Space Missions List
Since the 1950s, human beings have been blasting all kinds of spacecraft into space in their quest to discover more about the universe. Some stay quite close to Earth while others take longer distance trips out to the solar system's planets and moons. A small number are even making their way out of the solar system.
This list contains many of the key missions to explore the Solar System.
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| Name of Mission | Launch Date | Destination | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sputnik 1 | 4th October 1957 | Earth | Other |
| Sputnik 2 | 3rd November 1957 | Earth | Orbiter |
| Vanguard TV3 | 6th December 1957 | Earth | Orbiter |
| Explorer 1 | 1st February 1958 | Earth | Orbiter |
| Vanguard 1 | 17th March 1958 | Earth | Orbiter |
| Pioneer 0 | 17th August 1958 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Luna 2 | 12th September 1959 | The Moon | Other |
| Luna 1958A | 23rd September 1958 | The Moon | Other |
| Pioneer 1 | 11th October 1958 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Luna 1958B | 12th October 1958 | The Moon | Other |
| Pioneer 2 | 8th November 1958 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Luna 1958C | 4th December 1958 | The Moon | Other |
| Pioneer 3 | 6th December 1958 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Luna 1 | 2nd January 1959 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Pioneer 4 | 3rd March 1959 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Luna 1959A | 16th June 1959 | The Moon | Other |
| Luna 3 | 4th October 1959 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Pioneer P-3 | 26th November 1959 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Luna 1960A | 15th April 1960 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Luna 1960B | 18th April 1960 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Pioneer P-31 | 15th September 1960 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Pioneer P-30 | 25th September 1960 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Marsnik 1 | 10th October 1960 | Mars | Flyby |
| Marsnik 2 | 14th October 1960 | Mars | Flyby |
| Tyazhely Sputnik | 4th February 1961 | Venus | Other |
| Venera 1 | 12th February 1961 | Venus | Flyby |
| Ranger 1 | 23rd August 1961 | The Moon | Other |
| Ranger 2 | 18th November 1961 | The Moon | Other |
| Ranger 3 | 26th January 1962 | The Moon | Other |
| Ranger 4 | 23rd April 1962 | The Moon | Other |
| Mariner 1 | 22nd July 1962 | Venus | Flyby |
| Venera 2MV-1 No.1 | 25th August 1962 | Venus | Flyby |
| Mariner 2 | 27th August 1962 | Venus | Flyby |
| Venera 2MV-1 No.2 | 1st September 1962 | Venus | Flyby |
| Venera 2MV-2 No.2 | 12th September 1962 | Venus | Flyby |
| Ranger 5 | 18th October 1962 | The Moon | Other |
| Mars 2MV-4 No. 1 | 24th October 1962 | Mars | Flyby |
| Mars 1 | 1st November 1962 | Mars | Flyby |
| Mars 2MV-3 No. 1 | 4th November 1962 | Mars | Lander |
| Luna E-6 No.2 | 4th January 1963 | The Moon | Lander |
| Luna 1963B | 2nd February 1963 | The Moon | Lander |
| Luna 4 | 2nd April 1963 | The Moon | Lander |
| Cosmos 21 | 11th November 1963 | Venus | Other |
| Ranger 6 | 30th January 1964 | The Moon | Other |
| Venera 1964A | 19th February 1964 | Venus | Flyby |
| Venera 1964B | 1st March 1964 | Venus | Flyby |
| Luna 1964A | 21st March 1964 | The Moon | Lander |
| Kosmos 27 | 27th March 1964 | Venus | Other |
| Zond 1 | 2nd April 1964 | Venus | Flyby |
| Luna 1964B | 20th April 1964 | The Moon | Lander |
| Zond 1964A | 4th June 1964 | The Moon | Lander |
| Ranger 7 | 28th July 1964 | The Moon | Other |
| Mariner 3 | 5th November 1964 | Mars | Flyby |
| Mariner 4 | 28th November 1964 | Mars | Flyby |
| Zond 2 | 30th November 1964 | Mars | Flyby |
| Ranger 8 | 17th February 1965 | The Moon | Other |
| Cosmos 60 | 12-Mar-65 | The Moon | Lander |
| Ranger 9 | 21-Mar-65 | The Moon | Other |
| Luna 1965A | 10-Apr-65 | The Moon | Lander |
| Luna 5 | 09-May-65 | The Moon | Other |
| Luna 6 | 08-Jun-65 | The Moon | Lander |
| Zond 3 | 18-Jul-65 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Luna 7 | 04-Oct-65 | The Moon | Other |
| Venera 2 | 12-Nov-65 | Venus | Flyby |
| Venera 3 | 16-Nov-65 | Venus | Lander |
| Cosmos 96 | 23-Nov-65 | Venus | Lander |
| Venera 1965A | 23-Nov-65 | Venus | Flyby |
| Luna 8 | 03-Dec-65 | The Moon | Other |
| Luna 9 | 31-Jan-66 | The Moon | Lander |
| Cosmos 111 | 01-Mar-66 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Luna 10 | 31-Mar-66 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Luna 1966A | 30-Apr-66 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Surveyor 1 | 30-May-66 | The Moon | Lander |
| Explorer 33 | 01-Jul-66 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Lunar Orbiter 1 | 10-Aug-66 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Luna 11 | 24-Aug-66 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Surveyor 2 | 20-Sep-66 | The Moon | Lander |
| Luna 12 | 22-Oct-66 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Lunar Orbiter 2 | 06-Nov-66 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Luna 13 | 21-Dec-66 | The Moon | Lander |
| Lunar Orbiter 3 | 04-Feb-67 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Surveyor 3 | 17-Apr-67 | The Moon | Lander |
| Lunar Orbiter 4 | 08-May-67 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Venera 4 | 12-Jun-67 | Venus | Other |
| Mariner 5 | 14th June 1967 | Venus | Flyby |
| Cosmos 167 | 17-Jun-67 | Venus | Other |
| Surveyor 4 | 14-Jul-67 | The Moon | Lander |
| Explorer 35 (IMP-E) | 19-Jul-67 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Lunar Orbiter 5 | 01-Aug-67 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Surveyor 5 | 08-Sep-67 | The Moon | Lander |
| Zond 1967A | 28-Sep-67 | The Moon | Other |
| Surveyor 6 | 07-Nov-67 | The Moon | Lander |
| Zond 1967B | 22-Nov-67 | The Moon | Other |
| Surveyor 7 | 07-Jan-68 | The Moon | Lander |
| Luna 1968A | 07-Feb-68 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Zond 4 | 02-Mar-68 | Other | |
| Luna 14 | 07-Apr-68 | Orbiter | |
| Zond 1968A | 23-Apr-68 | The Moon | Other |
| Zond 5 | 15-Sep-68 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Zond 6 | 10-Nov-68 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Apollo 8 | 21-Dec-68 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Venera 5 | 05-Jan-69 | Venus | Other |
| Venera 6 | 10-Jan-69 | Venus | Other |
| Zond 1969A | 20-Jan-69 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Luna 1969A | 19-Feb-69 | The Moon | Rover |
| Zond L1S-1 | 21-Feb-69 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Mariner 6 | 25th February 1969 | Mars | Flyby |
| Mariner 7 | 27th March 1969 | Mars | Flyby |
| Mars 1969A | 27th March 1969 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Mars 1969B | 02-Apr-69 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Luna 1969B | 15-Apr-69 | The Moon | Other |
| Apollo 10 | 18-May-69 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Luna 1969C | 14-Jun-69 | The Moon | Other |
| Zond L1S-2 | 03-Jul-69 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Luna 15 | 13-Jul-69 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Apollo 11 | 16-Jul-69 | The Moon | Lander |
| Zond 7 | 07-Aug-69 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Cosmos 300 | 23-Sep-69 | The Moon | Other |
| Cosmos 305 | 22-Oct-69 | The Moon | Other |
| Apollo 12 | 14-Nov-69 | The Moon | Lander |
| Luna 1970A | 06-Feb-70 | The Moon | Other |
| Luna 1970B | 19-Feb-70 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Apollo 13 | 11-Apr-70 | The Moon | Lander |
| Venera 7 | 17-Aug-70 | Venus | Lander |
| Cosmos 359 | 22-Aug-70 | Venus | Other |
| Luna 16 | 12-Sep-70 | The Moon | Other |
| Zond 8 | 20-Oct-70 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 | 10-Nov-70 | The Moon | Rover |
| Apollo 14 | 31-Jan-71 | The Moon | Lander |
| Mariner 8 | 9th May 1971 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Cosmos 419 | 10th May 1971 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Kosmos 419 | 12th May 1971 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Mars 2 | 19th May 1971 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Mars 3 | 28th May 1971 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Mariner 9 | 30th May 1971 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Apollo 15 | 26-Jul-71 | The Moon | Lander |
| Luna 18 | 02-Sep-71 | The Moon | Other |
| Luna 19 | 28-Sep-71 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Luna 20 | 14-Feb-72 | The Moon | Other |
| Pioneer 10 | 02-Mar-72 | Jupiter and Outer Solar System | Flyby |
| Venera 8 | 27-Mar-72 | Venus | Other |
| Cosmos 482 | 31-Mar-72 | Venus | Other |
| Apollo 16 | 16-Apr-72 | The Moon | Lander |
| Soyuz L3 | 23-Nov-72 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Apollo 17 | 07-Dec-72 | The Moon | Lander |
| Luna 21/Lunokhod 2 | 08-Jan-73 | The Moon | Rover |
| Pioneer 11 | 05-Apr-73 | Jupiter, Saturn and Outer Solar System | Flyby |
| Skylab | 14-May-73 | Earth | Orbiter |
| Explorer 49 (RAE-B) | 10-Jun-73 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Mars 4 | 21st July 1973 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Mars 5 | 25th July 1973 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Mars 6 | 5th August 1973 | Mars | Lander |
| Mars 7 | 9th August 1973 | Mars | Lander |
| Mariner 10 | 3rd November 1973 | Venus and Mercury | Flyby |
| Luna 22 | 02-Jun-74 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Luna 23 | 28-Oct-74 | The Moon | Other |
| Venera 9 | 08-Jun-75 | Venus | Orbiter |
| Venera 10 | 14-Jun-75 | Venus | Orbiter |
| Viking 1 | 20-Aug-75 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Viking 2 | 09-Sep-75 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Luna 1975A | 16-Oct-75 | The Moon | Other |
| Luna 24 | 09-Aug-76 | The Moon | Other |
| Voyager 2 | 20th August 1977 | Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and interstellar space | Flyby |
| Voyager 1 | 5th September 1977 | Jupiter, Saturn and interstellar space | Flyby |
| Pioneer Venus 1 | 20th May 1978 | Venus | Orbiter |
| Pioneer Venus 2 | 8th August 1978 | Venus | Other |
| ISEE-3/ICE | 12th August 1978 | The Sun and Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner | Flyby |
| Venera 11 | 09-Sep-78 | Venus | Orbiter |
| Venera 12 | 14-Sep-78 | Venus | Orbiter |
| Venera 13 | 30-Oct-81 | Venus | Orbiter |
| Venera 14 | 04-Nov-81 | Venus | Orbiter |
| Venera 15 | 02-Jun-83 | Venus | Orbiter |
| Venera 16 | 07-Aug-83 | Venus | Orbiter |
| Vega 1 | 15-Dec-84 | Halley's Comet and Venus | Lander |
| Vega 2 | 21-Dec-84 | Halley's Comet and Venus | Lander |
| Sakigake | 07-Jan-85 | Halley's Comet | Flyby |
| Giotto | 02-Jul-85 | Halley's Comet | Flyby |
| Suisei (Planet-A) | 18-Aug-85 | Halley's Comet | Flyby |
| Phobos 1 | 7th July 1988 | Mars and Phobos | Orbiter |
| Phobos 2 | 12th July 1988 | Mars and Phobos | Orbiter |
| Magellan | 4th May 1989 | Venus | Orbiter |
| Galileo | 18th October 1989 | Jupiter | Orbiter |
| Hiten | 24th January 1990 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Hubble Space Telescope | 24th April 1990 | Solar System and Beyond | Other |
| Ulysses | 6th October 1990 | The Sun and Jupiter | Orbiter |
| Geotail | 24th July 1992 | Earth | Orbiter |
| Mars Observer | 25th September 1992 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Clementine | 25th January 1994 | The Moon and asteroid 1620 Geographos | Orbiter |
| Wind | 1st November 1994 | The Sun | Other |
| SOHO | 2nd December 1995 | The Sun | Other |
| NEAR Shoemaker | 17th February 1996 | Eros (asteroid) | Orbiter |
| Mars Global Surveyor | 7th November 1996 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Mars 96 | 16th November 1996 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Mars Pathfinder | 4th December 1996 | Mars | Lander |
| ACE | 25th August 1997 | Solar Wind | Other |
| Huygens | 15th October 1997 | Titan (moon of Saturn) | Lander |
| Cassini | 15th October 1997 | Jupiter and Saturn | Orbiter |
| AsiaSat 3/HGS-1 | 24th December 1997 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Mars Polar Lander | 3rd January 1999 | Mars | Lander |
| Deep Space 2 | 3rd January 1999 | Mars | Other |
| Lunar Prospector | 7th January 1998 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Nozomi (Planet-B) | 3rd July 1998 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Deep Space 1 (DS1) | 24th October 1998 | 9660 Braille (asteroid), Comet Borrelly | Flyby |
| Mars Climate Orbiter | 11th December 1998 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Deep Space 2 (DS2) | 3rd January 1999 | Mars | Other |
| Stardust | 7th February 1999 | Annefrank (asteroid), Comets Wild 2 and Tempel 1 | Flyby |
| Mars Odyssey | 7th April 2001 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Genesis | 8th August 2001 | Solar Wind | Other |
| CONTOUR | 3rd July 2002 | Comets 2P/Encke and 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann-3 | Flyby |
| Hayabusa | 9th May 2003 | Asteroid Itokawa | Orbiter |
| Mars Express | 2nd June 2003 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Beagle 2 | 2nd June 2003 | Mars | Lander |
| Spirit (MER-A) | 10th June 2003 | Mars | Rover |
| Opportunity (MER-B) | 8th July 2003 | Mars | Rover |
| Spitzer Space Telescope | 25th August 2003 | Solar System and Beyond | Other |
| Rosetta and Philae | 2nd March 2004 | Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko | Orbiter |
| MESSENGER | 3rd August 2004 | Mercury | Orbiter |
| Deep Impact (EPOXI) | 12th January 2005 | Tempel 1 and Hartley 2 (comets) | Flyby |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | 12th August 2005 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Venus Express | 9th November 2005 | Venus | Orbiter |
| New Horizons | 19th January 2006 | Jupiter, Pluto and Kuiper Belt | Flyby |
| SMART-1 | 27th September 2003 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| ARTEMIS (THEMIS) | 17th February 2007 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Phoenix | 4th August 2007 | Mars | Lander |
| Kaguya (SELENE) | 14th September 2007 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Dawn | 27th September 2007 | Vesta and Ceres (Asteroid Belt) | Orbiter |
| Chang'e 1 | 24th October 2007 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| IBEX | 19th October 2008 | Edge of Solar System | Other |
| Chandrayaan-1 | 22nd October 2008 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Kepler | 7th March 2009 | The Milky Way | Orbiter |
| Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter | 18th June 2009 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| LCROSS | 18th June 2009 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| WISE/NEOWISE | 14th December 2009 | Near Earth Objects | Other |
| Akatsuki/Planet-C | 20th May 2010 | Venus | Orbiter |
| Chang'e 2 | 1st October 2010 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Juno | 5th August 2011 | Jupiter | Orbiter |
| GRAIL (Ebb and Flow) | 10th September 2011 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Fobos-Grunt | 8th November 2011 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Yinghuo 1 | 8th November 2011 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Curiosity | 26th November 2011 | Mars | Rover |
| LADEE | 7th September 2013 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Mangalyaan / Mars Orbiter Mission | 5th November 2013 | Mars | Orbiter |
| MAVEN | 18th November 2013 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Chang'e 3 | 1st December 2013 | The Moon | Lander |
| Gaia | 19th December 2013 | The Milky Way | Other |
| Chang'e 5 Test Vehicle | 23rd October 2014 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Hayabusa 2 | 3rd December 2014 | Asteroid 162173 Ryugu, and Asteroid 1998 KY26 | Other |
| PROCYON | 3rd December 2014 | Flyby | |
| DSCOVR | 11th February 2015 | Earth | Other |
| ExoMars 2016 | 14th March 2016 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Schiaparelli EDM | 14th March 2016 | Mars | Lander |
| OSIRIS-Rex | 8th September 2016 | Bennu (asteroid) | Other |
| InSight | 5th May 2018 | Mars | Lander |
| Queqiao | 20th May 2018 | The Moon | Other |
| Parker Solar Probe | 12th August 2018 | The Sun | Orbiter |
| BepiColombo | 20th October 2018 | Mercury | Orbiter |
| Chang'e 4 | 7th December 2018 | The Moon | Lander |
| Beresheet | 22nd February 2019 | The Moon | Lander |
| Chandrayaan 2 | 22nd July 2019 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Solar Orbiter | 9/10 February 2020 | The Sun | Other |
| Hope / Emirates Mars Mission | 19th July 2020 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Tianwen 1 | 23rd July 2020 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Zhurong | 23rd July 2020 | Mars | Rover |
| Perseverance and Ingenuity | 30th July 2020 | Mars | Rover |
| Chang'e 5 | 13th November 2020 | The Moon | Other |
| Q-PACE | 17th January 2021 | Other | |
| Lucy | 16th October 2021 | Multiple Trojan Asteroids | Flyby |
| DART | 23rd November 2021 | Didymos and Dimorphos | Other |
| James Webb Space Telescope | 25th December 2021 | Solar System and Beyond | Other |
| CAPSTONE | 28th June 2022 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| LunaH-Map | Aug-22 | The Moon | Other |
| Lunar Ice Cube | Aug-22 | The Moon | Other |
| NEA Scout | Aug-22 | The Moon | Flyby |
| Lunar InfraRed imaging (LunIR) | Aug-22 | The Moon | Flyby |
| OMOTENASHI | Aug-22 | The Moon | Lander |
| EQUULEUS | Aug-22 | The Moon | Other |
| Danuri | 4th August 2022 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Luna 25 | Sep-23 | The Moon | Lander |
| ExoMars | To be confirmed | Mars | Lander |
| IM-1 | Dec-22 | The Moon | Lander |
| PRIME-1 | Dec-22 | The Moon | Lander |
| Peregrine Mission 1 | Late 2022 | The Moon | Lander |
| SLIM | 2023 | The Moon | Lander |
| XRISM | 2023 | Deep Space | Other |
| Chandrayaan 3 | January to March 2023 | The Moon | Lander |
| Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) | Apr-23 | Jupiter, Ganymede, Callisto, Europa | Orbiter |
| Psyche | July to September 2023 | Psyche (Asteroid) | Orbiter |
| Janus | July to September 2023 | Other | |
| IM-2 | 2023 | The Moon | Lander |
| Lunar Trailblazer | 2023 | The Moon | Other |
| Blue Ghost 1 | Late 2023 | The Moon | Lander |
| XL-1 Lander | Nov-23 | The Moon | Lander |
| IM-3 | 2024 | The Moon | Lander |
| Chang'e 7 | 2024 | The Moon | Orbiter |
| Chang'e 6 | 2024 | The Moon | Other |
| ESCAPADE | 2024 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Hera | From October 2024 | Didymos and Dimorphos | Orbiter |
| Mars Orbiter Mission 2 | 2024 | Mars | Orbiter |
| Europa Clipper | 10th October 2024 | Jupiter and Europa | Orbiter |
| VIPER | Nov-24 | The Moon | Rover |
| Tianwen-2 | May 2025 | 469219 Kamo?oalewa (asteroid), 311P/PANSTARRS (comet) | Orbiter |
| Martian Moon eXploration (MMX) | Aug-25 | Mars, Phobos and Deimos | Orbiter |
| Dragonfly | Jun-27 | Titan (Saturn's largest moon) | Other |
| VERITAS | Dec-27 | Venus | Orbiter |
| DAVINCI | Jun-29 | Venus | Orbiter |
| EnVision | 2031 | Venus | Orbiter |
