Timeline of Solar System exploration

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a timeline of Solar System exploration ordering events in the exploration of the Solar System by date of spacecraft launch. It includes:

  • All spacecraft that have left Earth orbit for the purposes of Solar System exploration (or were launched with that intention but failed), including lunar probes.
  • A small number of pioneering or notable Earth-orbiting craft.[vague]

Charted timeline of Solar System exploration through December 2014

It does not include:

  • Centuries of terrestrial telescopic observation.
  • The great majority of Earth-orbiting satellites.
  • Space probes leaving Earth orbit that are not concerned with Solar System exploration (such as space telescopes targeted at distant galaxies, cosmic background radiation observatories, and so on).
  • Probes that failed at launch.

The dates listed are launch dates, but the achievements noted may have occurred some time later—in some cases, a considerable time later (for example, Voyager 2, launched 20 August 1977, did not reach Neptune until 1989).

1950s

Sputnik 1 – First Earth orbiter
More information Mission name, Launch date ...
Mission name Launch date Description Ref(s)
Soviet Union Sputnik 1 4 October 1957 First Earth orbiter [1][2]
Soviet Union Sputnik 2 3 November 1957 Earth orbiter, first animal in orbit, a dog named Laika [2][3][4]
United States Explorer 1 1 February 1958 Earth orbiter; discovered Van Allen radiation belts [5]
United States Vanguard 1 17 March 1958 Earth orbiter; oldest spacecraft still in Earth orbit [6]
Soviet Union Luna 1 2 January 1959 First lunar flyby (attempted lunar impact?); first artificial satellite in heliocentric orbit. [7][8][9][10]
United States Pioneer 4 3 March 1959 Lunar flyby [11][12]
Soviet Union Luna 2 12 September 1959 First extraterrestrial impact and lunar impact, First artificial object on Moon [10][13]
Soviet Union Luna 3 4 October 1959 Lunar flyby; First images of another celestial body taken from space, most notably, the far side of Moon [10][14]
Close

1960s

Vostok 1 – First crewed Earth orbiter
Mariner 2 – First successful Venus flyby
Mariner 4 – First successful Mars flyby
Luna 9 – First successful lunar lander
Zond 5 – First lunar flyby and return to Earth, first terrestrials to circle the Moon
Apollo 8 – First crewed lunar orbiter
Apollo 11 – First crewed lunar landing
More information Mission name, Launch date ...
Mission name Launch date Description Ref(s)
United States Pioneer 5 11 March 1960 Interplanetary space investigations [15][16]
Soviet Union Venera 1 12 February 1961 First probe to another planet; Venus flyby (contact lost before flyby) [17][18][19]
Soviet Union Vostok 1 12 April 1961 First crewed Earth orbiter (Yuri Gagarin) [20][21]
United States Ranger 1 23 August 1961 Attempted lunar test flight (failed to leave Earth orbit) [22][23][24]
United States Ranger 2 18 November 1961 Attempted lunar test flight (failed to leave Earth orbit) [24][25][26]
United States Ranger 3 26 January 1962 Attempted lunar impact (missed Moon) [24][27][28]
United States Ranger 4 23 April 1962 Lunar impact (but unintentionally became the first spacecraft to hit the lunar farside and returned no data) [24][29][30][31]
United States Mariner 2 27 August 1962 First successful planetary encounter, First successful Venus flyby [32][33][34]
United States Ranger 5 18 October 1962 Attempted lunar impact (missed Moon) [24][35][36]
Soviet Union Mars 1 1 November 1962 First probe to Mars: flyby (contact lost) [37][38]
Soviet Union Luna 4 2 April 1963 Attempted lunar lander (missed Moon) [39][40]
Soviet Union Cosmos 21 11 November 1963 Attempted Venera test flight? [41]
United States Ranger 6 30 January 1964 Lunar impact (cameras failed) [42][43]
Soviet Union Zond 1 2 April 1964 Venus flyby (contact lost) [44][45][46]
United States Ranger 7 28 July 1964 Lunar impact (success) [47][48][49]
Soviet Union Voskhod 1 12 October 1964 First orbiter with multimember crew [50][51]
United States Mariner 3 5 November 1964 Attempted Mars flyby (failed to attain correct trajectory) [52][53]
United States Mariner 4 28 November 1964 First successful Mars flyby (taking the first close-up image of another planet)[54] [55][56]
Soviet Union Zond 2 30 November 1964 Mars flyby (contact lost) [46][57][58]
United States Ranger 8 17 February 1965 Lunar impact [59][60]
Soviet Union Voskhod 2 18 March 1965 First space walk, by Alexei Leonov [51][61]
United States Ranger 9 21 March 1965 Lunar impact [62][63]
United States Lincoln Calibration Sphere 1 6 May 1965 Oldest spacecraft still in use[citation needed] [64]
Soviet Union Luna 5 9 May 1965 Lunar impact (attempted soft landing) [65]
Soviet Union Luna 6 8 June 1965 Attempted lunar lander (missed Moon) [66]
Soviet Union Zond 3 18 July 1965 Lunar flyby [46][67][68]
Soviet Union Luna 7 4 October 1965 Lunar impact (attempted soft landing) [69]
Soviet Union Venera 2 12 November 1965 Venus flyby (contact lost) [70][18]
Soviet Union Venera 3 16 November 1965 Venus lander (contact lost) – First spacecraft to reach another planet's atmosphere and surface, First Venus impact [71][18]
Soviet Union Luna 8 3 December 1965 Lunar impact (attempted soft landing?) [72]
United States Pioneer 6 16 December 1965 "Space weather" observations [73][74][75][76]
Soviet Union Luna 9 31 January 1966 First extraterrestrial lander and lunar lander [10][77]
Soviet Union Luna 10 31 March 1966 First extraterrestrial orbiter (except heliocentric) and first lunar orbiter [78]
United States Surveyor 1 30 May 1966 Lunar lander [79][80][81]
United States Explorer 33 1 July 1966 Attempted lunar orbiter (failed to attain lunar orbit) [82][83]
United States Lunar Orbiter 1 10 August 1966 Lunar orbiter [84][85][86]
United States Pioneer 7 17 August 1966 "Space weather" observations [76][87][88]
Soviet Union Luna 11 24 August 1966 Lunar orbiter [89]
United States Surveyor 2 20 September 1966 Attempted lunar lander (crashed into Moon) [90][91]
Soviet Union Luna 12 22 October 1966 Lunar orbiter [92]
United States Lunar Orbiter 2 6 November 1966 Lunar orbiter [93][94]
Soviet Union Luna 13 21 December 1966 Lunar lander [95]
United States Lunar Orbiter 3 5 February 1967 Lunar orbiter [96][97]
United States Surveyor 3 17 April 1967 Lunar lander [98][99]
United States Lunar Orbiter 4 4 May 1967 Lunar orbiter [100][101]
Soviet Union Venera 4 12 June 1967 First functioning extraterrestrial atmospheric probe (Venus) [18][102]
United States Mariner 5 14 June 1967 Venus flyby [103][104]
United States Surveyor 4 14 July 1967 Attempted lunar lander (crashed into Moon) [105][106]
United States Explorer 35 (IMP-E) 19 July 1967 Lunar orbiter [107]
United States Lunar Orbiter 5 1 August 1967 Lunar orbiter [86][108][109]
United States Surveyor 5 8 September 1967 Lunar lander [110][111]
United States Surveyor 6 7 November 1967 Lunar lander, first lift-off from an extraterrestrial body [80][112][113]
United States Apollo 4 9 November 1967 Lunar programme test flight in Earth orbit (uncrewed) [114]
United States Pioneer 8 13 December 1967 "Space weather" observations [76][115][116]
United States Surveyor 7 7 January 1968 Lunar lander [117][118]
United States Apollo 5 22 January 1968 Lunar programme test flight in Earth orbit (uncrewed) [119][120]
Soviet Union Zond 4 2 March 1968 Lunar programme test flight out of Earth orbit (uncrewed) [46][121][122][123]
Soviet Union Luna 14 7 April 1968 Lunar orbiter [124]
Soviet Union Zond 5 14 September 1968 First lunar flyby and return to Earth, first life forms to circle the Moon [46][125][126][127][128]
United States Apollo 7 11 October 1968 Lunar programme test flight in Earth orbit (crewed) [129][130]
United States Pioneer 9 8 November 1968 "Space weather" observations [76][131][132]
Soviet Union Zond 6 10 November 1968 Lunar flyby and return to Earth [46][133][134]
United States Apollo 8 21 December 1968 First crewed spacecraft to leave Earth orbit, first crewed lunar orbiter [130][135][136]
Soviet Union Venera 5 5 January 1969 Venus atmospheric probe [18][137]
Soviet Union Venera 6 10 January 1969 Venus atmospheric probe [18][138]
United States Mariner 6 25 February 1969 Mars flyby [139][140]
United States Apollo 9 3 March 1969 Crewed lunar lander (LEM) flight test in Earth orbit [130][141]
United States Mariner 7 27 March 1969 Mars flyby [142][143]
United States Apollo 10 18 May 1969 Crewed lunar orbiter [130][144][145]
Soviet Union Luna 15 13 July 1969 Second attempted lunar sample return [146][147]
United States Apollo 11 16 July 1969 First crewed lunar landing and first successful sample return mission [148][149][150][151][152]
Soviet Union Zond 7 7 August 1969 Lunar flyby and return to Earth [46][153][154]
United States Apollo 12 14 November 1969 Crewed lunar landing [155][156][157]
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1970s

Mars 3 – First Mars lander
Pioneer 10 – First Jupiter flyby
Mariner 10 – First Mercury flyby
Voyager 2 – First Uranus/first Neptune flyby
More information Mission name, Launch date ...
Mission name Launch date Description Ref(s)
United States Apollo 13 11 April 1970 Crewed lunar flyby and return to Earth (crewed lunar landing aborted). Farthest from Earth a human has gone (401,056 km) [158][159][160][161]
Soviet Union Venera 7 17 August 1970 First Venus lander and the first spacecraft to "soft" land on another planet (with some data returned from the surface) [18][162][163]
Soviet Union Luna 16 12 September 1970 First robotic lunar sample return [10][164]
Soviet Union Zond 8 20 October 1970 Lunar flyby and return to Earth [46][165][166]
Soviet Union Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 10 November 1970 First remote controlled rover [10][167]
United States Apollo 14 31 January 1971 Crewed lunar landing [168][169][170]
Soviet Union Salyut 1 19 April 1971 First space station [171][172]
Soviet Union Mars 2 19 May 1971 First Mars impact, Mars orbiter and attempted lander; First rover (Prop-M) sent to another planet (Mars) [173][174][175][176][177]
Soviet Union Mars 3 28 May 1971 Mars orbiter (arrived after Mariner 9); First Mars lander (first image taken from the surface of another planet, though the received image did not show anything); First rover (Prop-M) to be landed but not deployed on another planet (Mars) [178][179][180][181][182]
United States Mariner 9 30 May 1971 First to orbit another planet (Mars) [183][184]
United States Apollo 15 26 July 1971 Crewed lunar landing; First crewed lunar rover [130][185][186][187]
Soviet Union Luna 18 2 September 1971 Attempted lunar sample return (crashed into Moon) [188][189]
Soviet Union Luna 19 28 September 1971 Lunar orbiter [190]
Soviet Union Luna 20 14 February 1972 Lunar robotic sample return [191]
United States Pioneer 10 3 March 1972 First Jupiter flyby [192][193][75]
Soviet Union Venera 8 27 March 1972 Venus lander [18][194][195]
United States Apollo 16 16 April 1972 Crewed lunar landing [196][197][198]
United States Apollo 17 7 December 1972 Last crewed lunar landing [199][200][201][202]
Soviet Union Luna 21/Lunokhod 2 8 January 1973 Lunar rover [203]
United States Pioneer 11 5 April 1973 Jupiter flyby and First Saturn flyby [75][204][205]
United States Explorer 49 (RAE-B) 10 June 1973 Lunar orbiter/radio astronomy [206][207]
Soviet Union Mars 4 21 July 1973 Mars flyby (attempted Mars orbiter) [208][209]
Soviet Union Mars 5 25 July 1973 Mars orbiter [210][211]
Soviet Union Mars 6 5 August 1973 Mars flyby and attempted lander (failed due to damage on Mars landing) [212][213]
Soviet Union Mars 7 9 August 1973 Mars flyby and attempted lander (missed Mars) [214][215]
United States Mariner 10 3 November 1973 Lunar and Venus flybys in addition to the First Mercury flyby [216][217][218][219]
Soviet Union Luna 22 29 May 1974 Lunar orbiter [10][220]
Soviet Union Luna 23 28 October 1974 Attempted lunar sample return (failed due to damage on lunar landing) [221]
United States West Germany Helios-A 10 December 1974 Solar observations [222][223]
Soviet Union Venera 9 8 June 1975 First Venus orbiter and lander; First successful images from the surface of another planet (Venus) [18][224][225][226]
Soviet Union Venera 10 14 June 1975 Venus orbiter and lander [18][227][228][229]
United States Viking 1 20 August 1975 Mars orbiter and lander; First clear pictures from Martian surface [230][231][232][233]
United States Viking 2 9 September 1975 Mars orbiter and lander [233][234][235][236]
United States West Germany Helios-B 15 January 1976 Solar observations [237][238]
Soviet Union Luna 24 9 August 1976 Lunar robotic sample return [10][239]
United States Voyager 2 20 August 1977 Jupiter/Saturn/first Uranus/first Neptune flyby [240][241][242]
United States Voyager 1 5 September 1977 Jupiter/Saturn flyby, first to exit the heliosphere [242][243][244]
United States Pioneer Venus 1 20 May 1978 Venus orbiter [245][246]
United States Pioneer Venus 2 8 August 1978 Venus atmospheric probes [247][248]
United States ISEE-3 12 August 1978 Solar wind investigations; later redesignated International Cometary Explorer and performed Comet Giacobini-Zinner and Comet Halley flybys – First comet flyby [249][250][251]
Soviet Union Venera 11 9 September 1978 Venus flyby and lander [18][252][253][254]
Soviet Union Venera 12 14 September 1978 Venus flyby and lander [18][255][256][257]
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1980s

Galileo – Mission to Jupiter
More information Mission name, Launch date ...
Mission name Launch date Description Ref(s)
Soviet Union Venera 13 30 October 1981 Venus flyby and lander. First recording of sound on another planet. [18][258][259][260]
Soviet Union Venera 14 4 November 1981 Venus flyby and lander [18][261][262][263]
Soviet Union Venera 15 2 June 1983 Venus orbiter [18][264][265]
Soviet Union Venera 16 7 June 1983 Venus orbiter [18][266][267]
Soviet Union Vega 1 15 December 1984 Venus flyby, lander and first extraterrestrial aircraft (aerostat balloon); continued on to Comet Halley flyby [268][269][270][271][272]
Soviet Union Vega 2 21 December 1984 Venus flyby, lander and balloon; continued on to Comet Halley flyby [272][273][274][275][276]
Japan Sakigake 8 January 1985 Comet Halley flyby [277][278]
Giotto 2 July 1985 First close observation of comet (distance 596 kilometers), Comet Halley flyby [279][280][281]
Japan Suisei (Planet-A) 18 August 1985 Comet Halley flyby [282][283]
Soviet Union Mir 19 February 1986 First modular space station (operational 1986–2000; final module added 1996) [284][285][286]
Soviet Union Phobos 1 7 July 1988 Attempted Mars orbiter/Phobos landers (contact lost) [287][288]
Soviet Union Phobos 2 12 July 1988 Mars orbiter/attempted Phobos landers (contact lost) [289][290]
United States Magellan 4 May 1989 Venus orbiter [291][292]
United States Galileo 18 October 1989 Venus flyby, first Asteroid flyby (Gaspra), first Asteroid moon discovery (Dactyl), first Jupiter orbiter, first Jupiter atmospheric probe [293][294][295][296]
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1990s

Mars Pathfinder – Mars lander and the first successful Mars rover, Sojourner
Cassini–Huygens – First Saturn orbiter and first Titan lander
More information Mission name, Launch date ...
Mission name Launch date Description Ref(s)
Japan Hiten (MUSES-A) 24 January 1990 Lunar flyby and orbiter [297][298]
United States Hubble Space Telescope 24 April 1990 Orbital space telescope (operational since 1990[needs update]) [299][300][301]
United States Ulysses 6 October 1990 Solar polar orbiter [302][303][304]
Japan United States Yohkoh (Solar-A) 30 August 1991 Solar observations (1991–2001) [305][306]
United States Mars Observer 25 September 1992 Attempted Mars orbiter (contact lost) [307][308]
United States Clementine 25 January 1994 Lunar orbiter/attempted asteroid flyby (contact lost) [309][310][311]
United States WIND 1 November 1994 Solar wind observations [312][313]
United States SOHO 2 December 1995 Solar observatory (operational since 1996[needs update]) [314][315][316]
United States NEAR Shoemaker 17 February 1996 Eros orbiter, first near-Earth asteroid flyby, first asteroid orbit and first asteroid landing [317][318][319]
United States Mars Global Surveyor 7 November 1996 Mars orbiter [320][321]
Russia Mars 96 16 November 1996 Attempted Mars orbiter/landers (failed to escape Earth orbit) [322][323]
United States Mars Pathfinder 4 December 1996 Mars lander and first successful planetary rover [324][325][326]
United States ACE 25 August 1997 Solar wind and "space weather" observations (operational since 1998[needs update]) [327][328]
United States Italy Cassini–Huygens 15 October 1997 First Saturn orbiter and first outer planet moon lander (on Titan) [329][330][331][332][333]
United States Lunar Prospector 7 January 1998 Lunar orbiter [334][335]
Japan Nozomi (Planet-B) 3 July 1998 Attempted Mars orbiter (failed to enter Mars orbit) [336][337]
United States Deep Space 1 (DS1) 24 October 1998 Asteroid and comet flyby [338][339]
United States Russia Japan CanadaBrazil ISS 20 November 1998 International space station [340][341]
United States Mars Climate Orbiter 11 December 1998 Attempted Mars orbiter (orbit insertion failed; entered atmosphere and was destroyed) [342][343]
United States Mars Polar Lander/Deep Space 2 (DS2) 3 January 1999 Attempted Mars lander/penetrators (contact lost) [344][345][346]
United States Stardust 7 February 1999 First comet coma sample return (returned 15 January 2006) [347][348][349]
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2000s

Mars Express/Beagle 2 – First planetary mission by the ESA
MESSENGER – First Mercury orbiter
Chandrayaan-1 – Water Around Fresh Moon Crater
More information Mission name, Launch date ...
Mission name Launch date Description Ref(s)
United States 2001 Mars Odyssey 7 April 2001 Mars orbiter [350][351]
United States Genesis 8 August 2001 First solar wind sample return [352][353][354][355]
United States CONTOUR 3 July 2002 Attempted flyby of comet nuclei (Encke, Schwassmann-Wachmann-3, and optionally a third one; lost in space) [356][357]
Japan Hayabusa (MUSES-C) 9 May 2003 Asteroid lander and first sample return from asteroid [358][359][360]
United Kingdom Mars Express/Beagle 2 2 June 2003 Mars orbiter/attempted lander (lander failure) [361][362][363][364]
United States Mars Exploration Rover Spirit 10 June 2003 Mars rover [365][366]
United States Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity 8 July 2003 Mars rover [367][368]
SMART-1 27 September 2003 Lunar orbiter [369][370]
Rosetta/Philae 2 March 2004 Asteroid Šteins and Lutetia flybys; first comet orbiter and lander (Landed in November 2014) [371][372][373][374]
United States MESSENGER 3 August 2004 First Mercury orbiter (Achieved orbit 18 March 2011) [375][376][377]
United States Deep Impact 12 January 2005 Comet flyby and impact [378][379][380][381]
United States Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter 12 August 2005 Mars orbiter [382][383]
Venus Express 9 November 2005 Venus polar orbiter [384][385]
United States New Horizons 19 January 2006 First Pluto/Charon flyby (on 14 July 2015); continued on to 486958 Arrokoth flyby (on 1 January 2019) [386][387][388][389]
Japan United States United Kingdom Hinode (Solar-B) 22 September 2006 Solar orbiter [390][391]
United States STEREO 26 October 2006 Two spacecraft, solar orbiters [392][393][394]
United States Phoenix 4 August 2007 Mars polar lander (Mars landing on 25 May 2008) [395][396]
Japan SELENE (Kaguya) 14 September 2007 Lunar orbiters [397][398][399][400]
United States Dawn 27 September 2007 Asteroid Ceres and Vesta orbiter (Entered orbit around Vesta on 16 July 2011 and around Ceres on 6 March 2015) [401][402][403]
China Chang'e 1 24 October 2007 Lunar orbiter [404][405][406]
India Chandrayaan-1 22 October 2008 Lunar orbiter and impactor; discovered water on the Moon [407][408][409]
Herschel Space Observatory 14 May 2009 Infrared space telescope at Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point [410][411]
United States Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/LCROSS 18 June 2009 Lunar polar orbiter and lunar impactor [412][413][414][415]
United States WISE (NEOWISE) 14 December 2009 Infrared survey of celestial sky (WISE mission); later Near-Earth object survey (NEOWISE mission) [416][417][418]
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2010s

Mars Science Laboratory – Mars lander and large rover
Mangalyaan – First Indian Mars orbiter
Trace Gas Orbiter – ESA/Roscosmos Mars orbiter
More information Mission name, Launch date ...
Mission name Launch date Description Ref(s)
United States Solar Dynamics Observatory 11 February 2010 Continuous solar monitoring [419][420]
Japan Akatsuki (Planet-C) 20 May 2010 Venus orbiter (orbit insertion failed in 2010 / successful orbit insertion on 7 December 2015) [421][422][423]
France PICARD 15 June 2010 Solar monitoring [424][425]
China Chang'e 2 1 October 2010 Lunar orbiter, asteroid 4179 Toutatis flyby [406][426][427]
United States Juno 5 August 2011 Jupiter orbiter [428][429]
United States GRAIL 10 September 2011 Two spacecraft, Lunar orbiters [430][431][432]
Russia China Fobos-Grunt and Yinghuo-1 8 November 2011 Attempted Phobos sample return and Mars orbiter, respectively; both failed to escape Earth orbit [433][434]
United States Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity rover) 26 November 2011 Mars rover (landed 6 August 2012) [435][436]
United States Van Allen Probes (RBSP) 30 August 2012 Earth Van Allen radiation belts study [437][438][439]
United States IRIS 28 June 2013 Solar observations [440]
United States LADEE 7 September 2013 Lunar orbiter [441][442]
Japan Hisaki 14 September 2013 Planetary atmosphere observatory [443]
India Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) 5 November 2013 Mars orbiter [444][445][446]
United States MAVEN 18 November 2013 Mars orbiter [447][448]
China Chang'e 3 1 December 2013 Lunar lander and rover (first lander since Soviet Luna 24 in 1976) [406][449][450][451]
China Chang'e 5-T1 23 October 2014 Circumlunar mission and Earth reentry; technology demonstration to prepare for Chang'e 5 mission [452]
Japan Germany France Hayabusa2 / MASCOT 3 December 2014 Asteroid lander and sample return (sample returned 5 December 2020), first asteroid rover [360][453][454]
Japan PROCYON 3 December 2014 Comet observer and attempted asteroid flyby (engine failure) [455]
United States DSCOVR 11 February 2015 Solar observation [456][457]
Russia ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and EDM lander 14 March 2016 Mars orbiter and attempted lander (lander failure) [458][459]
United States OSIRIS-REx 8 September 2016 Asteroid sample return mission (sample returned 24 September 2023) [460][461]
United States InSight 5 May 2018 Mars lander [462][463]
China Queqiao 20 May 2018 Relay satellite for Chang'e 4 in Halo orbit around Earth–Moon L2 Lagrange point [464]
United States Parker Solar Probe 12 August 2018 Solar corona probe, closest solar approach (0.04 AU) [465][466]
Japan BepiColombo 19 October 2018 Two Mercury orbiters (orbit insertion planned in November 2026) [467][468]
China Chang'e 4 7 December 2018 Lunar lander and rover, first landing on the lunar far side [406][469][470]
Israel Beresheet 22 February 2019 Attempted lunar lander (crashed into Moon) [471][472]
India Chandrayaan-2 22 July 2019 Lunar orbiter; attempted lander and rover (contact lost during final stage of descent) [473][474]
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2020s

NASA's Perseverance rover
More information Mission name, Launch date ...
Mission name Launch date Description Ref(s)
Solar Orbiter 10 February 2020 Sun-observing satellite [475][476][477]
United Arab Emirates Mars Hope 19 July 2020 Mars orbiter [478]
China Tianwen-1 (Zhurong rover) 23 July 2020 Mars orbiter, lander, and rover [479]
United States Mars 2020 (Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter) 30 July 2020 Mars rover and helicopter drone; first powered flight on another planet [480][481][482]
China Chang'e 5 23 November 2020 Lunar sample return [406][483]
United States Lucy 16 October 2021 Flyby of six Jupiter trojans and two main belt asteroids [484][485]
United States Italy DART / LICIACube 24 November 2021 Asteroid 65803 Didymos flyby, asteroid moon Dimorphos impactor [486][487]
United States Canada James Webb Space Telescope 25 December 2021 Infrared space telescope at Sun–Earth L2 [488][489]
United States CAPSTONE 28 June 2022 Lunar orbiter [490]
South Korea United States Danuri (KPLO) 5 August 2022 Lunar orbiter [491]
United States Artemis 1 and 10 cubesats 16 November 2022 Uncrewed lunar orbital test of Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System. The cubesats are launched as rideshares and will execute their own missions. [492]
Japan United States Hakuto-R Mission 1 (Rashid rover) and Lunar Flashlight 11 December 2022 Lunar lander technology demonstration, lunar rover, and lunar orbiter launched together (crashed into Moon) [493][494][495]
JUICE 14 April 2023 Jupiter/Ganymede orbiter [496]
India Chandrayaan-3 14 July 2023 Lunar orbiter, lander and rover; first soft landing near the lunar South Pole [497][498]
Russia Luna 25 10 August 2023 Attempted lunar south pole lander (crashed into Moon) [499][500]
India Aditya-L1 2 September 2023 Sun-observing spacecraft at Sun–Earth L1 [501]
Japan SLIM (LEV-1, LEV-2) 6 September 2023 Lunar flyby, lander and rovers [502][503]
United States Psyche 13 October 2023 Asteroid 16 Psyche orbiter [504]
United States Peregrine Mission One (including Iris and Colmena rovers) 8 January 2024 Lunar lander and rovers (landing precluded) [505]
United States IM-1 Nova-C Odysseus (including EagleCam deployable camera) 15 February 2024 Lunar landers [506]
China DRO A/B 13 March 2024 Lunar orbiters [507]
China Queqiao-2 (including Tiandu-1 and 2) 20 March 2024 Lunar orbiters [508]
China Chang'e 6 (including Pakistan's ICUBE-Q cubesat) 3 May 2024 Lunar sample return, rover and orbiters; first sample return from the lunar far side [509][510]
Hera (3 orbiters) 7 October 2024 Asteroid 65803 Didymos rendezvous [511]
United States Europa Clipper 14 October 2024 Jupiter orbiter, Europa multiple flyby [512][513][514]
United States Blue Ghost M1 15 January 2025 Lunar lander [515]
Japan Hakuto-R Mission 2 (including Tenacious rover) 15 January 2025 Lunar lander and rover [515]
United States Intuitive Machines Nova-C IM-2

(including MAPP LV1, Micro-Nova, AstroAnt and Yaoki rover)

 27 February 2025 Lunar lander and rovers
United States Lunar Trailblazer 27 February 2025 Lunar orbiter
United States Brokkr-2 27 February 2025 Asteroid flyby
United States Chimera-1 27 February 2025 Lunar flyby
China Tianwen-2 (orbiters and landers) 29 May 2025 Asteroid study and sample return
United StatesCarruthers Geocorona Observatory 24 September 2025 heliophysics mission [516]
United States Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 24 September 2025 heliophysics mission [516]
United States Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe 24 September 2025 heliophysics mission [516]
United States EscaPADE 13 November 2025 Two orbiters to Mars [517]
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Planned or scheduled

Main article: List of proposed Solar System spacecraft

See also

References

External links

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