This is a comprehensive list of spaceflights between two or more bodies of the Solar System

Solar System

The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...

, listed in chronological order by launch date. It includes only flights that escaped Earth orbit and reached the vicinity of another planet, asteroid, or comet. Flights that were planned but not executed, were destroyed at or shortly after launch, or missed their target entirely are not included. Flights which reached, but failed to return useful scientific data regarding their target, are given a gray background.

The list is divided between flights that stopped at a destination, and those that flew by their target.

Completed flights

The following flights were completed by matching velocity with the target object, whether by station-keeping, entering orbit, landing, or impact.

1960s

Spacecraft	Destination	Launched	Reached planet	Flight duration	Notes	Ref
Venera 3 Venera 3 Venera 3 was a Venera program space probe that was built and launched by the Soviet Union to explore the surface of Venus. It was launched on November 16, 1965 at 04:19 UTC from Baikonur, Kazakhstan....	Venus	16 November 1965	1 March 1966 impact	106 days (3 months, 14 days)	Venera 3 was intended to soft-land on Venus. Contact with the spacecraft was lost before arrival, and Venera 3 crashed.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1965-092A
Venera 4 Venera 4 Venera 4 ) was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus. Venera-4 was the first successful probe to perform in-place analysis of the environment of another planet. It was also the first probe to land on another planet...	Venus	12 June 1967	18 October 1967 entered atmosphere	129 days (4 months, 7 days)	Venera 4, a Venus atmosphere probe, continued to transmit to an altitude of 25 km	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1967-058A
Venera 5 Venera 5 Venera 5 was a probe in the Soviet space program Venera for the exploration of Venus.Venera 5 was launched from a Tyazheliy Sputnik towards Venus to obtain atmospheric data...	Venus	5 January 1969	16 May 1969 entered atmosphere	132 days (4 months, 12 days)	Venera 5 was a Venus atmosphere probe.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1969-001A
Venera 6 Venera 6 Venera 6 was a Soviet spacecraft, launched from a Tyazheliy Sputnik on January 10, 1969 towards Venus to obtain atmospheric data. It had an on-orbit dry mass of 1130 kg....	Venus	10 January 1969	17 May 1969 entered atmosphere	128 days (4 months, 8 days)	Venera 6 was a Venus atmosphere probe.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1969-002A

1970s

Spacecraft	Destination	Launched	Reached planet	Flight duration	Notes	Ref
Venera 7 Venera 7 The Venera 7 was a Soviet spacecraft, part of the Venera series of probes to Venus. When it landed on the Venusian surface, it became the first man-made spacecraft to successfully land on another planet and to transmit data from there back to Earth.*Launch date/time: 1970 August 17 at 05:38... lander	Venus	17 August 1970	15 December 1970 landed	121 days (3 months, 29 days)	Venera 7 made the first successful landing on another planet, and returned signals from the surface of Venus for 23 minutes.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1970-060A
Mars 2 Orbiter and Lander Mars 2 The Mars program was a series of Mars unmanned landers and orbiters launched by the Soviet Union in the early 1970s.The Mars 2 and Mars 3 missions consisted of identical spacecraft, each with an orbiter and an attached lander; they were the first human artifacts to impact the surface of Mars...	Mars	19 May 1971	27 November 1971 impact	193 days (6 months, 9 days)	The Mars 2 lander crashed into Mars on 27 November 1971, in a failed soft landing attempt. It was the first manmade object to reach the surface of Mars. The orbiter continued operating until 22 August 1972.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1971-045A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1971-045D
Mars 3 Orbiter and Lander Mars 3 The Mars 3 was an unmanned space probe of the Mars program, a series of unmanned Mars landers and orbiters launched by the Soviet Union in the early 1970s....	Mars	28 May 1971	2 December 1971 entered orbit/landed	189 days (6 months, 5 days)	Mars 3 did not attain its intended orbit due to insufficient fuel. The lander reached the surface on 2 December 1971, but contact was lost immediately afterward. The orbiter continued operating until 22 August 1972.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1971-049A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1971-049F
Mariner 9 Orbiter Mariner 9 Mariner 9 was a NASA space orbiter that helped in the exploration of Mars and was part of the Mariner program. Mariner 9 was launched toward Mars on May 30, 1971 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and reached the planet on November 13 of the same year, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit...	Mars	30 May 1971	14 November 1971 entered orbit	169 days (5 months, 16 days)	Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. It remained active until 27 October 1972.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1971-051A
Venera 8 Venera 8 Venera 8 was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus.Venera 8 was a Venus atmospheric probe and lander. Its instrumentation included temperature, pressure, and light sensors as well as an altimeter, gamma ray spectrometer, gas analyzer, and radio transmitters... lander	Venus	27 March 1972	22 July 1972 landed	118 days (3 months, 26 days)	Venera 8 returned signals from the surface of Venus for 50 minutes.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1972-021A
Mars 5 Orbiter	Mars	25 July 1973	12 February 1974 entered orbit	203 days (6 months, 19 days)	Mars 5 collected images and other data from Mars for 22 days.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1973-049A
Mars 6 Lander	Mars	5 August 1973	12 March 1974 impact	220 days (7 months, 8 days)	Mars 6 crash-landed on Mars and contact with the craft was lost.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1973-052A
Venera 9 Venera 9 Venera 9 was a USSR unmanned space mission to Venus. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. It was launched on June 8, 1975 02:38:00 UTC and weighed 4,936 kg... orbiter and lander	Venus	8 June 1975	20 October 1975 entered orbit 22 October 1975 landed	135 days (4 months, 13 days)	The Venera 9 lander transmitted the first images from the surface of Venus.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1975-050A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1975-050D
Venera 10 Venera 10 Venera 10 was a USSR unmanned space mission to Venus. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. It launched on June 14, 1975 03:00:31 UTC.-Orbiter:The orbiter entered Venus orbit on October 23, 1975... orbiter and lander	Venus	14 June 1975	23 October 1975 entered orbit 25 October 1975 landed	132 days (4 months, 10 days)	Venera 10 successfully landed and sent back images from the surface of Venus.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1975-054A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1975-054D
Viking 1 Orbiter and Lander Viking 1 Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft sent to Mars as part of NASA's Viking program. It was the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars and perform its mission, and until May 19, 2010 held the record for the second longest Mars surface mission of 6 years and 116 days .- Mission :Following...	Mars	20 August 1975	19 June 1976 entered orbit 20 July 1976 landed	305 days (10 months)	Viking 1 transmitted the first images from the surface of Mars. The Viking orbiter was active until 17 August 1980, the lander until 13 November 1982.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1975-075A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1975-075C
Viking 2 Orbiter and Lander Viking 2 The Viking 2 mission was part of the American Viking program to Mars, and consisted of an orbiter and a lander essentially identical to that of the Viking 1 mission. The Viking 2 lander operated on the surface for 1,281 Mars days and was turned off on 11 April 1980 when its batteries failed...	Mars	9 September 1975	7 August 1976 entered orbit 3 September 1976 landed	334 days (10 months, 30 days)	Viking 2 was the second craft to land on Mars. The Viking orbiter was active until 25 July 1978, the lander until 11 April 1980.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1975-083A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1975-083C
Pioneer Venus Orbiter Pioneer Venus project The Pioneer mission to Venus consisted of two components, launched separately. Pioneer Venus 1 or Pioneer Venus Orbiter was launched in 1978 and studied the planet for more than a decade after orbital insertion in 1978. Pioneer Venus 2 or Pioneer Venus Multiprobe sent four small probes into the...	Venus	20 May 1978	4 December 1978 entered orbit	199 days (6 months, 15 days)	Pioneer Venus made radar and other observations of Venus. The orbiter operated until August 1992.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1978-051A
Pioneer Venus Multiprobe Pioneer Venus project The Pioneer mission to Venus consisted of two components, launched separately. Pioneer Venus 1 or Pioneer Venus Orbiter was launched in 1978 and studied the planet for more than a decade after orbital insertion in 1978. Pioneer Venus 2 or Pioneer Venus Multiprobe sent four small probes into the...	Venus	8 August 1978	9 December 1978 entered atmosphere	124 days (4 months, 2 days)	The Pioneer Venus multiprobe included a "bus" and four atmospheric probes, one of which survived its impact with Venus and continued to transmit from the surface for over an hour.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1978-078A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1978-078D http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1978-078E http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1978-078G http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1978-078F
Venera 12 Venera 12 The Venera 12 was an USSR unmanned space mission to explore the planet Venus. Venera 12 was launched on 14 September 1978 at 02:25:13 UTC. Separating from its flight platform on December 19, 1978, the lander entered the Venus atmosphere two days later at 11.2 km/s. During the descent, it... Lander	Venus	14 September 1978	21 December 1978 landed	99 days (3 months, 8 days)	Venera 12 returned data for 110 minutes. Images were not returned.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1978-086C
Venera 11 Venera 11 The Venera 11 was a USSR unmanned space mission part of the Venera program to explore the planet Venus. Venera 11 was launched on 9 September 1978 at 3:25:39 UTC.... Lander	Venus	9 September 1978	25 December 1978 landed	107 days (3 months, 16 days)	Venera 11 returned data for 95 minutes. Images were not returned.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1978-084D

1980s

Spacecraft	Destination	Launched	Reached planet	Flight duration	Notes	Ref
Venera 13 Venera 13 Venera 13 was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus.Venera 13 and 14 were identical spacecraft built to take advantage of the 1981 Venus launch opportunity and launched 5 days apart, Venera 13 on 1981-10-30 at 06:04:00 UTC and Venera 14 on 1981-11-04 at 05:31:00 UTC,... Lander	Venus	30 October 1981	1 March 1982 landed	123 days (4 months, 2 days)	Venera 13 survived on the surface of Venus for 127 minutes.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1981-106D
Venera 14 Venera 14 Venera 14 was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus.Venera 14 was identical to the Venera 13 spacecraft and built to take advantage of the 1981 Venus launch opportunity and launched 5 days apart... Lander	Venus	4 November 1981	5 March 1982 landed	122 days (4 months, 2 days)	Venera 14 survived on the surface of Venus for 57 minutes.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1981-110D
Venera 15 Venera 15 Venera 15 was a spacecraft sent to Venus by the Soviet Union. This unmanned orbiter was to map the surface of Venus using high resolution imaging systems... Orbiter	Venus	2 June 1983	10 October 1983 entered orbit	131 days (4 months, 9 days)	Venera 15 carried out radar mapping of Venus.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1983-053A
Venera 16 Venera 16 Venera 16 was a spacecraft sent to Venus by the Soviet Union. This unmanned orbiter was to map the surface of Venus using high resolution imaging systems... Orbiter	Venus	7 June 1983	14 October 1983 entered orbit	130 days (4 months, 8 days)	Venera 16 carried out radar mapping of Venus.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1983-054A
Vega 1 Vega 1 Vega 1 is a Soviet space probe part of the Vega program. The spacecraft was a development of the earlier Venera craft... Lander and balloon	Venus	15 December 1984	11 June 1985 landed/deployed	179 days (5 months, 28 days)	Vega 1's instruments deployed prematurely, rendering them useless.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1984-125E http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1984-125F
Vega 2 Vega 2 Vega 2 is a Soviet space probe part of the Vega program. The spacecraft was a development of the earlier Venera craft. They were designed by Babakin Space Center and constructed as 5VK by Lavochkin at Khimki... Lander and balloon	Venus	21 December 1984	15 June 1985 landed/deployed	177 days (5 months, 26 days)		http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1984-128E http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1984-128F
Phobos 2 Orbiter and Lander	Mars and Phobos	12 July 1988	29 January 1989	202 days (6 months, 18 days)	Phobos 2 achieved Mars orbit, but contact was lost on 27 March 1989 shortly before Phobos approach phase and deployment of Phobos landers	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1988-059A
Magellan Magellan probe The Magellan spacecraft, also referred to as the Venus Radar Mapper, was a 1,035-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on May 4, 1989, to map the surface of Venus using Synthetic Aperture Radar and measure the planetary gravity... Orbiter	Venus	4 May 1989	10 August 1990 entered orbit	464 days (1 yr, 3 mo, 7 d)	Magellan carried out global radar mapping of Venus. Magellan's mission continued to 12 October 1994, when the craft burned up in Venus' atmosphere.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/magellan.html
Galileo orbiter and atmosphere probe	Jupiter	18 October 1989	7 December 1995 entered orbit	2242 days (6 yr, 1 mo, 20 d)	Flew by several of Jupiter's moons; impacted into Jupiter 21 September 2003.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1989-084B http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1989-084E

1990s

Spacecraft	Destination	Launched	Reached planet	Flight duration	Notes	Ref
Mars Observer Mars Observer The Mars Observer spacecraft, also known as the Mars Geoscience/Climatology Orbiter, was a 1,018-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on September 25, 1992 to study the Martian surface, atmosphere, climate and magnetic field... orbiter	Mars	25 September 1992	24 August 1993 entered orbit?	334 days (11 months)	Contact with Mars Observer was lost 21 August 1993, shortly before Mars orbit insertion. May not have attained Mars orbit.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1992-063A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=MARS96B http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=MARS96C http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=MARS96D http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=MARS96E
Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) NEAR Shoemaker The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous - Shoemaker , renamed after its 1996 launch in honor of planetary scientist Eugene M. Shoemaker, was a robotic space probe designed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for NASA to study the near-Earth asteroid Eros from close orbit over a...	Asteroid 433 Eros 433 Eros 433 Eros is a near-Earth asteroid discovered in 1898, and the first asteroid to be orbited by a probe . It is an S-type asteroid approximately 34.4×11.2×11.2 km in size, the second-largest NEA after 1036 Ganymed, and belongs to the Amor group.Eros is a Mars-crosser asteroid, the first known...	17 February 1996	14 February 2000 entered orbit 12 February 2001 landed	1459 days (3 yr, 11 mo, 29 d)	The orbiter performed an improvised landing on Eros. Its mission ended 28 February 2001.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1996-008A
Mars Global Surveyor Mars Global Surveyor The Mars Global Surveyor was a US spacecraft developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. It began the United States's return to Mars after a 10-year absence. It completed its primary mission in January 2001 and was in its third extended mission phase when, on 2... orbiter	Mars	7 November 1996	11 September 1997 entered orbit	309 days (10 months, 5 days)	Contact lost after 5 November 2006.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1996-062A
Mars Pathfinder Mars Pathfinder Mars Pathfinder was an American spacecraft that landed a base station with roving probe on Mars in 1997. It consisted of a lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a lightweight wheeled robotic rover named Sojourner.Launched on December 4, 1996 by NASA aboard a Delta II booster a... lander and Sojourner rover	Mars	4 December 1996	4 July 1997 landed	213 days (7 months, 1 day)	Rover deployed 6 July 1997. Mission continued to 27 September 1997.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1996-068A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=MESURPR
Cassini orbiter and Huygens Huygens probe The Huygens probe was an atmospheric entry probe carried to Saturn's moon Titan as part of the Cassini–Huygens mission. The probe was supplied by the European Space Agency and named after the Dutch 17th century astronomer Christiaan Huygens.... Titan lander	Saturn and Titan	15 October 1997	1 July 2004 entered orbit 14 January 2005 Huygens landed on Titan	2452 days (6 yr, 8 mo, 17 d) 2649 days (Huygens) (7 years, 3 months)	Continuing mission. Saturn orbiter, performing repeated by-flights of Saturn's moons; also deployed the Huygens Titan lander, the first probe to land on a satellite of another planet.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1997-061A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1997-061C
Mars Climate Orbiter Mars Climate Orbiter The Mars Climate Orbiter was a 338 kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on December 11, 1998 to study the Martian climate, atmosphere, surface changes and to act as the communications relay in the Mars Surveyor '98 program, for Mars Polar Lander...	Mars	11 December 1998	23 September 1999 entered atmosphere	287 days (9 months, 13 days)	Orbit insertion failed due to a navigational error, and Mars Climate Orbiter burned up in the Martian atmosphere.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1998-073A
Mars Polar Lander Mars Polar Lander The Mars Polar Lander, also referred to as the Mars Surveyor '98 Lander, was a 290-kilogram robotic spacecraft lander, launched by NASA on January 3, 1999, to study the soil and climate of Planum Australe, a region near the south pole on Mars, as part of the Mars Surveyor '98 mission... with Deep Space 2 Deep Space 2 Deep Space 2 was a NASA probe which was part of the New Millennium Program. It included two highly advanced miniature space probes which were sent to Mars aboard the Mars Polar Lander in January 1999. The probes were named "Scott" and "Amundsen", in honor of Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen,... ground-penetrators "Amundsen" and "Scott"	Mars	3 January 1999	3 December 1999 entered atmosphere	335 days (11 months, 1 day)	Contact with Mars Polar Lander was lost just prior to entering the Martian atmosphere.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1999-001A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=DEEPSP2

2000s

Spacecraft	Destination	Launched	Reached planet	Flight duration	Notes	Ref
Mars Odyssey orbiter	Mars	7 April 2001	24 October 2001 entered orbit	201 days (6 months, 18 days)	Continuing mission.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2001-014A
Hayabusa Hayabusa was an unmanned spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis.... and MINERVA	Asteroid 25143 Itokawa 25143 Itokawa 25143 Itokawa is an Apollo and Mars-crosser asteroid. It was the first asteroid to be the target of a sample return mission, the Japanese space probe Hayabusa.-Discovery and naming:...	9 May 2003	12 September 2005 matched velocity with Itokawa 19 and 25 November 2005 landings	858 days (2 yr, 4 mo, 4 d)	The MINERVA hopper was lost on 12 November 2005. Hayabusa's return journey to Earth began in April 2007; the spacecraft returned to Earth 13 June 2010.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2003-019A
Mars Express Mars Express Mars Express is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency . The Mars Express mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally referred to the speed and efficiency with which the spacecraft was... orbiter and Beagle 2 Beagle 2 Beagle 2 was an unsuccessful British landing spacecraft that formed part of the European Space Agency's 2003 Mars Express mission. All contact with it was lost upon its separation from the Mars Express six days before its scheduled entry into the atmosphere... lander	Mars	2 June 2003	25 December 2003 entered orbit	207 days (6 months, 24 days)	Continuing mission. Contact with Beagle 2 was lost after entering Mars' atmosphere on 25 December 2003.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2003-022A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2003-022C
MER-A Mars Exploration Rover NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission is an ongoing robotic space mission involving two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars... Spirit rover Spirit rover Spirit, MER-A , is a robotic rover on Mars, active from 2004 to 2010. It was one of two rovers of NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission. It landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity , landed on the other side of the planet...	Mars	10 June 2003	4 January 2004 landed	209 days (6 months, 26 days)	Continuing mission.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2003-027A
MER-B Mars Exploration Rover NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission is an ongoing robotic space mission involving two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, exploring the planet Mars... Opportunity rover Opportunity rover Opportunity, MER-B , is a robotic rover on the planet Mars, active since 2004. It is the remaining rover in NASA's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission...	Mars	7 July 2003	25 January 2004 landed	203 days (6 months, 19 days)	Continuing mission.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2003-032A
Rosetta Rosetta (spacecraft) Rosetta is a robotic spacecraft of the European Space Agency on a mission to study the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Rosetta consists of two main elements: the Rosetta space probe and the Philae lander. The spacecraft was launched on 2 March 2004 on an Ariane 5 rocket and will reach the comet by... orbiter and Philae lander Philae lander Philae is the lander that accompanies the Rosetta spacecraft. It is designed to land on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko shortly after arrival...	Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko, officially designated 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, is a comet with a current orbital period of 6.6 years. It is the destination of the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft mission, launched on March 2, 2004....	2 March 2004	May 2014 to arrive at Churyumov-Gerasimenko	N/A	In transit.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2004-006A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=PHILAE
MESSENGER MESSENGER The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging space probe is a robotic NASA spacecraft in orbit around the planet Mercury. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II rocket in August 2004 to study the chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field of Mercury...	Mercury	3 August 2004	17 March 2011 entered orbit	2418 days (6 years, 7 months, 15 days)	Continuing mission.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2004-030A
Deep Impact impactor	Comet 9P/Tempel 9P/Tempel Tempel 1 , is a periodic comet discovered by Wilhelm Tempel in 1867. It currently completes an orbit of the Sun every 5.5 years. Tempel 1 was the target of the Deep Impact space mission, which photographed a deliberate high-speed impact upon the comet in 2005...	12 January 2005	4 July 2005 impacted Tempel	174 days (5 months, 23 days)	First probe to directly impact a comet.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2005-001A
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is a NASA multipurpose spacecraft designed to conduct reconnaissance and Exploration of Mars from orbit...	Mars	12 August 2005	10 March 2006 entered orbit	211 days (6 months, 27 days)	Continuing mission.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2005-029A
Venus Express Venus Express Venus Express is the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency. Launched in November 2005, it arrived at Venus in April 2006 and has been continuously sending back science data from its polar orbit around Venus. Equipped with seven science instruments, the main objective of the... Orbiter	Venus	9 November 2005	11 April 2006 entered orbit	154 days (5 months, 3 days)	Continuing mission to study the atmosphere of Venus.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2005-045A
Phoenix Phoenix (spacecraft) Phoenix was a robotic spacecraft on a space exploration mission on Mars under the Mars Scout Program. The Phoenix lander descended on Mars on May 25, 2008... Lander	Mars	4 August 2007	25 May 2008 landed	296 days (9 months, 22 days)	Collected soil samples near Mars' north pole to elucidate the history of water on Mars. Mission concluded 10 November 2008.	http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html
Dawn Dawn Mission Dawn is a NASA spacecraft tasked with the exploration and study of the two largest members of the asteroid belt – Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The spacecraft was constructed with some European cooperation, with partners in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands providing Dawns framing...	Asteroid 4 Vesta 4 Vesta Vesta, formally designated 4 Vesta, is one of the largest asteroids, with a mean diameter of about . It was discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers on March 29, 1807, and is named after the Roman virgin goddess of home and hearth, Vesta....	27 September 2007	16 July 2011 entered orbit	1388 days (3 years, 9 months, 19 days)	In orbit around Vesta. To depart for 1 Ceres 1 Ceres Ceres, formally 1 Ceres, is the smallest identified dwarf planet in the Solar System and the only one in the asteroid belt. With a diameter of about 950 km, Ceres is by far the largest and most-massive asteroid, comprising about a third of the mass of the asteroid belt. Discovered on 1 January 1801...  July 2012.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=DAWN

2010s

Spacecraft	Destination	Launched	Reached planet	Flight duration	Notes	Ref
Akatsuki	Venus	20 May 2010	December 2016 or January 2017 Scheduled to return to Venus	N/A	In transit after failed orbit insertion on 7 December 2010.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=PLANET-C

Passing flights

The following flights flew by the target object at close range, but did not match velocity with their target or continued to another destination.

1960s

Spacecraft	Destination	Launched	Closest approach	Time elapsed	Notes	Ref
Venera 1 Venera 1 On February 12, 1961, 00:34:36 UTC, was the first planetary probe launched to Venus by the Soviet Union. The Venus-1 Automatic Interplanetary Station, or Venera 1, was a 643.5 kg probe consisting of a cylindrical body 1.05 metres in diameter topped by a dome, totalling 2.035 metres...	Venus	12 February 1961	19 May 1961	97 days (3 months, 8 days)	Contact with Venera 1 was lost 7 days after launch. It was the first spacecraft to fly by Venus, or indeed any planet.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1961-003A
Mariner 2 Mariner 2 Mariner 2 , an American space probe to Venus, was the first space probe to conduct a successful planetary encounter . The first successful spacecraft in the NASA Mariner program, it was a simplified version of the Block I spacecraft of the Ranger program and an exact copy of Mariner 1...	Venus	27 August 1962	14 December 1962	110 days (3 months, 18 days)	Mariner 2 flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 34,773 km. It was the first spacecraft to return data from Venus.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1962-041A
Mars 1 Mars 1 Mars 1, also known as 1962 Beta Nu 1, Mars 2MV-4 and Sputnik 23, was an automatic interplanetary station launched in the direction of Mars on November 1, 1962, the first of the Soviet Mars probe program, with the intent of flying by the planet at a distance of about 11,000 km...	Mars	1 November 1962	19 June 1963	231 days (7 months, 19 days)	Mars 1 flew within approximately 193,000 km of Mars. Contact with it was lost on 21 March 1963.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1962-061A
Zond 1 Zond 1 Zond 1 was a member of the Soviet Zond program. It was the second Soviet research spacecraft to successfully reach Venus, although communications had failed by that time...	Venus	2 April 1964	14 July? 1964	104 days (3 months, 13 days)	Zond 1 was intended as a Venus lander. Contact with it was lost en route.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1964-016D
Mariner 4 Mariner 4 Mariner 4 was the fourth in a series of spacecraft, launched on November 28, 1964, intended for planetary exploration in a flyby mode and performed the first successful flyby of the planet Mars, returning the first pictures of the Martian surface...	Mars	28 November 1964	15 July 1965	230 days (7 months, 18 days)	Mariner 4 returned the first close-up images of Mars.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1964-077A
Zond 2 Zond 2 Zond 2, a member of the Soviet Zond program, was the fifth Soviet spacecraft to attempt a flyby of Mars. Zond-2 carried a phototelevision camera of the same type later used to photograph the Moon on Zond 3. The camera system also included two ultraviolet spectrometers...	Mars	30 November 1964	6 August 1965	250 days (8 months, 8 days)	Zond 2 flew within 1,500 km of Mars. Contact with it was lost en route.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1964-078C
Venera 2 Venera 2 Venera 2 was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus.*Launch Date/Time: 1965 November 12 at 05:02:00 UTC*On-orbit Dry Mass: 963 kg...	Venus	12 November 1965	27 February 1966	108 days (3 months, 16 days)	Venera 2 flew by Venus at a distance of 24,000 km, but ceased to operate en route.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1965-091A
Mariner 5 Mariner 5 Mariner 5 was a spacecraft of the Mariner program that carried a complement of experiments to probe Venus' atmosphere by radio occultation, measure the hydrogen Lyman-alpha spectrum, and sample the solar particles and magnetic field fluctuations above the planet...	Venus	14 June 1967	19 October 1967	128 days (4 months, 6 days)	Mariner 5 flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 5,000 km.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1967-060A
Mariner 6 Mariner 6 and 7 As part of NASA's wider Mariner program, Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 completed the first dual mission to Mars in 1969. Mariner 6 was launched from Launch Complex 36B at Cape Kennedy and Mariner 7 from Launch Complex 36A at Cape Kennedy...	Mars	24 February 1969	31 July 1969	158 days (5 months, 8 days)	Mariner 6 flew by Mars.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1969-014A
Mariner 7 Mariner 6 and 7 As part of NASA's wider Mariner program, Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 completed the first dual mission to Mars in 1969. Mariner 6 was launched from Launch Complex 36B at Cape Kennedy and Mariner 7 from Launch Complex 36A at Cape Kennedy...	Mars	27 February 1969	5 August 1969	160 days (5 months, 10 days)	Mariner 7 flew by Mars.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1969-030A

1970s

Spacecraft	Destination	Launched	Closest approach	Time elapsed	Notes	Ref
Pioneer 10 Pioneer 10 Pioneer 10 is a 258-kilogram robotic space probe that completed the first interplanetary mission to Jupiter, and became the first spacecraft to achieve escape velocity from the Solar System. The project was managed by the NASA Ames Research Center and the contract for the construction of the...	Jupiter	3 March 1972	3 December 1973	641 days (1 yr, 9 mos, 1 d)	Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to fly by Jupiter.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1972-012A
Pioneer 11 Pioneer 11 Pioneer 11 is a 259-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on April 6, 1973 to study the asteroid belt, the environment around Jupiter and Saturn, solar wind, cosmic rays, and eventually the far reaches of the solar system and heliosphere...	Jupiter	6 April 1973	4 December 1974	608 days (1 yr, 7 mo, 29 d)	Pioneer 11 flew by Jupiter.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1973-019A
	Saturn		1 September 1979	2340 days (6 yr, 4 mo, 27 d)	Pioneer 11 was the first spacecraft to fly by Saturn.
Mars 4	Mars	21 July 1973	10 February 1974	205 days (6 months, 21 days)	Mars 4 failed to enter Mars orbit and flew by it instead.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1973-047A
Mars 6	Mars	5 August 1973	12 March 1974	220 days (7 months, 8 days)	The Mars 6 bus flew by Mars at a minimum distance of 1600 km. Also carried a lander.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1973-052A
Mars 7	Mars	9 August 1973	9 March 1974	213 days (7 months, 1 day)	Mars 7's lander was released prematurely and missed Mars.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1973-053A
Mariner 10 Mariner 10 Mariner 10 was an American robotic space probe launched by NASA on November 3, 1973, to fly by the planets Mercury and Venus. It was launched approximately two years after Mariner 9 and was the last spacecraft in the Mariner program...	Venus	3 November 1973	5 February 1974	95 days (3 months, 3 days)	Mariner 10 flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 5768 km. It was the first use of a gravity assist Gravitational slingshot In orbital mechanics and aerospace engineering, a gravitational slingshot, gravity assist maneuver, or swing-by is the use of the relative movement and gravity of a planet or other celestial body to alter the path and speed of a spacecraft, typically in order to save propellant, time, and expense...  by an interplanetary spacecraft.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1973-085A
	Mercury		29 March 1974	147 days (4 months, 27 days)	Mariner 10 flew by Mercury at a minimum distance of 704 km.
			21 September 1974	323 days (10 months, 19 days)	Mariner 10 flew by Mercury at a minimum distance of 48,069 km.
			16 March 1975	499 days (1 yr, 4 mo, 14 d)	Mariner 10 flew by Mercury at a minimum distance of 327 km.
Voyager 2 Voyager 2 The Voyager 2 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977 to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space...	Jupiter	20 August 1977	9 July 1979	689 days (1 yr, 10 mo, 20 d)	Voyager 2 flew by Jupiter.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1977-076A
	Saturn		5 August 1981	1447 days (3 yr, 11 mo, 17 d)	Voyager 2 flew by Saturn.
	Uranus		24 January 1986	3080 days (8 yr, 5 mo, 5 d)	Voyager 2 flew by Uranus and was the first spacecraft to visit it.
	Neptune		25 August 1989	4389 days (12 yr, 6 days)	Voyager 2 flew by Neptune and was the first spacecraft to visit it.
Voyager 1 Voyager 1 The Voyager 1 spacecraft is a 722-kilogram space probe launched by NASA in 1977, to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space. Operating for as of today , the spacecraft receives routine commands and transmits data back to the Deep Space Network. At a distance of as of...	Jupiter	5 September 1977	5 March 1979	547 days (1 yr, 6 mo, 1 d)	Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter and returned the first detailed images.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1977-084A
	Saturn		12 November 1980	1165 days (3 yr, 2 mo, 8 d)	Voyager 1 flew by Saturn.
ICE International Cometary Explorer The International Cometary Explorer spacecraft was originally known as International Sun/Earth Explorer 3 satellite, launched August 12, 1978. It was part of the ISEE international cooperative program between NASA and ESRO/ESA to study the interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and the...	Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner 21P/Giacobini-Zinner Comet Giacobini–Zinner is a periodic comet in our solar system.It was discovered by Michel Giacobini from , who observed the comet in the constellation of Aquarius on December 20, 1900...	12 August 1978	11 September 1985	2588 days (7 yr, 1 mo)	ICE flew by Giacobini-Zinner. ICE was previously the solar monitor ISEE3.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1978-079A
	Comet 1P/Halley		28 March 1986	2786 days (7 yr, 7 mo, 17 d)	ICE flew by Halley at a minimum distance of 32 million km.
Venera 11 Venera 11 The Venera 11 was a USSR unmanned space mission part of the Venera program to explore the planet Venus. Venera 11 was launched on 9 September 1978 at 3:25:39 UTC....	Venus	9 September 1978	25 December 1978	108 days (3 months, 17 days)	The Venera 11 bus flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 34,000 km and left a lander.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1978-084A
Venera 12 Venera 12 The Venera 12 was an USSR unmanned space mission to explore the planet Venus. Venera 12 was launched on 14 September 1978 at 02:25:13 UTC. Separating from its flight platform on December 19, 1978, the lander entered the Venus atmosphere two days later at 11.2 km/s. During the descent, it...	Venus	14 September 1978	19 December 1978	97 days (3 months, 6 days)	The Venera 12 bus flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 34,000 km and left a lander.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1978-086A

1980s

Spacecraft	Destination	Launched	Closest approach	Time elapsed	Notes	Ref
Venera 13 Venera 13 Venera 13 was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus.Venera 13 and 14 were identical spacecraft built to take advantage of the 1981 Venus launch opportunity and launched 5 days apart, Venera 13 on 1981-10-30 at 06:04:00 UTC and Venera 14 on 1981-11-04 at 05:31:00 UTC,...	Venus	30 October 1981	1 March 1982	123 days (4 months, 2 days)	The Venera 13 bus flew by Venus and left a lander.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1981-106A
Venera 14 Venera 14 Venera 14 was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus.Venera 14 was identical to the Venera 13 spacecraft and built to take advantage of the 1981 Venus launch opportunity and launched 5 days apart...	Venus	4 November 1981	5 March 1982	122 days (4 months, 2 days)	The Venera 14 bus flew by Venus and left a lander.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1981-110A
Vega 1 Vega 1 Vega 1 is a Soviet space probe part of the Vega program. The spacecraft was a development of the earlier Venera craft...	Venus	15 December 1984	11 June 1985	179 days (5 months, 28 days)	Vega 1 flew by Venus.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1984-125A
	Comet 1P/Halley		6 March 1986	447 days (1 yr, 2 mo, 20 d)	Vega 1 flew by Halley at a minimum distance of 8,890 km.
Vega 2 Vega 2 Vega 2 is a Soviet space probe part of the Vega program. The spacecraft was a development of the earlier Venera craft. They were designed by Babakin Space Center and constructed as 5VK by Lavochkin at Khimki...	Venus	21 December 1984	15 June 1985	177 days (5 months, 26 days)	Vega 2 flew by Venus.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1984-128A
	Comet 1P/Halley		9 March 1986	444 days (1 yr, 2 mo, 17 d)	Vega 2 flew by Halley at a minimum distance of 8,890 km.
Sakigake Sakigake Sakigake , pre-launch codename MS-T5, was Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft, and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the USA or the Soviet Union...	Comet 1P/Halley	7 January 1985	11 March 1986	429 days (1 yr, 2 mo, 5 d)	Sakigake flew by Halley at a minimum distance of 6.99 million km.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1985-001A
Giotto Giotto mission Giotto was a European robotic spacecraft mission from the European Space Agency, intended to fly by and study Halley's Comet. On 13 March 1986, the mission succeeded in approaching Halley's nucleus at a distance of 596 kilometers....	Comet 1P/Halley	2 July 1985	14 March 1986	256 days (8 months, 13 days)	Giotto flew by Halley at a minimum distance of 596 km.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1985-056A
	Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup Comet Grigg–Skjellerup is a periodic comet.Discovered in 1902 by John Grigg of New Zealand, and rediscovered in its next appearance in 1922 by John Francis Skjellerup, an Australian then living and working for about two decades in South Africa where he was a founder member of the Astronomical...		10 July 1992	2566 days (7 yr, 9 d)	Giotto flew by Grigg-Skjellerup
Suisei Suisei probe Suisei , originally known as Planet-A, was an unmanned space probe developed by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science ....	Comet 1P/Halley	18 August 1985	8 March 1986	203 days (6 mo, 19 d)	Suisei flew by Halley at a minimum distance of 151,000 km.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1985-073A
Galileo	Venus	18 October 1989	10 February 1990	116 days (3 months, 24 days)	Galileo flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 16,000 km as a gravity assist en route to Jupiter.	http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/mission/journey-cruise.html
	Asteroid 951 Gaspra 951 Gaspra 951 Gaspra is an S-type asteroid that orbits very close to the inner edge of the asteroid belt. Gaspra was the first asteroid ever to be closely approached when it was visited by the Galileo spacecraft, which flew by on its way to Jupiter on 29 October 1991.-Characteristics:Apart from a multitude...		29 October 1991	742 days (2 yr, 12 d)	Galileo flew by Gaspra at a minimum distance of 1900 km en route to Jupiter.
	Asteroid 243 Ida 243 Ida 243 Ida is an asteroid in the Koronis family of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 29 September 1884 by Johann Palisa and named after a nymph from Greek mythology. Later telescopic observations categorized Ida as an S-type asteroid, the most numerous type in the inner asteroid belt. On 28...		28 August 1993	1411 days (3 yr, 10 mo, 11 d)	Galileo flew by Ida at a minimum distance of 2400 km en route to Jupiter. It discovered the first known asteroid moon Asteroid moon A minor planet moon is an astronomical body that orbits a minor planet as its natural satellite. It is thought that many asteroids and Kuiper belt objects may possess moons, in some cases quite substantial in size... , Dactyl.

1990s

Spacecraft	Destination	Launched	Closest approach	Time elapsed	Notes	Ref
Ulysses Ulysses probe Ulysses is a decommissioned robotic space probe that was designed to study the Sun as a joint venture of NASA and the European Space Agency . The spacecraft was originally named Odysseus, because of its lengthy and indirect trajectory to near Solar distance...	Jupiter	6 October 1990	8 February 1992	491 days (1 yr, 4 mo, 3 d)	Ulysses flew by Jupiter for a gravity assist en route to solar polar observations	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1990-090B
	Jupiter		4 February 2004	4870 days (13 yr, 3 mo, 30 d)	Ulysses flew by Jupiter at a minimum distance of 0.8 AU.
Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous NEAR Shoemaker The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous - Shoemaker , renamed after its 1996 launch in honor of planetary scientist Eugene M. Shoemaker, was a robotic space probe designed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory for NASA to study the near-Earth asteroid Eros from close orbit over a...	Asteroid 253 Mathilde 253 Mathilde 253 Mathilde is a main-belt asteroid about 50 km in diameter that was discovered by Johann Palisa in 1885. It has a relatively elliptical orbit that requires more than four years to circle the Sun. This asteroid has an unusually slow rate of rotation, requiring 17.4 days to complete a...	17 February 1996	27 June 1997	497 days (1 yr, 4 mo, 11 d)	NEAR flew by Mathilde en route to Eros.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1996-008A
	Asteroid 433 Eros 433 Eros 433 Eros is a near-Earth asteroid discovered in 1898, and the first asteroid to be orbited by a probe . It is an S-type asteroid approximately 34.4×11.2×11.2 km in size, the second-largest NEA after 1036 Ganymed, and belongs to the Amor group.Eros is a Mars-crosser asteroid, the first known...		23 December 1998	1041 days (2 yr, 10 mo, 7 d)	NEAR flew by Eros at a minimum distance of 3827 km after a failed attempt to enter orbit. NEAR attained orbit later (see Completed Flights).
Cassini	Venus	15 October 1997	26 April 1998	194 days (6 months, 12 days)	Cassini flew by Venus for a first gravity assist en route to Saturn.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1997-061A http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/tmp/1997-061A-traj.html
	Venus		24 June 1999	618 days (1 yr, 8 mo, 10 d)	Cassini flew by Venus for a second gravity assist en route to Saturn.
	Asteroid 2685 Masursky 2685 Masursky The asteroid 2685 Masursky is a main-belt asteroid. It was discovered by Edward Bowell in 1981. It was named after Harold Masursky , a planetary geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, who worked on numerous space missions....		23 January 2000	831 days (2 yr, 3 mo, 9 d)	Cassini flew by Masursky en route to Saturn.
	Jupiter		30 December 2000	1173 days (3 yr, 2 mo, 16 d)	Cassini flew by Jupiter for a gravity assist en route to Saturn.
Nozomi	Mars	3 July 1998	14 December 2003	1991 days (5 yr, 5 mo, 12 d)	Nozomi failed to attain an orbit around Mars and flew by it instead.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1998-041A
Deep Space 1 Deep Space 1 Deep Space 1 is a spacecraft of the NASA New Millennium Program dedicated to testing a payload of advanced, high risk technologies....	Asteroid 9969 Braille 9969 Braille 9969 Braille is a small Mars-crossing asteroid that orbits the Sun once every 3.58 years. It was discovered in 1992 by astronomers at Palomar observatory and later named after Louis Braille, the inventor of the writing system for the blind...	24 October 1998	29 July 1999	279 days (9 months, 6 days)	Deep Space 1 flew by Braille. No close-up images were made due to a camera pointing error.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1998-061A
	Comet 19P/Borrelly 19P/Borrelly Comet Borrelly or Borrelly's Comet is a periodic comet, which was visited by the spacecraft Deep Space 1 in 2001.- Discovery :...		22 September 2001	1065 days (2 yr, 10 mo, 30 d)	Deep Space 1 flew by Borrelly and returned images.
Stardust Stardust (spacecraft) Stardust is a 300-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on February 7, 1999 to study the asteroid 5535 Annefrank and collect samples from the coma of comet Wild 2. The primary mission was completed January 15, 2006, when the sample return capsule returned to Earth...	Asteroid 5535 Annefrank 5535 Annefrank 5535 Annefrank is an inner main-belt asteroid, and member of the Augusta family. It was discovered by Karl Reinmuth in 1942. It is named after Anne Frank, the Dutch-Jewish diarist who died in a concentration camp...	7 February 1999	2 November 2002	1365 days (3 yr, 8 mo, 27 d)	Stardust flew by Annefrank	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1999-003A
	Comet 81P/Wild 81P/Wild Comet 81P/Wild, also known as Wild 2 , is a comet named after Swiss astronomer Paul Wild, who discovered it in 1978 using a 40-cm Schmidt telescope at Zimmerwald....		21 January 2004	1810 days (4 yr, 11 mo, 15 d)	Stardust flew a sample return mission by Wild.
	Comet 9P/Tempel 9P/Tempel Tempel 1 , is a periodic comet discovered by Wilhelm Tempel in 1867. It currently completes an orbit of the Sun every 5.5 years. Tempel 1 was the target of the Deep Impact space mission, which photographed a deliberate high-speed impact upon the comet in 2005...		14 February 2011	N/A	Stardust flew by Tempel on an extended mission.

2000s

Spacecraft	Destination	Launched	Closest approach	Time elapsed	Notes	Ref
Rosetta Rosetta (spacecraft) Rosetta is a robotic spacecraft of the European Space Agency on a mission to study the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Rosetta consists of two main elements: the Rosetta space probe and the Philae lander. The spacecraft was launched on 2 March 2004 on an Ariane 5 rocket and will reach the comet by...	Mars	2 March 2004	25 February 2007	1091 days (2 yr, 11 mo, 24 d)	Rosetta flew by Mars as a gravity assist on the way to future encounters.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2004-006A
	Asteroid 2867 Šteins 2867 Šteins 2867 Šteins is a small main-belt asteroid that was discovered in 1969 by N. S. Chernykh. It is named after Kārlis Šteins, a Latvian and Soviet astronomer...		5 September 2008	1649 days (4 yr, 6 mo, 11 d)	Rosetta flew by Šteins.
	Asteroid 21 Lutetia 21 Lutetia 21 Lutetia is a large main-belt asteroid of an unusual spectral type. It measures about 100 kilometers in diameter . It was discovered in 1852 by Hermann Goldschmidt, and is named after Lutetia, the Latin name for Paris....		10 July 2010	2322 days (6 yr, 4 mo, 9 d)	Rosetta flew by Lutetia en route to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko, officially designated 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, is a comet with a current orbital period of 6.6 years. It is the destination of the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft mission, launched on March 2, 2004.... .
MESSENGER MESSENGER The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging space probe is a robotic NASA spacecraft in orbit around the planet Mercury. The spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II rocket in August 2004 to study the chemical composition, geology, and magnetic field of Mercury...	Venus	3 August 2004	24 October 2006	813 days (2 yr, 2 mo, 22 d)	Messenger flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 2990 km. This was for a gravity assist only; no data was collected.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2004-030A
			6 June 2007	1038 days (2 yr, 10 mo, 4 d)	Messenger flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 300 km en route to Mercury.
	Mercury		14 January 2008	1260 days (3 yr, 5 mo, 12 d)	Messenger flew by Mercury a first time en route to Mercury orbit insertion.
			29 September 2009	1884 days (5 yr, 1 mo, 27 d)	Messenger flew by Mercury a second time.
Deep Impact	Comet 9P/Tempel 9P/Tempel Tempel 1 , is a periodic comet discovered by Wilhelm Tempel in 1867. It currently completes an orbit of the Sun every 5.5 years. Tempel 1 was the target of the Deep Impact space mission, which photographed a deliberate high-speed impact upon the comet in 2005...	12 January 2005	3 July 2005	173 days (5 months, 22 days)	Deep Impact flew by Tempel.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2005-001A
	Comet 103P/Hartley 2 103P/Hartley Comet Hartley 2, designated as 103P/Hartley by the Minor Planet Center, is a small periodic comet with an orbital period of 6.46 years. It was discovered by Malcolm Hartley in 1986 at the Schmidt Telescope Unit, Siding Spring Observatory, Australia...		4 November 2010	2122 days (5 years, 9 months, 23 days)	Deep Impact flew by and imaged Hartley 2 as part of its extended mission.
New Horizons New Horizons New Horizons is a NASA robotic spacecraft mission currently en route to the dwarf planet Pluto. It is expected to be the first spacecraft to fly by and study Pluto and its moons, Charon, Nix, Hydra and S/2011 P 1. Its estimated arrival date at the Pluto-Charon system is July 14th, 2015...	Asteroid 132524 APL	19 January 2006	13 June 2006	146 days (4 months, 26 days)	New Horizons flew by 132524 APL en route to Pluto.	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=2006-001A
	Jupiter		28 February 2007	416 days (1 yr, 1 mo, 20 d)	New Horizons flew by Jupiter as a gravity assist en route to Pluto.
	Pluto		14 July 2015	N/A	New Horizons will fly by Pluto.
Dawn Dawn Mission Dawn is a NASA spacecraft tasked with the exploration and study of the two largest members of the asteroid belt – Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres. The spacecraft was constructed with some European cooperation, with partners in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands providing Dawns framing...	Mars	27 September 2007	17 February 2009	509 days (1 yr, 4 mo, 21 d)	Dawn flew by Mars at a closest approach of 549 km for a gravity assist en route to the asteroids Vesta and Ceres	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=DAWN

2010s

Spacecraft	Destination	Launched	Reached planet	Flight duration	Notes	Ref
Akatsuki	Venus	20 May 2010	7 December 2010	201 days (6 months, 17 days)	Attempted but failed to enter orbit; en route to a second attempt at orbit in 2016-2017 http://planetary.org/about/press/releases/2010/1207_Akatsuki_Mission_Statement.html	http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=PLANET-C