Missions in Past Phase for Planets - Science Mission Directorate

Planets Missions for 'past' phase.

*Sort missions by clicking Launch Date, A-Z, or PHASE column headers.

Launch Date	A-Z	Phase
19940125 January 25, 1994	Clementine The Clementine mission was designed to test lightweight miniature sensors and advanced spacecraft components by exposing them, over a long period of time, to the difficult...	Past
20020703 July 03, 2002	CONTOUR The Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) was a mission intended to greatly expand what is known of comet nuclei and to assess their diversity. This mission is part of SMD's Discovery...	Past
19981024 October 24, 1998	Deep Space 1 During its 11-month primary mission, DS1 successfully tested 12 revolutionary technologies destined for future missions. In 2001, DS-1 returned the best pictures and other...	Past
19891018 October 18, 1989	Galileo The Galileo mission produced a string of discoveries about asteroids, a fragmented comet, Jupiter's atmosphere, Jupiter's magnetic environment, and especially about the...	Past
20010808 August 08, 2001	Genesis The Genesis mission was designed to collect samples of the charged particles in the solar wind and return them to Earth laboratories for detailed analysis. This mission is...	Past
19980107 January 07, 1998	Lunar Prospector Lunar Prospector was the third of NASA's Discovery missions. The project mapped the chemical composition of the lunar surface and the Moon's global magnetic and gravity...	Past
19890504 May 04, 1989	Magellan The Magellan mission scientific objectives were to study land forms and tectonics, impact processes, erosion, deposition, chemical processes, and model the interior of...	Past
19620722 July 21, 1962	Mariner Missions Between 1962 and 1973, NASA designed and built 10 spacecraft named Mariner to explore the inner solar system – visiting the planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars for the first...	Past
19981211 December 11, 1998	Mars Climate Orbiter Mars Climate Orbiter was designed to function as an interplanetary weather satellite and a communications relay for Mars Polar Lander. This mission is part of the Mars...	Past
19961107 19:00:00 USEastern November 07, 1996	Mars Global Surveyor Mars Global Surveyor is returning an unprecedented amount of data regarding Mars' surface features, atmosphere, and magnetic properties. Scientists are using the data...	Past
19920925 September 25, 1992	Mars Observer Mars Observer was designed to study the geoscience and climate of Mars. This mission is part of SMD's Mars Exploration...	Past
19961204 December 04, 1996	Mars Pathfinder Mars Pathfinder launched December 2, 1996 and arrived on the surface of Mars on July 4, 1997. The mission was an engineering demonstration of key technologies and concepts...	Past
19990103 January 03, 1999	Mars Polar Lander The Mars Polar Lander was to touch down on the southern polar layered terrain and record local meteorological conditions near the martian south pole. This mission is part of...	Past
19960217 February 17, 1996	NEAR-Shoemaker As the first spacecraft to orbit and land on an asteroid, the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Shoemaker mission continues to answer fundamental questions about the nature and...	Past
19720303 March 03, 1972	Pioneer 10 & 11 These Pioneer missions traveled through the asteroid belt to observe Jupiter, Saturn and continue on to the outer solar...	Past
19780520 May 20, 1978	Pioneer Venus Missions Pioneer Venus consisted of two spacecraft to study Venus: the Orbiter and the...	Past
19610823 August 22, 1961	Ranger The Ranger project of the 1960s was the first U.S. effort to launch probes directly toward the Moon. The spacecraft were designed to relay pictures and other data as they...	Past
19990207 February 07, 1999	Stardust Stardust is the first U.S. space mission dedicated solely to the exploration of a comet, and the first robotic mission designed to return extraterrestrial material from...	Past
19660530 May 29, 1966	Surveyor Surveyor succeeded the Ranger program. Its primary focus was engineering work in preparation for Apollo, specifically soft landings and lifting off from the moon's...	Past
19750820 August 20, 1975	Viking 1 - 2 Two Viking spacecraft, each composed of an orbiter and a lander, flew to Mars in the mid 1970's. They measured atmospheric water vapor, did chemical analysis of the soil, and...	Past

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Sections

NASA Science: Planets

Personal tools

Planets Missions for 'past' phase.