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Spacecraft / Current Space Missions
of Interest

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List of various Spacecraft or Space Missions of interest along with summary of information of each craft (primary data/information sourced from Wikipedia).

Click the the title of any spacecraft to view the Wikipedia page.

Active / Planned Spacecraft and Missions

  • Chang'e 6


    Description
    Mission to retrieve lunar samples from the far side of the Moon
    Sample Return Launch: 2024, June 3, 23:38 UTC
    Landed: 2024, June 1, 22:23 UTC
    Launched: 2024, May 3, 20:30:12 UTC
    Time Since Sample Return Launch: 106 days, 11 hours
    (Time updated instantly from current UTC time)
    Time Since Landing: 108 days, 12 hours
    (Time updated instantly from current UTC time)
    Time Since Launch: 138 days, 1 hours
    (Time updated instantly from current UTC time)
    Operator: CNSA
    Lander Landing Site Location:
     The Moon, Apollo Basin, Southern Edge
     43.0°S 154.0°W
    Status: ACTIVE - LANDED - SAMPLE RETURN LAUNCHED
    Chang'e-5/6 spacecraft full-stack full-scale mockup. Credit: Shujianyang
    Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License
    Adaptation: Used from Wikipedia image set without modification.

  • Europa Clipper


    Description
    Description: Planned mission to Europa
    Launch Date (Planned): 2024, October 10
    Operator: NASA
    Dimensions: Height: 6 m (20 ft), Solar Panel Span: 22 m (72 ft)
    Status: NOT YET LAUNCHED
    Europa Oribtal Insertion: 2030, April
    Mission Website
    europa.nasa.gov
    Europa Clipper (artist's rendering), Credit: NASA / JPL

  • JUICE - Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer


    Description
    Description: Planned mission to Jupiter's moons
    Launched: 2023, April 14
    Operator: ESA
    Dimensions: 16.8m x 27.1m x 13.7m
    Status: ACTIVE
    Jupiter Orbital Insertion: 2031, July
    JUICE (Artist's impression). Image Credit: ESA, CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
    JUICE (Artist's impression), Credit: ESA, CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
    Adaptation:Used from Wikipedia image set without modification. Wikipedia image appears to be a cropped version of the original ESA image.

  • BioSentinel


    Description
    Astrobiology test in space beyond low Earth orbit
    Launched: 2022, November 16
    Operator: NASA
    Status: ACTIVE

  • LRO


    Description
    Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
    LRO - Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
    Launched: 2009, June 18
    Operator: NASA
    Status: ACTIVE
    LRO (artist's concept), Credit: NASA / JPL

  • CAPSTONE


    Description
    Lunar Gateway Space Station orbital stability and navigation test
    (Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment)
    Tested orbital stability of the Lunar Gateway Space Station.
    Testing navigation systems and measuring position relative to the LRO
    Launched: 2009, June 18
    Operator: NASA
    Status: ACTIVE
    Capstone (illustration), Credit: NASA / JPL

  • STEREO (ahead / behind)


    Description
    Solar Observation Mission
    (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory)

     Launched: 2006, October 26
    Operator: NASA
    STEREO Ahead - Status: ACTIVE
    STEREO spacecraft (artist's rendering), Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
    STEREO spacecraft (artist's rendering), Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

  • Psyche (spacecraft)


    Description
    Asteroid Investigation Mission (16 Psyche Asteroid)
    Launched: 2023, October 13
    Operator: NASA, ASU
    Status: ACTIVE
    Orbital Insertion: 2029, August
    Mission Website
    NASA: science.nasa.gov/mission/psyche
    ASU: psyche.asu.edu
    Psyche spacecraft (artist's concept), Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State Univ./Space Systems Loral/Peter Rubin

Recent Spacecraft / Missions (Not Active)

  • Chang'e 5


    Description
    China's first lunar sample return mission.

    Sample successfully returned from the near side of the moon, Oceanus Procellarum, (Mons Rümker region). Launched:
     2020, November, 23 (UTC) / 2020, November, 24 (CST)
    Lander Landed on the Moon:
     2020, December 1 (UTC)
    Sample Return - Earth Landing Date:
     2020, December 16 (UTC)
    Time From Launch to Sample Return Landing: 22.9 days
    Operator: CNSA
    Lander Landing Site Location:
     The Moon, Oceanus Procellarum, Mons Rümker region, Statio Tianchuan
    43.0576°N 51.9161°W
    Status: SAMPLE RETURNED
    Chang'e-5/6 spacecraft full-stack full-scale mockup. Credit: Shujianyang
    Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License
    Adaptation: Used from Wikipedia image set without modification.

More spacecraft may be added to these lists in the future.

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