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List of active Solar System probes

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For a list of all Solar System probes, including historic probes, seeList of Solar System probes.
Space probes operational as of November 2023

This is alist of active space probeswhich have escapedEarth orbit.It includeslunar space probes,but does not includespace probesorbiting at the Sun–EarthLagrangian points(for these, seeList of objects at Lagrangian points). A craft is deemed "active" if it is still able to transmit usable data to Earth (whether or not it can receive commands).

The craft are further grouped by mission status – "en route", "mission in progress" or "mission complete" – based on their primary mission. For example, thoughVoyager 1is still contactable enroute to theOort Cloudand has exited theSolar System,it is listed as "mission complete" because its primary task of studyingJupiterandSaturnhas been accomplished. Once a probe has reached its first primary target, it is no longer listed as "en route" whether or not further travel is involved.

Missions in progress[edit]

Moon[edit]

  • ARTEMIS P1/P2
    • Mission: studying the effect of the solar wind on the Moon. Originally launched as Earth satellites, they were later repurposed and moved to lunar orbit.
    • Launched: February 17, 2007
    • Destination:Moon(inlunar orbit)
    • Arrival: July 2011
    • Institution:United StatesNASA
  • Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
    • Mission: Orbiter engaged in lunar mapping intended to identify safe landing sites, locate potential resources on the Moon, characterize the radiation environment, and demonstrate new technology.
    • Launched: 18 June 2009
    • Destination:Moon(inlunar orbit)
    • Arrival: 23 June 2009
    • Institution:United StatesNASA
  • Queqiao
    • Mission:Halo orbiterserving as communications satellite forChang'e 4lunar far-side mission; conducting joint China-Netherlands low frequency astronomy experiment.
    • Launched: 21:28 UT on 20 May 2018[1]
    • Destination: in halo orbit about Earth-MoonL2
    • Arrival: 14 June 2018
    • Institution:ChinaCNSA
  • Chang'e 4lander and rover
    • Mission: Lander engaging in low-frequency radio spectrometry experiment, neutron and dosimetry experiment, and biological experiment. Rover seeking to characterize lunar far-side environment (including possible lunar mantle material) using visible/near-infrared spectrometer, ground penetrating radar, cameras, and neutral particle analyzer.[2]
    • Launched: 18:23 UT on 8 December 2018
    • Destination:Lunarfar side
    • Arrival: 02:26 UT on 3 January 2019
    • Institution:ChinaCNSA
  • Chandrayaan-2Orbiter
    • Mission: engaged in lunar topography and mineralogy, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere, and signatures of hydroxyl and water.
    • Launched: 22 July 2019
    • Destination:Moon(inlunar orbit)
    • Arrival: 20 August 2019
    • Institution:IndiaISRO
  • Chandrayaan-3Lander
    • Mission: To demonstrate Safe and Soft Landing on Lunar Surface, demonstrate Rover roving on the moon and, conduct in-site scientific experiments (mainly finding signatures of water).
    • Launched: 14 July 2023
    • Destination:Moon(landed inLunar south pole)
    • Institution:IndiaISRO

Mercury[edit]

  • BepiColombo
    • Mission: Spacecraft consists of the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM), Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO orMio). MTM and MPO are built byESAwhile the MMO is mostly built byJAXA.Once the MTM delivers the MPO and MMO to Mercury orbit, the two orbiters will have the following objectives: to study Mercury's form, interior structure, geology, composition, and craters; to study the origin, structure, and dynamics of its magnetic field; to characterize the composition and dynamics of Mercury's vestigial atmosphere; to test Einstein's theory of general relativity; to search for asteroids sunward of Earth; and to generally study the origin and evolution of a planet close to a parent star.[7]
    • Launched: 01:45:28 UT on 19 October 2018
    • Destination:Mercury
    • Arrival: En route (anticipated to enter Mercury polar orbit on 5 December 2025)
    • Institution:ESAJapanJAXA


Mars[edit]

The oldest active spacecraft for Mars is2001 Mars Odyssey
  • Mars Express
    • Mission: Mars orbiter designed to study the planet's atmosphere and geology and search for sub-surface water.[9]In 2017 the mission was extended until at least the end of 2020.[10]
    • Launched: 2 June 2003
    • Destination:Mars
    • Arrival: 25 December 2003
    • Institution:ESA
  • Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
    • Mission: the second NASA satellite orbiting Mars. It is specifically designed to analyze the landforms, stratigraphy, minerals, and ice of the red planet.
    • Launched: 12 August 2005
    • Destination:Mars
    • Arrival: 10 March 2006
    • Institution:United StatesNASA
  • Curiosityrover
    • Mission: searching for evidence of organic material on Mars, monitoring methane levels in the atmosphere, and engaging in exploration of the landing site at Gale Crater.
    • Launched: 26 November 2011
    • Destination:Mars
    • Arrival: 6 August 2012
    • Institution:United StatesNASA
  • MAVEN—Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution.
    • Mission: study the Martian upper atmosphere and its gradual loss to space
    • Launched: 18 November 2013
    • Destination:Mars
    • Arrival: September 2014
    • Institution:United StatesNASA
  • Trace Gas Orbiter(ExoMars 2016)
    • Mission: study methane and other trace gases in the Martian atmosphere
    • Launched: 14 March 2016
    • Destination:Mars
    • Arrived: 19 October 2016 (Mars orbit insertion), 21 April 2018 (final orbit)
    • Institution:ESA
  • Tianwen-1orbiter
    • Mission: find evidence for current and past life and produce Martian surface maps. Orbital studies of Martian surface morphology, soil, and atmosphere.
    • Launched: 23 July 2020
    • Destination:Mars
    • Arrival: 10 February 2021
    • Institution:ChinaCNSA
  • Perseverancerover
    • Mission: searching for evidence of organic material on Mars, and engaging in exploration of the landing site at Jezero crater.
    • Launched: 30 July 2020
    • Destination:Jezero crater,Mars
    • Arrival: 18 February 2021
    • Institution:United StatesNASA

Asteroids and comets[edit]

  • Hayabusa2
    • Mission: asteroid study and sample-return
    • Launched: 3 December 2014
    • First Destination:162173 Ryugu
    • Arrival: 27 June 2018
    • Left Ryugu: 12 November 2019
    • Second Destination:1998 KY26
    • Institution:JapanJAXA
  • OSIRIS-REx/OSIRIS-APEX
    • Mission: asteroid study and sample-return
    • Launched: 8 September 2016
    • Destination:101955 Bennu
    • Arrival: 3 December 2018
    • Left Bennu: 10 May 2021
    • Destination:99942 Apophis
    • Arrival: April 2029
    • Institution:United StatesNASA[11]
  • Lucy
    • Mission: to flyby 8 Jupiter trojan and one main belt asteroid
    • Launched: 16 October 2021
    • Destination:52246 Donaldjohanson
    • Arrival: 20 April 2025
    • Institution:United StatesNASA
  • Psyche
    • Mission: to orbit a main belt asteroid
    • Launched: 13 October 2023
    • Destination:16 Psyche
    • Arrival: August 2029
    • Institution:United StatesNASA

Heliocentric orbit[edit]

  • Parker Solar Probe
    • Mission: observation of solar wind, magnetic fields, and coronal energy flow.
    • Launched: 12 August 2018
    • Destination: low solar orbit, perihelion 6.9 million km
    • Arrival: 19 January 2019[12][13]
    • Institution:United StatesNASA
  • Solar Orbiter
    • Mission: detailed measurements of the inner heliosphere and nascent solar wind, and close observations of the polar regions of the Sun.
    • Launched: 10 February 2020
    • Destination: High inclination solar orbit
    • Arrival: Operational orbit in 2023
    • Institution:ESA

Outer Solar System[edit]

Montage of planets and some moons that the twoVoyagerspacecraft have visited and studied, still active in the 2020s they are heading out into interstellar space returning data from newly explored distances
  • Juno
    • Mission: studyingJupiterfrompolar orbit.Originally intended to de-orbit into the Jovian atmosphere after 2021, now operating until 2025.
    • Launched: 5 August 2011
    • Destination:Jupiter
    • Arrival: 4 July 2016
    • Institution:United StatesNASA
  • Juice(Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer)
    • Mission: mission to study Jupiter's three icy moonsCallisto,EuropaandGanymede,eventually orbiting Ganymede as the first spacecraft to orbit a satellite of another planet.
    • Launched: 14 April 2023
    • Destination:Jupiter
    • Arrival: July 2031 (en route)
    • Destination:Ganymede
    • Arrival: December 2034 (en route)
    • Institution:European UnionESA
  • New Horizons
    • Mission: the first spacecraft to study Pluto up close, and ultimately theKuiper Belt.It was the fastest spacecraft when leaving Earth and will be the fifth probe to leave the Solar System.
    • Launched: 19 January 2006
    • Destination:PlutoandCharon
    • Arrival: 14 July 2015
    • Left Charon: 14 July 2015
    • Institution:United StatesNASA
  • Voyager 1
    • Mission: investigating Jupiter and Saturn, and the moons of these planets. Its continuing data feed offered the first direct measurements of theheliosheathand theheliopause.It is currently the furthest man-made object from Earth, as well as the first object to leave theheliosphereand cross intointerstellar space.As of November 2017 it has a distance from the Sun of about 140astronomical units (AU)[14](21 billion kilometers, or 0.002 light years), and it will not be overtaken by any other current craft. In August 2012,Voyager 1became the first human-built spacecraft to enter interstellar space. Though declining, the onboard power source should keep some of the probe's instruments running until 2025.[15]
    • Launched: 5 September 1977
    • Destination:JupiterandSaturn
    • Arrival: January 1979
    • Institution:United StatesNASA
    • Primary mission completion: November 1980
    • Current trajectory: entered interstellar space August 2012
  • Voyager 2
    • Mission: studying all fourgiant planets.This mission was one of NASA's most successful, yielding a wealth of new information. As of November 2017 it is some 116AUfrom the Sun (17.34 billion kilometers).[14]It has left the heliosphere and crossed into interstellar space in December 2018. As withVoyager 1,scientists are now usingVoyager 2to learn what the Solar System is like beyond the heliosphere.
    • Launched: 20 August 1977
    • Destination:Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune
    • Arrival: 9 July 1979
    • Institution:United StatesNASA
    • Primary mission completion: August 1989
    • Current trajectory: entered interstellar space December 2018

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive, Mission ID: QUEQIAO".NASA.Retrieved26 January2020.
  2. ^"NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive, Mission ID: 2018-103A".NASA.Retrieved26 January2020.
  3. ^Andrew Jones [@AJ_FI] (25 April 2023)."China's Chang'e-6 sample return mission (a first ever lunar far side sample-return) is scheduled to launch in May 2024, and expected to take 53 days from launch to return module touchdown. Targeting southern area of Apollo basin (~43º S, 154º W)"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  4. ^Jones, Andrew (10 January 2024)."China's Chang'e-6 probe arrives at spaceport for first-ever lunar far side sample mission".SpaceNews.Retrieved10 January2024.
  5. ^Jones, Andrew (6 May 2024)."China's Chang'e-6 is carrying a surprise rover to the moon".SpaceNews.Archivedfrom the original on 8 May 2024.Retrieved8 May2024.
  6. ^Jones, Andrew (10 January 2024)."China's Chang'e-6 probe arrives at spaceport for first-ever lunar far side sample mission".SpaceNews.Retrieved10 January2024.
  7. ^"NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive, Mission ID: BEPICLMBO".NASA.Retrieved26 January2020.
  8. ^"NASA's Mars Odyssey Shifting Orbit for Extended Mission | Mars Today…".Archived fromthe originalon 7 September 2012.
  9. ^"ESA Science & Technology: Mars Express".European Space Agency.Retrieved26 October2018.
  10. ^"ESA Science & Technology: Green light for continued operations of ESA science missions".European Space Agency.7 December 2017.Retrieved26 October2018.
  11. ^NASA.gov
  12. ^Frazier, Sarah (28 January 2019)."All Systems Go As Parker Solar Probe Begins Second Sun Orbit".NASA.Retrieved2 February2019.
  13. ^Lewin, Sarah (29 January 2019)."Once Around the Sun! NASA's Parker Solar Probe Aces 1st Trip Around Our Star".Space.Retrieved2 February2019.
  14. ^abJPL.NASA.GOV."Where are the Voyagers – NASA Voyager".voyager.jpl.nasa.gov.Retrieved2017-11-14.
  15. ^"Voyager - The Spacecraft".JPL. 1989.Retrieved2021-02-28.
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