Unpiloted Space Exploration - Highlights |
Program
name |
Country |
Year(s)
launched |
# missions |
Main achievement(s) or goal |
| Sputnik |
USSR |
1957 - 1958 |
9 |
Sputnik 1 - First artificial satellite in space (1957)
Sputnik 2 - First animal in space (a dog named Laika, 1957)
|
| Explorer |
US |
1958 |
4 |
First US artificial satellite in space (1958)
Discovered Van Allen radiation belts around Earth
|
| Pioneer |
US |
1958 - 1978 |
12 |
Studied/photographed Earth, moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus
Pioneer 10 - First to travel through the asteroid belt (late 1972)
Pioneer 10 - First to reach Jupiter (1973);
Pioneer 10 - First to leave the solar system
Pioneer 11 - First direct observations of Saturn (1979)
|
| Able-Baker |
US |
1959 |
1 |
First animals recovered safely from space
(a rhesus monkey named Able and a squirrel monkey named Baker)
|
| Luna |
USSR |
1959 - 1976 |
24 |
Flew past, struck, orbited, and landed on the moon
Luna 1 - First probe to orbit the sun (1959)
Luna 2 - First probe to strike the moon (1959)
Luna 3 - Sent home first photographs of the dark side of the moon (1959)
Luna 9 - First successful (soft) landing on the moon (1966)
Explored moon's surface with vehicles (1970)
Returned samples of moon's surface to Earth (1970)
|
| Venera |
USSR |
1961 - 1983 |
16 |
Venera 4 - Studied composition of Venus's atmosphere (1967)
Venera 7 - First successful landing on another planet (Venus, 1970)
Venera 9 - Sent back first photographs of Venus's surface (1975)
Mapped some of the planet's surface
|
| Ranger |
US |
1961 - 1965 |
9 |
Ranger 4 - Flew toward and struck the moon (1962)
Ranger 7 - Sent home close-up photographs of the moon before hitting the surface (1964)
|
| Mariner |
US |
1962 - 1973 |
10 |
Flew past Venus, Mars, and Mercury
Mariner 2 - First probe to reach Venus (1962)
Mariner 4 - Sent home first close-up pictures of the surface of Mars (1965)
Mariner 9 - First to orbit another planet (Mars, 1971)
Mariner 10 - First probe to reach Mercury (1974)
Studied Venus's atmosphere and high surface temperature
|
| Zond |
USSR |
1964 - 1970 |
15 |
Zond 3 - Sent home photographs of the dark side of the moon (1965)
Zond 5 - Flew around the moon and back to Earth (1968)
Flew past Venus (Zond 1, 1964) and Mars (Zond 2, 1965), but contact lost prior to flybys
|
| Surveyor |
US |
1966 - 1968 |
7 |
Surveyor 1 - Successfully landed on the moon (1966)
Determined that moon's surface could support piloted spacecraft
|
| Lunar Orbiter |
US |
1966 - 1967 |
5 |
Photographed and mapped the moon's surface while orbiting (1966)
Determined that moon's surface could support piloted spacecraft
|
| Mars |
USSR |
1960 - 1973 |
11 |
Mars 2 - First lander to strike the surface of Mars (1971)
Mars 3 - First successful (soft) landing on Mars (1971)
|
| Viking |
US |
1975 |
2 |
Landed (1976) and searched for life on Mars (found none)
Discovered ice on Mars
Monitored Martian weather; mapped and photographed surface
|
| Voyager |
US |
1977 |
2 |
Sent home close-up pictures of Jupiter (1979), Saturn (1980), Uranus (1986), and Neptune (1989)
Discovered a total of 22 new moons around these planets
Discovered that Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a giant storm
Discovered active volcanoes on Io, a moon orbiting Jupiter
Determined the composition of Saturn's rings (particles of ice and rock)
Discovered an atmosphere on Triton, one of Neptune's moons
|
| Vega |
USSR |
1984 |
2 |
Examined soil on Venus; found rare rocks
Flew past and took close-up photographs of Halley's comet (1986)
|
| Sakigake & Suisei |
Japan |
1985 |
2 |
Flew past and photographed Halley's comet
|
| Giotto |
US & Europe |
1985 |
1 |
Flew past and photographed comets Halley (1986) and Grigg-Skjellerup (1992)
|
| Magellan |
US |
1989 |
1 |
Mapped the surface of Venus while orbiting (1990-1994)
|
| Galileo |
US & Europe |
1989 |
1 |
First close-up pictures of an asteroid (Gaspra)
Explored Jupiter's hostile atmosphere (1995)
Took close-up pictures of Jupiter's moons Io, Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto
|
| Hubble Space Telescope |
US & Europe |
1990 |
1 |
Largest optical observatory to orbit the Earth
Took the most-detailed pictures of Mars ever taken from Earth
Found proof of black holes and improved our understanding of quasars
Found evidence that suggests the universe is expanding at an increasing rate
Took the first close-up pictures of Pluto and its moon Charon
|
| Ulysses |
US & Europe |
1990 |
1 |
Explored the regions of space high above the sun's poles (1994-2001)
Studied the sun's magnetic field, solar wind plasma, and galactic cosmic rays
|
| Yohkoh |
Japan, US, & Britain |
1991 |
1 |
Studies solar flares and other events on the sun
|
| Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Shoemaker |
US |
1996 |
1 |
First long-term, close-up study of an asteroid (Eros)
First to orbit an asteroid (2000)
First to land on an asteroid (2001)
|
| Mars Global Surveyor |
US |
1996 |
1 |
Photographed and mapped the surface of Mars (1999-2001)
Found evidence that there may be current sources of liquid water on Mars
Studied the gravitational and magnetic fields and atmosphere of Mars
|
| Mars Pathfinder |
US |
1996 |
1 |
Delivered a lander and a rover (Sojourner) to the surface of Mars (1997)
Photographed and analysed surface features, rocks, and atmosphere
|
| Cassini & Huygens Probe |
US & Europe |
1997 |
1 |
Study various characteristics of Saturn and its moons, particularly Titan
Projected arrival at Saturn: July 2004
|
| Nozomi |
Japan |
1998 |
1 |
Orbiter to study Martian upper atmosphere and how it interacts with solar wind (2004)
|
| Deep Space 1 |
US |
1998 |
1 |
Flew past a near-Earth asteroid called Braille (1999)
Took the best-ever images of a comet (Borrelly, 2001)
Tested new technologies such as fuel-efficient xenon gas engines
|
| 2001 Mars Odyssey |
US |
2001 |
1 |
Map chemical elements and minerals on the surface of Mars
Search for water and assess risks to human visitors (e.g. from radiation)
|
| CONTOUR (Comet Nucleus Tour) |
US |
2002 |
1 |
Study and photograph 3 comets during its 6-year mission
Increase our understanding of comets and their nuclei
|
| Mars Exploration Rovers |
US |
2003 |
2 |
Two rovers will study rocks and soil to learn about ancient water and climate on Mars
|
| Mars Express |
Europe, Italy, US |
2003 |
1 |
Explore the atmosphere and surface of Mars through use of orbiter (around the planet's poles) and a lander
Search for water below the planet's surface
|
| Deep Impact |
US |
2004 |
1 |
Study the interior of a comet after firing a projectile into it (2005)
|
| MESSENGER |
US |
2004 |
1 |
Study Mercury's atmosphere, surface, crust, and polar caps
|
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter |
US |
2005 |
1 |
Analyze the surface of Mars to further explore evidence of water
|
| Mars Scout |
US |
2007 |
1 |
Series of missions that could involve airplanes, balloons, or small landers
|
| Mars NetLander |
French-led, international |
2007 |
1 |
Search for water beneath surface of Mars (2008)
Study Martian weather and surface geology
|
| Mars Smart Lander |
US |
2009 |
1 |
Roving lander that would help pave the way for a sample-return mission
|
| Mars Sample Return Lander |
US |
2014 |
1 |
Return samples of Martian rock and soil to Earth
|
Sources:
Chronology of Lunar and Planetary Exploration
National Space Science Data Center, NASA
Chronological list of missions,
NASA
Windows to the Universe,
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
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