24 October 2007. It performed 3D imaging
of the lunar surface and mapped the distribution of various elements,
including helium-3.
(2007-2008)
Encyclopedia Astronautica
On-line
encyclopedia of past space missions.
JPL Past Missions
Archive
of past US robotic space missions.
Lunascan
Project
Archive
of past lunar missions.
NASA
Lunar Exploration Timeline
Timeline
of lunar missions.
NASA Solar System Exploration
NASA gateway to information on robotic
solar system exploration.
Planetary
Exploration Page
Archive
of past planetary missions.
RRGTM
Mars Timeline
Timeline
of Mars exploration.
SEDS Mars
Exploration Page
Timeline
of Mars exploration.