A History of Satellites and Robotic Space Missions
| Mission (Country) |
Launch Date | Type | Mission Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sputnik 1 (USSR) |
Oct. 4, 1957 | Satellite | First artificial satellite. |
| Sputnik 2 (USSR) |
Nov. 3, 1957 | Satellite | Carried first animal into space. |
| Explorer 1 (USA) |
Jan. 31, 1958 | Satellite | First successful U.S. satellite. Also discovered Earth's radiation belt. |
| Pioneer 0 (USA) |
Aug. 17, 1958 | Lunar orbiter | First stage exploded. |
| Pioneer 1 (USA) |
Oct. 11, 1958 | Lunar orbiter | Failed to reach escape velocity. |
| Pioneer 3 (USA) |
Dec. 6, 1958 | Lunar flyby | Failed to reach escape velocity. |
| Luna 1 (USSR) |
Jan. 2, 1959 | Lunar flyby |
Intended for impact, but missed lunar surface and is now in a solar orbit. |
| Pioneer 4 (USA) |
Mar. 3, 1959 | Lunar flyby |
Still in a solar orbit. |
| Luna 2 (USSR) |
Sep. 12, 1959 | Lunar lander |
Impacted Moon on Sep 13, 1959, becoming first man-made object to reach another body in our universe. |
| Luna 3 (USSR) |
Oct. 4, 1959 | Lunar flyby |
Reached the Moon on Oct. 7 and returned the first photograph of its far side. |
| Pioneer 5 (USA) |
Mar. 11, 1960 | Solar monitor |
Still in a solar orbit. |
| Mars 1960A (USSR) |
Oct. 10, 1960 | Mars probe |
Failed to reach Earth orbit. |
| Mars 1960B (USSR) |
Oct. 14, 1960 | Mars probe |
Failed to reach Earth orbit. |
| Venera 1 (USSR) |
Feb. 12, 1961 | Venus flyby |
Now in a solar orbit. |
| Ranger 3 (USA) |
Jan. 26, 1962 | Lunar lander |
Missed the Moon and is now in a solar orbit. |
| Ranger 4 (USA) |
Apr. 23, 1962 | Lunar lander |
First U.S. impact on the Moon. |
| Mariner 2 (USA) |
Aug. 27, 1962 | Venus flyby |
Arrived at Venus on Dec. 14, 1962 becoming the first successful interplanetary spacecraft. Now in a solar orbit. |
| Ranger 5 (USA) |
Oct. 18, 1962 | Lunar flyby |
Intended for impact on lunar surface but became a fly-by due to spacecraft failure. |
| Mars 1962A (USSR) |
Oct. 24, 1962 | Mars flyby |
Failed to leave Earth orbit. |
| Mars 1 (USSR) |
Nov. 1, 1962 | Mars flyby |
Communications failed en route. |
| Mars 1962B (USSR) |
Nov. 4, 1962 | Mars lander |
Failed to leave Earth orbit. |
| Luna 4 (USSR) |
Apr. 2, 1963 | Lunar probe |
Missed the Moon and is now in an Earth-Moon orbit. |
| Ranger 6 (USA) |
Jan. 30, 1964 | Lunar lander |
Impacted lunar surface but returned no photographs due to camera failure. |
| Zond 1 (USSR) |
Apr. 2, 1964 | Venus flyby |
Communications lost en route. |
| Ranger 7 (USA) |
July 28, 1964 | Lunar lander |
Returned pictures of lunar surface before impact on July 31, 1964. |
| Mariner 3 (USA) |
Nov. 5, 1964 | Mars flyby |
Mission failed when solar panels did not open. Now in a solar orbit. |
| Mariner 4 (USA) |
Nov. 28, 1964 | Mars flyby |
Arrived on Jul. 14, 1965 and returned close-up photos of Martian surface. Now in a solar orbit. |
| Zond 2 (USSR) |
Nov. 30, 1964 | Mars flyby |
Contact lost en route. |
| Ranger 8 (USA) |
Feb. 17, 1965 | Lunar lander |
Returned photographs of lunar surface before impact on Feb. 20, 1965. |
| Ranger 9 (USA) |
Mar. 21, 1965 | Lunar lander |
Returned photographs of lunar surface before impact on Mar. 24, 1965. |
| Luna 5 (USSR) |
May 9, 1965 | Lunar lander |
Destroyed upon impact with lunar surface. |
| Luna 6 (USSR) |
June 8, 1965 | Lunar lander |
Missed the Moon and is now in solar orbit. |
| Zond 3 (USSR) |
July 18, 1965 | Lunar flyby |
Transmitted pictures of the Moon's far side. |
| Luna 7 (USSR) |
Oct. 4, 1965 | Lunar lander |
Destroyed upon impact with lunar surface. |
| Venera 2 (USSR) |
Nov. 12, 1965 | Venus flyby |
Communications failed. Now in a solar orbit. |
| Venera 3 (USSR) |
Nov. 16, 1965 | Venus probe |
Communications failed. Impacted Venus. |
| Luna 8 (USSR) |
Dec. 3, 1965 | Lunar lander |
Destroyed upon impact with lunar surface. |
| Pioneer 6 (USA) |
Dec. 16, 1965 | Solar probe |
Still transmitting from a solar orbit. |
| Luna 9 (USSR) |
Jan. 31, 1966 | Lunar lander |
Performed first successful soft landing on the Moon, on Feb. 3, 1966, and transmitted the first photographs from its surface. |
| Luna 10 (USSR) |
Mar. 31, 1966 | Lunar orbiter |
Studied Moon's gravity and radiation. Now in a lunar orbit. |
| Surveyor 1 (USA) |
Apr. 30, 1966 | Lunar lander |
First U.S. soft landing on the Moon. |
| Lunar Orbiter 1 (USA) |
Aug. 10, 1966 | Lunar orbiter |
Orbited the Moon, returning photographs of its surface before impacting on command. |
| Pioneer 7 (USA) |
Aug. 17, 1966 | Solar probe |
Still in a solar orbit. |
| Luna 11 (USSR) |
Aug. 24, 1966 | Lunar orbiter |
Studied Moon's gravity and chemical composition. Now in a lunar orbit. |
| Surveyor 2 (USA) |
Sep. 20, 1966 | Lunar lander |
Failed and impacted the Moon. |
| Luna 12 (USSR) |
Oct. 22, 1966 | Lunar orbiter |
Photographed surface of the Moon. Now in a lunar orbit. |
| Lunar Orbiter 2 (USA) |
Nov. 6, 1966 | Lunar orbiter |
Orbited the Moon, returning photographs of its surface before impacting on command. |
| Luna 13 (USSR) |
Dec. 21, 1966 | Lunar lander |
Arrived on Dec. 24, 1966 and transmitted panoramic photographs of surface. |
| Lunar Orbiter 3 (USA) |
Feb. 5, 1967 | Lunar orbiter |
Orbited the Moon, returning photographs of its surface before impacting on command. |
| Surveyor 3 (USA) |
Apr. 17, 1967 | Lunar lander |
Landed safely on lunar surface. |
| Lunar Orbiter 4 (USA) |
May 4, 1967 | Lunar orbiter |
Orbited the Moon, returning photographs of its surface before impacting on command. |
| Venera 4 (USSR) |
June 12, 1967 | Venus probe |
Arrived on Oct. 18, 1967. Returned atmospheric data but was crushed by pressure before reaching surface. |
| Mariner 5 (USA) |
June 14, 1967 | Venus flyby |
Arrived on Oct. 19, 1967 and studied Venusian magnetic field. Now in a solar orbit. |
| Surveyor 4 (USA) |
July 14, 1967 | Lunar lander |
Failed and impacted the Moon. |
| Lunar Orbiter 5 (USA) |
Aug. 1, 1967 | Lunar orbiter |
Orbited the Moon, returning photographs of its surface before impacting on command. |
| Surveyor 5 (USA) |
Sep. 8, 1967 | Lunar lander |
Landed safely on lunar surface. |
| Surveyor 6 (USA) |
Nov. 7, 1967 | Lunar lander |
Landed safely on lunar surface and performed brief take-off. |
| Pioneer 8 (USA) |
Dec. 13, 1967 | Solar probe |
Still transmitting from a solar orbit. |
| Surveyor 7 (USA) |
Jan. 7, 1968 | Lunar lander |
Landed safely on lunar surface. |
| Luna 14 (USSR) |
Apr. 7, 1968 | Lunar probe |
Studied Moon's motion and its gravity. |
| Zond 5 (USSR) |
Sep. 14, 1968 | Lunar flyby |
Flew around the Moon and returned to Earth. |
| Pioneer 9 (USA) |
Nov. 8, 1968 | Solar probe |
Still in a solar orbit. |
| Zond 6 (USSR) |
Nov. 10, 1968 | Lunar flyby |
Flew around the Moon and returned to Earth. |
| Venera 5 (USSR) |
Jan. 5, 1969 | Venus probe |
Arrived on May 17, 1969. Collected data on atmospheric composition before being crushed by pressure. |
| Venera 6 (USSR) |
Jan. 10, 1969 | Venus probe |
Arrived on May 16, 1969. Collected data on atmospheric composition before being crushed by pressure. |
| Mariner 6 (USA) |
Feb. 24, 1969 | Mars flyby |
Arrived on May 17, 1969 and flew along Mars equator, returning information on temperature, pressure, and surface composition. Now in a solar orbit. |
| Mariner 7 (USA) |
Mar. 27, 1969 | Mars flyby |
Arrived on Aug. 5, 1969 and flew near south pole of Mars, returning pictures and measurements of temperature, pressure, and surface composition. Now in a solar orbit. |
| Luna 15 (USSR) |
July 13, 1969 | Lunar lander |
Destroyed upon impact with lunar surface. |
| Zond 7 (USSR) |
Aug. 8, 1969 | Lunar flyby |
Flew around the Moon and returned to Earth. |
| Venera 7 (USSR) |
Aug. 17, 1970 | Venus lander |
First successful landing on another planet on Dec. 15, 1970. Returned 23 minutes of data, including measurement of surface temperature. |
| Luna 16 (USSR) |
Sep. 12, 1970 | Lunar lander |
Landed on Sep. 20, 1970 and returned lunar soil samples. |
| Zond 8 (USSR) |
Oct. 20, 1970 | Lunar flyby |
Flew around the Moon and returned to Earth. |
| Luna 17 (USSR) |
Nov. 10, 1970 | Lunar lander |
Deployed automated rover upon landing on lunar surface, which took pictures and conducted soil analysis. |
| Mariner 8 (USA) |
May 8, 1971 | Mars flyby |
Spacecraft never reached Earth orbit. |
| Mars 2 (USSR) |
May 19, 1971 | Mars orbiter & lander |
Lander became first man-made object to reach Mars surface, on Nov. 27, 1971 |
| Mars 3 (USSR) |
May 28, 1971 | Mars orbiter & lander |
Lander completed the first successful landing on Mars, on Dec. 2, 1971, and returned 20 seconds of video data. |
| Mariner 9 (USA) |
May 30, 1971 | Mars orbiter |
First spacecraft to orbit another planet, and is still revolving around Mars. Also returned first close range photos of moons Phobos and Deimos. |
| Luna 18 (USSR) |
Sep. 2, 1971 | Lunar lander |
Destroyed upon impact with lunar surface. |
| Luna 19 (USSR) |
Sep. 28, 1971 | Lunar orbiter |
Still in a lunar orbit. |
| Luna 20 (USSR) |
Feb. 14, 1972 | Lunar lander |
Soft landed on Feb. 21, 1972, and launched lunar soil samples back to Earth. |
| Pioneer 10 (USA) |
Mar. 3, 1972 | Jupiter flyby |
Passed Jupiter on Dec. 1, 1973 and has now left the solar system. Returned over 500 images of Jupiter and data on its magnetic field. |
| Venera 8 (USSR) |
Mar. 27, 1972 | Venus lander |
Arrived on July 22, 1972. Returned information on wind speed variations through atmosphere and 50 minutes of data after landing. |
| Luna 21 (USSR) |
Jan. 8, 1973 | Lunar lander |
Deployed second automated rover upon landing, which traveled 37 km while exploring the lunar surface. |
| Pioneer 11 (USA) |
Apr. 6, 1973 | Jupiter & Saturn flyby |
Visited Saturn on gravity assist from Jupiter and has now left the solar system. Returned images of both planets, especially Jupiter's Red Spot and Saturn's Rings. |
| Mars 4 (USSR) |
July 21, 1973 | Mars orbiter |
Failed to insert itself in Martian orbit. |
| Mars 5 (USSR) |
July 25, 1973 | Mars orbiter |
Entered orbit on Feb. 12, 1974. |
| Mars 6 (USSR) |
Aug. 5, 1973 | Mars orbiter & lander |
Entered orbit on Mar. 12, 1974, but lander failed on its way down. |
| Mars 7 (USSR) |
Aug. 9, 1973 | Mars orbiter & lander |
Orbiter failed and lander missed the planet. |
| Mariner 10 (USA) |
Nov. 3, 1973 | Mercury & Venus flyby |
First spacecraft to visit Mercury, using a gravity assist from Venus. After producing over 10,000 pictures of the planet's surface it was placed in a solar orbit. |
| Luna 22 (USSR) |
May 29, 1974 | Lunar orbiter |
Studied Moon and surrounding region from orbit. |
| Luna 23 (USSR) |
Oct. 28, 1974 | Lunar probe |
Destroyed upon impact with lunar surface. |
| Helios 1 (USA & W. Germany) |
Dec. 10, 1974 | Solar probe |
Now in a solar orbit. |
| Venera 9 (USSR) |
June 8, 1975 | Venus orbiter & lander |
Arrived on Oct. 22, 1975. Returned 53 minutes of data, including the first black & white photographs of Venusian surface. |
| Venera 10 (USSR) |
June 14, 1975 | Venus orbiter & lander |
Arrived on Oct. 25, 1975. Returned 65 minutes of data, including black and white photos of planet surface. |
| Viking 1 (USA) |
Aug. 20, 1975 | Mars orbiter & lander |
Searched for life on Mars and monitored the planet's weather. Communication with the orbiter was shut down in 1980, after 1489 orbits. |
| Viking 2 (USA) |
Sep. 9, 1975 | Mars orbiter & lander |
Searched for life on Mars and monitored the planet's weather. The orbiter ran out of power in 1978 and the lander stopped transmitting in 1980. |
| Helios 2 (USA & W. Germany) |
Jan. 16, 1976 | Solar probe |
Came within 43 million km of the Sun. |
| Luna 24 (USSR) |
Aug. 9, 1976 | Lunar lander |
Returned lunar soil samples after landing. |
| Voyager 2 (USA) |
Aug. 20, 1977 | Multi- planet flyby |
Flew by Jupiter in 1979, Saturn in 1981, Uranus in 1986, and Neptune in 1989, studying their satellites, rings, and magnetospheres. Still transmitting from beyond our solar system. |
| Voyager 1 (USA) |
Sep. 5, 1977 | Jupiter & Saturn flyby |
Flew by Jupiter in 1979 and Saturn in 1980, studying their satellites, rings, and magnetospheres. Still transmitting from beyond our solar system. |
| Pioneer 12 (USA) |
May 20, 1978 | Venus orbiter |
Used radar to map Venutian surface. Shut down in 1992. |
| Pioneer 13 (USA) |
Aug. 8, 1978 | Venus probe |
Arrived on Dec. 9, 1978, deploying four atmospheric probes, which descended by parachute and learned that the lower atmosphere was clear. |
| Venera 11 (USSR) |
Sep. 9, 1978 | Venus lander |
Arrived on Dec 25, 1978. Returned data for 95 minutes. |
| Venera 12 (USSR) |
Sep. 14, 1978 | Venus lander |
Arrived on Dec. 21, 1978. Returned data for 110 minutes, including evidence of lightning. |
| Venera 13 (USSR) |
Oct. 30, 1981 | Venus lander |
Landed on Mar. 1, 1982. Returned first color photographs of planet surface and conducted soil analysis, finding rocks rare on Earth. |
| Venera 14 (USSR) |
Nov. 4, 1981 | Venus lander |
Arrived on Mar. 5, 1982. Returned panoramic photos and conducted soil analysis. |
| Venera 15 (USSR) |
June 2, 1983 | Venus orbiter |
Arrived on Oct. 10, 1983. Mapped part of northern hemisphere using radar. |
| Venera 16 (USSR) |
June 7, 1983 | Venus orbiter |
Arrived on Oct. 14, 1983. Mapped part of northern hemisphere using radar. |
| Vega 1 (USSR) |
Dec. 15, 1984 | Venus & Halley flyby |
Flew by Venus and dropped lander which failed. Encountered Comet Halley on Mar. 6, 1986. Now in a solar orbit. |
| Vega 2 (USSR) |
Dec. 21, 1984 | Venus & Halley probe |
Flew by Venus and dropped lander which sampled soil, finding rocks rare on Earth. Encountered Comet Hally on Mar. 9, 1986. Now in a solar orbit. |
| Sakigake (Japan) |
Jan. 7, 1985 | Halley flyby |
Encountered Comet Halley on Mar. 1, 1986. |
| Giotto (Europe) |
July 2, 1985 | Comet flyby |
Encountered Halley's comet on Mar. 13, 1986 and comet Grigg-Skjellerup on July 10, 1992. |
| Suisei (Japan) |
Aug. 18, 1985 | Halley flyby |
Encountered Comet Halley on Mar. 8, 1986. |
| Phobos 1 (USSR) |
July 7, 1988 | Phobos orbiter & lander |
Intended to study Mars' moon, Phobos, but contact was lost en route. |
| Phobos 2 (USSR) |
July 12, 1988 | Phobos orbiter & lander |
Inserted into orbit around Mars but lander failed to make it to Phobos. |
| Magellan (USA) |
May 4, 1989 | Venus orbiter |
Mapped Venusian surface using radar. Plunged into its atmosphere and was crushed by pressure after four years in orbit. |
| Galileo (USA & Europe) |
Oct. 18, 1989 | Jupiter orbiter & probe |
Designed to explore and study Jovian system. Probe entered Jupiter's atmosphere on Dec. 7, 1995 and orbiter is still transmitting data. |
| Muses-A (Japan) |
Jan. 24, 1990 | Lunar orbiters |
Consisted of two small orbiters, but failed to send back data from orbit around Moon. |
| Hubble Space Telescope (USA & Europe) |
Apr. 25, 1990 | Space-borne telescope | Uses three cameras to photograph distant objects. Orbits the Earth in low-earth orbit. |
| Ulysses (USA & Europe) |
Oct. 6, 1990 | Solar orbiter |
Used gravity assist from Jupiter to achieve polar orbit around the Sun. Viewed Sun from high latitudes and studied its surrounding environment. |
| Yohkoh (Japan & USA & Britain) |
Aug. 31, 1991 | Satellite | Uses four instruments to image the Sun. The main goal of the project was to increase our understanding of solar flares, and other types of solar activity. |
| Mars Observer (USA) |
Sep. 25, 1992 | Mars orbiter |
Contact was lost just before it was to be inserted into Mars orbit. |
| Clementine (USA) |
Jan. 25, 1994 | Lunar orbiter |
Designed to test new space technology for the Department of Defense. It collected data which should allow scientists to create the first topographic map of the Moon. |
| Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (USA) |
1996 | Orbiting Eros | NEAR is the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid. It began its orbit around Eros on February 14, 2000. |
| Advanced Composition Explorer (USA) |
Aug. 25, 1997 | Satellite in L1 Halo orbit |
The ACE spacecraft is sampling low-energy particles of solar origin and high-energy galactic particles. It also provides near-real-time reports of space weather. |
| Cassini and Huygens Probe (USA) & (ESA) |
Oct. 15, 1997 | Saturn orbiter | The Cassini spacecraft will study Saturn and its moons starting in 2004. The Huygens probe will study the moon Titan. |
| Deep Space 1 (USA) |
Oct. 15, 1998 | Asteroid and comet flyby | Tested twelve new space exploration technologies. Completed flyby of asteroid Braille and comet Borrelly. Collected best pictures of a comet to date! Mission ended Dec. 18, 2001. |
| Comet Nucleus Tour (USA) |
2002 | Comet probe | The CONTOUR spacecraft will fly by three different comets. It will take several images and analyze some comet dust. |
|
Mars Express (ESA) |
June 2003 | Mars orbiter & lander | Orbiter will map Mars and search for water; Beagle 2 lander will search for signs of life. |
|
Mars Exploration Rover (MER) (USA) |
June 2003 | Mars rovers | Twin Mars rover vehicles will explore two sites on Mars, searching for signs of water. |
| MErcury Surface Space ENvironment, GEochemistry Ranging mission (USA) |
2004 | Mercury Probe | MESSENGER will orbit the planet Mercury to study its atmosphere, surface and crust. |
| New Horizons (USA) |
January 19, 2006 | Pluto, Kuiper Belt Object, and Jupiter flyby | New Horizons will be the first spacecraft to visit Pluto. Afterwards, it will fly by a Kuiper Belt Object. Along the way it will fly past Jupiter. |
| Phoenix Mars Lander (USA) |
August 4, 2007 | Mars lander | Phoenix will land near the Martian North Pole. It will search for water ice, and will scoop up soil samples with its robotic arm and analyze them in onboard laboratories. |
Last modified May 20, 2008 by Randy Russell.
