From Handwiki
This is a timeline of Solar System exploration ordering events in the exploration of the Solar System by date of spacecraft launch. It includes:
It does not include:
The dates listed are launch dates, but the achievements noted may have occurred some time later—in some cases, a considerable time later (for example, Voyager 2, launched 20 August 1977, did not reach Neptune until 1989).
| Mission name | Launch date | Description | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 October 1957 | First Earth orbiter | [1][2] | |
| 3 November 1957 | Earth orbiter, first animal in orbit, a dog named Laika | [2][3][4] | |
| 1 February 1958 | Earth orbiter; discovered Van Allen radiation belts | [5] | |
| 17 March 1958 | Earth orbiter; oldest spacecraft still in Earth orbit | [6] | |
| 2 January 1959 | First lunar flyby (attempted lunar impact?); first artificial satellite in heliocentric orbit. | [7][8][9][10] | |
| 3 March 1959 | Lunar flyby | [11][12] | |
| 12 September 1959 | First extraterrestrial impact and lunar impact, First artificial object on Moon | [10][13] | |
| 4 October 1959 | Lunar flyby; First images of another celestial body taken from space, most notably, the far side of Moon | [10][14] |
| Mission name | Launch date | Description | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 March 1960 | Interplanetary space investigations | [15][16] | |
| 12 February 1961 | First probe to another planet; Venus flyby (contact lost before flyby) | [17][18][19] | |
| 12 April 1961 | First crewed Earth orbiter (Yuri Gagarin) | [20][21] | |
| 23 August 1961 | Attempted lunar test flight (failed to leave Earth orbit) | [22][23][24] | |
| 18 November 1961 | Attempted lunar test flight (failed to leave Earth orbit) | [24][25][26] | |
| 26 January 1962 | Attempted lunar impact (missed Moon) | [24][27][28] | |
| 23 April 1962 | Lunar impact (but unintentionally became the first spacecraft to hit the lunar farside and returned no data) | [24][29][30][31] | |
| 27 August 1962 | First successful planetary encounter, First successful Venus flyby | [32][33][34] | |
| 18 October 1962 | Attempted lunar impact (missed Moon) | [24][35][36] | |
| 1 November 1962 | First probe to Mars: flyby (contact lost) | [37][38] | |
| 2 April 1963 | Attempted lunar lander (missed Moon) | [39][40] | |
| 11 November 1963 | Attempted Venera test flight? | [41] | |
| 30 January 1964 | Lunar impact (cameras failed) | [42][43] | |
| 2 April 1964 | Venus flyby (contact lost) | [44][45][46] | |
| 28 July 1964 | Lunar impact (success) | [47][48][49] | |
| 12 October 1964 | First orbiter with multimember crew | [50][51] | |
| 5 November 1964 | Attempted Mars flyby (failed to attain correct trajectory) | [52][53] | |
| 28 November 1964 | First successful Mars flyby | [54][55] | |
| 30 November 1964 | Mars flyby (contact lost) | [46][56][57] | |
| 17 February 1965 | Lunar impact | [58][59] | |
| 18 March 1965 | First space walk, by Alexei Leonov | [51][60] | |
| 21 March 1965 | Lunar impact | [61][62] | |
| 6 May 1965 | Oldest spacecraft still in use[citation needed] | [63] | |
| 9 May 1965 | Lunar impact (attempted soft landing) | [64] | |
| 8 June 1965 | Attempted lunar lander (missed Moon) | [65] | |
| 18 July 1965 | Lunar flyby | [46][66][67] | |
| 4 October 1965 | Lunar impact (attempted soft landing) | [68] | |
| 12 November 1965 | Venus flyby (contact lost) | [69][18] | |
| 16 November 1965 | Venus lander (contact lost) – First spacecraft to reach another planet's atmosphere and surface, First Venus impact | [70][18] | |
| 3 December 1965 | Lunar impact (attempted soft landing?) | [71] | |
| 16 December 1965 | "Space weather" observations | [72][73][74][75] | |
| 31 January 1966 | First extraterrestrial lander and lunar lander | [10][76] | |
| 31 March 1966 | First extraterrestrial orbiter and first lunar orbiter | [77] | |
| 30 May 1966 | Lunar lander | [78][79][80] | |
| 1 July 1966 | Attempted lunar orbiter (failed to attain lunar orbit) | [81][82] | |
| 10 August 1966 | Lunar orbiter | [83][84][85] | |
| 17 August 1966 | "Space weather" observations | [75][86][87] | |
| 24 August 1966 | Lunar orbiter | [88] | |
| 20 September 1966 | Attempted lunar lander (crashed into Moon) | [89][90] | |
| 22 October 1966 | Lunar orbiter | [91] | |
| 6 November 1966 | Lunar orbiter | [92][93] | |
| 21 December 1966 | Lunar lander | [94] | |
| 5 February 1967 | Lunar orbiter | [95][96] | |
| 17 April 1967 | Lunar lander | [97][98] | |
| 4 May 1967 | Lunar orbiter | [99][100] | |
| 12 June 1967 | First functioning extraterrestrial atmospheric probe (Venus) | [18][101] | |
| 14 June 1967 | Venus flyby | [102][103] | |
| 14 July 1967 | Attempted lunar lander (crashed into Moon) | [104][105] | |
| 19 July 1967 | Lunar orbiter | [106] | |
| 1 August 1967 | Lunar orbiter | [85][107][108] | |
| 8 September 1967 | Lunar lander | [109][110] | |
| 7 November 1967 | Lunar lander, first lift-off from an extraterrestrial body | [79][111][112] | |
| 9 November 1967 | Lunar programme test flight in Earth orbit (uncrewed) | [113] | |
| 13 December 1967 | "Space weather" observations | [75][114][115] | |
| 7 January 1968 | Lunar lander | [116][117] | |
| 22 January 1968 | Lunar programme test flight in Earth orbit (uncrewed) | [118][119] | |
| 2 March 1968 | Lunar programme test flight out of Earth orbit (uncrewed) | [46][120][121][122] | |
| 7 April 1968 | Lunar orbiter | [123] | |
| 14 September 1968 | First lunar flyby and return to Earth, first life forms to circle the Moon | [46][124][125][126][127] | |
| 11 October 1968 | Lunar programme test flight in Earth orbit (crewed) | [128][129] | |
| 8 November 1968 | "Space weather" observations | [75][130][131] | |
| 10 November 1968 | Lunar flyby and return to Earth | [46][132][133] | |
| 21 December 1968 | First crewed spacecraft to leave Earth orbit, first crewed lunar orbiter | [129][134][135] | |
| 5 January 1969 | Venus atmospheric probe | [18][136] | |
| 10 January 1969 | Venus atmospheric probe | [18][137] | |
| 25 February 1969 | Mars flyby | [138][139] | |
| 3 March 1969 | Crewed lunar lander (LEM) flight test in Earth orbit | [129][140] | |
| 27 March 1969 | Mars flyby | [141][142] | |
| 18 May 1969 | Crewed lunar orbiter | [129][143][144] | |
| 13 July 1969 | Second attempted lunar sample return | [145][146] | |
| 16 July 1969 | First crewed lunar landing and first successful sample return mission | [147][148][149][150][151] | |
| 7 August 1969 | Lunar flyby and return to Earth | [46][152][153] | |
| 14 November 1969 | Crewed lunar landing | [154][155][156] |
| Mission name | Launch date | Description | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 April 1970 | Crewed lunar flyby and return to Earth (crewed lunar landing aborted). Farthest from Earth a human has gone (401,056 km) | [157][158][159][160] | |
| 17 August 1970 | First Venus lander and the first spacecraft to "soft" land on another planet (with some data returned from the surface) | [18][161][162] | |
| 12 September 1970 | First robotic lunar sample return | [10][163] | |
| 20 October 1970 | Lunar flyby and return to Earth | [46][164][165] | |
| 10 November 1970 | First remote controlled rover | [10][166] | |
| 31 January 1971 | Crewed lunar landing | [167][168][169] | |
| 19 April 1971 | First space station | [170][171] | |
| 19 May 1971 | First Mars impact, Mars orbiter and attempted lander; First rover (Prop-M) sent to another planet (Mars) | [172][173][174][175][176] | |
| 28 May 1971 | Mars orbiter, First Mars lander (first image taken from the surface of another planet, though the received image did not show anything); First rover (Prop-M) to be landed but not deployed on another planet (Mars) | [177][178][179][180][181] | |
| 30 May 1971 | First to orbit another planet (Mars) | [182][183] | |
| 26 July 1971 | Crewed lunar landing; First crewed lunar rover | [129][184][185][186] | |
| 2 September 1971 | Attempted lunar sample return (crashed into Moon) | [187][188] | |
| 28 September 1971 | Lunar orbiter | [189] | |
| 14 February 1972 | Lunar robotic sample return | [190] | |
| 3 March 1972 | First Jupiter flyby | [191][192][74] | |
| 27 March 1972 | Venus lander | [18][193][194] | |
| 16 April 1972 | Crewed lunar landing | [195][196][197] | |
| 7 December 1972 | Last crewed lunar landing | [198][199][200][201] | |
| 8 January 1973 | Lunar rover | [202] | |
| 5 April 1973 | Jupiter flyby and First Saturn flyby | [74][203][204] | |
| 10 June 1973 | Lunar orbiter/radio astronomy | [205][206] | |
| 21 July 1973 | Mars flyby (attempted Mars orbiter) | [207][208] | |
| 25 July 1973 | Mars orbiter | [209][210] | |
| 5 August 1973 | Mars flyby and attempted lander (failed due to damage on Mars landing) | [211][212] | |
| 9 August 1973 | Mars flyby and attempted lander (missed Mars) | [213][214] | |
| 3 November 1973 | Lunar and Venus flybys in addition to the First Mercury flyby | [215][216][217][218] | |
| 29 May 1974 | Lunar orbiter | [10][219] | |
| 28 October 1974 | Attempted lunar sample return (failed due to damage on lunar landing) | [220] | |
| 10 December 1974 | Solar observations | [221][222] | |
| 8 June 1975 | First Venus orbiter and lander; First successful images from the surface of another planet (Venus) | [18][223][224][225] | |
| 14 June 1975 | Venus orbiter and lander | [18][226][227][228] | |
| 20 August 1975 | Mars orbiter and lander; First clear pictures from Martian surface | [229][230][231][232] | |
| 9 September 1975 | Mars orbiter and lander | [232][233][234][235] | |
| 15 January 1976 | Solar observations | [236][237] | |
| 9 August 1976 | Lunar robotic sample return | [10][238] | |
| 20 August 1977 | Jupiter/Saturn/first Uranus/first Neptune flyby | [239][240][241] | |
| 5 September 1977 | Jupiter/Saturn flyby, first to exit the heliosphere | [241][242][243] | |
| 20 May 1978 | Venus orbiter | [244][245] | |
| 8 August 1978 | Venus atmospheric probes | [246][247] | |
| 12 August 1978 | Solar wind investigations; later redesignated International Cometary Explorer and performed Comet Giacobini-Zinner and Comet Halley flybys – First comet flyby | [248][249][250] | |
| 9 September 1978 | Venus flyby and lander | [18][251][252][253] | |
| 14 September 1978 | Venus flyby and lander | [18][254][255][256] |
| Mission name | Launch date | Description | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 October 1981 | Venus flyby and lander. First recording of sound on another planet. | [18][257][258][259] | |
| 4 November 1981 | Venus flyby and lander | [18][260][261][262] | |
| 2 June 1983 | Venus orbiter | [18][263][264] | |
| 7 June 1983 | Venus orbiter | [18][265][266] | |
| 15 December 1984 | Venus flyby, lander and first extraterrestrial aircraft (aerostat balloon); continued on to Comet Halley flyby | [267][268][269][270][271] | |
| 21 December 1984 | Venus flyby, lander and balloon; continued on to Comet Halley flyby | [271][272][273][274][275] | |
| 8 January 1985 | Comet Halley flyby | [276][277] | |
| 2 July 1985 | First close observation of comet (distance 596 kilometers), Comet Halley flyby | [278][279][280] | |
| 18 August 1985 | Comet Halley flyby | [281][282] | |
| 19 February 1986 | First modular space station (operational 1986–2000; final module added 1996) | [283][284][285] | |
| 7 July 1988 | Attempted Mars orbiter/Phobos landers (contact lost) | [286][287] | |
| 12 July 1988 | Mars orbiter/attempted Phobos landers (contact lost) | [288][289] | |
| 4 May 1989 | Venus orbiter | [290][291] | |
| 18 October 1989 | Venus flyby, first Asteroid flyby (Gaspra), first Asteroid moon discovery (Dactyl), first Jupiter orbiter, first Jupiter atmospheric probe | [292][293][294][295] |
| Mission name | Launch date | Description | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 January 1990 | Lunar flyby and orbiter | [296][297] | |
| 24 April 1990 | Orbital space telescope (operational since 1990[needs update]) | [298][299][300] | |
| 6 October 1990 | Solar polar orbiter | [301][302][303] | |
| 30 August 1991 | Solar observations (1991–2001) | [304][305] | |
| 25 September 1992 | Attempted Mars orbiter (contact lost) | [306][307] | |
| 25 January 1994 | Lunar orbiter/attempted asteroid flyby (contact lost) | [308][309][310] | |
| 1 November 1994 | Solar wind observations | [311][312] | |
| 2 December 1995 | Solar observatory (operational since 1996[needs update]) | [313][314][315] | |
| 17 February 1996 | Eros orbiter, first near-Earth asteroid flyby, first asteroid orbit and first asteroid landing | [316][317][318] | |
| 7 November 1996 | Mars orbiter | [319][320] | |
| 16 November 1996 | Attempted Mars orbiter/landers (failed to escape Earth orbit) | [321][322] | |
| 4 December 1996 | Mars lander and first successful planetary rover | [323][324][325] | |
| 25 August 1997 | Solar wind and "space weather" observations (operational since 1998) | [326][327] | |
| 15 October 1997 | First Saturn orbiter and first outer planet moon lander (on Titan) | [328][329][330][331][332] | |
| 7 January 1998 | Lunar orbiter | [333][334] | |
| 3 July 1998 | Attempted Mars orbiter (failed to enter Mars orbit) | [335][336] | |
| 24 October 1998 | Asteroid and comet flyby | [337][338] | |
| 20 November 1998 | International space station | [339][340] | |
| 11 December 1998 | Attempted Mars orbiter (orbit insertion failed; entered atmosphere and was destroyed) | [341][342] | |
| 3 January 1999 | Attempted Mars lander/penetrators (contact lost) | [343][344][345] | |
| 7 February 1999 | First comet coma sample return (returned 15 January 2006) | [346][347][348] |
| Mission name | Launch date | Description | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 April 2001 | Mars orbiter | [349][350] | |
| 8 August 2001 | First solar wind sample return | [351][352][353][354] | |
| 3 July 2002 | Attempted flyby of comet nuclei (Encke, Schwassmann-Wachmann-3, and optionally a third one; lost in space) | [355][356] | |
| 9 May 2003 | Asteroid lander and first sample return from asteroid | [357][358][359] | |
| 2 June 2003 | Mars orbiter/attempted lander (lander failure) | [360][361][362][363] | |
| 10 June 2003 | Mars rover | [364][365] | |
| 8 July 2003 | Mars rover | [366][367] | |
| 27 September 2003 | Lunar orbiter | [368][369] | |
| 2 March 2004 | Asteroid Šteins and Lutetia flybys; first comet orbiter and lander (Landed in November 2014) | [370][371][372][373] | |
| 3 August 2004 | First Mercury orbiter (Achieved orbit 18 March 2011) | [374][375][376] | |
| 12 January 2005 | Comet flyby and impact | [377][378][379][380] | |
| 12 August 2005 | Mars orbiter | [381][382] | |
| 9 November 2005 | Venus polar orbiter | [383][384] | |
| 19 January 2006 | First Pluto/Charon flyby (on 14 July 2015); continued on to 486958 Arrokoth flyby (on 1 January 2019) | [385][386][387][388] | |
| 22 September 2006 | Solar orbiter | [389][390] | |
| 26 October 2006 | Two spacecraft, solar orbiters | [391][392][393] | |
| 4 August 2007 | Mars polar lander (Mars landing on 25 May 2008) | [394][395] | |
| 14 September 2007 | Lunar orbiters | [396][397][398][399] | |
| 27 September 2007 | Asteroid Ceres and Vesta orbiter (Entered orbit around Vesta on 16 July 2011 and around Ceres on 6 March 2015) | [400][401][402] | |
| 24 October 2007 | Lunar orbiter | [403][404][405] | |
| 22 October 2008 | Lunar orbiter and impactor; discovered water on the Moon | [406][407][408] | |
| 14 May 2009 | Infrared space telescope at Sun–Earth L2 Lagrange point | [409][410] | |
| 18 June 2009 | Lunar polar orbiter and lunar impactor | [411][412][413][414] | |
| 14 December 2009 | Infrared survey of celestial sky (WISE mission); later Near-Earth object survey (NEOWISE mission) | [415][416][417] |
| Mission name | Launch date | Description | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 February 2010 | Continuous solar monitoring | [418][419] | |
| 20 May 2010 | Venus orbiter (orbit insertion failed in 2010 / successful orbit insertion on 7 December 2015) | [420][421][422] | |
| 15 June 2010 | Solar monitoring | [423][424] | |
| 1 October 2010 | Lunar orbiter, asteroid 4179 Toutatis flyby | [405][425][426] | |
| 5 August 2011 | Jupiter orbiter | [427][428] | |
| 10 September 2011 | Two spacecraft, Lunar orbiters | [429][430][431] | |
| 8 November 2011 | Attempted Phobos sample return and Mars orbiter, respectively; both failed to escape Earth orbit | [432][433] | |
| 26 November 2011 | Mars rover (landed 6 August 2012) | [434][435] | |
| 30 August 2012 | Earth Van Allen radiation belts study | [436][437][438] | |
| 28 June 2013 | Solar observations | [439] | |
| 7 September 2013 | Lunar orbiter | [440][441] | |
| 14 September 2013 | Planetary atmosphere observatory | [442] | |
| 5 November 2013 | Mars orbiter | [443][444][445] | |
| 18 November 2013 | Mars orbiter | [446][447] | |
| 1 December 2013 | Lunar lander and rover (first lander since Soviet Luna 24 in 1976) | [405][448][449][450] | |
| 23 October 2014 | Circumlunar mission and Earth reentry; technology demonstration to prepare for Chang'e 5 mission | [451] | |
| 3 December 2014 | Asteroid lander and sample return (sample returned 5 December 2020), first asteroid rover | [359][452][453] | |
| 3 December 2014 | Comet observer and attempted asteroid flyby (engine failure) | [454] | |
| 11 February 2015 | Solar observation | [455][456] | |
| 14 March 2016 | Mars orbiter and attempted lander (lander failure) | [457][458] | |
| 8 September 2016 | Asteroid sample return mission (sample returned 24 September 2023[needs update]) | [459][460] | |
| 5 May 2018 | Mars lander | [461][462] | |
| 20 May 2018 | Relay satellite for Chang'e 4 in Halo orbit around Earth–Moon L2 Lagrange point | [463] | |
| 12 August 2018 | Solar corona probe, closest solar approach (0.04 AU) | [464][465] | |
| 19 October 2018 | Two Mercury orbiters (orbit insertion planned in December 2025) | [466][467] | |
| 7 December 2018 | Lunar lander and rover, first landing on the lunar far side | [405][468][469] | |
| 22 February 2019 | Attempted lunar lander (crashed into Moon) | [470][471] | |
| 22 July 2019 | Lunar orbiter; attempted lander and rover (contact lost during final stage of descent) | [472][473] |
| Mission name | Launch date | Description | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 February 2020 | Sun-observing satellite | [474][475][476] | |
| 19 July 2020 | Mars orbiter | [477] | |
| 23 July 2020 | Mars orbiter, lander, and rover | [478] | |
| 30 July 2020 | Mars rover and helicopter drone; first powered flight on another planet | [479][480][481] | |
| 23 November 2020 | Lunar sample return | [405][482] | |
| 16 October 2021 | Flyby of six Jupiter trojans and two main belt asteroids | [483][484] | |
| 24 November 2021 | Asteroid 65803 Didymos flyby, asteroid moon Dimorphos impactor | [485][486] | |
| 25 December 2021 | Infrared space telescope at Sun–Earth L2 | [487][488] | |
| 28 June 2022 | Lunar orbiter | [489] | |
| 5 August 2022 | Lunar orbiter | [490] | |
| 16 November 2022 | Uncrewed lunar orbital test of Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System. The cubesats are launched as rideshares and will execute their own missions. | [491] | |
| 11 December 2022 | Lunar lander technology demonstration, lunar rover, and lunar orbiter launched together (crashed into Moon) | [492][493][494] | |
| 14 April 2023 | Jupiter/Ganymede orbiter | [495] | |
| 14 July 2023 | Lunar orbiter, lander and rover; first soft landing near the lunar South Pole | [496][497] | |
| 10 August 2023 | Attempted lunar south pole lander (crashed into Moon) | [498][499] | |
| 2 September 2023 | Sun-observing spacecraft at Sun–Earth L1 | [500] | |
| 6 September 2023 | Lunar flyby, lander and rovers | [501][502] | |
| 13 October 2023 | Asteroid 16 Psyche orbiter | [503] | |
| 8 January 2024 | Lunar lander and rovers (landing precluded) | [504] |
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Categories: [Spaceflight timelines] [Discovery and exploration of the Solar System]