Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes

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This timeline of artificial satellites and space probes includes unmanned spacecraft including technology demonstrators, observatories, lunar probes, and interplanetary probes. First satellites from each country are included. Not included are most Earth science satellites, commercial satellites or manned missions.

Timeline[]

This list is incomplete; you can help by . (April 2015)

1950s[]

Artificial satellites and space probes in the 1950s

Year	Date	Origin	Name	Launch vehicle	Status	Description	Mass
1957	October 4	Soviet Union	Sputnik 1	Sputnik-PS	Success	The first human-made object to orbit Earth.	83.6 kg (183.9 lb)
	November 3	Soviet Union	Sputnik 2	Sputnik-PS	Success	The first satellite to carry a living animal, a dog named Laika.	508 kg (1,118 lb)
	December 6	USA	Vanguard 1A	Vanguard TV-3	Failure	The first stage engine was improperly started, causing the vehicle to fall back to the launch pad immediately after launch and explode.[1]	1.36 kg (2.99 lb)
1958	January 31	USA	Explorer 1	Juno I	Success	The first American satellite in space.[1]	13.91 kg (30.66 lb)
	February 5	USA	Vanguard 1B	Vanguard TV-3BU	Failure	Control failure caused vehicle breakup at T+57 seconds as vehicle exceeded an angle of attack of 45° due to a control system malfunction.[1]	1.36 kg (2.99 lb)
	March 5	USA	Explorer 2	Juno I	Failure	Failed to orbit. Fourth stage did not ignite.[1]	14.52 kg (31.94 lb)
	March 17	USA	Vanguard 1C	Vanguard TV-4	Success	Vanguard 1. Expected to de-orbit in ~2240AD, this and its upper launch stage are the oldest human-made objects in space. Also the first use of solar cells to power a satellite.[1]	1.47 kg (3.25 lb)
	March 26	USA	Explorer 3	Juno I	Success	Added to data received by Explorer 1.[1]	14.1 kg (31.0 lb)
	April 29	USA	Vanguard 2A	Vanguard TV-5	Failure	Second stage shutdown sequence not completed, preventing proper 3rd stage separation and firing. Did not reach orbit.[1]	9.98 kg (21.96 lb)
	May 15	Soviet Union	Sputnik 3	Sputnik	Success	Contained 12 instruments for a wide range of upper atmosphere tests.	1,327 kg (2,926 lb)
	May 28	USA	Vanguard 2B	Vanguard SLV-1	Failure	The first production model of the series. Nominal flight until a guidance error was encountered on second stage burnout. Did not reach orbit.[1]	9.98 kg (21.96 lb)
	June 26	USA	Vanguard 2C	Vanguard SLV-2	Failure	Premature second stage cutoff prevented third stage operation. Did not reach orbit.[1]	9.98 kg (21.96 lb)
	July 26	USA	Explorer 4	Juno I	Success	Expanded data set of previous Explorer missions and collected data from Argus high-altitude nuclear explosions.[1]	11.7 kg (25.8 lb)
	August 17	USA	Pioneer 0	Thor-Able 1	Failure	Failed to orbit. First stage engine failure caused explosion at T+77 seconds.	38 kg (84 lb)
	August 24	USA	Explorer 5	Juno I	Failure	On-board instruments damaged on first stage separation. Failed to orbit.[1]	11.7 kg (25.8 lb)
	September 26	USA	Vanguard 2D	Vanguard SLV-3	Failure	Second stage under-performed, lacking only ~76 m/s (~250 fps) required to achieve orbit.[1]	10.6 kg (23.3 lb)
	October 11	USA	Pioneer 1	Thor-Able 1	Partial success	First spacecraft launched by NASA. Studied Earth's magnetic fields. Third stage provided insufficient thrust to reach the Moon, leaving it sub-orbital.[2]	38 kg (84 lb)
	October 22	USA	Beacon 1	Jupiter-C	Failure	A thin plastic sphere (12-feet in diameter) intended to study atmosphere density.[2] Payload dropped due to rotational vibrations.[1]	4.2 kg (9.2 lb)
	November 8	USA	Pioneer 2	Thor-Able 1	Failure	Briefly provided further data on Earth's magnetic field. Third stage provided insufficient thrust to reach the vicinity of the Moon.[2]	38 kg (83 lb)
	December 6	USA	Pioneer 3	Juno II	Partial success	Did not reach moon as intended, but discovered a second radiation belt around Earth.[2]	5.9 kg (13.0 lb)
1959	January 2	Soviet Union	Luna 1	Luna	Partial success	The first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon, and the first spacecraft to be placed in heliocentric orbit.	361 kg (794.2 lb)
	February 17	USA	Vanguard 2E	Vanguard SLV-4	Success	Vanguard 2. Measured cloud cover. First attempted photo of Earth from a satellite; precession motion resulted in difficulty interpreting data (see first images of Earth from space).[2]	10.8 kg (23.7 lb)
	March 3	USA	Pioneer 4	Juno II	Success	Passed within 60,030 km (37,300 mi) of the Moon into a heliocentric orbit, returning excellent radiation data.[2]	6.1 kg (13.4 lb)
	April 13	USA	Vanguard 3A	Vanguard SLV-5	Failure	Failed to orbit. Second stage hydraulics failure led to loss of control, damaged at launch. Two spheres included as payload.[2]	10.3 kg (22.7 lb)
	June 22	USA	Vanguard 3B	Vanguard SLV-6	Failure	Failed to orbit. Second stage exploded due to stuck helium vent valve. Intended to measure weather effects related to solar-Earth heating processes.[2]	10.3 kg (22.7 lb)
	July 16	USA	Explorer S-1	Juno II	Failure	Did not achieve orbit. Guidance system power malfunction. Destroyed by range safety officer at T+5.5s.[2]	41.5 kg (91.3 lb)
	August 7	USA	Explorer 6	Thor-Able 3	Success	Included instruments to study particles and meteorology.[2]	64.4 kg (141.7 lb)
	August 14	USA	Beacon 2	Juno II	Failure	Premature cutoff of first stage caused upper stage malfunction.[2]	4.5 kg (9.9 lb)
	September 12	Soviet Union	Luna 2	Luna	Success	The first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon, and the first human-made object to land on another celestial body.	390.2 kg (858.4 lb)
	September 18	USA	Vanguard 3	Vanguard TV-4BU	Success	Incorporated Allegany Ballistics Laboratory X248 A2 as third stage.[1] Solar-powered sphere measured radiation belts and micrometeorite impacts.[2]	22.7 kg (50.0 lb)
	October 4	Soviet Union	Luna 3	Luna	Success	The first mission to photograph the far side of the Moon.	278.5 kg (614 lb)
	October 13	USA	Explorer 7	Juno II	Success	Provided data on energetic particles, radiation, and magnetic storms. Also recorded the first micrometeorite penetration of a sensor.[2]	41.5 kg (69.4 lb)
	November 26	USA	Pioneer P-3	Atlas-Able 20	Success	Lunar orbiter probe; payload shroud made it all the way after 45 seconds.[2]	168.7 kg (371.1 lb)

1960s[]

Artificial satellites and space probes in the 1960s

Year	Launch date	Origin	Name	Launch vehicle	Target	Status	Description
1960	March 11	USA	Pioneer 5	Thor-Able	Sun	Success	Solar monitor. Measured magnetic field phenomena, solar flare particles, and ionization in the interplanetary region[3]
	May 15	Soviet Union	Korabl-Sputnik 1	Vostok-L	Earth	Success	First test flight of the Soviet Vostok programme, and the first Vostok spacecraft
	April 1	USA	TIROS-1	Thor-Able	Earth	Success	TIROS-1 (or TIROS-A) was the first successful low-Earth orbital weather satellite, and the first of a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites.
	August 19	Soviet Union	Korabl-Sputnik 2	Vostok-L	Earth	Success	First spaceflight to send animals into orbit and return them safely back to Earth
1961	August 23	USA	Ranger 1	Atlas-Agena	Moon	Failure	Rocket malfunction caused the spacecraft to get stranded in low earth orbit.[4]
	November 18	USA	Ranger 2	Atlas-Agena	Moon	Failure	Booster rocket malfunction caused spacecraft to be trapped in low earth orbit.[5]
1962	January 26	USA	Ranger 3	Atlas-Agena	Moon	Failure	NASA's first attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon. A series of malfunctions caused spacecraft to hurtle past the moon.[6]
	April 23	USA	Ranger 4	Atlas-Agena	Moon	Partial failure	Was the first U.S. spacecraft to reach another celestial body. Failure in the onboard computer prevented it from carrying out its scientific objectives.[7]
	April 26	UK	Ariel 1	Thor-Delta	Earth	Success	First British satellite in space (on American rocket)
	July 10	USA	Telstar 1	Thor-Delta	Earth	Success	Communication satellite
	July 22	USA	Mariner 1	Atlas-Agena	Venus	Failure	Software related guidance system failure, range safety officer ordered destroyed after 294.5 seconds after launch.
	August 27	USA	Mariner 2	Atlas-Agena	Venus	Success	First spacecraft to visit another planet
	September 29	Canada	Alouette 1	Thor-Agena	Earth	Success	First Canadian satellite (on American rocket), first satellite not constructed by the US or USSR
	October 18	USA	Ranger 5	Atlas-Agena	Moon	Failure	Malfunction in the spacecraft's batteries caused them to drain after 8 hours, leaving it inoperable.[8]
1963	First pair - October 17	USA	Vela 1A and Vela 1B	Atlas-Agena	Earth	Success	Series of satellites to monitor compliance to the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty
1964	December 15	Italy	San Marco 1	Scout X-4	Earth	Success	First Italian satellite (on American rocket)
	February 2	USA	Ranger 6	Atlas-Agena	Moon	Success	Lunar impactor. Successful impact but power failure resulted in no pictures.
	July 31	USA	Ranger 7	Atlas-Agena	Moon	Success	Lunar impactor. Returned pictures until impact.
1965	February 2	USA	Ranger 8	Atlas-Agena	Moon	Success	Lunar impactor. Returned pictures until impact.
	February 20	USA	Ranger 9	Atlas-Agena	Moon	Success	Lunar impactor. Live TV broadcast until impact.
	November 26	France	Asterix	Diamant A	Earth	Success	First French satellite. First orbital launch outside U.S and Soviet Union.
	November 28	USA	Mariner 4	Atlas-Agena	Mars	Success	First deep space photographs of another planet and first flyby of Mars
	November 29	Canada	Alouette 2	Thor-Agena	Earth	Success	Research satellite designed to explore Earth's ionosphere
	December 16	USA	Pioneer 6	Delta E	Sun	Success	A series of solar-orbiting, spin-stabilized, solar-cell and battery-powered satellites designed to obtain measurements on a continuing basis of interplanetary phenomena from widely separated points in space.[9]
1966	January 31	Soviet Union	Luna 9	Molniya M	Moon	Success	First spacecraft to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, or any planetary body other than Earth, and to transmit photographic data to Earth from the surface of another planetary body.
	February 17	France	Diapason	Diamant A	Earth	Success	Earth measurement by doppler radio measure
	June 2	USA	Surveyor 1	Atlas-Centaur	Moon	Success	First US soft landing; Surveyor program performed various tests in support of forthcoming manned landings.[10]
	July 1	USA	Explorer 33	Delta E1	Earth	Partial success	Was intended to orbit the moon but instead orbited the earth. Explored solar winds, interplanetary plasma, and solar X-rays.
	August 10	USA	Lunar Orbiter 1	Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D	Moon	Success	First US spacecraft to orbit the Moon. Designed to photograph smooth areas of the lunar surface for selecting landing sites.
	August 17	USA	Pioneer 7	Delta E1	Sun	Success	A series of solar-orbiting, spin-stabilized, solar-cell and battery-powered satellites designed to obtain measurements on a continuing basis of interplanetary phenomena from widely separated points in space.[9]
	September 20	USA	Surveyor 2	Atlas LV-3C Centaur-D	Moon	Failure	Lunar Lander. A failure in one of its three thrusters caused it to lose control and crash into the moon.[11]
	November 6	USA	Lunar Orbiter 2	Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D	Moon	Success	Designed to photograph smooth areas of the lunar surface to identify landing sites.
1967	February 8	France	Diadème 1	Diamant A	Earth	Success	Orbit slightly too low, considered a partial failure by the booster team. Earth measurement by doppler radio and laser ranging from the ground.
	February 15	France	Diadème 2	Diamant A	Earth	Success	Earth measurement by doppler radio and laser ranging from the ground.
	April 17	USA	Surveyor 3	Atlas LV-3C Centaur-D	Moon	Success	Second successful lunar surface lander. Conducted experiments to see how the lunar surface would fare against the weight of an Apollo lunar module.[12]
	May 5	UK	Ariel 3	Scout A	Earth	Success	First entirely British built satellite
	July 14	USA	Surveyor 4	Atlas LV-3C Centaur-D	Moon	Failure	Despite a perfect flight to the moon, communications was lost 2.5 minutes prior to landing. NASA concluded the spacecraft may have exploded.[13]
	September 8	USA	Surveyor 5	Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D	Moon	Success	Lunar lander. First spacecraft to do a soil analysis of any world. Returned more than 20,000 photos.[14]
	November 7	USA	Surveyor 6	Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D	Moon	Success	Lunar lander. First spacecraft to be launched from the surface of the moon. It lifted itself to a height of about 3 meters.[15]
	November 29	Australia	WRESAT	Sparta	Earth	Success	First Australian satellite (on American rocket) launched from Woomera, Australia.
	December 13	USA	Pioneer 8	Delta E1	Sun	Success	A series of solar-orbiting, spin-stabilized, solar-cell and battery-powered satellites designed to obtain measurements on a continuing basis of interplanetary phenomena from widely separated points in space.[9]
1968	January 7	USA	Surveyor 7	Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D	Moon	Success	Lunar lander. Only spacecraft in the series to land in the lunar highland region and had the most extensive set of instruments.[16]
	November 8	USA	Pioneer 9	Delta E1	Sun	Success	A series of solar-orbiting, spin-stabilized, solar-cell and battery-powered satellites designed to obtain measurements on a continuing basis of interplanetary phenomena from widely separated points in space.[9]
1969	January 30	Canada	ISIS 1	Delta E1	Earth	Success	International Satellites for Ionospheric Studies (ISIS)
	February 25	USA	Mariner 6	Atlas SLV-3D Agena-D1A	Mars	Success	Mars probe attempting to study the surface and atmosphere of Mars during close flybys to establish a basis for further investigations.[17]
	March 27	USA	Mariner 7	Atlas SLV-3D Agena-D1A	Mars	Success	Mars probe attempting to study the surface and atmosphere of Mars during close flybys to establish a basis for further investigations.[18]
	November 8	West Germany	Azur / (GRS A) (German Research Satellite)	Scout B S169C	Earth	Success	The scientific mission was to: scan the energy spectra of inner zone protons and electrons; measure the fluxes of electrons of energy greater than 40 keV that are parallel, anti-parallel, and perpendicular to the magnetic lines of force over the auroral zone, and measure associated optical emission; and record solar protons on alert.[19]

1970s[]

Artificial satellites and space probes in the 1970s

Year	Origin	Name	Target	Status	Description
1970	Japan	Ohsumi	Earth	Success	First Japanese satellite
	West Germany	DIAL	Earth	Success	Second German satellite. Launch by a French Diamant B from Kourou
	Soviet Union	Venera 7	Venus	Success	First successful landing of a spacecraft on another planet
	Soviet Union	Luna 16	Moon	Success	Lander is the first automated return of samples from the Moon
	Soviet Union	Zond 8	Moon	Success	Flyby
	Soviet Union	Luna 17/Lunokhod 1	Moon	Success	Lander/rover is the first automated surface exploration of the Moon
	France	PEOLE	Earth	Success	First French communication satellite.
	UK	Orba (satellite)	Earth	Failure	Second stage of rocket shutdown 13 seconds early
	USA	Uhuru	Earth	Success	First dedicated X-ray astronomy satellite
	China	Dong Fang Hong I	Earth	Success	First Chinese satellite
1971	Soviet Union	Luna 18	Moon	Failure	Lander
	Soviet Union	Luna 19	Moon	Success	Orbiter
	USA	Mariner 8	Mars	Failure	Orbiter. Lost due to launch failure.
	France	Tournesol	Earth	Success	First French satellite with active attitude control. Hydrogen measurement.
	France	Polaire	Earth	Failure	Second stage explosion
	Soviet Union	Cosmos 419	Mars	Failure	Probe
	Soviet Union	Mars 2	Mars	Failure	Orbiter and lander, created the first human artifact on Mars
	Soviet Union	Mars 3	Mars	Success	Orbiter and lander, first successful landing on Mars
	USA	Mariner 9	Mars	Success	Orbiter, first pictures of Mars' moons (Phobos and Deimos) taken
	Canada	ISIS 2	Earth	Success
	Japan		Earth	Partial success	First Japanese science satellite
	UK	Prospero X-3	Earth	Success	Satellite, first satellite launched by Britain using a British rocket
	UK	Ariel 4	Earth	Success
1972	Soviet Union	Venera 8	Venus	Success	Lander
	Soviet Union	Luna 20	Moon	Success	Lander
	USA/ UK	Copernicus – Orbiting Astronomical Observatory-3	Earth	Success
	USA	Pioneer 10	Jupiter	Success	First spacecraft to encounter Jupiter
	USA	Explorer 49	Sun	Success	Solar probe
1973	USA	Mariner 10	Venus/Mercury	Success	It passed by and photographed Mercury, also was the first dual planet probe
	USA	Pioneer 11	Jupiter/Saturn	Success	First spacecraft to encounter Saturn
	France	Castor Pollux	Earth	Failure	Reached orbit but the fairing failed to deploy, failing the launch
	Soviet Union	Luna 21/Lunokhod 2	Moon	Success	Lander/rover
	Soviet Union	Mars 4	Mars	Failure	Orbiter
	Soviet Union	Mars 5	Mars	Success	Orbiter
	Soviet Union	Mars 6	Mars	Failure	Orbiter and lander
	Soviet Union	Mars 7	Mars	Failure	Orbiter and lander
1974	West Germany	Helios 1	Sun	Success	Solar probe
	Soviet Union	Luna 22	Moon	Success	Orbiter
	Soviet Union	Luna 23	Moon	Failure	Probe
	UK	Ariel 5	Earth	Success	X-ray satellite
1975	Soviet Union	Venera 9	Venus	Success	Returns the first pictures of the surface of Venus
	Soviet Union	Venera 10	Venus	Success	Orbiter and lander
	France	Starlette	Earth	Success	Laser reflector for earth based measurement
	France	Castor Pollux	Earth	Success	Castor tested a new accelerometer, Pollux tested hydrazine based thrusters
	France	Aura	Earth	Success	Far-ultraviolet measurement of the sun. Last launch of the Diamant rocket.
	USA	Viking 1	Mars	Success	Orbiter and lander; lands on Mars 1976
	USA	Viking 2	Mars	Success	Orbiter and lander; lands on Mars 1976
	India	Aryabhata	Earth	Success	Launched by USSR, the first Indian satellite
1976	West Germany	Helios 2	Sun	Success	Solar probe
	Soviet Union	Luna 24	Moon	Success	Lander
	Canada/ USA/ Europe	Communications Technology Satellite	Earth	Success	Prototype for testing direct broadcast satellite television on the Ku band
	Netherlands/ USA	Astronomische Nederlandse Satelliet (ANS)	Earth	Success	Discovered X-ray bursts, first Dutch satellite (with US contributions)[20]
	USA	Orbiting Solar Observatory	Sun	Success	X-ray satellite shows that X-ray bursts have blackbody spectra
1977	USA	HEAO-1	Earth	Success	X-ray satellite
	Soviet Union	Kosmos 954	Earth	Success	Reconnaissance satellites
1978	USA	Pioneer Venus 1	Venus	Success	Orbiter
	USA	Pioneer Venus 2	Venus	Success	Atmospheric probe
	Soviet Union	Venera 11	Venus	Success	Flyby and lander
	Soviet Union	Venera 12	Venus	Success	Flyby and lander
	USA/ UK/ Europe	International Ultraviolet Explorer	Earth	Success
	USA	HEAO-2	Earth	Success	First X-ray photographs of astronomical objects
	Czechoslovakia	1	Earth	Success	First satellite for Czechoslovakia
1979	India	Satellite Launch Vehicle		Failure	India's first rocket launched
	Japan	Hakucho	Earth	Success	X-ray satellite
	UK	Ariel 6	Earth	Success	Cosmic-ray and X-ray satellite
	USA	Voyager 1 Voyager 2	Jupiter	Success	Sent back images of Jupiter and its system
	India	Bhaskara-1	Earth	Success	Launched by ISRO (First Indian low orbit Earth Observation Satellite)

1980s[]

Artificial satellites and space probes in the 1980s

Year	Origin	Name	Target	Status	Description
1980	USA	Solar Maximum Mission	Sun	Failure	Solar Maximum Mission solar probe succeeded after being repaired in Earth orbit
1981	India	Bhaskara-2	Earth	Success	Bhaskara-2 satellite; launched on Russian Kosmos-3M rocket for ISRO
	Soviet Union	Venera 13	Venus	Success	Venera 13 launched, it returned the first colour pictures of the surface of Venus
	Soviet Union	Venera 14	Venus	Success	Venera 14 flyby and lander
	Bulgaria	Bulgaria 1300	Earth	Success	Bulgaria 1300, polar research mission, was Bulgaria's first artificial satellite; launched by the Soviet Union
1983	Soviet Union	Venera 15	Venus	Success	Venera 15 orbiter
	Soviet Union	Venera 16	Venus	Success	Venera 16 orbiter
	Europe	EXOSAT	Earth	Success	Launch of the EXOSAT X-ray satellite
	Japan	Tenma	Earth	Success	Launch of the Tenma X-ray satellite (ASTRO-B)
	USA /  Netherlands /  UK	IRAS	Earth	Success	Launch of the IRAS satellite
1984	Soviet Union	Vega 1	Venus/Halley's Comet	Success	Vega 1 flyby, atmospheric probe and lander
	Soviet Union	Vega 2	Venus/Halley's Comet	Success	Vega 2 flyby, atmospheric probe and lander
1985	Mexico	Morelos I	Earth	Success	Morelos I, the first Mexican satellite
1986	Europe	Giotto	Halley's Comet	Success	Giotto flyby
	USA	Voyager 2	Uranus	Success	Voyager 2 sent back images of Uranus and its system
1987	Japan	Ginga	Earth	Success	Launch of the Ginga X-ray satellite (ASTRO-C)
1988	Soviet Union	Phobos 1	Mars	Failure	Phobos 1 orbiter and lander
	Soviet Union	Phobos 2	Mars	Failure	Phobos 2 flyby and lander
	Israel	Ofeq 1	Earth	Success	Ofeq 1 first Israeli satellite, first satellite to be launched in retrograde orbit
1989	USA	Magellan	Venus	Success	Magellan orbiter launched which mapped 99 percent of the surface of Venus (300 m resolution)
	USA /  West Germany	Galileo	Venus/Earth/Moon/Gaspra/Ida/Jupiter	Success	Galileo flyby, orbiter and atmospheric probe
	USA	Voyager 2	Neptune	Success	Voyager 2 sent back images of Neptune and its system
	Europe	Hipparcos	Earth	Success	Launch of the Hipparcos satellite
	USA	COBE	Earth	Success	Launch of the COBE satellite
	Soviet Union	Granat	Earth	Success	Launch of the Granat gamma-ray and X-ray satellite

1990s[]

Artificial satellites and space probes in the 1990s

Year	Origin	Name	Target	Status	Description
1990	USA/ Europe	Ulysses	Sun	Success	Ulysses solar flyby
	Japan	Hiten	Moon	Success	Hiten probe, this was the first non-United States or USSR probe to reach the Moon
	USA/ Europe	Hubble Space Telescope	Earth	Success	Launch of the Hubble Space Telescope
	Germany	ROSAT	Earth	Success	Launch of the ROSAT X-ray satellite to conduct the first imaging X-ray sky survey
1991	Japan	Yohkoh	Sun	Success	Yohkoh solar probe
	USA	Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory	Earth	Success	Launch of the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory satellite
1992	USA	Mars Observer	Mars	Failure	Mars Observer orbiter
1993	Japan	ASCA	Earth	Success	Launch of the ASCA (ASTRO-D) X-ray satellite
1994	USA	Clementine	Moon	Success	Clementine orbiter mapped the surface of the Moon (resolution 125–150 m) and allowed the first accurate relief map of the Moon to be generated
	Turkey	Türksat 1B	Earth	Success	Türksat 1B, First Turkish communications satellite
1995	Mexico	Unamsat 1	Earth	Failure	, First UNAM built orbiter
	Europe	ISO	Earth	Success	Launch of the Infrared Space Observatory
	Europe/ USA	SOHO	Sun	Success	SOHO solar probe
1996	USA	NEAR Shoemaker	433 Eros	Success	NEAR Shoemaker asteroid flybys/orbiter/lander
	Turkey	Türksat 1C	Earth	Success	Türksat 1C, Second Turkish communications satellite
	USA	Mars Global Surveyor	Mars	Success	Mars Global Surveyor orbiter
	USA	Mars Pathfinder	Mars	Success	Mars Pathfinder, the first automated surface exploration of another planet
	Russia	Mars 96	Mars	Failure	Mars 96 orbiter and lander
	Argentina	SAC-B	Earth	Failure	Sac-B Orbiter
1997	USA/ Europe	Cassini-Huygens	Saturn and Titan	Success	Cassini-Huygens arrived in orbit on July 1, 2004, landed on Titan January 14, 2005
	Argentina	Nahuel 1A	Earth	Success	Nahuel 1A First Argentine satellite - geostationary communications satellites
1998	North Korea	Kwangmyongsong-1	Earth	Un­known	Claimed launch of Kwangmyongsong-1 by North Korea though no independent source was able to verify its existence
	USA	Lunar Prospector	Moon	Success	Lunar Prospector orbiter
	Japan	Nozomi	Mars	Failure	Nozomi (Planet B) orbiter, the first Japanese spacecraft to reach another planet
	USA	Mars Climate Orbiter	Mars	Failure	Mars Climate Orbiter
	Argentina /  USA	SAC-A	Earth	Success	Sac-A Orbiter
1999	USA	Mars Polar Lander	Mars	Failure	Mars Polar Lander
	USA	Deep Space 2	Mars	Failure	Deep Space 2 (DS2) penetrators
	USA	Chandra	Earth	Success	Launch of the Chandra X-ray Observatory
	Europe	XMM-Newton	Earth	Success	Launch of the X-Ray Multi-Mirror Mission, XMM-Newton

2000s[]

Artificial satellites and space probes in 2000's

Year	Origin	Name	Target	Status	Description
2000	UK	SNAP-1	Earth	Success	SNAP-1 robotic camera enabling images to be sent to other spacecraft orbiting the Earth
	Argentina	SAC-C	Earth	Success	Orbiter
2001	Turkey	Türksat 2A	Earth	Success	Türksat 2A, third Turkish communications satellite
	USA	Genesis	Sun	Partial success	Genesis solar wind sample crash-landed on return
	USA	WMAP	Earth	Success	Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) performs cosmological observations.
	USA	Mars Odyssey	Mars	Success	Mars Odyssey
	Europe	PROBA-1	Earth	Success	PROBA-1 Small satellite to observe the Earth (first Belgian Satellite)
2003	Canada	MOST	Earth	Success	MOST the smallest space telescope in orbit.
	Turkey	BİLSAT	Earth	Success	BİLSAT , Turkey's first earth observation satellite
2002	USA	CONTOUR	Comet Encke	Failure	CONTOUR launched, but lost during early trajectory insertion.
	Europe/ Russia/ USA	INTEGRAL	Earth	Success	Launch of the INTEGRAL gamma-ray satellite.
2003	Europe	Smart 1	Moon	Success	Smart 1 orbiter
	Europe	Mars Express & Beagle 2	Mars	Partial success	Mars Express orbiter (successfully reached orbit) and failed Beagle 2 lander
	USA	Mars Exploration Rover	Mars	Success	Mars Exploration Rovers successful launches, Spirit successfully landed, Opportunity successfully landed
	UK	UK-DMC	Earth	Success	UK-DMC orbiter, part of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation
	Japan	Hayabusa	25143 Itokawa	Success	Hayabusa, first sample return from asteroid, returned in 2010
2004	Europe	Rosetta	Comet 67P	Success	Rosetta space probe launched (arrived on comet 67P on November 12, 2014)
	USA	MESSENGER	Mercury	Success	MESSENGER orbiter launched (in Mercury orbit)
	USA	Swift	Earth	Success	Launch of the Swift Gamma ray burst observatory.
2005	USA	Deep Impact	Comet Tempel 1	Success	Deep Impact
	Japan	Suzaku	Earth	Partial success	Launch of the Suzaku X-ray observatory (ASTRO-EII)
	USA	MRO	Mars	Success	Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
	Iran	Sinah-1	Earth	Success	Sinah-1 launched, first Iranian-built satellite
	Europe	Venus Express	Venus	Success	Venus Express
2006	USA	New Horizons	Pluto	Success	New Horizons launched. On July 14, 2015, New Horizons flew within 7,750 miles (12,472 km) of Pluto.
	Japan	Akari	Earth	Success	Launch of the Akari infrared observatory (ASTRO-F)
	France/ Europe	COROT	Earth	Success	COROT telescope to search for extrasolar planets
2007	USA	Phoenix	Mars	Success	Phoenix launched and successfully landed in 2008
	Japan	SELENE	Moon	Success	SELENE orbiter and lander
	USA	Dawn	Vesta/Ceres	Success	Dawn solar powered ion engined probe to 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres.
	China	Chang'e-I	Moon	Success	Chang'e-I lunar orbiter
	Nigeria	NigComSat-1	Earth	Partial success	NigComSat-1 launched by China, failed after 1 year
2008	Turkey	Türksat 3A	Earth	Success	Türksat 3A, fourth Turkish communications satellite
	USA	IBEX	Earth	Success	The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX)'s mission is to study the nature of interactions between solar wind and interstellar medium at the edge of solar system.
2009	Europe	Planck	L2	Success	Planck
	Europe	Herschel	L2	Success	Herschel Space Observatory
	Iran	Omid	Earth	Success	Omid launched by Iranian made launcher Safir. First Iranian-launched satellite
	USA	Kepler	Earth	Success	Kepler launched
	Europe	PROBA-2	Earth	Success	PROBA-2 Small satellite to observe the sun
	India	RISAT-2	Earth	Success	RISAT-2 developed by Israel Aerospace Industries, launched by ISRO, India
	India	Chandrayaan-1	Moon	Success	Chandrayaan-1 developed and launched by ISRO, India. First discovery of Lunar Water.
	UK	UK-DMC 2	Earth	Success	UK-DMC 2 orbiter, successor to UK-DMC part of the Disaster Monitoring Constellation

2010s[]

Artificial satellites and space probes in the 2010s

Year	Origin	Name	Target	Status	Description
2010	Japan	Akatsuki	Venus	Partial success	Akatsuki orbiter, first Japanese spacecraft to orbit another planet (2015)
2010	Japan	IKAROS	Venus	Success	IKAROS, first solar-sail spacecraft
	China	Chang'e-2	Moon	Success	Chang'e-2 lunar orbiter/impacter
2011	Turkey	RASAT	Earth	Success	Turkey's after BİLSAT, second earth observation satellite. RASAT, design and production made in Turkey is the first observation satellite.
	Russia	Spektr-R	Earth	Success	Launch of the Spektr-R radio telescope
	USA	Juno	Jupiter	Success	Juno
	Russia	Fobos-Grunt	Mars	Failure	Fobos-Grunt lander and sample return
	Nigeria	NigComSat-1	Earth	Success	NigComSat-1 replacement launched by China
	Taiwan /  Singapore	ST-2	Earth	Success	ST-2 replacement launched by Taiwan and Singapore
	Argentina /  USA	SAC-D	Earth	Success	SAC-D Orbiter
2012	Iran	Navid	Earth	Success	Navid earth-watching satellite
	USA	MSL	Mars	Success	Mars Science Laboratory with Curiosity rover—orbit and landed
	North Korea	Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3	Earth	Success	Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2, first successful North Korean orbital rocket launch
	Poland	PW-Sat	Earth	Success	PW-Sat, first Polish satellite
2013	South Korea	STSAT-2C	Earth	Success	STSAT-2C, first successful South Korean orbital rocket launch
	Canada	NEOSSat	Earth	Success	NEOSSat, monitoring near-Earth objects
	Canada	Sapphire	Earth	Success	Sapphire, military space surveillance
	Ecuador	NEE 01 Pegaso	Earth	Success	NEE-01 Pegaso, Ecuador's first satellite
	Estonia	ESTCube-1	Earth	Success	ESTCube-1, Estonia's first satellite
	Europe	PROBA-V	Earth	Success	PROBA-V, small satellite to monitor the vegetation of the Earth
	UK	STRaND-1	Earth	Success	STRaND-1, first smartphone-operated satellite to be launched and dubbed the world's first "phonesat"
	Japan	Hisaki	Earth	Success	Hisaki planetary atmosphere observatory
	Canada	CASSIOPE	Earth	Success	CASSIOPE, ionosphere research and communication satellite
	India	MOM	Mars	Success	MOM is India's first interplanetary mission
	USA	MAVEN	Mars	Success	MAVEN orbiter
	Poland	Lem	Earth	Success	Lem, First Polish scientific satellite
2014	Lithuania	LitSat1/LituanicaSAT-1	Earth	Success	LitSat-1 and LituanicaSAT-1, first Lithuanian satellites
	Turkey	TÜRKSAT 4A	Earth	Success	TÜRKSAT 4A, Turkey's fifth communication satellite.
	Europe	Rosetta / Philae	Comet 67P	Partial success	Rosetta and Philae, Third comet landing at unintended site in suboptimal orientation due to failure of surface anchoring system
	Poland	Heweliusz	Earth	Success	Heweliusz, Second Polish scientific satellite
	Japan	Hayabusa2	162173 Ryugu	Success	Hayabusa2, second Japanese asteroid sample return spacecraft
	Japan	PROCYON	2000 DP107	Partial failure	PROCYON deep space probe
2015	United States	DSCOVR	Earth-Sun L1	Success	DSCOVR, Earth and space weather
	India	Astrosat	Earth	Success	Astrosat, Space observatory
	Turkey	TÜRKSAT 4B	Earth	Success	TÜRKSAT 4B , Turkey's sixth communication satellite.
2016	European Union /  Russia	ExoMars / Schiaparelli	Mars	Partial success	ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, Trace Gas Orbiter in orbit; Schiaparelli lander crashed
	Canada	M3MSat	Earth	Success	M3MSat, maritime monitoring and communication satellite
	United States	OSIRIS-REx	Earth	en route	OSIRIS-REx, first American asteroid sample return spacecraft
2017	Brazil	SGDC-1	Earth	Success	SGDC-1, communication satellite
2018	United States	Tesla Roadster	Heliocentric orbit	Success	Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster, dummy payload for the February 2018 Falcon Heavy test flight and is now an artificial satellite of the Sun
	United States  France  Germany	InSight	Mars	Success	InSight, Mars lander for planetary information
	European Union/ Japan	BepiColombo	Mercury	en route	BepiColombo, two orbiters to study the magnetic field, magnetosphere, and both interior and surface structure of Mercury. Final mission of the Horizon 2000+ programme
	United States	Parker Solar Probe	Sun	en route	Parker Solar Probe, first spacecraft to visit the outer corona of the Sun
	China	Chang'e 4	Moon	Success	Chang'e 4, first spacecraft to soft-land on the lunar far side.
2019	Egypt	NARSSCube-2	Earth	Success	NARSSCube-2, Egypt's first domestically built satellite
	Israel	Beresheet	Moon	Failure	Beresheet, first private space probe and moon lander, crashed
	Russia /  Germany	Spektr-RG	Earth-Sun L2	Success	Launch of the Spektr-RG X-ray observatory
	India	Chandrayaan-2	Moon	Partial success	Chandrayaan-2, orbiter achieved orbit, but lander crash-landed.
	Ethiopia	ETRSS-1	Earth	Success	ETRSS-1, first Ethiopian satellite; launched on China's Long March 4B rocket.[21]

2020s[]

Artificial satellites and space probes in the 2020s

Year	Origin	Name	Target	Status	Description
2020	Turkey	TÜRKSAT 5A	Earth	Success	TÜRKSAT 5A, Turkey's seventh communication satellite launched with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
	European Union	SolO	Sun	enroute	Solar Orbiter is an ESA's Sun-observing satellite.[22][23][24]
	United States	Mars 2020	Mars	Success	Perseverance, JPL's new Mars rover. It was launched on July 30 with Atlas V rocket, and landed on February 18, 2021 with together small Ingenuity helicopter that was deployed on April 4, 2021.
	UAE	Hope	Mars	Success	Hope satellite is the United Arab Emirates Space Agency's unmanned space research project on Mars. It was launched with Japanese H-IIA rocket on 19 July and reached Mars on 9 February, 2021.
	China	Tianwen-1	Mars	Success	Mission containing a orbiter, deployable camera, lander and Zhurong rover. This is China's 2nd unmanned space research project on Mars. It was launched with Long March 5 rocket on 23 July and the orbiter, lander and rover entered Mars orbit on 10 February, 2021. The rover and lander landed on 14 May with rover deployment on 22 April 2021 and dropped a remote selfie camera on Mars on 1 June, 2021 and while deployable camera made a flyby around 10 February, 2021.
	China	Chang'e 5	Moon	Success	Orbiter, Returner, Ascent Stage, Lander configuration mission, China's first automated return of samples from the Moon. orbiter visited L1 and made a lunar flyby.
2021	United States	Lucy	a main belt asteroid as well as 8 Jupiter trojans	enroute	NASA probe that will complete a 12-year journey to eight different asteroids, visiting a main belt asteroid as well as eight Jupiter trojans,[25] asteroids which share Jupiter's orbit around the Sun, orbiting either ahead of or behind the planet. All target encounters will be fly-by encounters.[26] It was launched on October 16, 2021, on the 401 variant of Atlas V and has yet to study a trojan asteroid.
	United States Italy	DART	a Binary 65803 Didymos asteroid system	enroute	Double Asteroid Redirection Test, NASA's first mission to test planetary defense. Its uses involves test this technique by kinetically impacting the spacecraft to produce a small change in its orbital period. It was launched on November 24 with Falcon 9 rocket. Accompanying the mission is LICIACube cubesat flyby spacecraft to record this period of impact.
	United States	IXPE	Earth	Success	Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer, NASA's new X-ray obervatory. It was launched on December 8 with Falcon 9 rocket.
	Turkey	TÜRKSAT 5B	Earth	Success	TÜRKSAT 5B, Turkey's eighth communication satellite launched with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket.
	United States/  European Union/  Canada	James Webb Space Telescope	Earth-Moon L2 point	enroute	James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), NASA, ESA and CSA's joint project for a space telescope. It was launched on December 25 with Ariane 5 ECA rocket to Earth-Moon L2 point.

References[]

External links[]

• Current and Upcoming Launches
• Missions-NASA
• Unmanned spaceflight discussion forum
• Chronology of Lunar and Planetary Exploration (homepage)