List of Solar System probes

For a list of active probes only, see List of active Solar System probes. For a list of landers only, see Landings on other planets.

This is a list of all space probes that have left Earth orbit (or were launched with that intention but failed), organised by their planned destination. It includes planetary probes, solar probes, and probes to asteroids and comets, but excludes lunar probes (listed separately at List of lunar probes). Flybys (such as gravity assists) that were incidental to the main purpose of the mission are also included. Confirmed future probes are included, but missions that are still at the concept stage, or which never progressed beyond the concept stage, are not.

Key

Colour key:

– Mission or flyby completed successfully (or partially successfully)		– Failed or cancelled mission
– Mission en route or in progress (including mission extensions)		– Planned mission

• ^† means "tentatively identified", as classified by NASA [1]. These are Cold War-era Soviet missions, mostly failures, about which few or no details have been officially released. The information given may be speculative.
• Date is the date of:

• closest encounter (flybys)
• impact (impactors)
• orbital insertion to end of mission, whether planned or premature (orbiters)
• landing to end of mission, whether planned or premature (landers)
• launch (missions that never got underway due to failure at or soon after launch)

In cases which do not fit any of the above, the event to which the date refers is stated. Note that as a result of this scheme missions are not always listed in order of launch.

• Under Status:

• success means that the mission fulfilled its primary goals. In the case of flybys (such as gravity assists) that are incidental to the main mission, "success" indicates the successful completion of the flyby, not necessarily that of the main mission.
• partial success means that the mission fulfilled some but not all of its primary goals
• failure means that the mission did not fulfil any of its primary goals

Other entries are self-explanatory.

Solar probes

These are solar observation probes designed to operate in heliocentric orbit or at one of the Earth–Sun Lagrangian points. The list excludes Earth-orbiting solar observatories.

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Pioneer 5		NASA/ DOD	March–April 1960	orbiter	success	measured magnetic field phenomena, solar flare particles, and ionization in the interplanetary region		[1]
Pioneer 6		NASA	December 1965 – still contactable in 2000	orbiter	success	network of solar-orbiting "space weather" monitors, observing solar wind, cosmic rays, and magnetic fields		[2]
Pioneer 7		NASA	August 1966 – still contactable in 1995	orbiter	success			[3]
Pioneer 8		NASA	December 1967 – still contactable in 2001	orbiter	success			[4]
Pioneer 9		NASA	November 1968 – May 1983	orbiter	success			[5]
Pioneer-E		NASA	27 August 1969	orbiter	failure	intended as part of the Pioneer 6–9 network; failed to reach orbit		[6]
Helios A		NASA/ BWF	November 1974 – 1982	orbiter	success	observations of solar wind, magnetic and electric fields, cosmic rays and cosmic dust between Earth and Sun		[7]
Helios B		NASA/ BWF	January 1976 – 1985?	orbiter	success			[8]
ISEE-3		NASA	1978–1982	orbiter	success	observed solar phenomena in conjunction with earth-orbiting ISEE-1 and ISEE-2; later renamed International Cometary Explorer (ICE) and directed to Comet Giacobini-Zinner		[9]
Ulysses (first pass)		ESA/ NASA	1994	orbiter	success	south polar observations		[10]
			1995			north polar observations
WIND		NASA	November 1994 — still returning data (as of December 2010)[11]	orbiter	success	solar wind measurements		[12]
SOHO		ESA/ NASA	May 1996 – mission extended until at least December 2012[13]	orbiter	success	investigation of Sun's core, corona, and solar wind; comet discoveries		[14]
ACE		NASA	August 1997 – still returning data (as of December 2010)[15]	orbiter	success	solar wind observations		[16]
Ulysses (second pass)		ESA/ NASA	2000	orbiter	success	south polar observations		[10]
			2001			north polar observations
Genesis		NASA	2001–2004	orbiter/ sample return	partial success	solar wind sample return; crash landed on return to Earth, some samples salvaged		[17]
STEREO A		NASA	December 2006 – still active (as of December 2010)	orbiter	success	stereoscopic imaging of coronal mass ejections and other solar phenomena		[18]
STEREO B		NASA	December 2006 – still active (as of December 2010)	orbiter	success			[19]
Ulysses (third pass)		ESA/ NASA	2007	orbiter	success	south polar observations		[10]
			2008		partial success	north polar observations; some data returned despite failing power and reduced transmission capacity
Solar Sentinels		NASA	2015	multi-probe orbiter	planned	six probes watching the sun		[20]
Solar Probe Plus		NASA	2015	orbiter	under study	close-range coronal observations		[21]
Solar Orbiter		ESA	2017	orbiter	proposed	close-range solar observations		[22]

Mercury probes

Main article: Exploration of Mercury

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Mariner 10		NASA	29 March 1974	flyby	success	minimum distance 704 km		[23]
			21 September 1974			48,069 km
			16 March 1975			327 km
MESSENGER		NASA	14 January 2008	flyby	success	minimum distance 200 km		[2]
			6 October 2008			minimum distance 200 km
			29 September 2009			minimum distance 200 km
			18 March 2011 – March 2012	orbiter	success
BepiColombo		ESA/ JAXA	2014					[3]
	Mercury Planetary Orbiter	ESA		orbiter	under construction
	Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter	JAXA		orbiter	under construction

Venus probes

Main article: Exploration of Venus

1961–1965

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Sputnik 7		(USSR)	4 February 1961	lander	failure	failed to escape from Earth orbit		[4]
Venera 1		(USSR)	19 May 1961 – 20 May 1961	flyby	failure	contact lost 7 days after launch; first spacecraft to fly by another planet		[5]
Mariner 1		NASA	22 July 1962	flyby	failure	guidance failure shortly after launch		[6]
Sputnik 19		(USSR)	25 August 1962	lander	failure	failed to escape Earth orbit		[7]
Sputnik 20		(USSR)	1 September 1962	lander	failure	failed to escape Earth orbit		[8]
Sputnik 21		(USSR)	12 September 1962	flyby	failure	third stage exploded		[9]
Mariner 2		NASA	14 December 1962	flyby	success	first successful Venus flyby; minimum distance 34,773 km		[10]
Cosmos 21†		(USSR)	11 November 1963	flyby?	failure	failed to escape Earth orbit		[11]
Venera 1964A†		(USSR)	19 February 1964	flyby	failure	failed to reach Earth orbit		[12]
Venera 1964B†		(USSR)	1 March 1964	flyby	failure	failed to reach Earth orbit		[13]
Cosmos 27		(USSR)	27 March 1964	flyby	failure	failed to escape Earth orbit		[14]
Zond 1		(USSR)	1964	flyby and possible lander	failure	contact lost en route		[15]
Cosmos 96		(USSR)	23 November 1965	lander	failure	exploded?		[16]
Venera 1965A†		(USSR)	26 November 1965	flyby	failure	launch vehicle failure?		[17]

1966–1970

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Venera 2		(USSR)	27 February 1966	flyby	failure	ceased to operate en route		[18]
Venera 3		(USSR)	1 March 1966	lander	failure	contact lost before arrival; first spacecraft to impact on the surface of another planet		[19]
Cosmos 167		(USSR)	17 June 1967	lander	failure	failed to escape Earth orbit		[20]
Venera 4		(USSR)	18 October 1967	atmospheric probe	success	continued to transmit to an altitude of 25 km		[21]
Mariner 5		NASA	19 October 1967	flyby	success	minimum distance 5,000 km		[22]
Venera 5		(USSR)	16 May 1969	atmospheric probe	success	transmitted atmospheric data for 53 minutes, to an altitude of about 26 km		[23]
Venera 6		(USSR)	17 May 1969	atmospheric probe	success	transmitted atmospheric data for 51 minutes, to an altitude of perhaps 10–12 km		[24]
Cosmos 359		(USSR)	22 August 1970	lander?	failure	failed to escape Earth orbit		[25]
Venera 7		(USSR)	15 December 1970	lander	success	first successful landing on another planet; signals returned from surface for 23 minutes		[26]

1971–1975

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Cosmos 482		(USSR)	31 March 1972	lander?	failure	failed to escape Earth orbit		[27]
Venera 8		(USSR)	22 July 1972	lander	success	signals returned from surface for 50 minutes		[28]
Mariner 10		NASA	5 February 1974	flyby	success	minimum distance 5768 km, en route to Mercury; first use of gravity assist by an interplanetary spacecraft		[23]
Venera 9		(USSR)	1975	orbiter	success	first spacecraft to orbit Venus; communications relay for lander; atmospheric and magnetic studies		[29]
			22 October 1975	lander	success	first images from the surface; operated on surface for 53 minutes		[30]
Venera 10		(USSR)	1975	orbiter	success	communications relay for lander; atmospheric and magnetic studies		[31]
			23 October 1975	lander	success	transmitted from surface for 65 minutes		[32]

1978

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Pioneer Venus Orbiter		NASA	4 December 1978 – 1992	orbiter	success	atmospheric and magnetic studies		[33]
Pioneer Venus Multiprobe		NASA	9 December 1978
	bus			probe transporter	success	deployed four atmospheric probes, then burnt up in Venusian atmosphere, continuing to transmit to 110 km altitude		[34]
	large probe			atmospheric probe	success			[35]
	north probe			atmospheric probe	success			[36]
	day probe			atmospheric probe	success	survived impact and continued to transmit from surface for over an hour		[37]
	night probe			atmospheric probe	success			[38]
Venera 12		SAS
	flight platform		21 December 1978	flyby	success	minimum distance 34,000 km; deployed lander and then acted as communications relay		[39]
	descent craft		21 December 1978	lander	partial success	soft landing; transmissions returned for 110 minutes; failure of some instruments		[40]
Venera 11		SAS				identical to Venera 12
	flight platform		25 December 1978	flyby	success	minimum distance 34,000 km; deployed lander and then acted as communications relay		[41]
	descent craft		25 December 1978	lander	partial success	soft landing; transmissions returned for 95 minutes; failure of some instruments		[42]

1982–1994

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Venera 13		SAS
	bus		1 March 1982	flyby	success	deployed lander and then acted as communications relay		[43]
	descent craft		1 March 1982	lander	success	survived on surface for 127 minutes		[44]
Venera 14		SAS				identical to Venera 13
	bus		5 March 1982	flyby	success	deployed lander and then acted as communications relay		[45]
	descent craft		5 March 1982	lander	success	survived on surface for 57 minutes		[46]
Venera 15		SAS	1983–1984	orbiter	success	radar mapping		[47]
Venera 16		SAS	1983–1984	orbiter	success	radar mapping; identical to Venera 15		[48]
Vega 1		SAS	11 June 1985	flyby	success	went on to fly by Halley's comet		[49]
				lander	failure	instruments deployed prematurely		[50]
				atmospheric balloon	success	floated at an altitude of about 54 km and transmitted for around 46 hours		[51]
Vega 2		SAS	15 June 1985	flyby	success	went on to fly by Halley's comet		[52]
				lander	success	transmitted from surface for 56 minutes		[53]
				atmospheric balloon	success	floated at an altitude of about 54 km and transmitted for around 46 hours		[54]
Galileo		NASA	10 February 1990	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to Jupiter; minimum distance 16,000 km		[55]
Magellan		NASA	10 August 1990 – 12 October 1994	orbiter	success	global radar mapping		[56]

1998–present

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Cassini		NASA/ ESA/ ASI	26 April 1998	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to Saturn		[57]
			24 June 1999
Venus Express		ESA	11 April 2006 – mission extended until at least December 2012[13]	orbiter	success	atmospheric studies; planetary imaging; magnetic observations		[58]
MESSENGER		NASA	24 October 2006	flyby	success	gravity assist only; minimum distance 2990 km		[59]
			6 June 2007		success	minimum distance 300 km; en route to Mercury
Akatsuki (PLANET-C)		JAXA	7 December 2010	orbiter	failure	failed to attain Venus orbit.		[60]
IKAROS		JAXA	8 December 2010[24]	flyby[25]	success	solar sail technology development / interplanetary space exploration		[61]
Shin'en (UNITEC-1)		UNISEC	December 2010?	flyby[26]	failure	contact lost shortly after launch[27]		[62]
Akatsuki (PLANET-C)		JAXA	Dec 2016 or Jan 2017	orbiter	en route	planned second attempt at orbit insertion when craft next approaches Venus		[63]

Future

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Venera-D		RFSA	2013	orbiter	planned			[64]
Venus In-Situ Explorer		NASA	2013	in-situ explorer	planned			[65]
Venus Surface Explorer		NASA	2020	in-situ explorer	planned			[66]

Earth flybys

See also: Timeline of Earth science satellites

These are probes that incidentally performed Earth flybys during missions to other bodies, often as part of gravity-assist orbital manoeuvres. Earth-orbiting craft are not listed.

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Giotto (first pass)		ESA	2 July 1990	flyby	success	first Earth flyby, en route to Comet Grigg-Skjellerup		[67]
Galileo (first pass)		NASA	8 December 1990	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to Jupiter; minimum distance 960 km		[68]
Sakigake (first pass)		ISAS	8 January 1992	flyby		previously visited Halley's comet		[69]
Suisei		ISAS	20 August 1992	flyby	failure	previously visited Halley's comet; hydrazine depleted, further planned comet flybys abandoned		[70]
Galileo (second pass)		NASA	8 December 1992	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to Jupiter; minimum distance 305 km		[71]
Sakigake (second and third passes)		ISAS	14 June 1993	flyby				[72]
			28 October 1994	flyby		out of fuel; telemetry contact lost November 1995
NEAR Shoemaker		NASA	23 January 1998	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to Eros; closest approach 540 km		[73]
Nozomi (first pass)		ISAS	20 December 1998	flyby	partial success	gravity assist on planned mission to Mars; valve malfunction during flyby required extra burn, which later forced alternate trajectory plan		[74]
Giotto (second pass)		ESA	1 July 1999	flyby	n/a	already defunct		[75]
Cassini		NASA/ ESA/ ASI	August, 1999	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to Saturn		[76]
Stardust (first pass)		NASA	15 January 2001	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to comet 81P/Wild		[77]
Nozomi (second pass)		ISAS	December, 2002	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to Mars		[78]
Nozomi (third pass)		ISAS	19 June 2003	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to Mars		[79]
Hayabusa		ISAS	19 May 2004	flyby	success	en route to Itokawa		[80]
Rosetta (first pass)		ESA	4 March 2005	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to asteroid and comet encounters		[81]
MESSENGER		NASA	2 August 2005	flyby	success	en route to Venus and Mercury		[82]
Stardust (second pass)		NASA	15 January 2006	flyby	success	drop-off of sample return capsule		[83]
Rosetta (second pass)		ESA	13 November 2007	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to asteroid and comet encounters
Deep Impact (redesignated EPOXI) (first pass)		NASA	31 December 2007[28]	flyby	success	previously visited Comet 9P/Tempel; gravity assist en route to encounter with Comet 103P/Hartley		[84]
Deep Impact (redesignated EPOXI) (second pass)		NASA	December 2008[29][28]	flyby	success	gravity assist		[85]
Stardust (third pass)		NASA	14 January 2009	flyby	success[30]	mission extension to Comet 9P/Tempel; minimum distance 9200 km		[86]
Rosetta (third pass)		ESA	13 November 2009	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to asteroid and comet encounters
Deep Impact (redesignated EPOXI) (third pass)		NASA	June 2009[28]	distant flyby	success			[87]
Deep Impact (redesignated EPOXI) (fourth pass)		NASA	December 2009[29][28]	distant flyby	success			[88]
Deep Impact (redesignated EPOXI) (fifth pass)		NASA	June 2010[28]	flyby	success			[89]

Lunar probes

See List of lunar probes

Mars probes

Main article: Exploration of Mars

1960s

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Mars 1960A		USSR	10 October 1960	flyby	failure	failed to reach Earth orbit		[90]
Mars 1960B		USSR	14 October 1960	flyby	failure	failed to reach Earth orbit		[91]
Mars 1962A		USSR	24 October 1962	flyby	failure	exploded in or en route to Earth orbit		[92]
Mars 1962B		USSR	11 November 1962 (launch)	lander	failure	broke up during transfer to Mars trajectory		[93]
Mars 1		USSR	19 June 1963	flyby	failure	contact lost en route; flew within approximately 193,000 km of Mars		[94]
Mariner 3		NASA	5 November 1964	flyby	failure	protective shield failed to eject, preventing craft from attaining correct trajectory		[95]
Zond 2		USSR	6 August 1965	flyby	failure	contact lost en route; flew within 1,500 km of Mars		[96]
Mariner 4		NASA	15 July 1965	flyby	success	first close-up images of Mars		[97]
Mariner 6		NASA	31 July 1969	flyby	success			[98]
Mariner 7		NASA	5 August 1969	flyby	success			[99]
Mars 1969A		USSR	27 March 1969	orbiter	failure	launch failure		[100]
Mars 1969B		USSR	2 April 1969	orbiter	failure	launch failure		[101]

1970s

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Mariner 8		NASA	9 May 1971	orbiter	failure	launch vehicle failure		[102]
Mariner 9		NASA	14 November 1971	orbiter	success	first spacecraft to orbit another planet		[103]
Mars 2		USSR	November 1971 – August 1972	orbiter	success	first Russian spacecraft to orbit another planet		[104]
	Mars 2 Lander	USSR	27 November 1971	lander and short range rover	failure	crashed; first manmade object to reach surface of Mars		[105]
Mars 3		USSR	December 1971 – August 1972	orbiter	partial success	attained a different orbit than intended due to insufficient fuel		[106]
	Mars 3 Lander	USSR	2 December 1971	lander and short range rover	failure	contact lost 110 sec after soft landing		[107]
Cosmos 419		USSR	10 May 1971	orbiter	failure	failed to escape Earth orbit		[108]
Mars 4		USSR	10 February 1974	orbiter	failure	orbit insertion failed, became flyby		[109]
Mars 5		USSR	February 1974	orbiter	success			[110]
Mars 6		USSR	12 March 1974	flyby	success			[111]
	Mars 6 Lander	USSR	12 March 1974	lander	failure	contact lost 148 sec after parachute deployment
Mars 7		USSR	9 March 1974	flyby	success			[112]
	Mars 7 Lander	USSR	9 March 1974	lander	failure	missed Mars
Viking 1 Orbiter		NASA	June 1976 – August 1980	orbiter	success			[113]
	Viking 1 Lander	NASA	20 July 1976 – 13 November 1982	lander	success	first images from surface		[114]
Viking 2 Orbiter		NASA	August 1976 – July 1978	orbiter	success			[115]
	Viking 2 Lander	NASA	3 September 1976 – 11 April 1980	lander	success			[116]

1980s

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Phobos 1		USSR	7 July 1988 (launch)	orbiter	failure	contact lost en route to Mars		[117]
Phobos 2		USSR	29 January 1989 – 27 March 1989	orbiter	partial success	Mars orbit acquired, but contact lost shortly before Phobos approach phase and deployment of Phobos landers		[118]

1990s

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Mars Observer		NASA	25 September 1992 (launch)	orbiter	failure	contact lost shortly before Mars orbit insertion		[119]
Mars 96		RFSA	16 November 1996 (launch)	orbiter	failure	failed to escape Earth orbit		[120]
				lander				[121]
				lander				[122]
				penetrator				[123]
				penetrator				[124]
Mars Pathfinder		NASA	4 July 1997 – 27 September 1997	lander	success			[125]
	Sojourner	NASA	6 July 1997 – 27 September 1997	rover	success	first Mars rover		[126]
Mars Global Surveyor		NASA	12 September 1997 – 2 November 2006	orbiter	success			[127]
Mars Climate Orbiter		NASA	23 September 1999	orbiter	failure	Mars orbit insertion failed due to navigation error		[128]
Mars Polar Lander		NASA	3 December 1999	lander	failure	contact lost just prior to entering Martian atmosphere		[129]
	Deep Space 2 "Amundsen"	NASA	3 December 1999	penetrator				[130]
	Deep Space 2 "Scott"	NASA	3 December 1999	penetrator

2000s

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
2001 Mars Odyssey		NASA	24 October 2001 –	orbiter	success	studying climate and geology; communications relay for Spirit and Opportunity rovers		[131]
Nozomi		ISAS	14 December 2003	orbiter	failure	failed to attain Mars orbit, became flyby		[132]
Mars Express		ESA	25 December 2003 –	orbiter	success	surface imaging and mapping; first European probe in Martian orbit		[133]
	Beagle 2	UK	25 December 2003	lander	failure	no contact after release		[134]
MER-A "Spirit"		NASA	4 January 2004 – 22 March 2010	rover	success	became stuck in May 2009; then operating as a static science station until contact lost in March 2010		[135]
MER-B "Opportunity"		NASA	25 January 2004 –	rover	success			[136]
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter		NASA	10 March 2006 –	orbiter	success	surface imaging and surveying		[137]
Rosetta		ESA	25 February 2007	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to asteroid and comet encounters		[138]
Phoenix		NASA	25 May 2008 – 10 November 2008	lander	success	collection of soil samples near the northern pole to search for water and investigate Mars' geological history and biological potential		[139]
Dawn		NASA	February 17, 2009	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to Vesta and Ceres		[140]
Yinghuo-1		CNSA	8 November 2011 (launch)	orbiter	presently stuck in Earth orbit	launched with Phobos-Grunt Phobos lander

Future

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
MSL Curiosity		NASA	2011	rover	planned			[141]
MAVEN		NASA	2013	orbiter	planned			[142]
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter		ESA/ NASA	2016	orbiter, lander	planned			[143]
ExoMars rover		ESA/ NASA	2018	rover	planned			[144]
Mars Sample Return Mission		NASA/ ESA	2024?	orbiter, lander, rover, and sample return	under study			[145][146]

Phobos probes

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Phobos 1		USSR	7 July 1988 (launch)	flyby	failure	contact lost en route to Mars		[147]
	DAS	USSR	2 September 1988	fixed lander	failure	never deployed
Phobos 2		USSR	27 March 1989 (contact lost)	flyby	failure	attained Mars orbit; contact lost prior to deployment of lander		[148]
	DAS	USSR	27 March 1989	fixed lander	failure	never deployed
	"Frog"	USSR	27 March 1989	mobile lander	failure	never deployed
Phobos-Grunt		RFSA	8 November 2011 (launch)	sample return	presently stuck in Earth orbit	launched with Yinghuo-1 Mars orbiter		[31]

Ceres probes

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Dawn		NASA	2015	orbiter	en route	will orbit Vesta first		[149]

Asteroid probes

Target	Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
951 Gaspra	Galileo		NASA	29 October 1991	flyby	success	en route to Jupiter; minimum distance 1900 km		[150]
243 Ida	Galileo		NASA	28 August 1993	flyby	success	en route to Jupiter; minimum distance 2400 km; discovery of the first asteroid satellite Dactyl		[151]
1620 Geographos	Clementine		BMDO/ NASA	1994	flyby	failure	flyby cancelled due to equipment malfunction		[152]
253 Mathilde	NEAR Shoemaker		NASA	27 June 1997	flyby	success	flew within 1200 km of 253 Mathilde en route to 433 Eros		[153]
433 Eros	NEAR Shoemaker		NASA	January 1999	orbiter	failure	became flyby due to software and communications problems (later attempt at orbit insertion succeeded; see below)		[154]
9969 Braille	Deep Space 1		NASA	29 July 1999	flyby	partial success	no close-up images due to camera pointing error; went on to visit comet 19P/Borrelly		[155]
2685 Masursky	Cassini		NASA/ ESA/ ASI	23 January 2000	distant flyby	success	en route to Saturn		[156]
433 Eros	NEAR Shoemaker		NASA	February 2000 – February 2001	orbiter, became lander	success	improvised landing by orbiter at end of mission		[157]
5535 Annefrank	Stardust		NASA	November 2, 2002	distant flyby	success	went on to visit comet 81P/Wild		[158]
25143 Itokawa	Hayabusa		ISAS	2005–07	sample return	success	landed on Itokawa in 2005 and returned to Earth in 2010		[159]
		MINERVA	ISAS	12 November 2005	hopper	failure	missed target
132524 APL	New Horizons		NASA	June 2006	distant flyby	success	en route to Pluto		[160]
2867 Šteins	Rosetta		ESA	5 September 2008	flyby	success	en route to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko		[161]
21 Lutetia	Rosetta		ESA	11 July 2010	flyby	success	en route to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko		[162]
4 Vesta	Dawn		NASA	16 July 2011	orbiter	success	scheduled to continue to Ceres		[163]

Jupiter probes

Main article: Exploration of Jupiter

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Pioneer 10		NASA	3 December 1973	flyby	success	first probe to cross the asteroid belt; first Jupiter probe; first man-made object on an interstellar trajectory; now in the outer regions of the Solar System but no longer contactable		[164]
Pioneer 11		NASA	4 December 1974	flyby	success	went on to visit Saturn		[165]
Voyager 1		NASA	5 March 1979	flyby	success	went on to visit Saturn		[166]
Voyager 2		NASA	9 July 1979	flyby	success	went on to visit Saturn, Uranus and Neptune		[167]
Ulysses (first pass)		ESA/ NASA	February 1992	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to inclined heliocentric orbit for solar polar observations		[168]
Galileo Orbiter		NASA/ DLR	7 December 1995 – 21 September 2003	orbiter	success	also flew by various of Jupiter's moons; intentionally flown into Jupiter at end of mission; first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter; first spacecraft to flyby an asteroid		[169]
	Galileo Probe	NASA/ DLR	7 December 1995	atmospheric probe	success	first probe to enter Jupiter's atmosphere		[170]
Cassini		NASA/ ESA/ ASI	December 2000	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to Saturn		[171]
Ulysses (second pass)		ESA/ NASA	2003–04	distant flyby	success			[172]
New Horizons		NASA	28 February 2007	flyby	success	gravity assist en route to Pluto		[173]
Juno		NASA	5 August 2011 launch	orbiter	en route			[174]
EJSM		NASA/ ESA	2020?	orbiters/landers	proposed			[175]

Saturn probes

Main article: Exploration of Saturn

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Pioneer 11		NASA	1 September 1979	flyby	success	previously visited Jupiter		[176]
Voyager 1		NASA	12 November 1980	flyby	success	previously visited Jupiter		[177]
Voyager 2		NASA	5 August 1981	flyby	success	previously visited Jupiter, went on to visit Uranus and Neptune		[178]
Cassini		NASA/ ESA/ ASI	1 July 2004 –	orbiter	success	also performed flybys of a number of Saturn's moons, and deployed the Huygens Titan lander; first spacecraft to orbit Saturn		[179]

Titan probes

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Huygens		ESA	14 January 2005	atmospheric probe, lander	success	deployed by Cassini; first probe to land on a satellite of another planet		[180]
Titan Saturn System Mission		ESA/ NASA	October 2029	orbiter, montgolfière, lander	under study

Uranus probes

Main article: Exploration of Uranus

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Voyager 2		NASA	24 January 1986	flyby	success	previously visited Jupiter and Saturn; went on to visit Neptune		[181]

Neptune probes

Main article: Exploration of Neptune

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Voyager 2		NASA	25 August 1989	flyby	success	previously visited Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus		[182]

Pluto probes

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
New Horizons		NASA	2015	flyby	en route	flybys of other Kuiper Belt objects may follow (targets yet to be decided)		[183]

Comet probes

Target	Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
21P/Giacobini-Zinner	ICE (formerly ISEE3)		NASA	11 September 1985	flyby	success	previously solar monitor ISEE3; went on to observe Halley's Comet		[184]
1P/Halley	Vega 1		SAS	6 March 1986	flyby	success	minimum distance 8,890 km; previously visited Venus		[185]
1P/Halley	Suisei		ISAS	8 March 1986	flyby	success	151,000 km		[186]
1P/Halley	Vega 2		SAS	9 March 1986	flyby	success	minimum distance 8,890 km; previously visited Venus		[187]
1P/Halley	Sakigake		ISAS	March 1986	distant flyby	partial success	minimum distance 6.99 million km		[188]
1P/Halley	Giotto		ESA	14 March 1986	flyby	success	minimum distance 596 km; went on to visit comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup		[189]
1P/Halley	ICE (formerly ISEE3)		NASA	28 March 1986	distant obser- vations	success	minimum distance 32 million km; previously visited comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner		[190]
26P/Grigg-Skjellerup	Giotto		ESA	10 July 1992	flyby	success	previously visited Halley's Comet		[191]
45P/ Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova	Sakigake		ISAS	1996	flyby	failure	contact lost; previously visited Halley's Comet		[192]
21P/Giacobini-Zinner	Sakigake		ISAS	1998	flyby	failure
55P/Tempel-Tuttle	Suisei		ISAS	1998	flyby	failure	abandoned due to lack of fuel; previously visited Halley's Comet		[193]
21P/Giacobini-Zinner	Suisei		ISAS	1998	flyby	failure
19P/Borrelly	Deep Space 1		NASA	22 September 2001	flyby	success	previously visited asteroid 9969 Braille		[194]
2P/Encke	CONTOUR		NASA	2003	flyby	failure	contact lost shortly after launch		[195]
81P/Wild	Stardust		NASA	2 January 2004	flyby, sample return	success	sample returned January 2006; also visited asteroid 5535 Annefrank		[196]
9P/Tempel	Deep Impact		NASA	July 2005	flyby	success			[197]
		Impactor	NASA	4 July 2005	impactor	success
73P/ Schwassmann-Wachmann	CONTOUR		NASA	2006	flyby	failure	contact lost shortly after launch		[198]
6P/d'Arrest	CONTOUR		NASA	2008	flyby	failure	contact lost shortly after launch		[199]
103P/Hartley	Deep Impact (redesignated EPOXI)		NASA	4 November 2010	flyby	success	mission extension (target changed from comet Boethin)		[200]
9P/Tempel	Stardust (redesignated NExT)		NASA	14 February 2011	flyby	success	mission extension		[201]
67P/Churyumov- Gerasimenko	Rosetta		ESA	2014–15	orbiter	en route	flybys of asteroids 2867 Šteins and 21 Lutetia also scheduled		[202]
		Philae	ESA	2014	lander	en route			[203]

Probes leaving the Solar System

Spacecraft	Organization	Notes	Image	Ref
Pioneer 10	NASA	Left Jupiter in December 1973. Mission ended March 1997. Last contact January 23, 2003. Craft now presumed dead; no further contact attempts planned.		[204]
Pioneer 11	NASA	Left Saturn in September 1979. Last contact September 1995. The craft's antenna cannot be manoeuvred to point to Earth, and it is not known if it is still transmitting. No further contact attempts are planned.		[205]
Voyager 1	NASA	Left Saturn in November 1980. Still in regular contact and transmitting scientific data (as of April 2011). Contact hoped to be maintained until at least 2020.		[206]
Voyager 2	NASA	Left Neptune in August 1989. Still in regular contact and transmitting scientific data (as of April 2011). Contact hoped to be maintained until at least 2020.		[207]
New Horizons	NASA	Currently en route to outer Solar System. Expected to reach Pluto in July 2015.		[208]

See also: List of artificial objects escaping from the Solar System

Other probes to leave Earth orbit

For completeness, this section lists probes that have left (or will leave) Earth orbit, but are not targeted at any of the above bodies.

Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Location	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
WMAP		NASA	30 June 2001 (launch) – to October 2010 (end)[32]	Sun-Earth L2 point	success	cosmic background radiation observations; sent to graveyard orbit after 9 years of use.[32]		[209]
Spitzer Space Telescope		NASA	25 August 2003 (launch) – still active (as of December 2010)	Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit	success	infrared astronomy		[210]
Kepler		NASA	6 March 2009 (launch)	Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit	operational	search for extrasolar planets		[211]
Herschel Space Observatory		ESA	14 May 2009 (launch)	Lissajous orbit around Sun-Earth L2 point	operational	study of formation and evolution of galaxies and stars		[212]
Planck Surveyor		ESA	14 May 2009 (launch)	Lissajous orbit around Sun-Earth L2 point	operational	cosmic microwave background observations		[213]
IKAROS		JAXA	20 May 2010 (launch)	Earth-Venus transfer heliocentric orbit	operational	solar sail technology development / interplanetary space exploration		[214]
Shin'en (UNITEC-1)		UNISEC			failure	technology development; contact lost shortly after launch[33]		[215]
LISA Pathfinder		ESA	2013 (launch)[34]	Halo orbit around Sun-Earth L1 point	planned	test mission for proposed LISA gravitational wave observatory		[216]
James Webb Space Telescope		NASA ESA CSA	2013 (launch)	Sun-Earth L2 point	planned	infrared astronomy		[217]

Cancelled probes and missions

Target	Spacecraft		Organization	Date	Type	Status	Notes	Image	Ref
Mercury	BepiColombo Mercury Surface Element		ESA		lander	cancelled
Moon	LUNAR-A		JAXA		orbiter, penetrators	cancelled	originally scheduled for 2004, finally cancelled 2007		[218]
Mars	Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander		NASA	2001	lander	cancelled			[219]
Mars	NetLander		CNES/ ESA		lander	cancelled			[220]
Mars	Mars Telecommunications Orbiter		NASA	2010	orbiter	cancelled			[221]
Phobos	Aladdin		NASA		sample return	not selected			[222]
Europa	Europa Orbiter		NASA		orbiter	cancelled			[223]
Europa	Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter		NASA		orbiter	cancelled			[224]
Ganymede	Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter		NASA		orbiter	cancelled			[225]
Callisto	Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter		NASA		orbiter	cancelled			[226]
Pluto	Pluto Fast Flyby		NASA	2010	flyby	cancelled	Now known as New Horizons
Pluto	Pluto Kuiper Express		NASA	2012	flyby	cancelled	Now known as New Horizons		[227]
4660 Nereus	Hayabusa		ISAS		sample return	cancelled	rerouted to 25143 Itokawa		[228]
3840 Mimistrobell	Rosetta		ESA	2006	flyby	cancelled	rerouted		[229]
4979 Otawara	Rosetta		ESA	2006	flyby	cancelled	rerouted		[230]
4660 Nereus	Near Earth Asteroid Prospector		SpaceDev		sample return	cancelled			[231]
46P/Wirtanen	Rosetta		ESA	2011	orbiter	cancelled	rerouted to 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko		[232]

See also

Spaceflight portal

• Robotic spacecraft
• Satellites

References

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• Planetary Society: Cassini’s Tour of the Saturn System