| LAUNCH DATE |
NAME |
DESTINATION |
COUNTRY |
MISSION DETAILS |
ADDITIONAL
INFO |
CURRENT STATUS |
| October 2007 |
Chang'e 1 |
Moon
(orbiter) |
China
 |
China aims to explore the Moon, initially by
sending orbiters there, but will later send landers to its surface and
then space craft to obtain soil samples and return them to Earth. |
Chang'e 1 will be China's first attempt at a
mission to the Moon. |
In pre-launch stage. |
| April 2008 |
Solar Dynamics Observatory Mission |
Sun |
USA
 |
Orbiter which will observe solar dynamics! It will observe
the Sun's activity cycle (the Sun appears to have 11-year cycles), how the
Sun's atmosphere evolves over different timescales, from minutes to
centuries, and how radiation from the Sun affects the different planets in
the Solar System. |
. |
In development.
Link to
mission website. |
| April 2008 |
Chandrayaan |
Moon
(orbiter) |
India
 |
Chandrayaan is an Indian orbiter of the Moon. It
is expected to be launched in April 2008 and will go into a polar orbit of
the Moon. Amongst its experiments, it will search for the presence of
water and look for potential Moon base sites for a future manned lunar
base for NASA. The mission is proposed to last for two years. |
India's first mission to the Moon. |
In final development stage. |
| May 2008 |
Phoenix |
Mars (lander) |
USA
|
Planned to land on Mars in May 2008, Phoenix
will land in an arctic region on Mars and dig into the soil. It will
examine the history of water on the planet and look for places where basic
life might have once been possible. |
. |
In development. |
| October 2008 |
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter |
Moon (orbiter) |
USA
|
Orbiter to be launched to analyse the surface of
the Moon in preparation for future manned lunar missions. The craft will
also search for the presence of water. Scientists will be looking to
identify landing sites and potential sites for a Moon base. The orbiter
will spend about a year in orbit around the Moon, orbiting its poles
(going up and under the Moon). |
First stage of the next step in manned
exploration of the Moon. |
In
development stages |
| 2009 |
Mars
Science Laboratory |
Mars (lander) |
USA
|
As its name suggests, the Mars Science
Laboratory will be a science lab set up on Mars! It will land on Mars and
travel around its surface to study the geology of the planet and look for
potential signs of life, either now or in the planet's history. |
. |
This mission is currently under study. |
|
June 2010 |
Planet-C |
Venus (orbiter) |
Japan
 |
Proposed two year
mission to Venus to analyse the planet's climate, observe the surface
using infrared cameras and detect current or recent volcanic activity and
lightning. |
First Japanese space
craft to visit Venus. |
Still in planning
stages. |
| 2010 |
Moonlight |
Moon
(lander) |
UK
 |
Proposed
British orbiter and lander to the Moon. Four landers will be sent to the
Moon, crashing on both the near side (the side visible from Earth) and the
far side (never visible from Earth). They will crash into the surface at
400 mph, hopefully landing up to 2 metres below the surface. |
First
British mission to the Moon. |
In
proposal stages |
| 2010/2011 |
Chandrayaan-II |
Moon
(orbiter and lander) |
India
|
Chandrayaan-II is planned to be an orbiter and
lander to the Moon. The lander will be a rover which will be able to
travel across the surface of the Moon. Information will be sent to the
orbiter which can then be relayed back to Earth (this is easier than
having to send the information directly to Earth from the lander). The
rover is expected to operate for up to 3 months. A two-legged robot (?) is
also planned to be sent on this mission, named SmartNav (sounds
like something you'd have in your car to stop you from getting lost!). It
will have high-resolution cameras and lasers coming from its eyes! |
. |
In planning stages. |
| 2011 |
Mars Scout 2 |
Mars |
USA
|
A follow-up to the Phoenix mission planned for
launch in 2008, its design will be decided by the success of missions over
the next few years. |
. |
. |
| October 2011 |
Mars
Sample Return Lander |
Mars (lander) |
USA
|
One problem that has plagued missions to Mars is
that all experiments have to take place on the planet by robots operated
millions of miles away on Earth. So, instead of sending people from Earth
to Mars, another option is to bring Mars to the people on Earth. Or
rather, bring a bit of Mars. The Mars Sample Return Lander aims to do that
by landing on the planet, collecting a sample of Martian rocks and soil,
and sending them back to Earth to be analysed. Although current plans look
to launch the mission in 2014, studies are under way to bring the launch
date forward to 2011, meaning that by September 2014, the samples could be
on Earth. |
. |
In development |
| 2011 |
BepiColombo |
Mercury
(orbiter) |
Europe
 |
This spacecraft
will search for signs of possible water ice in the craters of Mercury
which never receive light from the Sun, and examine the planet's magnetic
field and density. |
First European
visit to Mercury |
Under
development |
| 2012 |
Luna-Glob |
Moon
(orbiter and lander) |
Russia
 |
Russian orbiter and lander to the Moon.
Luna-Glob will land on the South Pole of the Moon to look for water in its
craters. |
First non-Soviet mission to the Moon by Russia. |
In planning stages. |
| 2012 |
LEO
(Lunarer
Erkundungsorbiter - Lunar Exploration Orbiter) |
Moon (orbiter) |
Germany
 |
This
proposed mission will orbit the Moon, taking the most detailed images of
the entire surface of the Moon using the best cameras available. |
First
German mission to the Moon |
In
proposal stages. |
| 2012 |
Selene
2 |
Moon (lander) |
Japan
|
Proposed
Moon lander. This mission will investigate the Moon's origin and may dig
into the surface of the Moon. |
. |
In
proposal stages. |
| 2008-2020 |
Project
Constellation |
Moon (manned and
unmanned orbiters and landers) |
USA
|
Series
of missions to prepare for and eventually land man on the Moon. Initial
missions will test flight and docking procedures of the craft in space.
Orion is the name of the craft that will take man to the Moon, Ares is the
craft that will launch Orion on its route to the Moon. While in orbit,
Orion will meet up with the already-launched LSAM (Lunar Surface Access
Module). While in orbit around the Moon, LSAM will be detached from Orion
and descend to the Moon's surface. The first manned lunar landing of
Project Constellation is expected to be Orion 13 in December 2019. Orion
14 is expected to launch in August 2020. |
First
human landings on the Moon since the Apollo program which ended in 1972. |
In
planning stages |
| 2013 |
ExoMars |
Mars
(lander and rover) |
Europe
|
Lander and rover to Mars. They are expected to
get there by 2015. The lander will image and analyse Mars at surface-level
for up to 6 years. The rover will travel across the surface and is
expected to operate for 6 months. No craft will need be placed in orbit
for this mission as ExoMars will relay data to NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (already at Mars) or Europe's Mars Express. |
. |
In development. |
| 2016 |
Mars Astrobiology Field Lab Rover |
Mars (lander) |
USA
|
Lander which will look for
"signatures" of life on Mars, conducting biological tests rather
than geological tests.. |
. |
In planning stages |
| 2024 |
Aurora
Programme |
Mars
(unmanned landers) and Moon (manned landers) |
Europe
|
Europe
is planning on sending robots and humans and its next stage of space
exploration. Whereas robots are expected to go to Mars, humans are
expected to land on the Moon by the year 2024. |
First
non-American manned missions to the Moon. |
In
planning and proposal stages. |
| 2024 |
Chang'e |
Moon
(lander) |
China
|
As
part of China's exploration of the Moon, it is proposed to land astronauts
on its surface by 2024. |
First
Chinese manned lunar landings. |
In
planning and proposal stages. |
