When Rockets Fly

LISA

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 6

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope

🌍 Destination: Heliocentric Orbit

📍 Site: Europe's Spaceport, Kourou

Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, ESA’s planned 2035 three-spacecraft gravitational-wave observatory for detecting ripples in spacetime from massive cosmic events.

VERITAS

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: TBD (likely Atlas V or SLS)

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral

Will map Venus’s surface with high-resolution radar and spectroscopy to understand its tectonic history, volcanic processes, and atmospheric composition. Launch targeted mid-2031.

Ariel

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 6

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L2

📍 Site: Europe's Spaceport, Kourou

ESA exoplanet observatory planned for 2031. Ariel will survey the atmospheres of about a thousand exoplanets to study their chemistry, clouds, and weather.

DAVINCI

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral

DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) is a NASA mission that will plunge a probe into Venus’s atmosphere to analyze its composition and structure in detail.

EnVision

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 6

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Guiana Space Centre

EnVision is a planned ESA mission to study Venus’s atmosphere, surface, and internal structure. It will build on the legacy of missions like Venus Express and aims to better understand planetary evolution.

Venus Orbiter Mission (Shukrayaan-1)

ISRO

🚀 Vehicle: GSLV Mk II

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre

Shukrayaan-1 is India’s first mission to Venus, aimed at studying the planet’s surface and atmosphere. It will carry a suite of instruments to investigate volcanic activity, atmospheric chemistry, and solar interactions.

2030s Decade

The 2030s are expected to bring ambitious missions, including potential human landings on Mars, more lunar exploration, and expanded deep space science missions.

Tianwen-3

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 5

🛰 Mission: Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Wenchang Space Launch Site

Tianwen-3 is a planned Chinese mission to return samples from Mars to Earth. It will involve two launches and include both an orbiter and a lander that will collect surface material for return.

Tianwen-4

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 5

🛰 Mission: Flyby & Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Jupiter & Callisto

📍 Site: Wenchang Space Launch Site

Tianwen-4 is a planned Chinese mission to explore the Jupiter system. It will include a flyby and possible orbiter aimed at studying Jupiter and its moon Callisto, possibly with the goal of landing in the future.

Comet Interceptor

ESA & JAXA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 6

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Comet (TBD)

📍 Site: Guiana Space Centre

Comet Interceptor is a mission to intercept a long-period comet or interstellar object. It will remain in space until a suitable target is found, at which point it will execute a high-speed flyby to gather first-time data.

Artemis V

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: SLS Block 1B / Orion

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight & Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

Crewed lunar surface mission targeted for late 2028, expected to continue Artemis south-pole exploration and begin broader buildout toward a sustained lunar presence.

Dragonfly

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon Heavy

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Titan

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral

A dual-quadcopter lander to explore Titan’s surface and chemistry; first powered aircraft to operate off Earth. Launch is planned for July 2028.

DESTINY+

JAXA

🚀 Vehicle: H3

🛰 Mission: Flyby & Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Phaethon & Interplanetary Space

📍 Site: Tanegashima Space Center

JAXA's DESTINY+ is now targeting a Japanese fiscal year 2028 launch as a rideshare with ESA's RAMSES on an H3 rocket. The revised mission will fly by Apophis first, then continue toward a Phaethon flyby in the 2030 timeframe while demonstrating deep-space electric-propulsion operations.

Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX)

JAXA & ISRO

🚀 Vehicle: H3

🛰 Mission: Lander & Rover

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Tanegashima Space Center

Joint JAXA-ISRO lunar south-pole lander and rover planned no earlier than 2028. LUPEX will investigate the quantity, quality, and distribution of lunar water resources.

Artemis IV

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: SLS Block 1B / Orion

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight & Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

Crewed lunar surface mission targeted for early 2028. Artemis IV will send astronauts to lunar orbit, where two crew members are planned to descend near the Moon’s south pole.

Chang’e 8

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 5

🛰 Mission: Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Wenchang Satellite Launch Center

Technology‑testing mission aimed at supporting future lunar base and ISRU operations on the south pole.

MBR Explorer

UAESA

🚀 Vehicle: Undisclosed

🛰 Mission: Flyby & Asteroid Exploration

🌍 Destination: Asteroid Belt

📍 Site: Undisclosed

MBR Explorer is a planned mission by the UAE to explore seven asteroids in the main belt. It will include a close flyby of the asteroid Justitia and aims to advance scientific understanding of asteroid composition and origins.

Rosalind Franklin (ExoMars Rover)

ESA & NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon Heavy

🛰 Mission: Rover

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

ESA's Rosalind Franklin rover is being rebuilt for a no-earlier-than-late-2028 launch with NASA support, including the launch service, braking engines, heater units and instrument contributions. It will search for biosignatures below the Martian surface using a two-meter drill.

Xihe-2 / Lagrange-V Solar Observatory

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 3B

🛰 Mission: Solar Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun (Polar Orbit)

📍 Site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center

China's Xihe-2, also called the Lagrange-V Solar Observatory, entered development after CNSA approval in late 2025 and is planned for a 2028-2029 launch to the Sun-Earth L5 point for solar-eruption and space-weather monitoring.

Artemis III

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: SLS Block‑1OrionStarship HLS

🛰 Mission: Crewed Test Flight & Rendezvous and Docking

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

NASA now describes Artemis III as a 2027 low-Earth-orbit mission to test Orion rendezvous and docking operations with one or both commercial lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin. A later Artemis mission is expected to attempt the first crewed lunar landing of the program.

PLATO

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 6

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L2

📍 Site: Europe's Spaceport, Kourou

ESA exoplanet mission planned for January 2027. PLATO will use 26 cameras to find and characterize terrestrial planets around bright stars, including worlds in habitable-zone orbits.

Starship HLS (Human Landing System)

SpaceX & NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Starship HLS

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site:

SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System remains NASA's lunar-lander architecture for Artemis, but its near-term role has shifted toward uncrewed demonstrations and docking/proximity-operations testing needed before a later crewed surface landing.

Martian Moons eXploration (MMX)

JAXA

🚀 Vehicle: H3

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Phobos & Mars

📍 Site: Tanegashima Space Center

JAXA's Martian Moons eXploration spacecraft has been delivered to Tanegashima for final testing ahead of a Japanese fiscal year 2026 launch. MMX will study Phobos and Deimos, land on Phobos, and return more than 10 grams of sample material to Earth around 2031.

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon Heavy

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L2

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center

Wide-field infrared observatory targeting launch as soon as early September 2026 and no later than May 2027. Roman will study dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics.

Chang’e 7

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 5

🛰 Mission: Orbiter, Lander, Rover & Probe

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Wenchang Space Launch Site

Chang'e 7 is scheduled for the second half of 2026. The mission will combine an orbiter, lander, rover and hopping probe to survey the lunar south pole and directly investigate water ice in permanently shadowed craters.

You are here

This marker represents the current moment in space exploration history.

Artemis II

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: SLS Block 1

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

Artemis II launched on April 1, 2026 and returned on April 10 after carrying four astronauts around the Moon. It was the first crewed flight of NASA's SLS-Orion system and the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo.

ESCAPADE

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: New Glenn

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station LC-36

NASA's twin ESCAPADE orbiters launched on Blue Origin's New Glenn on Nov. 13, 2025. They will loiter near Earth before a 2026 gravity assist sends them toward Mars to study how solar wind drives atmospheric escape.

Starship Flight Test 11

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Starship / Super Heavy

🛰 Mission: Flight Test & Reusable Launch System

🌍 Destination: Suborbital

📍 Site: Starbase, Texas

Eleventh integrated Starship flight and final Block 2 Starship test. Super Heavy and Ship completed planned splashdowns, with payload deployment and reentry demonstrations informing the next-generation Starship design.

Carruthers Geocorona Observatory

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Earth Observation & Heliophysics

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L1

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

Rideshare with IMAP that observes ultraviolet emissions from Earth’s exosphere and geocorona, improving understanding of how the outer atmosphere responds to solar activity.

IMAP

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Heliophysics

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L1

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, sent to L1 to map the boundary of the heliosphere and study energetic particles from the Sun to interstellar space.

SWFO-L1

NOAA & NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Space Weather

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L1

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

NOAA Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 observatory, launched with IMAP to monitor solar wind and coronal mass ejections for operational space-weather forecasting.

Starship Flight Test 10

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Starship / Super Heavy

🛰 Mission: Flight Test & Reusable Launch System

🌍 Destination: Suborbital

📍 Site: Starbase, Texas

Tenth integrated Starship flight. The vehicle completed major objectives including a Starlink mass-simulator deployment demonstration, engine relight testing and controlled splashdowns after a run of upper-stage failures.

NISAR

NASA & ISRO

🚀 Vehicle: GSLV Mark II

🛰 Mission: Earth Observation

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre

NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission, designed to scan nearly all of Earth’s land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days to track environmental change and natural hazards.

Tianwen-2

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 3B

🛰 Mission: Sample Collection & Flyby

🌍 Destination: 469219 Kamoʻoalewa (asteroid) & 311P/PANSTARRS (comet)

📍 Site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center

China's Tianwen-2 launched on May 28, 2025 to collect samples from near-Earth asteroid Kamoʻoalewa and later continue to main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS, a decade-long asteroid-and-comet exploration mission.

Starship Flight Test 9

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Starship / Super Heavy

🛰 Mission: Flight Test & Reusable Launch System

🌍 Destination: Suborbital

📍 Site: Starbase, Texas

Ninth integrated Starship flight and first reuse of a Super Heavy booster. The booster was lost during its landing burn and Ship did not complete its planned launch and reentry objectives, prompting an FAA mishap investigation.

Fram2

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Crew Dragon

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC‑39A

First private crewed polar orbital mission. Launched with four civilians on April 1, 2025, it conducted scientific observations over Earth's poles and landed in the Pacific on April 4.

PUNCH

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Solar Observatory

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Vandenberg Space Force Base SLC-4E

Constellation of four small satellites launched with SPHEREx to image the Sun’s outer atmosphere and trace how the corona becomes the solar wind.

SPHEREx

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Vandenberg Space Force Base SLC-4E

Near-infrared space telescope making an all-sky spectral survey to study cosmic inflation, galaxy history, and the distribution of water and organic molecules in the Milky Way.

Starship Flight Test 8

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Starship / Super Heavy

🛰 Mission: Flight Test & Reusable Launch System

🌍 Destination: Suborbital

📍 Site: Starbase, Texas

Eighth integrated Starship flight. Super Heavy was caught again at Starbase, but the Ship upper stage lost attitude control after engine failures and broke up before completing its planned suborbital profile.

IM-2 (Nova-C)

Intuitive Machines

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

Intuitive Machines' IM-2 Athena lander launched with NASA's PRIME-1 payload and touched down near Mons Mouton on March 6, 2025. The lander ended up on its side inside a crater and the surface mission ended early after returning limited data.

Lunar Trailblazer

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

NASA's Lunar Trailblazer launched as a rideshare with IM-2 to map water on the Moon. Controllers lost contact the day after launch, and NASA ended the mission on July 31, 2025 after recovery attempts failed.

Starship Flight Test 7

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Starship / Super Heavy

🛰 Mission: Flight Test & Reusable Launch System

🌍 Destination: Suborbital

📍 Site: Starbase, Texas

Seventh integrated Starship flight and first Block 2 Ship test. Super Heavy was caught by the launch tower, but the Ship upper stage was lost during ascent after an internal failure.

Blue Ghost Mission 1

Firefly Aerospace

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 1 launched Jan. 15, 2025 and landed upright in Mare Crisium near Mons Latreille on March 2. It completed more than 14 days of lunar surface operations for NASA's CLPS program.

Proba-3

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: PSLV-XL

🛰 Mission: Technology Demonstration & Solar Observatory

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre

Two-spacecraft precision formation-flying mission that creates artificial solar eclipses in orbit, allowing extended observations of the Sun’s faint corona.

Starship Flight Test 6

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Starship / Super Heavy

🛰 Mission: Flight Test & Reusable Launch System

🌍 Destination: Suborbital

📍 Site: Starbase, Texas

Sixth integrated Starship flight. SpaceX skipped the planned tower catch and splashed Super Heavy down in the Gulf of Mexico, while Ship completed a daylight Indian Ocean splashdown and performed Starship's first in-space Raptor relight.

Europa Clipper

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon Heavy

🛰 Mission: Flyby & Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Jupiter & Europa

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

NASA's Europa Clipper launched on Oct. 14, 2024, aboard Falcon Heavy. It will reach Jupiter in April 2030 and perform 49 close flybys of Europa to assess whether the icy moon has conditions suitable for life.

Starship Flight Test 5

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Starship/Super Heavy

🛰 Mission: Test Flight

🌍 Destination: Suborbital Space

📍 Site: Starbase, Texas

The fifth integrated Starship flight demonstrated the first catch of a returning Super Heavy booster by the launch tower while Ship completed its suborbital profile and splashed down in the Indian Ocean.

Hera

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Asteroid Exploration

🌍 Destination: Didymos & Dimorphos

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

ESA's Hera planetary-defense spacecraft launched successfully on Oct. 7, 2024. It is travelling to the Didymos-Dimorphos binary asteroid system to survey the effects of NASA's DART impact and help turn asteroid deflection into a repeatable technique.

Polaris Dawn

SpaceX & Polaris Program

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

Privately funded mission led by Jared Isaacman. Reached 1,408 km altitude, conducted medical experiments and performed the first all‑civilian EVA.

Starship Flight Test 4

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Starship/Super Heavy

🛰 Mission: Test Flight

🌍 Destination: Suborbital Space

📍 Site: Starbase, Texas

The fourth integrated Starship flight completed its ascent, hot staging and both planned splashdown demonstrations. Super Heavy splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico and Ship survived reentry to splash down in the Indian Ocean.

Chang'e 6

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 5

🛰 Mission: Lander & Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Wenchang Space Launch Site

Chang'e 6 launched on May 3, 2024, landed in Apollo Basin on the Moon's far side, and returned the first-ever samples from the lunar far side to Earth.

Queqiao-2

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 8

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon Orbit

📍 Site: Wenchang Space Launch Site

Queqiao-2 is a lunar communications relay satellite launched to support future missions on the far side of the Moon, including Chang'e 6 and Chang'e 7.

Starship Flight Test 3

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Starship/Super Heavy

🛰 Mission: Test Flight

🌍 Destination: Suborbital Space

📍 Site: Starbase, Texas

The third integrated flight test of Starship reached near-orbital speeds but ended prematurely during reentry. It demonstrated key progress in orbital flight objectives.

IM-1 (Nova-C)

Intuitive Machines

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

IM-1, also known as Nova-C, was Intuitive Machines’ first lunar lander mission. It successfully landed near the lunar south pole as part of NASA's CLPS initiative.

PACE

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Earth Observation

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-40

Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem mission. PACE studies ocean color, aerosols, clouds, air quality, and how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon.

Peregrine Mission One

Astrobotic

🚀 Vehicle: Vulcan Centaur

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

Peregrine Mission One was Astrobotic's attempt to deliver payloads to the Moon under NASA’s CLPS program. The mission suffered a propulsion failure shortly after launch.

Starship Orbital Test Flight 2

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Starship Super Heavy

🛰 Mission: Test Flight

🌍 Destination: Orbital Trajectory

📍 Site: Starbase, Texas

Second integrated Starship flight. Achieved stage separation, but both stages were lost before completing planned objectives.

Psyche

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon Heavy

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: 16 Psyche (asteroid)

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

NASA’s Psyche mission is en route to a metallic asteroid, 16 Psyche, to study its composition and better understand planetary cores.

SLIM

JAXA

🚀 Vehicle: H-IIA 202

🛰 Mission: Lander & Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Tanegashima Space Center

JAXA's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon launched with XRISM in September 2023 and achieved Japan's first soft lunar landing in January 2024, demonstrating high-precision landing despite ending up in an unusual attitude.

Aditya-L1

ISRO

🚀 Vehicle: PSLV-XL

🛰 Mission: Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L1

📍 Site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre

India's first solar observatory launched successfully in September 2023 and was inserted into its halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 point in January 2024 to study the corona, solar wind and space weather.

Luna 25

Roscosmos

🚀 Vehicle: Soyuz-2.1b / Fregat

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Vostochny Cosmodrome

Luna 25 was Russia’s first post-Soviet lunar mission, aimed at landing near the Moon’s south pole. It crashed during descent.

Chandrayaan-3

ISRO

🚀 Vehicle: LVM3-M4

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre

Chandrayaan-3 successfully delivered the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover to the Moon, making India the first country to land near the lunar south pole.

Euclid

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L2

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-40

ESA space telescope mapping billions of galaxies across more than a third of the sky to investigate dark matter, dark energy, and the expansion history of the universe.

Starship Orbital Test Flight 1

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Starship Super Heavy

🛰 Mission: Test Flight

🌍 Destination: Suborbital

📍 Site: Starbase, Texas

First fully integrated launch of Starship and Super Heavy. Vehicle lost control after stage separation and was terminated by flight termination system.

JUICE

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 5 ECA+

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Jupiter, Ganymede, Callisto & Europa

📍 Site: Guiana Space Centre ELA‑3

ESA's JUICE spacecraft launched successfully on April 14, 2023. It is cruising toward the Jupiter system, where it will study Europa, Callisto and Ganymede before entering orbit around Ganymede in the 2030s.

Hakuto-R Mission 1

ispace

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-40

Hakuto-R Mission 1 was a private Japanese lunar lander by ispace aiming to deliver payloads to the Moon. The mission failed during the landing attempt.

Shenzhou 15

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 2F

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Tiangong Space Station

📍 Site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

Fourth crewed mission to Tiangong, overlapping with Shenzhou 14 for the first crew handover.

Artemis 1

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Space Launch System (SLS)

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Test Flight

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

Artemis 1 was the first integrated flight of NASA’s SLS and Orion spacecraft, orbiting the Moon without crew as a test for future Artemis missions.

Danuri (KPLO)

KARI

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-40

Danuri, or Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), is South Korea’s first lunar mission to survey and map the Moon's surface.

CAPSTONE

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Electron / Photon

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Rocket Lab LC-1

CAPSTONE is a NASA mission to test and verify the stability of the lunar Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit intended for the future Gateway space station.

Shenzhou 14

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 2F

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Tiangong Space Station

📍 Site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

Third crewed mission to Tiangong, expanding the station's modules.

Axiom Mission 1

Axiom Space & SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9 Block 5

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: International Space Station

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

First private crewed mission to the ISS organized by Axiom Space and launched by SpaceX.

James Webb Space Telescope

NASA, ESA & CSA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 5

🛰 Mission: Space Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L2

📍 Site: Guiana Space Centre

The most powerful space telescope ever built, JWST observes in infrared to study the early universe, star and planet formation, and distant exoplanets.

DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Comet Exploration

🌍 Destination: Didymos & Dimorphos

📍 Site: Vandenberg SLC-4E

DART was the first mission to intentionally alter the motion of a celestial body. It impacted asteroid moonlet Dimorphos to test kinetic impact as a method of asteroid deflection.

Lucy

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V 401

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Asteroid Belt & Jupiter Trojans

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC‑41

On a 12-year mission to fly by eight asteroids (main-belt & Jupiter Trojans). Launched October 16 2021, already encountered Dinkinesh (2023) and Donaldjohanson (2025), heading to Trojan swarm in 2027+.

Shenzhou 13

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 2F

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Tiangong Space Station

📍 Site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

Second crewed mission to Tiangong, with Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu. It lasted 6 months.

Inspiration4

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9 Block 5

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

First all-civilian orbital spaceflight, commanded by Jared Isaacman and launched by SpaceX.

Shenzhou 12

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 2F

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Tiangong Space Station

📍 Site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

First crewed mission to the Chinese space station Tiangong, carrying Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo.

Ingenuity

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Carried by Perseverance Rover (Atlas V)

🛰 Mission: Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

Ingenuity made history as the first powered flight on another planet. Initially a tech demo, it completed dozens of flights, greatly exceeding its expected mission duration.

MOXIE

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Carried by Perseverance Rover (Atlas V 541)

🛰 Mission: Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) successfully demonstrated the production of oxygen from the Martian atmosphere, a crucial step for future human missions.

Chang’e 5

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 5

🛰 Mission: Sample Collection & Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Wenchang Space Launch Site

China's first lunar sample return mission since the 1970s, bringing back 1.73 kg of lunar material.

Mars 2020 (Perseverance)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V 541

🛰 Mission: Rover & Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

NASA's Mars 2020 mission delivered the Perseverance rover to Jezero Crater to collect samples and search for signs of ancient life.

Tianwen-1

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 5

🛰 Mission: Rover

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Wenchang Space Launch Site

China’s first independent Mars mission. Includes orbiter, lander, and rover (Zhurong).

Mars Hope

UAESA

🚀 Vehicle: H-IIA

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Tanegashima Space Center

Mars Hope is the United Arab Emirates' first interplanetary mission, designed to study Mars’ atmosphere and climate.

Crew Dragon Demo-2

SpaceX & NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9 Block 5

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight & Docking

🌍 Destination: International Space Station

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

First crewed flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon, carrying astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the ISS.

Solar Orbiter

ESA & NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V 411

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Sun

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

Solar Orbiter is a collaborative mission between ESA and NASA to study the Sun's poles and inner heliosphere up close.

Crew Dragon In-Flight Abort Test

SpaceX & NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9 Block 5

🛰 Mission: Test Flight

🌍 Destination: Suborbital

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

Demonstrated Crew Dragon’s launch escape system. Capsule safely separated mid-flight, paving way for human missions.

2020s Decade

The 2020s began with Artemis, Mars rovers, and increasing global and private investment in Moon, Mars, and beyond.

CHEOPS

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Soyuz-Fregat

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Europe's Spaceport, Kourou

ESA exoplanet observatory focused on high-precision measurements of known planets around bright nearby stars, helping determine their sizes and bulk densities.

Chandrayaan-2

ISRO

🚀 Vehicle: GSLV Mk III-M1

🛰 Mission: Orbiter, Lander & Rover

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre

Chandrayaan-2 aimed to study the lunar surface. The orbiter continues to function, but the Vikram lander failed during descent.

Starlink v0.9

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9 Block 5

🛰 Mission: Satellite

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-40

First major batch of 60 operational Starlink satellites, beginning the world's largest broadband satellite network.

Crew Dragon Demo-1

SpaceX & NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9 Block 5

🛰 Mission: Test Flight & Docking

🌍 Destination: International Space Station

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

First uncrewed test flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon to the International Space Station.

OneWeb Flight 1

OneWeb

🚀 Vehicle: Soyuz-ST-B

🛰 Mission: Satellite

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Guiana Space Centre ELS

First launch of six OneWeb satellites, initiating global broadband constellation.

Beresheet

SpaceIL

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-40

Beresheet was a privately funded Israeli lunar lander. It successfully entered lunar orbit but crash-landed during its landing attempt.

Chang'e 4

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 3B

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center

Chang'e 4 was the first mission to successfully soft-land on the far side of the Moon. It deployed the Yutu-2 rover and conducts geological and biological experiments.

BepiColombo

ESA & JAXA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 5 ECA

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mercury

📍 Site: Guiana Space Centre

BepiColombo is a joint ESA–JAXA mission to study Mercury with two orbiters: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter.

Parker Solar Probe

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta IV Heavy

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Sun

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-37B

The Parker Solar Probe is the closest spacecraft ever sent to the Sun. It studies the solar corona and solar wind to better understand space weather and the Sun's behavior.

Queqiao

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 4C

🛰 Mission: Satellite & Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Earth-Moon L2

📍 Site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center

Queqiao is a relay satellite positioned at Earth-Moon L2 to enable communications between Earth and the far side of the Moon for Chang'e missions.

InSight

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V 401

🛰 Mission: Rover

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Vandenberg SLC-3E

InSight is a robotic lander designed to study the interior structure and seismic activity of Mars. It deployed the first seismometer directly on the Martian surface.

TESS

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-40

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, designed to survey bright nearby stars for planets and provide prime targets for detailed follow-up by larger observatories.

Falcon Heavy Maiden Flight

SpaceX

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon Heavy

🛰 Mission: Test Flight

🌍 Destination: Heliocentric Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

First Falcon Heavy launch. Carried Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster into space as a dummy payload.

OSIRIS-REx

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V 411

🛰 Mission: Sample Collection & Flyby

🌍 Destination: Bennu (asteroid)

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

OSIRIS-REx was a NASA mission to collect a sample from asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth, contributing to our understanding of the early solar system.

BEAM

NASA & Bigelow Aerospace

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9

🛰 Mission: Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: International Space Station

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-40

BEAM was an experimental expandable habitat module sent to the ISS to test the feasibility of inflatable structures for future space missions.

ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter

ESA & Roscosmos

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-M / Breeze-M

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

The Trace Gas Orbiter studies trace gases in the Martian atmosphere, particularly methane, to understand potential biological or geological activity.

LISA Pathfinder

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Vega

🛰 Mission: Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L1

📍 Site: Europe's Spaceport, Kourou

Technology demonstrator for space-based gravitational-wave detection. It proved precision free-fall and laser metrology techniques needed for the future LISA observatory.

New Shepard 2

Blue Origin

🚀 Vehicle: New Shepard

🛰 Mission: Test Flight

🌍 Destination: Suborbital Space

📍 Site: Corn Ranch, Texas

This was the first successful vertical landing of Blue Origin’s New Shepard booster after a suborbital flight, marking a major milestone in reusable rocket technology.

DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Falcon 9 v1.1

🛰 Mission: Observatory

🌍 Destination: Deep Space

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-40

DSCOVR provides real-time solar wind data for space weather forecasting and captures images of Earth from deep space.

Hayabusa2

JAXA

🚀 Vehicle: H-IIA 202

🛰 Mission: Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Ryugu (asteroid)

📍 Site: Tanegashima Space Center

Hayabusa2 successfully traveled to asteroid Ryugu, collected samples, and returned them to Earth in 2020. It was a landmark in robotic sample-return technology.

PROCYON

JAXA

🚀 Vehicle: H-IIA 202

🛰 Mission: Flyby & Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Asteroid Belt

📍 Site: Tanegashima Space Center

PROCYON was a micro spacecraft intended to perform an asteroid flyby. It failed to leave Earth orbit due to propulsion issues but validated some deep-space navigation technologies.

Philae

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Delivered by Rosetta

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: 67P (comet) & Churyumov–Gerasimenko (comet)

📍 Site: 67P (comet)

Philae was the first spacecraft to land on a comet. It transmitted data from the surface of 67P, including analyses of its composition. Despite a rough landing, it provided groundbreaking scientific results.

Chang'e 5-T1

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 3C

🛰 Mission: Test Flight

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center

Chang'e 5-T1 was a test mission to validate technologies for sample return from the Moon, including re-entry and heat shielding.

Sentinel-1A

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Soyuz-2.1a / Fregat

🛰 Mission: Earth Observation

🌍 Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit

📍 Site: Guiana Space Centre ELS

First radar imaging satellite in ESA's Copernicus program. Provides all-weather Earth surface imaging.

Gaia

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Soyuz-STB / Fregat-MT

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope & Astrometry

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L2

📍 Site: Europe's Spaceport, Kourou

ESA astrometry mission that measured positions, motions, and properties of more than a billion stars, creating the most precise 3D map of the Milky Way.

Chang'e 3

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 3B

🛰 Mission: Lander & Rover

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center

Chang'e 3 was China's first lunar lander and deployed the Yutu rover, marking the first soft landing on the Moon since 1976.

MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V 401

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

MAVEN studies the upper atmosphere of Mars to understand how the planet lost its atmosphere and surface water over time.

Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission)

ISRO

🚀 Vehicle: PSLV-XL

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Planetary Science

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre

India's first interplanetary mission, making ISRO the fourth space agency to reach Mars and the first to do so on its maiden attempt.

Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan)

ISRO

🚀 Vehicle: PSLV-XL C25

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre

India’s first interplanetary mission, Mangalyaan studied the Martian surface and atmosphere. It made ISRO the fourth space agency to reach Mars.

Hisaki (SPRINT-A)

JAXA

🚀 Vehicle: Epsilon

🛰 Mission: Observatory

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Uchinoura Space Center

Hisaki is an ultraviolet space telescope observing the atmospheres and magnetospheres of planets, particularly focusing on Jupiter and Venus.

LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Minotaur V

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Wallops Flight Facility

LADEE studied the Moon's exosphere and dust environment, helping scientists understand surface-bound exospheres and how dust behaves in space.

IRIS (Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Pegasus XL

🛰 Mission: Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun

📍 Site: Vandenberg AFB

IRIS is a NASA space telescope focused on observing the Sun’s lower atmosphere to study how solar material moves, gathers energy, and heats up.

Van Allen Probes

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V 401

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

The Van Allen Probes (formerly RBSP) studied the radiation belts surrounding Earth to understand how solar activity affects space weather near our planet.

Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V 541

🛰 Mission: Rover

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

Curiosity is a car-sized rover that landed in Gale Crater to explore Mars’ climate and geology, and assess whether it ever had environmental conditions favorable for microbial life. It remains active today.

Fobos-Grunt

Roscosmos

🚀 Vehicle: Zenit-2SB

🛰 Mission: Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Phobos

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Fobos-Grunt was a Russian mission to return samples from the Martian moon Phobos. It failed to leave Earth orbit and re-entered the atmosphere in January 2012.

Yinghuo-1

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Zenit-2SB (with Fobos-Grunt)

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Yinghuo-1 was China’s first Mars probe, launched together with Russia's Fobos-Grunt. It was lost when the primary mission failed to escape Earth orbit.

GRAIL (Ebb and Flow)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7920H-10

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

GRAIL (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) consisted of two spacecraft that mapped the Moon’s gravitational field to understand its internal structure.

Juno

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V 551

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Jupiter

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

Juno is a NASA orbiter studying Jupiter’s atmosphere, magnetic field, and internal structure to better understand the gas giant's origin and evolution.

ARTEMIS-P2

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II (initial THEMIS launch)

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral (initial)

ARTEMIS-P2 followed its twin (P1) into lunar orbit to form a dual-satellite mission studying the Moon’s magnetic and plasma environment. Together, they provided critical data on solar wind interaction with the lunar surface.

Chang'e 2

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 3C

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Flyby

🌍 Destination: Moon & 4179 Toutatis (asteroid)

📍 Site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center

Chang'e 2 was a Chinese lunar orbiter that completed detailed mapping of the Moon before conducting a flyby of asteroid 4179 Toutatis, marking China's first deep-space encounter.

ARTEMIS-P1

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II (initial THEMIS launch)

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral (initial)

Originally part of the THEMIS constellation, ARTEMIS-P1 was repurposed to study the Moon’s magnetosphere. It became the first spacecraft to enter a stable lunar orbit from a Lagrange point.

PICARD

CNES

🚀 Vehicle: Dnepr

🛰 Mission: Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun

📍 Site: Dombarovsky

PICARD was a French solar observatory designed to study the Sun’s diameter, shape, and irradiance to improve models of solar variability and its impact on Earth’s climate.

IKAROS

JAXA

🚀 Vehicle: H-IIA 202

🛰 Mission: Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Interplanetary Space

📍 Site: Tanegashima Space Center

IKAROS was the first spacecraft to successfully demonstrate solar sail propulsion in interplanetary space. It deployed a 20-meter sail and used sunlight to generate thrust, pioneering low-cost, fuel-free space travel.

Akatsuki (Venus Climate Orbiter)

JAXA

🚀 Vehicle: H-IIA 202

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Tanegashima Space Center

Akatsuki is a Japanese Venus orbiter that studies the planet’s atmosphere, climate, and weather patterns. After an initial failure, it successfully entered orbit in 2015.

Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V 401

🛰 Mission: Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

SDO studies solar activity and its influence on space weather. It provides high-resolution images of the Sun and data to help understand solar variability and its impact on Earth.

2010s Decade

The 2010s saw private spaceflight growth, reusable rockets, and new missions to Mars, Pluto, and the asteroid belt.

WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7320-10

🛰 Mission: Observatory

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Vandenberg SLC-2W

WISE conducted an all-sky survey in infrared, discovering thousands of new objects including asteroids, brown dwarfs, and distant galaxies.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V 401

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

LRO mapped the Moon in high resolution, identifying potential landing sites for future missions and studying the lunar environment. It remains operational, continuing to return valuable scientific data.

Herschel Space Observatory

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 5 ECA

🛰 Mission: Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L2

📍 Site: Kourou ELA-3

The Herschel Space Observatory observed the far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths, helping scientists study star formation, galaxies, and the early universe.

Planck

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 5 ECA

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L2

📍 Site: Europe's Spaceport, Kourou

ESA observatory that mapped the cosmic microwave background with high precision, producing a landmark view of the early universe and its composition.

Kepler

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7925-10L

🛰 Mission: Exoplanet Search

🌍 Destination: Heliocentric Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

The Kepler space telescope monitored over 150,000 stars to detect Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone. It revolutionized our understanding of planetary systems by confirming thousands of exoplanets.

Chandrayaan-1

ISRO

🚀 Vehicle: PSLV-XL (C11)

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre

India’s first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1 orbited the Moon and released the Moon Impact Probe. It discovered water molecules on the lunar surface and helped establish ISRO’s capabilities in deep space exploration.

Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7920-H

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

Space observatory for the most energetic light in the universe. Fermi studies gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, cosmic rays, active galaxies, and other high-energy phenomena.

Chang'e 1

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 3A

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center

Chang'e 1 was China’s first lunar orbiter, marking the beginning of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. It mapped the lunar surface and tested deep-space tracking technologies.

Dawn

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7925H-9.5

🛰 Mission: Asteroid Exploration

🌍 Destination: Vesta & Ceres

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

Dawn was the first mission to orbit two extraterrestrial bodies, Vesta and Ceres, in the asteroid belt. It used ion propulsion to travel between them, providing unprecedented insights into early solar system formation.

SELENE (Kaguya)

JAXA

🚀 Vehicle: H-IIA 2022

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Tanegashima Space Center

SELENE, also known as Kaguya, was a Japanese lunar orbiter that conducted global mapping and gravity measurements to study the origin and evolution of the Moon.

Phoenix

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7925

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17A

Phoenix was a stationary lander that confirmed the presence of water ice beneath the Martian surface and studied Martian soil chemistry and climate.

STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7925-10L

🛰 Mission: Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

STEREO consists of two spacecraft that provided the first 3D views of the Sun and its coronal mass ejections, improving space weather forecasting.

Hinode

JAXA

🚀 Vehicle: Mu-5

🛰 Mission: Solar Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun

📍 Site: Uchinoura Space Center

Hinode is a solar observation satellite developed by JAXA in collaboration with NASA and ESA. It investigates the Sun’s magnetic fields and energy transport.

New Horizons

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V 551

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Pluto & Kuiper Belt

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

New Horizons performed the first flyby of Pluto in 2015, returning detailed images and data of the dwarf planet. It later explored a Kuiper Belt object, 486958 Arrokoth, continuing to expand our knowledge of the solar system's outer reaches.

Venus Express

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Soyuz-FG / Fregat

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Venus Express was ESA’s first mission to Venus, studying the atmosphere, clouds, and surface characteristics. It operated successfully for over 8 years.

Shenzhou 6

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 2F

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

China's second crewed spaceflight, carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng for a 5-day mission.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas V 401

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-41

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is equipped with a powerful camera and instruments to study Mars’ surface, climate, and subsurface. It has provided some of the highest resolution images of Mars ever captured.

Deep Impact

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7925

🛰 Mission: Impact

🌍 Destination: Tempel 1 (comet)

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

Deep Impact was a NASA mission that launched an impactor into comet Tempel 1 to study its composition. The collision created a crater and ejected material, allowing scientists to study the comet’s interior.

MESSENGER

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7925H

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mercury

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

MESSENGER was the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury. It conducted detailed mapping and analysis of the planet’s composition, magnetic field, and exosphere, significantly advancing our understanding of Mercury.

CSXT GoFast

CSXT

🚀 Vehicle: GoFast Rocket

🛰 Mission: Suborbital Spaceflight

🌍 Destination: Suborbital Space

📍 Site: Black Rock Desert, Nevada

The GoFast rocket, built by the Civilian Space eXploration Team, became the first amateur rocket to reach space, reaching an altitude of 116 km. It demonstrated the feasibility of civilian spaceflight.

Rosetta

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 5 G+

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: 67P (comet) & Churyumov–Gerasimenko (comet)

📍 Site: Guiana Space Centre ELA-3

Rosetta was the first spacecraft to orbit a comet. It traveled for over 10 years before arriving at Comet 67P, where it deployed the Philae lander and conducted close-up studies of the comet's nucleus and activity.

Shenzhou 5

CNSA

🚀 Vehicle: Long March 2F

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

China's first crewed spaceflight, carrying Yang Liwei into orbit.

SMART-1

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 5 G

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kourou ELA-3

SMART-1 was ESA's first mission to the Moon, testing solar-electric propulsion and conducting lunar science. It completed a successful lunar orbit and impact mission.

Spitzer Space Telescope

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7920H

🛰 Mission: Cosmology Satellite

🌍 Destination: Heliocentric Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

Infrared telescope that revealed early galaxy formation, exoplanets, and cosmic dust clouds.

Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7925H

🛰 Mission: Rover

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

Opportunity was designed for a 90-day mission but explored Mars for nearly 15 years. It provided key insights into past water activity on Mars before communication was lost in 2018.

Mars Exploration Rover Spirit

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7925

🛰 Mission: Rover

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17A

Spirit was one of two Mars Exploration Rovers sent to explore the Martian surface. It operated for over 6 years, far beyond its planned 90-day mission.

Mars Express

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Soyuz-FG / Fregat

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Mars Express is ESA’s first planetary mission, designed to study Mars' atmosphere, surface, and subsurface. It continues to operate and return valuable scientific data.

Hayabusa

JAXA

🚀 Vehicle: M-V rocket

🛰 Mission: Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Itokawa (asteroid)

📍 Site: Uchinoura Space Center

Hayabusa was the first mission to return samples from an asteroid. It landed on asteroid Itokawa, collected dust particles, and returned them to Earth in 2010, despite multiple technical issues.

STS-107 (Columbia)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Space Shuttle Columbia

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight & Scientific Research

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

Columbia disintegrated during reentry on Feb 1, 2003, due to wing damage from launch debris. All seven astronauts were lost.

INTEGRAL

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok DM-2

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

ESA gamma-ray observatory that observed violent cosmic events such as gamma-ray bursts, black holes, supernovae, and neutron stars across gamma-ray, X-ray, and visible wavelengths.

CONTOUR

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7425

🛰 Mission: Flyby & Comet Exploration

🌍 Destination: Encke (comet), Schwassmann–Wachmann (comet) & d'Arrest (comet)

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17A

The Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) was intended to fly by and study the nuclei of comets. Contact was lost after a planned rocket burn, likely due to disintegration.

Aqua

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7920-10L

🛰 Mission: Earth Observation

🌍 Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit

📍 Site: Vandenberg SLC-2W

Part of NASA’s Earth Observing System focused on water cycle measurements in oceans, atmosphere, and land.

Genesis

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7326

🛰 Mission: Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L1

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17A

Genesis collected solar wind particles to study the composition of the Sun. Though the return capsule crash-landed due to parachute failure, some samples were salvaged and provided valuable solar data.

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7425-10

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L2

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

Mapped tiny temperature differences in the cosmic microwave background, refining measurements of the universe’s age, contents, geometry, and early evolution.

2001 Mars Odyssey

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7925

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17A

Mars Odyssey was designed to detect water and shallow buried ice on Mars, and to study the planet’s radiation environment. It became the longest-operating Mars spacecraft in history.

Expedition 1

Roscosmos & NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Soyuz TM-31

🛰 Mission: Space Station

🌍 Destination: International Space Station

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-1/5

Expedition 1 was the first long-duration crew aboard the ISS. The crew spent over four months on the station, initiating continuous human presence in orbit that continues to this day.

2000s Decade

The 2000s focused on Mars exploration, expansion of the ISS, and growing international cooperation in space missions.

Terra (EOS AM-1)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas IIAS

🛰 Mission: Earth Observation

🌍 Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit

📍 Site: Vandenberg SLC-3E

Flagship NASA Earth Observing System satellite monitoring climate, land, atmosphere, and oceans.

XMM-Newton

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 5

🛰 Mission: Space Telescope

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Europe's Spaceport, Kourou

ESA’s flagship X-ray observatory, designed to study black holes, neutron stars, galaxy clusters, stellar activity, and other hot and extreme phenomena across the universe.

Chandra X-ray Observatory

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-93)

🛰 Mission: Cosmology Satellite

🌍 Destination: Highly Elliptical Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

NASA’s flagship X-ray observatory providing deep views of black holes, supernovae, and galaxy clusters.

Stardust

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7426

🛰 Mission: Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Wild 2 (comet)

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17A

Stardust collected samples from the coma of comet Wild 2 and returned them to Earth in 2006. It was the first mission to bring back cometary dust and interstellar particles.

Mars Polar Lander

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7425

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

Mars Polar Lander was designed to study the Martian south pole's climate and soil. Communication was lost during descent, likely due to premature engine shutdown, and the lander was never heard from again.

Mars Climate Orbiter

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7425

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17A

Mars Climate Orbiter was designed to study Martian weather and serve as a communications relay. It was lost due to a unit conversion error, causing it to enter the atmosphere at the wrong altitude.

International Space Station (ISS)

NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA & CSA

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K (Zarya Module)

🛰 Mission: Space Station

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

The ISS is a multinational space station that serves as a microgravity laboratory, observatory, and factory in low Earth orbit. Construction began in 1998 and continues with ongoing international cooperation.

International Space Station (Zarya Module)

Roscosmos & NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K

🛰 Mission: Space Station

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-81/23

The Zarya module was the first component of the International Space Station. Launched by Russia with U.S. funding, it provided initial power and propulsion. It marked the beginning of continuous human presence in space aboard the ISS.

Deep Space 1

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7326

🛰 Mission: Technology Demonstration & Flyby

🌍 Destination: Asteroid Belt, Borrelly (comet) & 9969 Braille (asteroid)

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17A

Deep Space 1 tested advanced technologies including ion propulsion. It successfully flew by asteroid 9969 Braille and later Comet Borrelly, returning valuable data from both encounters.

Nozomi

ISAS

🚀 Vehicle: M-V

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Uchinoura Space Center

Nozomi was Japan's first Mars mission, intended to study the Martian atmosphere and magnetic field. It suffered electrical failures and missed orbital insertion, ultimately being abandoned.

SPOT 4

CNES

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 4

🛰 Mission: Earth Observation

🌍 Destination: Sun

📍 Site: Guiana Space Centre ELA-2

SPOT 4 continued France's Earth observation program, providing high-resolution imagery for agriculture, forestry, and environmental monitoring. It included a new sensor for vegetation tracking.

Lunar Prospector

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Athena II

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-46

Lunar Prospector mapped the Moon’s surface composition and confirmed the presence of hydrogen at the lunar poles, indicating possible water ice. It was intentionally crashed into a crater at the end of the mission.

Cassini–Huygens

NASA, ESA & ASI

🚀 Vehicle: Titan IVB/Centaur

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Lander

🌍 Destination: Saturn

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-40

Cassini–Huygens was a landmark mission to Saturn. Cassini orbited Saturn and studied its rings and moons for 13 years, while the ESA-built Huygens probe landed on Titan, the first landing in the outer Solar System.

ACE (Advanced Composition Explorer)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7920

🛰 Mission: Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun (L1 Orbit)

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17A

ACE measures energetic particles from the Sun, the interplanetary medium, and galactic sources. It helps monitor space weather and continues to operate at the Sun-Earth L1 point.

HALCA (VSOP)

ISAS

🚀 Vehicle: M-V

🛰 Mission: Space Observatory

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Uchinoura Space Center

HALCA was the first space-based radio telescope dedicated to Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). It extended baseline distances by working in conjunction with ground-based observatories.

Mars Pathfinder

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7925

🛰 Mission: Lander & Rover

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

Mars Pathfinder delivered the Sojourner rover to the surface of Mars, marking the first successful rover mission. It tested key technologies and collected valuable data on the Martian atmosphere, geology, and surface conditions.

Mars 96

Roscosmos

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K/D-2

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Lander

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Mars 96 was a complex mission with an orbiter, landers, and penetrators. It failed to leave Earth orbit due to a fourth-stage malfunction and reentered over the Pacific Ocean shortly after launch.

Mars Global Surveyor

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7925

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17A

Mars Global Surveyor mapped the entire Martian surface and provided high-resolution imagery and topographic data. It operated successfully for nearly a decade and contributed significantly to our understanding of the Red Planet.

NEAR Shoemaker

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7925

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Lander

🌍 Destination: 433 Eros (asteroid)

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

NEAR Shoemaker became the first spacecraft to orbit and then land on an asteroid (433 Eros). It studied the asteroid's composition, morphology, and magnetic field, providing invaluable data on small Solar System bodies.

SOHO

ESA & NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas IIAS

🛰 Mission: Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun (L1 Orbit)

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-36B

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) studies the Sun's interior, atmosphere, and solar wind. It has provided continuous data on solar activity since its launch and discovered thousands of comets.

Orion 1

United States

🚀 Vehicle: Titan IV + IUS

🛰 Mission: Satellite

🌍 Destination: Geostationary Transfer Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral

First of the NRO’s Orion (aka Mentor) class intelligence satellites. Launched Nov 29, 1994, used for signals intelligence gathering.

WIND

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 7925

🛰 Mission: Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun (L1 Orbit)

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

WIND was launched to study solar wind and magnetospheric plasma. It plays a key role in the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics program and continues to operate at the Sun-Earth L1 point.

ETS-VI (Kiku-6)

NASDA

🚀 Vehicle: H-II

🛰 Mission: Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Geostationary Transfer Orbit

📍 Site: Tanegashima Space Center

ETS-VI was designed to demonstrate advanced satellite communication technologies and geostationary positioning. The mission failed due to a malfunction in the launch vehicle's second stage.

Clementine

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Titan II

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Vandenberg SLC-4W

Clementine mapped the lunar surface in multiple wavelengths and tested new spacecraft technologies. It provided strong evidence of water ice at the lunar poles.

Mars Observer

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Titan III

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-40

Mars Observer was intended to study the Martian surface, atmosphere, and magnetic field. Contact was lost just before orbital insertion, making the mission a failure.

Yohkoh

ISAS

🚀 Vehicle: Mu-3S-II

🛰 Mission: Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun (Earth Orbit)

📍 Site: Uchinoura Space Center

Yohkoh was a solar observatory that studied solar flares and coronal mass ejections. It provided continuous observations of the Sun’s X-ray emissions.

Ulysses

ESA & NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-41)

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Sun

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

Ulysses was a joint ESA-NASA mission to study the Sun's poles. Using a gravity assist from Jupiter, it entered a unique orbit to observe solar wind and the heliosphere from high solar latitudes.

Hubble Space Telescope

NASA & ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-31)

🛰 Mission: Space Observatory

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

The Hubble Space Telescope has provided some of the most detailed and iconic images of the universe ever captured. Launched in 1990, it continues to revolutionize astronomy through visible, ultraviolet, and near-infrared observations.

Hiten

ISAS

🚀 Vehicle: M-3SII

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Uchinoura Space Center

Hiten was Japan’s first lunar mission, designed to demonstrate new orbital techniques. It released a subsatellite, Hagoromo, and conducted aerobraking experiments in Earth's atmosphere.

1990s Decade

The 1990s expanded planetary science with missions like Galileo and Mars Pathfinder, and launched the Hubble Space Telescope.

COBE (Cosmic Background Explorer)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta II 6920

🛰 Mission: Cosmology Satellite

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Vandenberg SLC-2W

COBE measured the cosmic microwave background radiation and confirmed the Big Bang theory. Its data provided the first precise map of the early universe and earned a Nobel Prize in Physics.

Galileo

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Space Shuttle Atlantis / IUS

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Probe

🌍 Destination: Jupiter

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

Galileo was the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter. It studied the planet and its moons extensively, deployed an atmospheric probe into Jupiter, and discovered evidence of subsurface oceans on Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

Hipparcos

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 4

🛰 Mission: Space Observatory

🌍 Destination: Geostationary Transfer Orbit

📍 Site: Guiana Space Centre

Hipparcos was the first space-based astrometry mission. It accurately measured the positions, distances, and motions of more than 100,000 stars, revolutionizing our understanding of the Milky Way.

Magellan

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-30)

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

Magellan was a NASA mission to map the surface of Venus using synthetic aperture radar. It produced the most detailed images of Venus to date, revealing vast volcanic plains and tectonic features.

Phobos 2

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D-1

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Lander

🌍 Destination: Mars & Phobos

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Phobos 2 successfully orbited Mars and returned images of Phobos, but contact was lost just before lander deployment. It studied Mars's atmosphere and magnetic field.

Phobos 1

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D-1

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars & Phobos

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Phobos 1 was intended to study Mars and its moon Phobos, but a software error during cruise phase led to loss of communication before arrival.

Mir

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K

🛰 Mission: Space Station

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

The launch of the core module of Mir marked the beginning of the first modular space station. Mir became a symbol of long-duration space habitation and international cooperation.

STS-51-L (Challenger)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Space Shuttle Challenger

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after launch due to a solid rocket booster failure, tragically killing all seven astronauts aboard.

Suisei

ISAS

🚀 Vehicle: Mu-3S-II

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Halley's Comet

📍 Site: Kagoshima Space Center

Suisei was launched by Japan to observe Halley’s Comet. It carried a UV imager to study hydrogen corona and solar wind interactions.

Giotto

ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Ariane 1

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Halley's Comet

📍 Site: Guiana Space Centre

Giotto was the first European spacecraft to encounter a comet. It flew within 600 km of Halley's Comet in 1986, capturing the first close-up images of a comet nucleus.

Sakigake

ISAS

🚀 Vehicle: Mu-3S-II

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Halley's Comet

📍 Site: Kagoshima Space Center

Sakigake was Japan's first interplanetary probe. It studied the solar wind and magnetic fields around Halley’s Comet during a distant flyby.

Vega 2

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D-1

🛰 Mission: Flyby & Lander

🌍 Destination: Venus & Halley's Comet

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Vega 2 deployed a lander and balloon into Venus's atmosphere, followed by a flyby of Halley’s Comet. It delivered key data on both Venus and the comet’s environment.

Vega 1

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K/D-1

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Venus & Halley's Comet

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Vega 1 deployed a Venus lander and balloon probe, then continued on to fly by Halley's Comet in March 1986. It was part of an international effort to study the comet from multiple spacecraft.

STS-41-B (Challenger)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Space Shuttle Challenger

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

STS-41-B was notable for the first untethered spacewalk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). It deployed two satellites and marked the fourth flight of Challenger.

Venera 16

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D-1

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

A twin to Venera 15, Venera 16 completed radar mapping of Venus’s northern hemisphere. Together, they significantly advanced understanding of Venusian topography.

Venera 15

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D-1

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Venera 15 was equipped with a synthetic aperture radar to map the Venusian surface through dense clouds. It provided detailed images of the planet’s northern hemisphere.

IRAS

NASA, Netherlands & UK

🚀 Vehicle: Delta 3910

🛰 Mission: Space Observatory

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Vandenberg SLC-2W

IRAS was the first-ever space telescope to perform an all-sky survey in infrared. It discovered new comets, asteroids, and over 350,000 infrared sources, reshaping our view of the cold universe.

Salyut 7

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K

🛰 Mission: Space Station

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Salyut 7 was the last of the Salyut stations and served as a testbed for Mir. It hosted multiple crews and was famously repaired in orbit by Soyuz T-13 after a power failure in 1985.

Venera 14

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Lander

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Venera 14 deployed a lander to Venus's surface and transmitted atmospheric and surface composition data. It returned valuable information despite a failed soil sampler.

Venera 13

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K/D-1

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Venera 13 successfully landed on Venus and transmitted the first color images from its surface. It also analyzed soil samples and survived the harsh Venusian environment for 127 minutes.

STS-1 (Columbia)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Space Shuttle Columbia

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

The first orbital flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. Carried astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen. It marked the first time a crewed spacecraft was reused and landed like an aircraft.

1980s Decade

The 1980s brought the Space Shuttle era and major planetary missions such as Voyager’s continued journey through the solar system.

Venera 12

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Lander

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Venera 12 was part of the Soviet Venus exploration program. Its lander transmitted atmospheric data from Venus's surface, including pressure and temperature readings, although imaging systems failed.

Venera 11

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Lander

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Venera 11 deployed a lander that successfully reached the surface of Venus, where it returned atmospheric data despite camera failure during landing.

ISEE-3 / International Cometary Explorer (ICE)

NASA & ESA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta 2914

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Sun-Earth L1 & Giacobini–Zinner (comet)

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral SLC-17B

Originally placed at Earth–Sun L1 to study solar wind. Later renamed ICE and repurposed to intercept comet Giacobini–Zinner in 1985 — the first spacecraft to visit a comet.

Pioneer Venus 2

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-36A

Pioneer Venus 2 deployed four atmospheric probes into Venus' atmosphere to study its composition, pressure, temperature, and cloud structure.

Pioneer Venus 1

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC‑36A

Launched May 20, 1978 to study Venus’s atmosphere, clouds, and surface with 17 instruments; operated in orbit for 14 years until October 1992.

International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE)

NASA, ESA & UK

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas SLV‑3B + Centaur

🛰 Mission: Space Observatory

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC‑36B

Operated for 18 years, it was the first space telescope dedicated to ultraviolet astronomy, returning over 100 000 spectra of stars, galaxies, and solar system objects.

Salyut 6 (DOS‑5)

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

First dual-docking space station; supported long-term residency, international crews, and resupply via Progress—set the foundation for Mir and ISS.

Voyager 1

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Titan IIIE

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Jupiter, Saturn & Interstellar Space

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC‑41

Launched Sept 5, 1977, Voyager 1 performed flybys of Jupiter (1979) and Saturn (1980), then entered interstellar space in 2012. It carries the famous Golden Record and continues to transmit data.

Voyager 2

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Titan IIIE

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Interstellar Space

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-41

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to visit all four giant planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. It conducted groundbreaking flybys and continues to send data from interstellar space.

Luna 24

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Lander & Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Luna 24 was the last mission in the Soviet Luna program. It successfully returned 170 grams of lunar soil to Earth from the Mare Crisium region.

Salyut 5 (OPS‑3)

Soviet Union (Almaz)

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K

🛰 Mission: Scientific Research

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/23

Final Almaz military station; hosted two crewed Soyuz visits and conducted surveillance, scientific experiments until deorbit in August 1977.

Helios-B

NASA & West Germany

🚀 Vehicle: Titan IIIE Centaur

🛰 Mission: Probe & Solar Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun (Heliocentric Orbit)

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-41

Helios-B was the second of two probes designed to study solar wind, magnetic fields, and solar particles. It approached closer to the Sun than any spacecraft before it.

Viking 2

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Titan IIIE Centaur

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Lander

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-41

Viking 2 consisted of an orbiter and a lander. It studied the Martian atmosphere and surface, conducted biological experiments, and captured detailed surface imagery.

Viking 1

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Titan IIIE / Viking

🛰 Mission: Lander & Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC‑41

First successful Mars lander, touched down July 20 1976 at Chryse Planitia. Returned surface images and scientific data for over 6 years.

Apollo–Soyuz Test Project

NASA & Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn IB + Soyuz 19

🛰 Mission: Docking

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC‑39B / Baikonur

First international human space mission: an Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft docked on July 17 1975. Crews conducted joint experiments and shared symbolic gestures, marking a milestone of détente in the space race.

Venera 10

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Lander

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Venera 10 included both an orbiter and a lander. The lander successfully touched down on Venus, sending back data and images of the surface for 65 minutes.

Venera 9

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton‑K/D

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Lander

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/24

Included an orbiter (first to orbit Venus) and a lander (first to return images from another planet’s surface). Lander touched down Oct 22 1975 and transmitted ~53 min of data and photos.

Salyut 4 (DOS‑4)

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton

🛰 Mission: Scientific Research

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome LC‑81/24

Civilian DOS-era station with three successful crewed visits; hosted scientific instruments including solar and X‑ray telescopes.

Helios-A

NASA & West Germany

🚀 Vehicle: Titan IIIE Centaur

🛰 Mission: Probe & Solar Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun (Heliocentric Orbit)

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-41

Helios-A was a solar probe developed by NASA and West Germany to study solar wind, magnetic fields, cosmic rays, and solar particles from close to the Sun.

Luna 23

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Lander & Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Luna 23 was intended to return lunar soil samples, but it crash-landed and was unable to carry out its mission. It remained in contact for a few days after landing.

Salyut 3 (OPS‑2)

Soviet Union (Almaz)

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K

🛰 Mission: Scientific Research

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Second Almaz station and first successfully launched military station; conducted reconnaissance and even featured an onboard cannon.

Luna 22

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Luna 22 was a lunar orbiter mission designed to study the Moon's magnetic field, gravitational anomalies, surface composition, and micrometeorite environment.

Skylab 4

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn IB

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Skylab

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

Third and final crewed Skylab mission, crewed by Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson, and William Pogue. It lasted 84 days.

Mariner 10

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas SLV-3D + Centaur-D1A

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Venus & Mercury

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC‑36B

First spacecraft to fly by two planets—Venus (Feb 1974) and Mercury (Mar 1974–Sep 1975). It imaged ~45% of Mercury’s surface and studied solar wind effects on both planets.

Mars 7

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Lander & Probe

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Mars 7 was intended to deliver a lander to Mars, but due to a malfunction, the lander missed the planet and entered solar orbit. It did not return useful data.

Mars 6

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Lander, Orbiter & Probe

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Mars 6 was part of the Soviet Mars program. The lander entered the Martian atmosphere and began transmitting data, but contact was lost shortly before touchdown.

Skylab 3

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn IB

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Skylab

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

Second crewed mission to Skylab space station, with astronauts Alan Bean, Owen Garriott, and Jack Lousma.

Mars 5

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Mars 5 successfully entered orbit and transmitted detailed images and atmospheric data from Mars. However, it suffered a depressurization and only operated for a few days.

Mars 4

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Flyby & Probe

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Mars 4 was intended to go into orbit around Mars, but a failure in its onboard computer caused it to perform a flyby instead. It returned some data on the planet’s atmosphere and surface.

Explorer 49

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta 1913

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Space Observatory

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-17B

Explorer 49 was a radio astronomy satellite placed into lunar orbit. It was designed to study low-frequency radio emissions from space without interference from Earth’s ionosphere.

Skylab 2

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn IB

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Skylab

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39B

First crewed mission to Skylab. The crew repaired launch damage and began scientific operations aboard the station.

Skylab 1

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn V

🛰 Mission: Space Station

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

Launch of the Skylab space station, the first space station operated by the United States.

Pioneer 11

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur

🛰 Mission: Flyby & Probe

🌍 Destination: Jupiter, Saturn & Interplanetary Space

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-36B

Pioneer 11 was the first spacecraft to encounter Saturn and the second to fly by Jupiter. It provided valuable data on both planets and continued transmitting as it headed toward interstellar space.

Salyut 2 (OPS‑1)

Soviet Union (Almaz/Salyut)

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K

🛰 Mission: Space Station

🌍 Destination: Low Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/23

First Almaz military space station launched; depressurized shortly after orbit insertion and reentered May 28 1973 with no crew visit.

Lunokhod 2

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Rover & Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-81/24

Lunokhod 2 was a Soviet lunar rover that operated for about four months, traveling over 37 km on the Moon’s surface and transmitting thousands of images and soil analysis results.

Apollo 17

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn V

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight, Lander, Rover & Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

Apollo 17 was the final Apollo Moon landing. It included the longest lunar surface stay, extensive geological exploration using a rover, and returned 110 kg of samples. It also carried the only professional geologist to the Moon.

Small Astronomy Satellite 2 (SAS 2)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Scout D-1

🛰 Mission: Space Observatory

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: San Marco (Kenya)

SAS 2 (Explorer 48) was NASA’s first high-resolution gamma‑ray telescope in orbit, surveying celestial gamma sources between 20 and 300 MeV. It operated until June 1973.

Landsat 1

NASA & USGS

🚀 Vehicle: Delta 900

🛰 Mission: Earth Observation

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base SLC-2W

Launched as ERTS-1, Landsat 1 was the first satellite dedicated to monitoring Earth’s land surfaces and began the longest-running continuous Earth-observation satellite program.

Apollo 16

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn V

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight, Lander, Rover & Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

Apollo 16 was the fifth mission to land humans on the Moon and the first to target the lunar highlands. It deployed a lunar rover and returned 95 kg of samples. The mission lasted 11 days and included three EVAs.

Venera 8

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M / Blok VL

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-31/6

Venera 8 was a Soviet mission to Venus that successfully transmitted data from the surface for 50 minutes. It confirmed that light levels on Venus were sufficient for surface photography and gathered atmospheric composition data.

Pioneer 10

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Jupiter & Interstellar Space

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-36A

Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt and make direct observations of Jupiter. It later became the first human-made object to leave the Solar System.

Luna 20

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Lander & Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-81/24

Luna 20 successfully landed in the Apollonius Highlands and returned 55 grams of lunar soil to Earth. It marked the Soviet Union's continued success with automated lunar sample return missions.

Luna 19

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Orbital Mapping

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-81/24

Luna 19 was an orbital mission by the Soviet Union designed to gather detailed data about the Moon's gravitational field, topography, and radiation environment. It helped improve lunar maps and assisted in the planning of future landing missions.

Luna 18

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Lander & Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-81/24

Luna 18 was a Soviet attempt to return lunar soil. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit but crashed into the Moon during descent due to navigational difficulties in the rugged terrain.

Apollo 15

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn V AS‑510

🛰 Mission: Crewed Landing

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC‑39A

Launched July 26, 1971; fourth lunar landing and first J‑class mission. Deployed Lunar Roving Vehicle and conducted extended scientific exploration.

Soyuz 11

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Soyuz 7K-OKS

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Salyut 1 Space Station

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Soyuz 11's crew successfully inhabited Salyut 1 but died during reentry due to cabin depressurization.

Mariner 9

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas SLV‑3C Centaur D

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC‑36B

First spacecraft to orbit Mars. Arrived Nov 1971 during a dust storm; mapped 85% of the Martian surface and imaged features like Olympus Mons.

Mars 3

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K/D

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Lander

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

First successful Mars lander—but communication failed shortly after touchdown. Orbiter broadcast data until 1972.

Mars 2

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K/D

🛰 Mission: Orbiter & Lander

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

First spacecraft to reach Mars—but lander failed upon descent due to crash. Orbiter operated for a short time returning data.

Salyut 1

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K

🛰 Mission: Space Station

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

First-ever space station, launched Apr 19, 1971. Hosted Soyuz crews before being decommissioned after tragic depressurization on re‑entry of Soyuz 11.

Apollo 14

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn V

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight, Lander & Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

Apollo 14 was the third mission to land humans on the Moon. Astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell explored the lunar surface while Stuart Roosa piloted the command module. The crew returned with 42.8 kilograms of lunar material.

Uhuru

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Scout B

🛰 Mission: Satellite

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: San Marco Platform, Kenya

First satellite dedicated to X‑ray astronomy. Launched Dec 12, 1970; mapped hundreds of X‑ray sources with proportional counters.

Lunokhod 1

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Luna 17

🛰 Mission: Rover

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

First successful remote-controlled rover on the Moon. Launched Nov 10, 1970; landed Nov 17, and traveled over 10 km gathering soil imagery and data.

Zond 8

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K / Blok D

🛰 Mission: Flyby & Return

🌍 Destination: Moon & Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-81/24

Zond 8 was part of the Soviet Zond program and made a circumlunar flight. It captured photographs of the Earth and Moon and successfully returned to Earth, landing in the Indian Ocean. It was the final mission in the Zond program.

Luna 16

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K/D

🛰 Mission: Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

First robotic probe to return a lunar sample to Earth. Launched Sept 12, 1970; soft–landed Sept 20 and returned soil in a sealed capsule.

Venera 7

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya‑M 8K78M

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

First successful landing on Venus’s surface and data transmission back to Earth. Launched Aug 17, 1970; landed Dec 15, 1970.

Apollo 13

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn V SA‑506

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC‑39A

Launched April 11, 1970; mission aborted after oxygen tank explosion in the service module. Crew safely returned on April 17. Famous line: “Houston, we’ve had a problem.”

1970s Decade

The 1970s saw continued lunar missions, the launch of space stations like Skylab, and the start of robotic exploration of the outer planets.

Apollo 12

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn V

🛰 Mission: Crewed Landing

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

Apollo 12 was the second crewed mission to land on the Moon. The crew performed two moonwalks and visited the Surveyor 3 probe.

Zond 7

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K

🛰 Mission: Flyby & Return

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Zond 7 flew around the Moon and returned safely to Earth with high-quality photographs. It was a successful test for future crewed lunar missions.

Apollo 11

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn V SA-506

🛰 Mission: Crewed Landing & Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

The first crewed Moon landing in history. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the lunar surface while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit. Armstrong’s words 'That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind' became iconic.

Luna 15

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K

🛰 Mission: Sample Collection

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Luna 15 was launched just before Apollo 11 with the goal of returning lunar soil to Earth. It crashed into the Moon during descent while Apollo 11 astronauts were still on the surface.

Apollo 10

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn V SA‑505

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC‑39A

A full-fledged 'rehearsal' for a lunar landing, Apollo 10 brought the LM within 15 km of the lunar surface over the Sea of Tranquility before safely returning. It included photography for Apollo 11 and validated all procedures up to powered descent.

Mariner 7

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-36A

Mariner 7 completed a flyby of Mars shortly after Mariner 6, providing complementary data on the atmosphere and surface.

Apollo 9

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn V

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

Apollo 9 tested the Lunar Module in Earth orbit, including docking, undocking, and crew transfer procedures.

Mariner 6

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-36B

Mariner 6 performed a successful flyby of Mars, returning images and data on the planet’s atmosphere and surface.

Soyuz 4 / Soyuz 5

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Soyuz 7K‑OK

🛰 Mission: Docking

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

First crewed Soviet docking mission: Soyuz 5 launched Jan 15 and docked with Soyuz 4 on Jan 16 via automated system. Crew transfer occurred manually before both safely returned.

Venera 6

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Venera 6 entered the Venusian atmosphere and transmitted atmospheric data for 51 minutes before being destroyed by pressure.

Venera 5

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya‑M 8K78

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 1/5

A follow-up to Venera 4, Venera 5 designed to transmit atmospheric data for 53 minutes while descending under a parachute. It measured pressure, temperature, and gas composition before succumbing to extreme Venusian conditions. It also carried commemorative medallions to Venus.

Apollo 8

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn V SA‑503

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC‑39A

First crewed spacecraft to leave Earth orbit and circle the Moon. Carried Borman, Lovell & Anders; orbited the Moon 10 times and captured the iconic Earthrise image.

Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D

🛰 Mission: Space Observatory

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-36B

Nicknamed “Stargazer,” OAO‑2 carried two ultraviolet telescopes and spectrometers, observing over 1,200 targets and heralding the era of space-based astronomy.

Zond 6

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Zond 6 completed a circumlunar trajectory and returned to Earth, but depressurization caused a failure during reentry, resulting in loss of the spacecraft.

Pioneer 9

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Thor-Delta E

🛰 Mission: Solar Observatory

🌍 Destination: Heliocentric Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-17B

Pioneer 9 monitored solar wind and magnetic fields in solar orbit. It provided early warnings for solar storms.

Apollo 7

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn IB

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-34

First crewed Apollo mission. Spent 11 days in Earth orbit testing the Command Module systems and communications.

Zond 5

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K/D (Soyuz 7K-L1)

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Interplanetary Space

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81

First spacecraft to circle the Moon and return living specimens (tortoises, insects, plants). Conducted scientific observations and safely re‑entered, splashing down in the Indian Ocean on Sep 21, 1968.

Luna 14

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Luna 14 entered lunar orbit and conducted gravitational and radiation measurements to support crewed missions.

Zond 4

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Proton-K

🛰 Mission: Test Flight

🌍 Destination: Interplanetary Space

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Zond 4 was an uncrewed lunar flyby test mission. It failed to return safely due to a guidance error during reentry.

Apollo 5

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn IB

🛰 Mission: Test Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-37B

First uncrewed flight of the Apollo Lunar Module. Successfully tested ascent and descent engine systems in space.

Surveyor 7

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-36A

Last of the Surveyor missions. Landed near the lunar highlands and provided critical data for Apollo landing site analysis.

Pioneer 8

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Thor-Delta E

🛰 Mission: Solar Observatory

🌍 Destination: Heliocentric Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-17B

Part of the Pioneer series for solar wind and magnetic field studies. It operated in a solar orbit outside Earth's magnetosphere.

Apollo 4

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Saturn V

🛰 Mission: Test Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Kennedy Space Center LC-39A

First test flight of the Saturn V rocket. Apollo 4 was an uncrewed mission that demonstrated the performance of the launch vehicle and heat shield.

Surveyor 6

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-36B

First spacecraft to lift off from the Moon after a soft landing; returned nearly 30,000 images and conducted soil analysis before ending operations in December 1967.

Cosmos 186 / Cosmos 188

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Soyuz 7K‑OK

🛰 Mission: Docking

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Paired Soviet unmanned Soyuz spacecraft that completed the first fully automated docking in orbit on Oct 30, 1967. Cosmos 186 launched on Oct 27 (active), followed by Cosmos 188 on Oct 30 (passive). They docked ~62 min later, stayed linked for ~3½ hrs, and splashed down separately.

Surveyor 5

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-36A

Surveyor 5 successfully landed on the Moon and conducted soil analysis using an alpha particle backscatter instrument.

Lunar Orbiter 5

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D

🛰 Mission: Orbital Mapping

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-13

Final mission in the Lunar Orbiter program, used to complete mapping of the Moon’s surface, including potential Apollo landing sites.

Explorer 35

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Thor-Delta E1

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-17B

Explorer 35 entered lunar orbit to study the Moon’s magnetic field, solar wind, and radiation environment. It provided valuable data on the space environment near the Moon.

Surveyor 4

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-36A

Surveyor 4 was intended to land in the Moon’s Sinus Medii region. Communication was lost just before touchdown, and the mission was considered a failure.

Mariner 5

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Agena D

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-12

Originally a backup for Mariner 4, Mariner 5 was repurposed for a Venus flyby. It collected vital atmospheric and surface pressure data, complementing Venera 4’s findings.

Venera 4

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Venera 4 became the first spacecraft to return direct atmospheric data from another planet. It entered Venus’ atmosphere and transmitted temperature, pressure, and composition readings before contact was lost.

Lunar Orbiter 4

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Agena D

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-13

Lunar Orbiter 4 was designed to provide broad coverage of the lunar surface, including the far side. It returned over 400 high-quality photographs, helping prepare for Apollo missions.

Soyuz 1

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Soyuz 7K-OK

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Soyuz 1 carried cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov. The mission ended in tragedy when the parachute failed during reentry, resulting in Komarov's death.

Surveyor 3

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-36A

Surveyor 3 landed on the Moon and conducted experiments on soil mechanics and surface conditions. Parts of it were famously retrieved by Apollo 12 astronauts in 1969.

Lunar Orbiter 3

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Agena D

🛰 Mission: Orbital Mapping

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-13

Lunar Orbiter 3 returned high-quality photos of potential Apollo landing sites and important topographical features. It also tested spacecraft tracking systems.

Luna 13

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Luna 13 made a successful soft landing on the Moon and transmitted panoramic photos and data on lunar surface density, temperature, and mechanical properties.

Lunar Orbiter 2

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Agena D

🛰 Mission: Orbital Mapping

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-13

Lunar Orbiter 2 captured detailed images of the Moon’s surface to identify potential Apollo landing sites. It famously photographed the Copernicus crater.

Luna 12

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Luna 12 successfully entered lunar orbit and returned high-resolution photographs of the Moon’s surface, including images of the Sea of Rains. It helped support future landing missions.

Surveyor 2

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-36A

Surveyor 2 was a follow-up to Surveyor 1 but failed to achieve a soft landing due to a failed mid-course correction. The spacecraft crashed into the Moon.

Luna 11

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Luna 11 successfully entered lunar orbit and conducted studies of the Moon’s surface, radiation environment, and micrometeorite flux. It also attempted to test a TV camera system.

Pioneer 7

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta E1

🛰 Mission: Solar Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-17A

Pioneer 7 was launched to a heliocentric orbit to study solar wind and cosmic rays. It successfully transmitted data for many years and remained in contact until 1995.

Lunar Orbiter 1

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas SLV‑3 Agena‑D

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC‑13

First American spacecraft to orbit the Moon, providing crucial photographs of landing sites for Apollo and Surveyor missions, as well as the first images of Earth from lunar orbit.

Explorer 33

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Thor-Delta E1

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-17A

Explorer 33 was intended to go into lunar orbit, but an overburn by the launch vehicle placed it into a highly elliptical Earth orbit instead. It still provided useful space environment data.

Surveyor 1

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Centaur

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-36A

Surveyor 1 was the first American spacecraft to achieve a soft landing on the Moon. It transmitted over 11,000 images and gathered valuable data on the lunar surface.

Luna 10

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya 8K78

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

First spacecraft to orbit the Moon, entering lunar orbit on April 3, 1966, and even broadcasting the ‘Internationale’ radio signal. It carried instruments for gamma‑ray, plasma, micrometeoroid, and magnetic field measurements.

Gemini VIII

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Titan II GLV

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight & Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-19

Neil Armstrong and David Scott achieved the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit with an Agena target vehicle, then safely recovered from a serious thruster malfunction.

Gemini‑Agena Target Vehicle

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Agena‑D (Atlas‑Agena)

🛰 Mission: Docking

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC‑14

Uncrewed Agena‑D upper stage outfitted as a docking target for Gemini 8. Launched about 6 hours before the crewed Gemini to practice orbital rendezvous and docking—the first-ever docking of two spacecraft in orbit.

Luna 9

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M 8K78M

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 31/6

First spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the Moon and transmit panoramic images of the lunar surface. Landed in Oceanus Procellarum on 3 February 1966 and continued transmitting data and pictures for several days.

Pioneer 6

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta E

🛰 Mission: Solar Observatory

🌍 Destination: Sun

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-17A

Pioneer 6 was the first of four identical spacecraft designed to study solar wind, cosmic rays, and solar magnetic fields in interplanetary space. It remained operational for decades.

Gemini 6A

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Titan II GLV

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-19

Flown by Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford, Gemini 6A performed the first crewed rendezvous in orbit, approaching within 30 cm of Gemini 7 during a ~1-day mission.

Gemini 7

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Titan II GLV

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-19

Crewed by Frank Borman and Jim Lovell, Gemini 7 spent 14 days in orbit—setting a duration record and serving as the target for Gemini 6A during the first rendezvous.

Luna 8

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Luna 8 was an attempt to achieve the first soft landing on the Moon, but it crash-landed due to a parachute deployment failure during descent.

Diamant A / A-1 (Astérix)

CNES

🚀 Vehicle: Diamant A

🛰 Mission: Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Hammaguir Test Centre, Algeria

First French orbital rocket and satellite launch; placed the A‑1 (Astérix) satellite into orbit, making France the third country to launch its own satellite. The mission tested the three‑stage rocket and marked France’s entry into independent space capability.

Venera 3

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya 8K78

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 31/6

First human-made object to reach the surface of another planet. Launched 16 November 1965; contact was lost en route, but the probe still impacted Venus on 1 March 1966, marking a major milestone in planetary exploration.

Venera 2

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Venera 2 was intended to perform a flyby of Venus and transmit scientific data, but it suffered a thermal failure and lost contact before it could return any data.

Luna 7

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Luna 7 attempted a soft landing on the Moon but crash-landed due to a malfunction during its descent phase.

Zond 3

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Moon & Deep Space

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Zond 3 conducted a successful lunar flyby and returned high-quality photographs of the Moon's far side. It then continued on a trajectory into deep space for long-duration communications testing.

Luna 6

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M

🛰 Mission: Lander

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Luna 6 missed the Moon due to a trajectory correction failure. It passed the Moon at a distance of about 160,000 km.

Gemini IV

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Titan II GLV

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-19

Four-day crewed Gemini mission by James McDivitt and Ed White. White performed the first American spacewalk, a key step toward later Apollo lunar operations.

Luna 5

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-M

🛰 Mission: Impact

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Luna 5 was intended to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, but due to a guidance failure, it crash-landed on the lunar surface.

Lincoln Calibration Sphere 1

United States

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas D

🛰 Mission: Satellite

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-13

LCS-1 was a passive satellite used as a radar calibration target for missile tracking systems. It helped refine satellite tracking and space object detection technologies.

Gemini 3

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Titan II GLV

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-19

Gemini 3 was the first crewed Gemini flight, piloted by Gus Grissom and John Young. It tested the spacecraft’s maneuverability and introduced orbital adjustments for the first time in a U.S. mission.

Ranger 9

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas LV-3 Agena-B

🛰 Mission: Impact

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-12

Ranger 9 was the final Ranger mission, transmitting more than 5,800 images of the Moon. Its impact was broadcast live on television, demonstrating the Moon's surface in real time.

Voskhod 2

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Voskhod

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Voskhod 2 is famous for carrying out the first spacewalk (EVA) by cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. The mission demonstrated extravehicular capabilities but faced challenges during reentry due to spacecraft control issues.

Ranger 8

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas LV-3 Agena-B

🛰 Mission: Impact

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-12

Ranger 8 transmitted over 7,000 high-resolution photographs of the Moon before impacting the lunar surface in Mare Tranquillitatis. Its images helped select the Apollo 11 landing site.

Zond 2

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya 8K78

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-1/5

Zond 2 was intended to fly by Mars and gather scientific data, but communication was lost before it could complete its mission. It likely flew past Mars silently in August 1965.

Mariner 4

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas LV-3 Agena-D

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-12

Mariner 4 was the first spacecraft to successfully fly by Mars and send back close-up images of another planet. It revolutionized understanding of the Martian surface and atmosphere.

Mariner 3

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas LV-3 Agena-D

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-13

Mariner 3 was a Mars flyby mission that failed due to a protective shroud not separating properly, preventing the spacecraft from achieving its planned trajectory.

Voskhod 1

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Voskhod

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Voskhod 1 was the first spaceflight to carry a multi-person crew. It flew without spacesuits to accommodate all three cosmonauts, and marked a major milestone in the space race by beating the U.S. Gemini program to multi-crew flight.

Syncom 3

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Delta D

🛰 Mission: Communications Satellite

🌍 Destination: Geostationary Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-17A

First communications satellite placed in geostationary orbit. Syncom 3 relayed television coverage of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games across the Pacific.

Ranger 7

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas LV-3 Agena-B

🛰 Mission: Impact

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-12

Ranger 7 was the first U.S. mission to transmit close-up photographs of the lunar surface back to Earth. It impacted the Moon successfully after sending over 4,000 images.

Zond 1

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya 8K78

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-1/5

Zond 1 was intended to be a Venus flyby mission. Shortly after launch, the spacecraft suffered a gradual depressurization and eventually lost communication before reaching Venus.

Ranger 6

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas LV-3 Agena-B

🛰 Mission: Impact

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-12

Ranger 6 successfully impacted the Moon, but failed to return any images due to a camera system malfunction. It was meant to transmit high-resolution images before impact.

Cosmos 21

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-L 8K78

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-1/5

Believed to be an attempted lunar orbiter, Cosmos 21 failed to leave Earth orbit due to a malfunction in the upper stage. It reentered Earth's atmosphere shortly after launch.

X-15 Flight 90

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: North American X-15

🛰 Mission: Suborbital Spaceflight

🌍 Destination: Suborbital Space

📍 Site: Edwards Air Force Base

Flown by pilot Joseph A. Walker, X-15 Flight 90 reached an altitude of 106 km (66 miles), qualifying as a spaceflight by U.S. standards. It was one of the early manned missions beyond the Kármán line.

Vostok 6

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Vostok-K

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Vostok 6 carried Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space. The mission lasted nearly 3 days and conducted observations alongside Vostok 5, which was in orbit at the same time.

Luna 4

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya-L 8K78

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome LC-1/5

Luna 4 was the first Soviet attempt at a soft landing on the Moon. Due to a guidance system failure, it missed the Moon by about 8,336 km and entered heliocentric orbit.

Mars 1

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya 8K78

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Mars

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 1/5

Mars 1 was the first Soviet probe sent toward Mars to study interplanetary space and attempt a flyby. It transmitted data on solar wind and micrometeorites, but contact was lost en route in March 1963.

Ranger 5

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas LV-3 Agena-B

🛰 Mission: Impact

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-12

Ranger 5 was designed to impact the Moon and send back scientific data, including gamma-ray and x-ray measurements. Due to a power failure, the spacecraft ceased operations prematurely and missed the Moon, entering solar orbit instead.

Mariner 2

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas LV-3 Agena-B

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-12

Mariner 2 was the first successful interplanetary mission, performing a flyby of Venus. It provided the first close-up measurements of another planet’s atmosphere and confirmed Venus's extremely high surface temperatures.

Ferdinand 1

Norway

🚀 Vehicle: Nike-Cajun

🛰 Mission: Space Observatory

🌍 Destination: Suborbital Space

📍 Site: Andøya Rocket Range

First launch from Norway's Andøya site, carrying two instruments to study the polar ionosphere and auroral particles up to ~102 km altitude.

Vostok 4

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Vostok-K

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Launched a day after Vostok 3, Vostok 4 carried cosmonaut Pavel Popovich. The mission achieved the first dual flight of two manned spacecraft in close proximity, setting the stage for future rendezvous operations.

Vostok 3

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Vostok-K

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Vostok 3 carried cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev into orbit for nearly 4 days. The mission demonstrated human endurance in space and marked the first time two crewed spacecraft were in orbit simultaneously.

Telstar 1

NASA & AT&T

🚀 Vehicle: Delta

🛰 Mission: Communications Satellite

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-17B

First privately sponsored active communications satellite and the spacecraft that enabled the first live transatlantic television relays between North America and Europe.

Ranger 4

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas LV-3 Agena-B

🛰 Mission: Impact

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-12

Ranger 4 was the first U.S. spacecraft to reach the Moon, but it failed to return data due to an onboard computer failure. It did impact the lunar surface as intended.

OSO-1

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Thor-Delta B

🛰 Mission: Solar Observatory

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-17A

OSO-1 was the first in a series of Orbiting Solar Observatories. It studied solar emissions, including ultraviolet and X-rays, and helped build foundational knowledge of solar activity.

Mercury-Atlas 6 (Friendship 7)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas LV-3B

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-14

John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth, completing three orbits in nearly five hours. The mission proved the United States could conduct crewed orbital flight.

Ranger 3

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas LV-3 Agena-B

🛰 Mission: Impact

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-12

Ranger 3 was intended to impact the Moon and transmit images on descent. Due to a trajectory error, it missed the Moon by over 36,000 km and entered heliocentric orbit instead.

Ranger 2

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas LV-3 Agena-B

🛰 Mission: Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-12

Ranger 2 was another test of systems and instruments for future lunar missions. Like its predecessor, it failed to leave Earth orbit due to a malfunction and decayed after two days.

Ranger 1

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas LV-3 Agena-B

🛰 Mission: Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-12

Ranger 1 was intended to test spacecraft systems and study cosmic rays and radiation. It failed to achieve its planned orbit due to a launch malfunction and reentered Earth's atmosphere after two days.

Vostok 2

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Vostok-K

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Vostok 2 carried cosmonaut Gherman Titov into orbit for over 25 hours, marking the first time a human spent more than a day in space. The mission helped assess the effects of prolonged weightlessness.

Mercury-Redstone 4 (Liberty Bell 7)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Mercury-Redstone

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight & Suborbital Flight

🌍 Destination: Suborbital

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-5

Second crewed U.S. spaceflight, carrying Gus Grissom on a 15-minute suborbital mission. The capsule sank after splashdown when its hatch opened, but the flight advanced Mercury operations.

Freedom 7

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Redstone MRLV

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Suborbital Space

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-5

Freedom 7 carried Alan Shepard, the first American in space, on a 15-minute suborbital flight. The mission demonstrated NASA's ability to send a human safely into space and recover them.

Vostok 1

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Vostok-K

🛰 Mission: Crewed Flight

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Vostok 1 carried Yuri Gagarin, making him the first human to journey into outer space and orbit the Earth. This historic mission lasted 108 minutes and marked the beginning of human spaceflight.

Venera 1

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Molniya 8K78

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Venus

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Venera 1 was the first spacecraft aimed at another planet, Venus. Although contact was lost en route, it was a major milestone in deep space exploration and paved the way for future Venera missions.

Mercury-Redstone 2 (MR-2)

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Redstone MRLV

🛰 Mission: Biological Test

🌍 Destination: Suborbital Space

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-5

MR-2 carried Ham the chimpanzee on a suborbital test flight, validating life support systems and capsule controls ahead of the first American human spaceflight. Ham performed tasks during flight and returned safely.

Pioneer P-30

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Atlas-Able

🛰 Mission: Orbiter

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-12

Pioneer P-30 was intended to enter lunar orbit and study radiation and micrometeorites. However, a third stage failure prevented the spacecraft from leaving Earth orbit. It marked another step in early lunar mission attempts.

Sputnik 5

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Vostok-L

🛰 Mission: Biological Test

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Sputnik 5 carried two dogs, Belka and Strelka, along with plants, insects, and mice. It was the first spaceflight to safely return living animals from orbit, paving the way for human spaceflight.

TIROS-1

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Thor-Able II

🛰 Mission: Earth Observation & Technology Demonstration

🌍 Destination: Earth Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-17A

First successful weather satellite. TIROS-1 demonstrated that satellites could return useful cloud-cover imagery for weather forecasting and opened the era of operational meteorology from space.

Pioneer 5

NASA

🚀 Vehicle: Thor-Able

🛰 Mission: Probe

🌍 Destination: Heliocentric Orbit

📍 Site: Cape Canaveral LC-17A

Pioneer 5 was designed to study interplanetary magnetic fields between Earth and Venus. It operated successfully for about 106 days, sending back data on solar flares and cosmic radiation.

1960s Decade

The 1960s marked the beginning of space exploration, with the first human spaceflights and the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing.

Luna 3

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Vostok-L

🛰 Mission: Flyby

🌍 Destination: Moon

📍 Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome

Luna 3 was the first spacecraft to photograph the far side of the Moon, revealing a dramatically different terrain than the near side. These photos were processed and transmitted back to Earth.

Luna 2

Soviet Union

🚀 Vehicle: Vostok-L

🛰 Mission: Impact

🌍 Destination: Moon