List of proposed Solar System probes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are currently various proposed space probes to focus on the exploration of the Solar System. For planned missions to the Moon see the dedicated list of missions to the Moon, with its section future missions. Launched probes are in the List of Solar System probes and the List of active Solar System probes.
Scheduled missions
| Mission name | Launch date | Target | Description | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
   Martian Moons eXploration and Idefix rover |
2026 | Mars | Phobos sample return mission, Phobos rover, Deimos flyby | [1] |
  Venus Life Finder |
NET summer 2026 | Venus | Atmospheric probe by Rocket Lab and MIT | [2] |
 M-Argo |
2027 | Asteroid | Cubesat mission to a near-Earth asteroid | [3] |
| DESTINY+ |
2028 | Asteroid | Asteroid 3200 Phaethon flyby | [4] |
| Dragonfly |
July 2028 | Saturn / Titan | Titan rotorcraft lander | [5] |
| Rosalind Franklin |
2028 | Mars | Mars rover, ExoMars | [6][7] |
 Tianwen-3 |
2028 | Mars | Mars sample return mission | [8] |
 MBR Explorer |
2028 | Asteroid | Flyby mission to seven asteroids | [9] |
| Ramses |
2028 | Asteroid | Orbiter | [10][11] |
 Venus Orbiter Mission |
2028 | Venus | Orbiter | [12] |
| Tianwen-4 |
September 2029 | Jupiter, Uranus | Jupiter and Callisto orbiter, Uranus flyby | [13][14] |
| Comet Interceptor |
2029 | Comet | Flyby of an Oort Cloud comet | [15][16] |
| VERITAS |
2029 | Venus | Orbiter | [17] |
| EnVision |
2031 | Venus | Orbiter | [18] |
| Mangalyaan-2 |
2031 | Mars | Orbiter and lander | [19][20] |
| DAVINCI |
2032 | Venus | Orbiter and atmospheric probe | [21] |
Proposed missions
| Mission name | Preliminary launch date estimate | Target | Description | Ref(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimated launch date | Estimate by | Estimate as of | ||||
| Shensuo (Interstellar Express) |
In 2019, the mission was planned to be launched in 2024. There are no updates after 2019. | Outer planets | "Voyager-like" mission to outer planets | [22][23] | ||
| Asteroid deflection mission |
2027 | CNSA | 2025 | Asteroid | Asteroid deflection mission; one possible target is 2015 XF261 | [24][25] |
| Space Reactor‑1 Freedom / Skyfall |
NET 2028 | NASA | 2026 | Mars | The "first nuclear powered interplanetary spacecraft" and several Ingenuity-class helicopters | [26] |
| Solar Polar Orbit Observatory |
2029 | National Space Science Center | 2025 | Sun | High-inclination solar orbiter, Jupiter flyby | [27] |
| Mars Telecommunications Orbiter |
The MTO mission was revived by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by U.S. President Donald Trump, that allocated $700 million for the development of a new MTO. | Mars | Orbiter | [28] | ||
| Tera-hertz Explorer |
Originally planned to be launched in "2020s". There are no updates after 2021. | Mars | Orbiter and lander | [29][30] | ||
| Uranus Orbiter and Probe |
NET 2031 | NASA | 2023 | Uranus | Orbiter and probe | [31][32] |
| Venus atmospheric sample return |
2033 | DSEL/CNSA | 2025 | Venus | Return atmospheric samples from Venus | [33] |
| Interstellar Probe |
2036 | NASA | 2022 | Outer planets | "Voyager on steroids" | [34] |
 Venera-D |
2036 | Russian Academy of Sciences | 2025 | Venus | Orbiter and lander | [35] |
| Enceladus Orbilander |
2038 | NASA | 2023 | Saturn / Enceladus | Enceladus orbiter/lander | [36] |
| Mars Research Station for ISRU |
2038 | DSEL/CNSA | 2025 | Mars | Mars surface research station for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) | [33] |
| Probe to Neptune and Triton |
2039 | DSEL/CNSA | 2025 | Neptune / Triton | Exploration of Neptune and its moon Triton | [33] |
| L4 (Probe to Enceladus) |
2042 | ESA | 2024 | Saturn / Enceladus | Enceladus lander | [37][38] |
Suspended missions
The following missions were suspended or cancelled because of political, budgetary, or other reasons. The spacecraft were already assembled at the time of suspension/cancellation, so these missions can be resumed.
| Mission name | Cancellation date | Description | Status and reason | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Janus |
2023 | Dual asteroids probe | Was expected to be a secondary payload on the Psyche launch. After the delay, it was assessed that Janus wouldn't be able to reach the required trajectory. Both spacecraft were placed into long-term storage. | [39] |
See also
- Timeline of Solar System exploration
- Planned space telescopes
- Proposed space telescopes
- Planned heliophysics missions
- Planned Earth observation satellites
- Planned Moon missions
- Planned Venus missions
- Planned Mars missions
- Planned outer planets missions
- Future visits of minor planets and comets
- Future and proposed missions to be placed at Lagrange points