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Space Missions
Our Emissaries Across the Solar System
Since 1957, humanity has launched thousands of spacecraft. These robotic emissaries follow in the footsteps of their predecessors—testaments to our long-lived desire to understand our place in the Cosmos.
There are currently spacecraft exploring Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Saturn, as well as a comet and an asteroid. The Voyager spacecraft are hurtling out of our solar system, while New Horizons speeds toward a 2015 encounter with Pluto. Closer to home, we have probes in lunar orbit, a handful of solar physics missions, space telescopes, and a small army of Earth-observing satellites. In Earth orbit, the International Space Station continues to soar around the planet with a continually staffed crew of astronauts and cosmonauts.
Our space missions pages are your portal to news and facts about our ongoing exploration of the solar system.
New! International Space Station Dashboard
Our ISS Dashboard shows the station's current position, its current crew roster, live high-definition video from the Columbus module, and more.
Recent Mission Status Updates
Tracking a Ghost Mission 238 Million Km Away
Posted by Daniel Scuka on 2015/01/10 09:14 CST | 2 comments
Daniel Scuka describes the impending demise of the Venus Express spacecraft.
Dragon Reaches Orbit, but Falcon Stage Crashes on Recovery Ship
Posted by Jason Davis on 2015/01/10 05:00 CST | 6 comments
SpaceX’s ambitious attempt to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on an autonomous ocean platform was "close, but no cigar."
Space Mission Timelines
A list of key dates and basic facts on all the missions that have explored Venus and Mercury.
The missions, both successful and failed, that have flown by, orbited, or landed on the Red Planet and its moons
The spacecraft that have traveled to asteroids, outer planets, comets, and beyond
Cassini’s Tour of the Saturn System
13 years, 250 orbits, and 127 gravity-assist flybys – explore the Saturn system with NASA's Cassini mission.
Space mission artwork, snapshots of construction, launches, and photos of spacecraft in space
Spacecraft that study our dynamic Sun and help us understand how it affects our planet.
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