Mission Archive

NASA · 2001

Mars

NASA's longest-serving Mars orbiter, which mapped the planet's surface chemistry, found vast deposits of buried water ice and has relayed data for every rover since Spirit.

NASA · 1998

Mars

A NASA orbiter intended to study the Martian climate and relay data for Mars Polar Lander. It was lost on arrival when it passed too close to the planet, after thruster data was supplied in imperial units where metric was expected.

NASA/ESA/ASI · 1997

Jupiter, Saturn, Titan

A joint NASA, ESA and Italian Space Agency mission that orbited Saturn for 13 years and landed the Huygens probe on Titan. It ended with a planned dive into Saturn's atmosphere.

NASA · 1996

Mars

A NASA orbiter that mapped Mars for nine years, charting its topography and magnetic field and finding gullies that suggested recent liquid water.

NASA · 1996

Eros, Mathilde

The first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid and the first to land on one, settling onto Eros in 2001 after a year in orbit around it. On the way it flew past the asteroid Mathilde.

NASA · 1989

Jupiter, Gaspra, Ida

The first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter, studying the planet and its moons for eight years and finding evidence of an ocean beneath Europa's ice. On the way it made the first flyby of an asteroid.

NASA · 1989

Venus

A NASA orbiter that used radar to see through Venus's clouds, mapping 98% of the surface in detail.

NASA · 1975

Mars

The first American mission to land on Mars and the first to operate there for years. Its orbiter mapped the planet while the lander searched the soil for signs of life.

USSR · 1975

Venus

A Soviet mission whose lander returned the first images from the surface of another planet, while its carrier became the first spacecraft to orbit Venus.

NASA · 1971

Mars

The first spacecraft to orbit another planet. It waited out a global dust storm and then mapped the whole of Mars, revealing its volcanoes, canyons and dry riverbeds.

USSR · 1971

Mars

A Soviet orbiter and lander. The lander made the first soft landing on Mars but fell silent about 20 seconds after it began transmitting; the orbiter returned data for eight months.