Unmanned spacecraft
Encyclopedia
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
without people
People
People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:* as the plural of person or a group of people People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:*...
on board, and probably includes unmanned resupply spacecraft
Unmanned resupply spacecraft
Unmanned resupply spacecraft are a special kind of robotic spacecraft that operate autonomously without a human crew, designed to support space station operation...
, space probe
Space probe
A robotic spacecraft is a spacecraft with no humans on board, that is usually under telerobotic control. A robotic spacecraft designed to make scientific research measurements is often called a space probe. Many space missions are more suited to telerobotic rather than crewed operation, due to...
s, and most space observatories
Space observatory
A space observatory is any instrument in outer space which is used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects...
. A difference between robotic spacecraft and unmanned spacecraft, is that unmanned spacecraft is inclusive to non-robotic unmanned spacecraft, such as reflector balls. Remote controlled spacecraft may have varying levels of autonomy from human input. Strictly speaking many habitable spacecraft also have varying levels of robotic features.
Selected Lunar probes
- Luna program — USSR Lunar exploration (1959–1976).
- Ranger programRanger programThe Ranger program was a series of unmanned space missions by the United States in the 1960s whose objective was to obtain the first close-up images of the surface of the Moon. The Ranger spacecraft were designed to take images of the lunar surface, returning those images until they were destroyed...
— US Lunar hard-landing probes (1961–1965). - Zond programZond programZond was the name given to two distinct series of Soviet unmanned space program undertaken from 1964 to 1970. The first series based on 3MV planetary probe was intended to gather information about nearby planets...
— USSR Lunar exploration (1964–1970). - Surveyor programSurveyor programThe Surveyor Program was a NASA program that, from 1966 through 1968, sent seven robotic spacecraft to the surface of the Moon. Its primary goal was to demonstrate the feasibility of soft landings on the Moon...
— US Lunar soft-landing probe (1966–1968). - Lunar Orbiter programLunar Orbiter programThe Lunar Orbiter program was a series of five unmanned lunar orbiter missions launched by the United States from 1966 through 1967. Intended to help select Apollo landing sites by mapping the Moon's surface, they provided the first photographs from lunar orbit.All five missions were successful,...
— US Lunar orbital (1966–1967). - Lunokhod program — USSR Lunar RoverLunar roverThe Lunar Roving Vehicle or lunar rover was a battery-powered four-wheeled rover used on the Moon in the last three missions of the American Apollo program during 1971 and 1972...
probes (1970–1973). - Muses-A mission (HitenHitenThe Hiten Spacecraft , given the English name Celestial Maiden and known before launch as MUSES-A , part of the MUSES Program, was built by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of Japan and launched on January 24, 1990...
and HagoromoHagoromoHagoromo may refer to:* Hagoromo, a small space orbiter released by the Japanese spacecraft Hiten* Hagoromo , a Japanese Noh play* hagoromo, heavenly kimono of tennin, tennyo, tenshi...
) — Japanese Lunar orbital and hard-landing probes (1990–1993). - ClementineClementine missionClementine was a joint space project between the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and NASA...
— US Lunar orbital (1998). - Lunar ProspectorLunar ProspectorThe Lunar Prospector mission was the third selected by NASA for full development and construction as part of the Discovery Program. At a cost of $62.8 million, the 19-month mission was designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, including mapping of surface composition and possible...
— US Lunar orbital (1998–1999). - Smart 1 — European Lunar orbital (2003).
- SELENESELENESELENE , better known in Japan by its nickname after the legendary Japanese moon princess, was the second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft. Produced by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science and the National Space Development Agency , both now part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration...
— Japanese lunar orbiter (2007). - Chang'e 1 — Chinese lunar orbiter (2007).
- Chandrayaan 1 — Indian lunar orbiter (2008).
- Lunar Reconnaissance OrbiterLunar Reconnaissance OrbiterThe Lunar Precursor Robotic Program is a program of robotic spacecraft missions which NASA will use to prepare for future human spaceflight missions to the Moon. Two LPRP missions, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite , were launched in June 2009...
— US Lunar orbiter (2009). - LCROSSLCROSSThe Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite was a robotic spacecraft operated by NASA. The mission was conceived as a low-cost means of determining the nature of hydrogen detected at the polar regions of the moon. The main LCROSS mission objective was to explore the presence of water ice...
— US Lunar hard-landing probe (2009). - Chang'e 2Chang'e 2Chang'e 2 is a Chinese unmanned lunar probe that was launched on 1 October 2010. It was a follow-up to the Chang'e 1 lunar probe, which was launched in 2007. Chang'e 2 was part of the first phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, and conducted research from a 100-kilometer-high lunar orbit...
— Chinese lunar orbiter (2010). - Gravity Recovery and Interior LaboratoryGravity Recovery and Interior LaboratoryThe Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory is an American lunar science mission in NASA's Discovery Program, which will use high-quality gravitational field mapping of the Moon to determine its interior structure...
— US Lunar orbiters, to be launched 2011
Mars probes
- Zond programZond programZond was the name given to two distinct series of Soviet unmanned space program undertaken from 1964 to 1970. The first series based on 3MV planetary probe was intended to gather information about nearby planets...
— failed USSR flyby probe - Mars probe programMars probe programThe Mars program was a series of unmanned spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union between 1960 and 1973. The spacecraft were intended to explore Mars, and included flyby probes, landers and orbiters....
— USSR orbiters and landers - Viking programViking programThe Viking program consisted of a pair of American space probes sent to Mars, Viking 1 and Viking 2. Each spacecraft was composed of two main parts, an orbiter designed to photograph the surface of Mars from orbit, and a lander designed to study the planet from the surface...
— Two NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
orbiters and landers (1974) - Phobos programPhobos programThe Phobos program was an unmanned space mission consisting of two probes launched by the Soviet Union to study Mars and its moons Phobos and Deimos. Phobos 2 became a Mars orbiter and returned 38 images with a resolution of up to 40 meters...
— Failed USSR orbiters and PhobosPhobos (moon)Phobos is the larger and closer of the two natural satellites of Mars. Both moons were discovered in 1877. With a mean radius of , Phobos is 7.24 times as massive as Deimos...
landers - Mars PathfinderMars PathfinderMars Pathfinder was an American spacecraft that landed a base station with roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a lightweight wheeled robotic rover named Sojourner.Launched on December 4, 1996 by NASA aboard a Delta II booster a...
— NASA lander and rover (1997) - Mars Surveyor '98 programMars Surveyor '98 programThe Mars Surveyor '98 program comprised two spacecraft launched separately, the Mars Climate Orbiter and the Mars Polar Lander ; on board the Mars Polar Lander spacecraft were two surface-penetrator probes...
(Mars Climate OrbiterMars Climate OrbiterThe Mars Climate Orbiter was a 338 kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on December 11, 1998 to study the Martian climate, atmosphere, surface changes and to act as the communications relay in the Mars Surveyor '98 program, for Mars Polar Lander...
and Mars Polar LanderMars Polar LanderThe Mars Polar Lander, also referred to as the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander, was a 290-kilogram robotic spacecraft lander, launched by NASA on January 3, 1999, to study the soil and climate of Planum Australe, a region near the south pole on Mars, as part of the Mars Surveyor '98 mission...
) — Failed NASA probes - Mars Global SurveyorMars Global SurveyorThe Mars Global Surveyor was a US spacecraft developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. It began the United States's return to Mars after a 10-year absence. It completed its primary mission in January 2001 and was in its third extended mission phase when, on 2...
- NASA orbiter - Mars Odyssey — NASA orbiter, reached Mars on October 24, 2001
- Mars ObserverMars ObserverThe Mars Observer spacecraft, also known as the Mars Geoscience/Climatology Orbiter, was a 1,018-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on September 25, 1992 to study the Martian surface, atmosphere, climate and magnetic field...
— failed NASA Mars orbiter - Mars ExpressMars ExpressMars Express is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency . The Mars Express mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally referred to the speed and efficiency with which the spacecraft was...
(Mars Express Orbiter and Beagle 2Beagle 2Beagle 2 was an unsuccessful British landing spacecraft that formed part of the European Space Agency's 2003 Mars Express mission. All contact with it was lost upon its separation from the Mars Express six days before its scheduled entry into the atmosphere...
) — European orbiter and failed lander 2003 - Mars Exploration RoverMars Exploration RoverNASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission is an ongoing robotic space mission involving two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars...
s — NASA rovers (2004) - Mars Reconnaissance OrbiterMars Reconnaissance OrbiterMars Reconnaissance Orbiter is a NASA multipurpose spacecraft designed to conduct reconnaissance and Exploration of Mars from orbit...
— NASA orbiter, entered Martian orbit March 10, 2006 - PhoenixPhoenix (spacecraft)Phoenix was a robotic spacecraft on a space exploration mission on Mars under the Mars Scout Program. The Phoenix lander descended on Mars on May 25, 2008...
— NASA lander, landed May 25, 2008 - Mars Science LaboratoryMars Science LaboratoryThe Mars Science Laboratory is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration mission with the aim to land and operate a rover named Curiosity on the surface of Mars. The MSL was launched November 26, 2011, at 10:02 EST and is scheduled to land on Mars at Gale Crater between August 6 and 20, 2012...
— NASA rover, to be launched 2011
Venus probes
- Venera program — USSR VenusVenusVenus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
orbiter and lander (1961–1984) - Pioneer Venus projectPioneer Venus projectThe Pioneer mission to Venus consisted of two components, launched separately. Pioneer Venus 1 or Pioneer Venus Orbiter was launched in 1978 and studied the planet for more than a decade after orbital insertion in 1978. Pioneer Venus 2 or Pioneer Venus Multiprobe sent four small probes into the...
— US VenusVenusVenus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
orbiter (1978) - Vega programVega programThe Vega program was a series of Venus missions which also took advantage of the appearance of Comet Halley in 1986. Vega 1 and Vega 2 were unmanned spacecraft launched in a cooperative effort among the Soviet Union and Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Poland,...
— USSR mission to VenusVenusVenus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
and Comet HalleyComet HalleyHalley's Comet or Comet Halley is the best-known of the short-period comets, and is visible from Earth every 75 to 76 years. Halley is the only short-period comet that is clearly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the only naked-eye comet that might appear twice in a human lifetime...
(1984) - Magellan probeMagellan probeThe Magellan spacecraft, also referred to as the Venus Radar Mapper, was a 1,035-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on May 4, 1989, to map the surface of Venus using Synthetic Aperture Radar and measure the planetary gravity...
— US Venus orbiter (1989) - Venus ExpressVenus ExpressVenus Express is the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency. Launched in November 2005, it arrived at Venus in April 2006 and has been continuously sending back science data from its polar orbit around Venus. Equipped with seven science instruments, the main objective of the...
— ESA probe sent for the observation of the Venus's weather (2005) - MESSENGERMESSENGERThe MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging space probe is a robotic NASA spacecraft in orbit around the planet Mercury. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II rocket in August 2004 to study the chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field of Mercury...
- US Fly-by/Orbiter (2004)
Gas giant probes
- Pioneer programPioneer programThe Pioneer program is a series of United States unmanned space missions that was designed for planetary exploration. There were a number of such missions in the program, but the most notable were Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11, which explored the outer planets and left the solar system...
— US JupiterJupiterJupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
and SaturnSaturnSaturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
flybys - Voyager programVoyager programThe Voyager program is a U.S program that launched two unmanned space missions, scientific probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable planetary alignment of the late 1970s...
— US Jupiter, Saturn, UranusUranusUranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It has the third-largest planetary radius and fourth-largest planetary mass in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus , the father of Cronus and grandfather of Zeus...
and NeptuneNeptuneNeptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Named for the Roman god of the sea, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third largest by mass. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 times...
flyby and study of interstellar mediumInterstellar mediumIn astronomy, the interstellar medium is the matter that exists in the space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, dust, and cosmic rays. It fills interstellar space and blends smoothly into the surrounding intergalactic space... - Galileo probe — US Jupiter orbiter and atmosphere probe
- Cassini-HuygensCassini-HuygensCassini–Huygens is a joint NASA/ESA/ASI spacecraft mission studying the planet Saturn and its many natural satellites since 2004. Launched in 1997 after nearly two decades of gestation, it includes a Saturn orbiter and an atmospheric probe/lander for the moon Titan, although it has also returned...
— US-European Saturn orbiter and TitanTitan (moon)Titan , or Saturn VI, is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found....
lander Huygens (1997–present)
Comet and asteroid probes
- International Cometary ExplorerInternational Cometary ExplorerThe International Cometary Explorer spacecraft was originally known as International Sun/Earth Explorer 3 satellite, launched August 12, 1978. It was part of the ISEE international cooperative program between NASA and ESRO/ESA to study the interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and the...
— passed through gas tail of comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner21P/Giacobini-ZinnerComet Giacobini–Zinner is a periodic comet in our solar system.It was discovered by Michel Giacobini from , who observed the comet in the constellation of Aquarius on December 20, 1900...
(1985) - Giotto missionGiotto missionGiotto was a European robotic spacecraft mission from the European Space Agency, intended to fly by and study Halley's Comet. On 13 March 1986, the mission succeeded in approaching Halley's nucleus at a distance of 596 kilometers....
— European — flyby of comet 1P/Halley (1986) - Vega 1 & 2Vega programThe Vega program was a series of Venus missions which also took advantage of the appearance of Comet Halley in 1986. Vega 1 and Vega 2 were unmanned spacecraft launched in a cooperative effort among the Soviet Union and Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Poland,...
— USSR — flyby of comet 1P/Halley (1986) - Sakigake probeSakigakeSakigake , pre-launch codename MS-T5, was Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft, and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the USA or the Soviet Union...
— Japanese — flyby of comet 1P/Halley (1986) - Suisei probeSuisei probeSuisei , originally known as Planet-A, was an unmanned space probe developed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science ....
— Japanese — flyby of comet 1P/Halley (1986) - NEAR ShoemakerNEAR ShoemakerThe Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous - Shoemaker , renamed after its 1996 launch in honor of planetary scientist Eugene M. Shoemaker, was a robotic space probe designed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for NASA to study the near-Earth asteroid Eros from close orbit over a...
— US — asteroid 433 Eros433 Eros433 Eros is a near-Earth asteroid discovered in 1898, and the first asteroid to be orbited by a probe . It is an S-type asteroid approximately 34.4×11.2×11.2 km in size, the second-largest NEA after 1036 Ganymed, and belongs to the Amor group.Eros is a Mars-crosser asteroid, the first known...
orbiter, which later landed on the asteroid's surface, launched 1996 - Deep Space 1Deep Space 1Deep Space 1 is a spacecraft of the NASA New Millennium Program dedicated to testing a payload of advanced, high risk technologies....
— US — comet 19P/Borrelly19P/BorrellyComet Borrelly or Borrelly's Comet is a periodic comet, which was visited by the spacecraft Deep Space 1 in 2001.- Discovery :...
and asteroid flyby, 1998–2000 - Stardust probe — US — comet 81P/Wild81P/WildComet 81P/Wild, also known as Wild 2 , is a comet named after Swiss astronomer Paul Wild, who discovered it in 1978 using a 40-cm Schmidt telescope at Zimmerwald....
flyby and sample return, launched 1999, flied-by 2004, returned January 15, 2006 - CONTOURCONTOURThe COmet Nucleus TOUR was a NASA Discovery-class space probe that failed shortly after its July 2002 launch. It had as its primary objective close flybys of two comet nuclei with the possibility of a flyby of a third known comet or an as-yet-undiscovered comet.The two comets scheduled to be...
— US — comet flyby mission (comets 2P, 73P73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann, also known as Schwassmann–Wachmann 3, is a periodic comet in our solar system which is in the process of disintegrating. Starting the 2011 perihelion passage the primary component 73P-C was recovered on 28 November 2010 near apparent magnitude 21.3...
and 6P6P/d'Arrest6P/d'Arrest is a periodic comet in our Solar System, orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. It passed 53 Gm from the Earth, about a third of the Earth-Sun distance, on August 9, 2008....
); lost due to solid rocket motor failure shortly after launch in 2002 - HayabusaHayabusawas an unmanned spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis....
— Japanese — asteroid orbiter, lander and sample return, launched 2003, returned June 13, 2010 - Rosetta — European — comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko67P/Churyumov-GerasimenkoComet Churyumov–Gerasimenko, officially designated 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, is a comet with a current orbital period of 6.6 years. It is the destination of the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft mission, launched on March 2, 2004....
orbiter and lander (PhilaePhilae landerPhilae is the lander that accompanies the Rosetta spacecraft. It is designed to land on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko shortly after arrival...
); launched 2004 - Deep Impact — successful US comet 9P/Tempel9P/TempelTempel 1 , is a periodic comet discovered by Wilhelm Tempel in 1867. It currently completes an orbit of the Sun every 5.5 years. Tempel 1 was the target of the Deep Impact space mission, which photographed a deliberate high-speed impact upon the comet in 2005...
impactor, launched 2005 - Deep Impact/EPOXIEPOXIEPOXI is a NASA unmanned space mission led by the University of Maryland using the existing Deep Impact vehicle to begin a new series of observations. It first investigated extrasolar planets and, on November 4, 2010, it performed a close approach to the comet 103P/Hartley...
— US — comet 103P/Hartley103P/HartleyComet Hartley 2, designated as 103P/Hartley by the Minor Planet Center, is a small periodic comet with an orbital period of 6.46 years. It was discovered by Malcolm Hartley in 1986 at the Schmidt Telescope Unit, Siding Spring Observatory, Australia...
flyby (extended Deep Impact mission) — 2010 - Stardust/NExT — US — comet 9P/Tempel9P/TempelTempel 1 , is a periodic comet discovered by Wilhelm Tempel in 1867. It currently completes an orbit of the Sun every 5.5 years. Tempel 1 was the target of the Deep Impact space mission, which photographed a deliberate high-speed impact upon the comet in 2005...
flyby (extended Stardust mission) — 2011 - Dawn — US launched on September 27, 2007 — now orbiting Vesta4 VestaVesta, formally designated 4 Vesta, is one of the largest asteroids, with a mean diameter of about . It was discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers on March 29, 1807, and is named after the Roman virgin goddess of home and hearth, Vesta....
in 2011, and intended to orbit Ceres in 2015.
Solar observation probes
- Ulysses — Solar particles and fields
- GenesisGenesis (spacecraft)The Genesis spacecraft was a NASA sample return probe which collected a sample of solar wind and returned it to Earth for analysis. It was the first NASA sample return mission to return material since the Apollo Program, and the first to return material from beyond the orbit of the Moon...
— First solar wind sample return mission, 2001–2004 (crash) - Interstellar Boundary ExplorerInterstellar Boundary ExplorerInterstellar Boundary Explorer is a NASA satellite that will make the first map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space. The mission is part of NASA's Small Explorer program. The IBEX satellite was launched with a Pegasus-XL rocket on October 19, 2008, at 17:47:23 UTC...
(IBEX) — launched October 19, 2008. - Advanced Composition ExplorerAdvanced Composition ExplorerAdvanced Composition Explorer is a NASA space exploration mission being conducted as part of the Explorer program to study matter in situ, comprising energetic particles from the solar wind, the interplanetary medium, and other sources. Real-time data from ACE is used by the Space Weather...
— Solar particles and fields observation at Earth-Sun point - STEREOSTEREOSTEREO is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth...
— Pair of probes in solar orbits providing 3D observations of sun
Other solar system probes
- Zond programZond programZond was the name given to two distinct series of Soviet unmanned space program undertaken from 1964 to 1970. The first series based on 3MV planetary probe was intended to gather information about nearby planets...
— USSR flyby missions to the MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, VenusVenusVenus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
, and MarsMarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance... - Mariner programMariner programThe Mariner program was a program conducted by the American space agency NASA that launched a series of robotic interplanetary probes designed to investigate Mars, Venus and Mercury from 1963 to 1973...
— US MercuryMercury (planet)Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
, Venus and MarsMarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
flybys - MESSENGERMESSENGERThe MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging space probe is a robotic NASA spacecraft in orbit around the planet Mercury. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II rocket in August 2004 to study the chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field of Mercury...
— US Mercury orbiter, launched 2004 - New HorizonsNew HorizonsNew Horizons is a NASA robotic spacecraft mission currently en route to the dwarf planet Pluto. It is expected to be the first spacecraft to fly by and study Pluto and its moons, Charon, Nix, Hydra and S/2011 P 1. Its estimated arrival date at the Pluto-Charon system is July 14th, 2015...
— US launched on January 19, 2006 — First probe to visit PlutoPlutoPluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
(in July 2015)