This is a list of spacecraft powered by non-rechargeable batteries. While most spacecraft are powered by longer-lasting power sources such as solar cells or radioisotope thermoelectric generators, which can provide power for years to decades, some have been powered by primary (non-rechargeable) electrochemical cells, which provide runtimes of minutes to months. This is typically done only on spacecraft that are planned to operate for only a short time, even if they must travel for a long time before being activated. Some spacecraft classes where this applies are atmospheric probes, short-duration landers, and technology demonstrators. Some early Earth satellites, such as the first Sputnik and Explorer satellites, also used primary batteries, before solar panels were widely adopted.

Uncrewed

+Examples with non-rechargeable battery power onlyYearSpacecraftRoleBattery lifeType of batteryParent Notes1999 Deep Space 2 Scientific landers (2)1–3 days (planned) Lithium–thionyl chlorideMars Polar Lander/Deep Space 2Mars Polar Lander Impact landers for Mars, lost during EDL2016 ExoMars Schiaparelli Technology demonstration lander2–8 Martian sols (planned) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Lander for Mars, lost during EDL but considered a successful demo1958 Explorer 1 Scientific satellite111 days (actual) Zinc–mercury oxide (Zn–HgO)G. Halpert, et al.- Batteries and Fuel Cells in Space Earth/space scienceUniverse Today- Explorer 11960 Explorer 8 Scientific satellite54 days (actual) MercuryExplorer 8 Earth science: ionospheric properties and micrometeorites1966Explorer 17 (AE-A) Scientific satellite98 days (actual) Earth science: upper atmospheric properties1995Galileo ProbeScientific atmospheric probe>57 or 78 minutes after entry (actual, due to overheating) ≥61.4 minutes after entry, 6 hours after waking up (planned) Lithium–sulfur dioxideCa/CaCrO4 thermal (to fire pyrotechnics)B. Bienstock - Pioneer Venus and Galileo Entry Probe Heritage Galileo Atmospheric entry into Jupiter2004 Huygens Scientific atmospheric probe153 minutes or ≤3 hours (planned) Lithium–sulfur dioxideHuygen's Test - ESACassini Landed on Saturn's moon Titan1959 Luna 1 Scientific lunar impactor (planned); scientific lunar flyby probe (actual)(closest lunar approach was 34 hours after launch) Silver–zinc, mercury oxide Intended to crash into the Moon but missed. Performed lunar flyby instead. Now derelict in heliocentric orbit1959Luna 2Scientific lunar impactor>1 day, 14 hours, 22 minutes, 42 seconds (actual, from launch to impact)Succeeded in impacting the Moon, where Luna 1 had failed1966Luna 10Scientific lunar orbiter219 transmissions over 460 orbits (actual) Studied radiation, fields, particles, meteorites, gravity1966Luna 11Scientific lunar orbiter137 transmissions over 277 orbits (actual) Lunar orbit1976Luna 24Scientific lunar lander with sample return 2018MASCOTScientific rover>17 hours (actual) <17 hours (planned) Hayabusa2 Hopping rover that landed on asteroid 162173 Ryugu2022Lunar Excursion Vehicle (LEV-1) Technology demonstration 1-14 days (planned) Lunar surface rover, demonstration of crewed lunar vehicle's wheels1972Mars 2 and 3 landersScientific landers with tethered rovers (1 each) Mars 2 and 3 orbiters Rovers were ski walking type and were not deployed due to lander failures1961Mercury-Scout 1Technical satellite18.5 hours (planned) Launch failure1959Pioneer 4Scientific lunar flyby probe3 days, 10 hours MercuryNSSDC - Pioneer 4 Derelict in heliocentric orbit1978Pioneer Venus MultiprobeScientific atmospheric probes (1 large, 3 small)>54 minutes (Large Probe actual) >53 minutes (North Probe actual)

123 minutes (Day Probe actual)

>56 minutes (Night Probe actual) Silver–zinc (AgZn)J. Givens - Pioneer Venus & Galileo Probe DevelopmentPioneer Venus Bus Atmospheric entry into Venus. Day Probe survived impact and presumably died due to battery exhaustion. There was also a solar-powered bus that entered the atmosphere along with the probes1989 Phobos Hopper (Prop-F)Scientific lander3 hours (planned) Phobos 2 Hopping lander for Phobos. Phobos 2 was lost en route to Phobos due to computer failure1957SputnikTechnology demonstration satellite22 days/326 orbits (actual) Silver–zinc (AgZn) Earth satellite2006SuitSat-1Technical/commemorative satellitebetween 2 orbits/~3 hours and 15 days (actual) ISS Earth satellite1966–1969Venera atmospheric probesScientific atmospheric probes>53 minutes (Venera 5 actual) >51 minutes (Venera 6 actual)Veneras 3–6 were atmospheric probes. Venera 3 failed upon entry. Venera 4 failed during descent due to overpressure. Veneras 5 and 6 were originally planned as landers, but changed to atmospheric probes due to learning about Venus's atmospheric pressure. Their parachutes were shrunk to increase descent speed, so as to reach crush depth before battery exhaustion1970, 1972 Venera 7 and 8 landersScientific landers58 minutes total (Venera 7 actual)50 minutes after landing (Venera 8 actual, until failure due to environmental conditions)

greater than up to 127 minutes (actual) Venera 8–14 buses Most Venera landers' relay craft passed out of radio link range/geometry before the landers overheated or ran out of battery energy, rather than data return duration being limited by overheating as is commonly believed1975–1982Venera 9 to 14 landersScientific landers>53 minutes after landing (Venera 9 actual) >65 minutes after landing (Venera 10 actual)

>95 minutes after landing (Venera 11 actual)

>110 minutes after landing (Venera 12 actual)

>127 minutes after landing (Venera 13 actual)

>57 minutes after landing (Venera 14 actual)

30 minutes after landing (Venera 9–12 planned)

32 minutes after landing (Venera 13 and 14 planned)1985Vega 1 and 2 landersScientific landersVega 1 and 2 buses1985 Vega 1 and 2 balloonsScientific balloon aerobots48–52 hours (expected) Lithium 2022Sora-Q Transformable Lunar Robot Lunar roverTwo hours LithiumHakuto-R Mission 1 lander Lost with Hakuto-R's failed landing.2024SLIMImaged SLIM.2019, 2020, 2021, 2024Deployable camera, EagleCamCameras<1 dayTianwen-1, Hayabusa2, IM-1Imaging main spacecraft.

+ Examples with a supplementary power WhatParent Type of Battery SecondaryNotes Luna 9 Solar Lunar landing (1966)Sojourner rover Mars Pathfinder Lithium-thionyl chloride (LiSOCL2) Solar Roved Mars (1997) Sputnik 3 - Silver-Zinc Solar (Experiment) Earth satellite Philae Rosetta Lithium-thionyl chloride (LiSOCl2) (900 W*h)Lithium-ion (Li-ion) (100 W*h) Solar Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (2014)Ball, et al. - Planetary Landers and Entry Probes - Page 244 Vanguard 1 MercuryEarly Unmanned NASA Craft (1957–1968) Earth satellite (1958)

Primary power comes from a chemical battery, but a secondary system exists. For example, Luna 9 ran out of power after three days.

Crewed Early Gemini with on silver-zinc (Ag-Zn), later hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells Mercury Apollo Lunar Module, Ag-ZnBall, et al. - Planetary Landers and Entry Probes - Page 102 Soyuz 7K-T Vostok Voskhod

See also Lists of spacecraft Solar panels on spacecraft List of passive satellites Batteries in space

References

External links Lithium-Sulfix Dioxide Batteries on Mars Rovers Planetary Landers and Entry Probes