Inner Solar System - Science Mission Directorate

Inner Solar System Missions

Planetary exploration missions are conducted by some of the most sophisticated robots ever built. Through them we extend our senses to the farthest reaches of the Solar System and into remote and hostile environments, where the secrets of our origins and destiny lie hidden.

Report of the Cassini Extended Mission Senior Review Board - March 8, 2007

*Sort missions by clicking Launch Date, A-Z, or PHASE column headers.

Launch Date	A-Z	Phase
19940125 January 25, 1994	Clementine The Clementine mission was designed to test lightweight miniature sensors and advanced spacecraft components by exposing them, over a long period of time, to the difficult...	Past
20110901 September 01, 2011	GRAIL The Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission is a proposed Discovery Program mission to study the lunar interior. This mission is part of SMD's Discovery...	Under Study
20110101 2011	LADEE Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is a NASA mission that will orbit the Moon and its main objective is to characterize the atmosphere and lunar dust...	Under Study
19890504 May 04, 1989	Magellan The Magellan mission scientific objectives were to study land forms and tectonics, impact processes, erosion, deposition, chemical processes, and model the interior of...	Past
19620722 July 21, 1962	Mariner Missions Between 1962 and 1973, NASA designed and built 10 spacecraft named Mariner to explore the inner solar system – visiting the planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars for the first...	Past
20160101 2016	Mars 2016 In 2016, the Astrobiology Field Laboratory (AFL), a pair of Mid-Rovers, or a set of three to four long-lived landers is planned for launch with the results of MRO’s and...	Under Study
19981211 December 11, 1998	Mars Climate Orbiter Mars Climate Orbiter was designed to function as an interplanetary weather satellite and a communications relay for Mars Polar Lander. This mission is part of the Mars...	Past
20030610 June 10, 2003	Mars Exploration Rover - Spirit Mars Exploration Rover Spirit landed in Gusev crater on Mars in January 2004. The rover carries a sophisticated set of instruments that allow it to search for evidence of...	Operating
20030603 June 02, 2003	Mars Express (ASPERA-3) Mars Express is exploring the atmosphere and surface of Mars from polar orbit. The mission's main objective is to search for sub-surface water from orbit and deploy a lander...	Operating
19961107 19:00:00 USEastern November 07, 1996	Mars Global Surveyor Mars Global Surveyor is returning an unprecedented amount of data regarding Mars' surface features, atmosphere, and magnetic properties. Scientists are using the data...	Past
20110101 January 01, 2011	Mars Missions Beyond 2009 NASA is developing a long-term Mars exploration program that charts a course for the next two decades. This visionary program will build on scientific discoveries from past...	Under Study
19920925 September 25, 1992	Mars Observer Mars Observer was designed to study the geoscience and climate of Mars. This mission is part of SMD's Mars Exploration...	Past
19961204 December 04, 1996	Mars Pathfinder Mars Pathfinder launched December 2, 1996 and arrived on the surface of Mars on July 4, 1997. The mission was an engineering demonstration of key technologies and concepts...	Past
19990103 January 03, 1999	Mars Polar Lander The Mars Polar Lander was to touch down on the southern polar layered terrain and record local meteorological conditions near the martian south...	Past
20030708 20:00:00 GMT-4 July 08, 2003	Mars Exploration Rover - Opportunity The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity landed at on a flat plain known as Meridiani Planum on Mars in January 2004. It carries a sophisticated set of instruments that allow...	Operating
	Mars Science Orbiter The Mars Science Orbiter (MSO) is a major infrastructure component for the next decade of Mars exploration. This mission is part of SMD's Mars Exploration...	Under Study
20130101 2013	Mars Scout 13 In the first round of the Mars Scout 2006 competition, two missions for 2011 were selected from 26 proposals for further evaluation in a concept study phase. The selected...	Under Study
20040804 August 03, 2004	MESSENGER MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) is a scientific investigation of the planet Mercury, the least explored terrestrial planet. This...	Operating
20080417 April 16, 2008	Chandrayaan-1 (M3) The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) is one of two instruments that NASA is contributing to India's first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1, which is scheduled to be launched in...	Development
20090916 September 15, 2009	Mars Science Laboratory NASA proposes to develop and to launch a roving long-range, long-duration science laboratory that will be a major leap in surface measurements and pave the way for a future...	Development
20070805 August 04, 2007	Phoenix Phoenix seeks to verify the presence of the Martian Holy Grail: water and habitable conditions....	Operating
19610823 August 22, 1961	Ranger The Ranger project of the 1960s was the first U.S. effort to launch probes directly toward the Moon. The spacecraft were designed to relay pictures and other data as they...	Past
19660530 May 29, 1966	Surveyor Surveyor succeeded the Ranger program. Its primary focus was engineering work in preparation for Apollo, specifically soft landings and lifting off from the moon's...	Past
19750820 August 20, 1975	Viking 1 - 2 Two Viking spacecraft, each composed of an orbiter and a lander, flew to Mars in the mid 1970's. They measured atmospheric water vapor, did chemical analysis of the soil, and...	Past

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