Scroll down to view all space missions that are planned to launch in the future or select another time period from the table below.
| 1955 - 1959 | 1960 - 1964 | 1965 - 1969 | 1970 - 1974 | 1975 - 1979 | 1980 - 1984 |
| 1985 - 1989 | 1990 - 1994 | 1995 - 1999 | 2000 - 2004 | 2005 - PRESENT | FUTURE |
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Over the next few years, we will start to see the involvement of many nations in Space Exploration. The Moon is once again the target for many missions, both unmanned and manned, with America, Europe, Japan, India and China all sending spacecraft there. Missions to Mars will again attempt to find signs of life and discover the origins and evolution of the planet. |
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| LAUNCH DATE | NAME | DESTINATION | COUNTRY | MISSION DETAILS | MAIN ACHIEVEMENT | 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: http://lws.gsfc.nasa.gov/missions/sdo/sdo.htm | |
| April 2008 | Chandrayaan | Moon (orbiter) | India
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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
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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. | |
| 1955 - 1959 | 1960 - 1964 | 1965 - 1969 | 1970 - 1974 | 1975 - 1979 | 1980 - 1984 |
| 1985 - 1989 | 1990 - 1994 | 1995 - 1999 | 2000 - 2004 | 2005 - PRESENT | FUTURE |
