Encyclopedia of the Solar System 2nd ed

Appendix 909

TABLE 1 Planetary Exploration Missions

Spacecraft Source Launch Target Mission Notes

Reuven Ramaty High

Energy Solar

Spectroscopic

Imager (RHESSI)

USA Feb. 5, 2002 Solar flares telescope Solar observatory in Earth orbit

Comet Nucleus Tour

(CONTOUR)

USA July 3, 2002 Comets Encke

and SW-1

flyby Spacecraft failed leaving Earth

orbit

Hayabusa Japan May 9, 2003 Itokawa orbiter/sample

return

Orbited asteroid 25143 Itokawa:

September 2005. En route to

Earth with surface sample.

Arrival: 2010.

Mars Express ESA June 2, 2003 Mars orbiter Orbited Mars: Dec. 25, 2003.

Beagle 2 UK June 2, 2003 Mars lander Crashed on Mars: Dec. 25, 2003

Spirit USA June 10, 2003 Mars rover Landed on Mars: Jan. 3, 2004.

Opportunity USA July 7, 2003. Mars rover Landed on Mars: Jan. 24, 2004.

Spitzer Space

Telescope

USA Aug. 25, 2003 All telescope Infrared telescope in Earth

trailing orbit

SMART 1 ESA Sept. 27, 2003 Moon orbiter Orbited Moon: Nov. 15, 2004.

Impacted Moon: Sept. 3,

2006.

Rosetta ESA Mar. 2, 2004 Churyumov-

Gerasi-

menko

orbiter/lander En route to comet

67P/Churyumov-

Gerasimenko. Arrival: 2014.

Will fly by asteroids 2867

Steins and 21 Lutetia, plus

Earth (3 times) and Mars.

MESSENGER USA Aug. 3, 2004 Mercury orbiter En route to Mercury. Arrival:

Mar. 18, 2011.

Deep Impact USA Jan. 12, 2005 Tempel 1 flyby/impactor Flew by comet 9P/Tempel 1:

July 4, 2005. Impactor struck

comet nucleus.

Mars Reconnaissance

Orbiter (MRO)

USA Aug. 12, 2005 Mars orbiter Orbited Mars: Mar. 10, 2006

Venus Express ESA Nov. 9, 2005 Venus orbiter Orbited Venus: Apr. 11, 2006.

New Horizons USA Jan. 19, 2006 Pluto flyby Will arrive: July, 2015

Hinode Japan Sept. 22, 2006 Sun telescope Solar observatory in Earth orbit

Stereo USA Oct. 25, 2006 Sun telescopes Dual solar observatories in solar

orbit

SELENE Japan 2007 Moon orbiter Will orbit Moon

Dawn USA June, 2007 Vesta and Ceres orbiter Will orbit asteroids Vesta and

Ceres

Phoenix USA August, 2007 Mars lander Will land on Mars polar cap

Chandrayaan-1 India March, 2008 Moon orbiter Will orbit Moon

Kepler USA June, 2008 Extrasolar

planets

telescope Will search for planets around

other stars

Mars Science

Laboratory

USA June, 2009 Mars rovers Will land on Mars: October,

2010

Juno USA June, 2010 Jupiter orbiter Will orbit Jupiter

Lunar A Japan 2010 Moon orbiter/

penetrators

Will orbit Moon and deploy 2

penetrators to surface