This is a list of space probes that have left Earth orbit (or were launched with that intention but failed), organized by their planned destination. It includes planetary probes, solar probes, and probes to asteroids and comets. Flybys (such as gravity assists) that were incidental to the main purpose of the mission are also included.
Excluded are lunar missions, which are listed separately at List of lunar probes and List of Apollo missions. Flybys of Earth are listed separately at List of Earth flybys. Planned and proposed missions are in the List of proposed Solar System probes.
Key Colour key: – Mission or flyby completed successfully (or partially successfully) – Failed mission – Mission en route or in progress (including mission extensions)
† means "tentatively identified", as classified by NASA. These are Cold War-era Soviet missions, mostly failures, about which few or no details have been officially released. The information given may be speculative. Date is the date of: closest encounter (flybys) impact (impactors) orbital insertion to end of mission, whether planned or premature (orbiters) landing to end of mission, whether planned or premature (landers) launch (missions that never got underway due to failure at or soon after launch) In cases which do not fit any of the above, the event to which the date refers is stated. As a result of this scheme missions are not always listed in order of launch.
Some of the terms used under Type: Flyby: The probe flies by an astronomical body, but does not orbit it Orbiter: Part of a probe that orbits an astronomical body Lander: Part of a probe that descend to the surface of an astronomical body Rover: Part of a probe that acts as a vehicle to move on the solid-surface of an astronomical body Penetrator: Part of a probe that impacts an astronomical body Atmospheric probe or balloon: Part of a probe that descend through or floats in the atmosphere of an astronomical body; not restricted to weather balloons and other atmospheric sounders, as it can also be used for surface and subsurface imaging and remote sensing. Sample return: Parts of the probe return to Earth with physical samples
Under Status, in the case of flybys (such as gravity assists) that are incidental to the main mission, "success" indicates the successful completion of the flyby, not necessarily that of the main mission.
Solar probes
While the Sun is not physically explorable with current technology, the following solar observation probes have been designed and launched to operate in heliocentric orbit or at one of the Earth–Sun Lagrangian points – additional solar observatories were placed in Earth orbit and are not included in this list:
1960–1969 Spacecraft Organization Date Type Status Notes Image Ref Pioneer 5 NASA/ DOD March–April 1960 orbiter success measured magnetic field phenomena, solar flare particles, and ionization in the interplanetary region Pioneer 6(A) NASA December 1965 – still contactable in 2000 orbiter success network of solar-orbiting "space weather" monitors, observing solar wind, cosmic rays, and magnetic fields Pioneer 7(B) NASA August 1966 – still contactable in 1995 orbiter success Pioneer 8(C) NASA December 1967 – still contactable in 2001 orbiter success Pioneer 9(D) NASA November 1968 – May 1983 orbiter success Pioneer-E NASA 27 August 1969 orbiter failure intended as part of the Pioneer network; failed to reach orbit
1974–1997 Spacecraft Organization Date Type Status Notes Image Ref Helios A DFVLR/ NASA November 1974 – 1982 orbiter success observations of solar wind, magnetic and electric fields, cosmic rays and cosmic dust between Earth and Sun Helios B DFVLR/ NASA January 1976 – 1985? orbiter success ISEE-3 NASA 1978–1982 orbiter success observed solar phenomena in conjunction with Earth-orbiting ISEE-1 and ISEE-2; later renamed International Cometary Explorer (ICE) and directed to Comet Giacobini-Zinner Ulysses(first pass) ESA/ NASA 1994 orbiter success south polar observations 1995 north polar observations WIND NASA November 1994 – still active as of October 2024 orbiter success solar wind measurements SOHO ESA/ NASA May 1996 – extended to December 2025 orbiter success investigation of Sun's core, corona, and solar wind; comet discoveries ACE NASA August 1997 – projected until 2024 orbiter success solar wind observations
Since 2000
Spacecraft Organization Date Type Status Notes Image Ref Ulysses(second pass) ESA/ NASA 2000 orbiter success south polar observations 2001 north polar observations Genesis NASA 2001–2004 orbiter/sample return success solar wind sample return; crash landed on return to Earth, much data salvaged STEREO A NASA December 2006 – still active as of October 2024 orbiter success stereoscopic imaging of coronal mass ejections and other solar phenomena STEREO B NASA December 2006 – October 2014. August 2016 – October 2018 (communication lost between 1 October 2014 and 21 August 2016) NASA directed that periodic recovery operations of Stereo-B cease with last support on October 17, 2018. orbiter success stereoscopic imaging of coronal mass ejections and other solar phenomena Ulysses(third pass) ESA/ NASA 2007 orbiter success south polar observations 2008 partial success north polar observations; some data returned despite failing power and reduced transmission capacity DSCOVR NOAA February 2015 – still active as of October 2024 orbiter success solar wind and coronal mass ejection monitoring, as well as Earth climate monitoring Parker Solar Probe NASA November 2018 – December 2025 orbiter/flyby(approach 26 times) success close-range solar coronal study Solar Orbiter ESA 10 February 2020 (launch) orbiter en route solar and heliospheric physics Aditya-L1 ISRO 2 September 2023 (launch) orbiter success Solar corona observation SWFO-L1 NOAA 24 September 2025 (launch) orbiter success Space weather, solar wind and coronal mass ejection monitoring
Mercury probes
Spacecraft Organization Date Type Status Notes Image Ref Mariner 10 NASA 29 March 1974 flyby success minimum distance 704 km 48,069 km 16 March 1975 327 km MESSENGER NASA 14 January 2008 flyby success minimum distance 200 km 6 October 2008 minimum distance 200 km 29 September 2009 minimum distance 228 km 18 March 2011 –30 April 2015 orbiter success first spacecraft to orbit Mercury; unavoidable impact on the surface at end of mission BepiColombo(Mercury Cruise System) ESA/ JAXA 1 October 2021 flyby success minimum distance 199 km 23 June 2022 minimum distance 200 km 19 June 2023 minimum distance 236 km 4 September 2024 minimum distance 165 km - closest planetary flyby ever performed 1 December 2024 minimum distance 37,626 km 8 January 2025 minimum distance 295 km MercuryPlanetary Orbiter ESA 21 November 2026 (orbital insertion) TBD 2027 (final MPO orbit) orbiter en route (attached to Mercury Cruise System) Mio(MercuryMagnetospheric Orbiter) JAXA 21 November 2026 (orbital insertion) orbiter en route (attached to Mercury Cruise System)
Venus probes
Early programs encompassing multiple spacecraft include: Venera program — USSR Venus orbiter and lander (1961–1984) Pioneer Venus project — US Venus orbiter and entry probes (1978) Vega program — USSR mission to Venus and Comet Halley (1984)
1961–1969
Spacecraft Organization Date Type Status Notes Image Ref Tyazhely Sputnik (USSR) 4 February 1961 lander failure failed to escape from Earth orbit Venera 1 (USSR) 19 May 1961 –20 May 1961 flyby failure contact lost 7 days after launch; first spacecraft to fly by another planet Mariner 1 NASA 22 July 1962 flyby failure guidance failure shortly after launch Sputnik 19 (USSR) 25 August 1962 lander failure failed to escape Earth orbit Sputnik 20 (USSR) 1 September 1962 lander failure failed to escape Earth orbit Sputnik 21 (USSR) 12 September 1962 flyby failure third stage exploded Mariner 2 NASA 14 December 1962 flyby success first successful Venus flyby; minimum distance 34,773 km Cosmos 21† (USSR) 11 November 1963 flyby failure failed to escape Earth orbit Venera 1964A† (USSR) 19 February 1964 flyby failure failed to reach Earth orbit Venera 1964B† (USSR) 1 March 1964 flyby failure failed to reach Earth orbit Cosmos 27 (USSR) 27 March 1964 flyby failure failed to escape Earth orbit Zond 1 (USSR) 1964 flyby and possible lander failure contact lost en route Cosmos 96 (USSR) 23 November 1965 lander failure did not depart low Earth orbit due to a launch failure Venera 1965A† (USSR) 26 November 1965 flyby failure launch vehicle failure? Venera 2 (USSR) 27 February 1966 flyby failure ceased to operate en route Venera 3 (USSR) 1 March 1966 lander failure contact lost before arrival; first spacecraft to impact on the surface of another planet Kosmos 167 (USSR) 17 June 1967 lander failure failed to escape Earth orbit Venera 4 (USSR) 18 October 1967 atmospheric probe success continued to transmit to an altitude of 25 km Mariner 5 NASA 19 October 1967 flyby success minimum distance 5,000 km Venera 5 (USSR) 16 May 1969 atmospheric probe success transmitted atmospheric data for 53 minutes, to an altitude of about 26 km Venera 6 (USSR) 17 May 1969 atmospheric probe success transmitted atmospheric data for 51 minutes, to an altitude of perhaps 10–12 km
1970–1978
Spacecraft Organization Date Type Status Notes Image Ref Cosmos 359 (USSR) 22 August 1970 lander failure failed to escape Earth orbit Venera 7 (USSR) 15 December 1970 lander success first successful landing on another planet; signals returned from surface for 23 minutes Cosmos 482 (USSR) 31 March 1972 lander failure failed to escape Earth orbit Venera 8 (USSR) 22 July 1972 lander success signals returned from surface for 50 minutes Mariner 10 NASA 5 February 1974 flyby success minimum distance 5768 km, en route to Mercury; first use of gravity assist by an interplanetary spacecraft Venera 9 (USSR) 1975 orbiter success first spacecraft to orbit Venus; communications relay for lander; atmospheric and magnetic studies 22 October 1975 lander success first images from the surface; operated on surface for 53 minutes Venera 10 (USSR) 1975 orbiter success communications relay for lander; atmospheric and magnetic studies 23 October 1975 lander success transmitted from surface for 65 minutes Pioneer Venus Orbiter NASA 1992 orbiter success atmospheric and magnetic studies Pioneer Venus Multiprobe NASA 9 December 1978 bus probe transporter success deployed four atmospheric probes, then burnt up in Venusian atmosphere, continuing to transmit to 110 km altitude large probe atmospheric probe success north probe atmospheric probe success day probe atmospheric probe success survived impact and continued to transmit from surface for over an hour night probe atmospheric probe success Venera 12 SAS flight platform 21 December 1978 flyby success minimum distance 34,000 km; deployed lander and then acted as communications relay descent craft 21 December 1978 lander partial success soft landing; transmissions returned for 110 minutes; failure of some instruments Venera 11 SASidentical to Venera 12 flight platform flyby success minimum distance 34,000 km; deployed lander and then acted as communications relay descent craft 25 December 1978 lander partial success soft landing; transmissions returned for 95 minutes; failure of some instruments
1982–1999