How did life begin and evolve on Earth, and has it evolved elsewhere in the Solar System? Missions

Microbial life forms have been discovered on Earth that can survive and even thrive at extremes of high and low temperature and pressure, and in conditions of acidity, salinity, alkalinity, and concentrations of heavy metals that would have been regarded as lethal just a few years ago. These discoveries include the wide diversity of life near sea–floor hydrothermal vent systems, where some organisms live essentially on chemical energy in the absence of sunlight. Similar environments may be present elsewhere in the Solar System.

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

Launch Date	A-Z	Phase
19971016 October 15, 1997	Cassini The Cassini Mission is in the midst of a detailed study of Saturn, its rings, its magnetosphere, its icy satellites, and its moon Titan. Cassini also delivered a probe...	Operating
20050112 January 12, 2005	Deep Impact The Deep Impact mission was selected as a Discovery mission in 1999. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II rocket on January 12, 2005 and left Earth’s orbit toward...	Operating
20050112 January 12, 2005	Deep Impact Epoxi Extrasolar Planet Observation and Deep Impact Extended Investigation EPOXI is a follow-on mission to Deep Impact. This mission is part of SMD's Discovery...	Operating
20130101 2013	ExoMars The European Space Agency plans for the ExoMars rover to grind samples of Martian soil to fine powder and deliver them to a suite of analytical instruments, including Urey...	Under Study
20160101 2016	Mars 2016 In 2016, the Astrobiology Field Laboratory (AFL), a pair of Mid-Rovers, or a set of three to four long-lived landers is planned for launch with the results of MRO’s and...	Under Study
20030603 June 02, 2003	Mars Express (ASPERA-3) Mars Express is exploring the atmosphere and surface of Mars from polar orbit. The mission's main objective is to search for sub-surface water from orbit and deploy a lander...	Operating
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
20110101 January 01, 2011	Mars Missions Beyond 2009 NASA is developing a long-term Mars exploration program that charts a course for the next two decades. This visionary program will build on scientific discoveries from past...	Under Study
	Mars Science Orbiter The Mars Science Orbiter (MSO) is a major infrastructure component for the next decade of Mars exploration. This mission is part of SMD's Mars Exploration...	Under Study
20130101 2013	Mars Scout 13 In the first round of the Mars Scout 2006 competition, two missions for 2011 were selected from 26 proposals for further evaluation in a concept study phase. The selected...	Under Study
20090916 September 15, 2009	Mars Science Laboratory NASA proposes to develop and to launch a roving long-range, long-duration science laboratory that will be a major leap in surface measurements and pave the way for a future...	Development
20070805 August 04, 2007	Phoenix Phoenix seeks to verify the presence of the Martian Holy Grail: water and habitable conditions....	Operating

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How did life begin and evolve on Earth, and has it evolved elsewhere in the Solar System? Missions