List of extraterrestrial orbiters

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This list of extraterrestrial orbiters is a listing of spacecraft that achieved an extraterrestrial orbit.

Legend

Color legend for orbital status
Departed
Unclear
Inactive
Operational

Sun

The first artificial object in heliocentric orbit was Luna 1 (1959).

Moon

The Apollo 17 Command Module America seen in lunar orbit from the ascent stage of the Lunar Module

Mars

Venus

Mission Country/agency Orbital insertion Current status Notes
Venera 9 Soviet Union USSR 22 October 1975 Mission terminated on March 22, 1976 First Venus orbiter
Venera 10 Soviet Union USSR 23 October 1975 Contact lost sometime in June 1976
Pioneer Venus Orbiter United States USA 4 December 1978 Contact lost 8 October 1992; Atmospheric entry disintegration on 22 October 1992.
Venera 15 Soviet Union USSR 10 October 1983 Contact lost January 5, 1985
Venera 16 Soviet Union USSR 11 October 1983 Contact lost June 13, 1984
Magellan United States USA 7 August 1990 Contact lost 13 October 1994. Deliberately deorbited into Venus' atmosphere.
Venus Express ESA 11 April 2006 Contact lost 16 December 2014: Atmospheric entry disintegration in January 2015
Akatsuki Japan Japan 7 December 2015 Contact lost April 2024

Jupiter

Mission Country/agency Orbital insertion Current status Notes
Galileo United States USA 8 December 1995 Intentionally deorbited and incinerated in Jupiter's atmosphere 21 September 2003 First Jupiter orbiter
Juno United States USA 4 July 2016 Active
JUICE European Union ESA July 2031 (planned) en route mission to study Jupiter's three icy moons Callisto, Europa and Ganymede, eventually orbiting Ganymede as the first spacecraft to orbit a satellite of another planet.

Saturn

Mission Country/agency Orbital insertion Current status Notes
Cassini-Huygens United States USA
ESA
Italy ASI
1 July 2004 Intentionally deorbited and incinerated in Saturn's atmosphere 15 September 2017 First Saturn orbiter

Mercury

Mission Country/agency Orbital insertion Current status Notes
MESSENGER United States USA 18 March 2011 Deliberately crashed into surface 30 April 2015. Impact probably around 54.4° N, 149.9° W, near the crater Janáček. First Mercury orbiter

Minor planets and comets

Mission Country/agency Object Orbital insertion Current status Notes
NEAR Shoemaker United States USA 433 Eros 14 February 2000 Landed 12 February 2001 on the surface of Eros. First spacecraft to orbit an asteroid
Dawn United States USA 4 Vesta 16 July 2011 Left Vesta orbit 5 September 2012
Dawn United States USA Ceres 9 March 2015 Mission concluded 1 November 2018. In derelict orbit around Ceres, expected to decay no sooner than 2038[21] First spacecraft to achieve orbit around two separate objects and to orbit a dwarf planet.
Rosetta ESA 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko 6 August 2014 On 30 September 2016, ended its mission by landing on the comet in its Ma'at region. First spacecraft to orbit a comet. Philae lander module successfully landed on 12 November 2014
OSIRIS-REx United States USA 101955 Bennu 31 December 2018 Collected surface sample and departed from Bennu on 20 October 2020[22] Smallest body to be orbited by spacecraft and closest ever orbit[23][24]

References

  1. ^ NSSDC - Luna 10
  2. ^ NSSDC - Luna 11
  3. ^ Where is LRO?
  4. ^ Hendrix, Susan (25 March 2015). "Second ARTEMIS Spacecraft Successfully Enters Lunar Orbit". The Sun-Earth Connection: Heliophysics. NASA.
  5. ^ Chang, Kenneth (2019-12-06). "A Billion Pixels and the Search for India's Crashed Moon Lander". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  6. ^ "Chandrayaan-2: Isro, not losing hope, continues to make all-out efforts to restore link with lander 'Vikram'". The Times of India. September 9, 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-09.
  7. ^ "China's Chang'e-5 orbiter is heading back to the moon". SpaceNews. 2021-09-06. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  8. ^ Chang, Kenneth (23 February 2024). "Moon Lander Is Lying on Its Side but Still Functional, Officials Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  9. ^ Jones, Andrew (2024-03-14). "Surprise Chinese lunar mission hit by launch anomaly". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  10. ^ Jones, Andrew (2024-08-20). "Chinese spacecraft appear to reach lunar orbit despite launch setback". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  11. ^ Jones, Andrew (2024-03-28). "China appears to be trying to save stricken spacecraft from lunar limbo". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  12. ^ Jones, Andrew (10 January 2024). "China's Chang'e-6 probe arrives at spaceport for first-ever lunar far side sample mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  13. ^ Jones, Andrew (10 January 2024). "China's Chang'e-6 probe arrives at spaceport for first-ever lunar far side sample mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  14. ^ NASA - This Month in NASA History: Mariner 9 Archived 2013-05-14 at the Wayback Machine, November 29, 2011 — Vol. 4, Issue 9
  15. ^ a b "NASA Mars log". Archived from the original on 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  16. ^ Historic Spacecraft - Mars Probes
  17. ^ "Mars 5". US National Space Science Data Centre. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  18. ^ Encyclopedia Astronautica Fobos 1F Archived 2011-10-10 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Dunn, Marcia (27 October 1996). "NASA Takes No Dirty Chances With Mars Rover". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  20. ^ "Update on the Mars Orbiter Mission (Mom)".
  21. ^ Chang, Kenneth (November 1, 2018). "NASA's Dawn Mission to the Asteroid Belt Says Good Night - Launched in 2007, the spacecraft discovered bright spots on Ceres and forbidding terrain on Vesta". The New York Times. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  22. ^ Chang, Kenneth (20 October 2020). "Seeking Solar System's Secrets, NASA's OSIRIS-REX Mission Touches Bennu Asteroid - The spacecraft attempted to suck up rocks and dirt from the asteroid, which could aid humanity's ability to divert one that might slam into Earth". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  23. ^ "NASA'S OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Arrives at Asteroid Bennu". NASA. 2018-12-03. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  24. ^ "NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission Breaks Another Orbit Record". NASA. 2019-06-13. Retrieved 2019-06-22.

See also