SPACE CRAFT AND PROBES
Since the late 1950s, people have been able to
launch rockets out of the Earth's atmosphere into space. As
time went by, these rockets contained cameras. The first ones
took pictures of Earth from space, whereas later ones took
close-up pictures of the Moon, and then other planets.
Many space crafts have been sent into space since the late 1950s,
each doing different things. Some orbit planets and take
photographs of their surfaces. Others land and take soil samples,
test for water, or take photographs of the surrounding area. Some
travel through space and take pictures of the planets and moons
that they pass. Below is a list of the main successful space
missions since the late 1950s in planet order (going further from
Sun).
1973: Mariner 10 (USA): Flyby. Took first pictures of Mercury,
revealing cratered surface. Also photographed Venus.
1961:
Venera 1 (USSR/Russia): Flyby. Contact lost
1962: Mariner 2 (USA): Flyby (also Mercury)
1964: Zond 2 (USSR/Russia) Flyby
1965: Venera 2 (USSR/Russia): Flyby. Contact lost.
1965: Venera 3 (USSR/Russia): Lander. Contact lost.
1967: Venera 4 (USSR/Russia): Probe
1969: Venera 5 (USSR/Russia): Probe
1969: Venera 6 (USSR/Russia): Probe
1970: Venera 7 (USSR/Russia): Lander
1972: Venera 8 (USSR/Russia): Lander
1973: Mariner 10 (USA): Flyby (also Mercury)
1975: Venera 9 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter and Lander
1975: Venera 10 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter and Lander
1978: Pioneer Venus 1 (USA): Orbiter
1978: Pioneer Venus 2 (USA): Probes
1978: Venera 11 (USSR/Russia): Flyby and Lander
1978: Venera 12 (USSR/Russia): Flyby and Lander
1981: Venera 13 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter and Lander
1981: Venera 14 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter and Lander
1983: Venera 15 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter
1983: Venera 16 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter
1984: Vega 1 (USSR/Russia): Lander and Balloon/Comet Halley flyby
1984: Vega 2 (USSR/Russia): Lander and Balloon/Comet Halley flyby
1989: Magellan 4 (USA): Orbiter (as shown in picture above).
Contained imaging equipment which could see through Venus' clouds
to reveal the planet's surface.
1957:
Sputnik 1 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter. First artificial satellite of
Earth
1957: Sputnik 2 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter
1958: Explorer 1 (USA): Orbiter
1958: Vanguard 1 (USA): Orbiter
1989: Hubble Space Telescope (NASA): Telescope orbiting Earth
taking pictures of outer space
1959:
Luna 1 (USSR/Russia): Flyby
1959: Pioneer 4 (USA): Flyby
1959: Luna 2 (USSR/Russia): Lunar impact (it hit the moon!)
1959: Luna 3 (USSR/Russia): Flyby. Took first pictures of the
Dark Side of the Moon before hitting its surface.
1962: Ranger 4 (USA): Lunar impact (contact lost)
1964: Ranger 6 (USA): Impact (cameras failed)
1964: Ranger 7 (USA): Impact
1965: Ranger 8 (USA): Impact
1965: Ranger 9 (USA): Impact
1965: Luna 5 (USSR/Russia): Impact (attempted soft landing)
1965: Zond 3 (USSR/Russia): Flyby
1965: Luna 7 (USSR/Russia): Impact (attempted soft landing)
1965: Luna 8 (USSR/Russia): Impact (attempted soft landing)
1966: Luna 9 (USSR/Russia): Lander
1966: Luna 10 (USSR/Russia): Orbit
1966: Surveyor 1 (USA): Lander
1966: England win World Cup!
1966: Lunar Orbiter 1 (USA): Orbiter
1966: Luna 11 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter
1966: Luna 12 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter
1966: Lunar Orbiter 2 (USA): Orbiter
1966: Luna 13 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter
1967: Lunar Orbiter 3 (USA): Orbiter
1967: Surveyor 3 (USA): Lander
1967: Lunar Orbiter 4 (USA): Orbiter
1967: Explorer 35 (USA): Orbiter
1967: Lunar Orbiter 5 (USA): Orbiter
1967: Surveyor 5 (USA): Lander
1967: Surveyor 6 (USA): Lander
1968: Surveyor 7 (USA): Lander
1968: Luna 14 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter
1968: Zond 5 (USSR/Russia): Lunar orbit and return to Earth
1968: Zond 6 (USSR/Russia): Lunar orbit and return to Earth
1968: Apollo 8 (USA): Manned Lunar Orbit
1969: Apollo 10 (USA): Manned orbiter
1969: Apollo 11 (USA): Manned Lunar Landing - first men on moon!
1969: Zond 7 (USSR/Russia): Flyby and return to Earth
1969: Apollo 12 (USA): Manned Lunar Landing - 3rd and 4th men on
moon!
1970: Apollo 13 (USA): Attempted manned Lunar Landing. (Landing
aborted)
1970: Luna 16 (USSR/Russia): Sample return.
1970: Zond 8 (USSR/Russia): Flyby and return to Earth
1970: Luna 17 / Lunokhod 1 (USSR/Russia): Lunar Rover
1971: Apollo 14 (USA): Manned Lunar Landing
1971: Apollo 15 (USA): Manned Lunar Landing
1971: Luna 19 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter
1972: Luna 20 (USSR/Russia): Lunar Sample Return
1972: Apollo 16 (USA): Manned Lunar Landing
1972: Apollo 17 (USA): Manned Lunar Landing - last time man has
walked on the Moon
1973: Luna 21 / Lunokhod 2 (USSR/Russia): Lunar Rover
1973: Explorer 49 (USA): Orbiter/radio astronomer
1974: Luna 22 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter
1976: Luna 24 (USSR/Russia): Lunar Sample Return
1990: Hiten (Japan): Lunar flyby and orbiter
1994: Clementine (USA): Orbiter/asteroid flyby attempt. Took
pictures of Moon's South Pole. Discovered 'water' in deep craters
1997: AsiaSat (USA): Flyby
1998: Lunar Prospector (USA): Orbiter
1999: Lunar-A (Japan): Orbiter and penetrators
1962:
Mars 1 (USSR/Russia): Flyby (contact lost)
1964: Mariner 4 (USA): Flyby. Took first pictures of
Martian surface
1964: Zond 2 (USSR/Russia): Flyby (contact lost)
1969: Mariners 6 & 7 (USA): Flyby
1971: Mars 2 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter and attempted lander
1971: Mars 3 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter and lander
1971: Mariner 9 (USA): Orbiter. Discovered Olympus Mons,
Mars' largest volcano and the Valles Marineris
1973: Mars 4 (USSR/Russia): Flyby
1973: Mars 5 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter
1973: Mars 6 (USSR/Russia): Lander (contact lost)
1973: Mars 7 (USSR/Russia): Flyby
1975: Viking 1 (USA): Orbiter and Lander (took first
pictures of Martian surface!)
1975: Viking 2 (USA): Orbiter and Lander
1988: Phobos 2 (USSR/Russia): Orbiter
1996: Mars Global Surveyor (USA): Orbiter (currently looking for
the Mars Polar Lander!)
1996: Pathfinder (USA): Lander and Mars Rover
1998: Nozomi (Japan): Orbiter
1998: Mars Climate Orbiter (USA): Orbiter
1999: Mars Polar Lander (USA): Lander (although nobody actually
knows where it landed!) (contact lost)
1999: Deep Space 2 (USA): Penetrator (due to land on Mars soon)
1972:
Pioneer 10 (USA): Flyby
1973: Pioneer 11 (USA): Flyby (also including Saturn)
1977: Voyager 2 (USA): Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune flyby
1977: Voyager 1 (USA): Jupiter and Saturn flyby
1989: Galileo (USA): Orbiter/probe
1990: Ulysses (European Space Agency!): Jupiter flyby and Solar
Polar orbiter (orbits the Sun's poles)
1973:
Pioneer 11 (USA): Flyby (also including Jupiter)
1977:
Voyager 2
(USA): Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune flyby
1977:
Voyager 1
(USA): Jupiter and Saturn flyby
1997: Cassini (USA): Orbiter
1997: Huygens (European Space Agency): Probe to land on Titan, a
moon of Saturn
1977: Voyager 2 (USA): Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune flyby
1977: Voyager 2 (USA): Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune flyby
Not yet visited by space craft
1984:
Vega 1 (USSR/Russia): Comet Halley flyby (also Venus lander and
balloon)
1984: Vega 2 (USSR/Russia): Comet Halley flyby (also Venus lander
and balloon)
1985: Sakigake (Japan): Comet Halley flyby
1985: Giotto (European Space Agency): Comet Halley flyby
1985: Suisei (Japan): Comet Halley flyby
1994: Clementine (USA): Asteroid flyby attempt (also Moon
orbiter)
1996: NEAR (USA): Asteroid Eros orbiter.
1998: Deep Space 1 (USA): Asteroid and/or comet flyby
1999: Stardust (USA): Comet Coma sample return
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