Mercury: The Closest Planet Explored by Spacecraft
Discover the extreme world of Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, as explored by missions like Mariner 10 and MESSENGER.
Mapping the Universe
Space Exploration
Over the past several decades, space agencies like NASA, ESA, JAXA, and others have launched a series of missions targeting different areas of the solar system, each designed to investigate specific planets, moons, or regions and expand our understanding of the galaxy as a whole. Explore these missions below.
Missions to the Inner Solar System
Exploration of the inner solar system began with missions to the Moon, our closest celestial neighbor, which became the first extraterrestrial body visited by humans. Following the Apollo era, robotic missions focused on the inner planets, particularly Mars and Venus. This includes missions like the Viking landers and Mars rovers, Curiosity and Perseverance for Mars, as well as the Venera and Magellan missions to Venus.
Venus: Probing the Mysteries of Earth’s Twin
Explore Venus, Earth’s “sister planet,” and the spacecraft missions—like Venera and Magellan—that unveiled its thick atmosphere and plains.
Earth: Observing Our Home Planet from Space
Learn about how satellites and spacecraft provide critical insights into Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and ecosystems, helping us understand it.
The Moon: Humanity’s First Destination Beyond Earth
Journey through the history of lunar exploration, from Apollo missions to modern probes that have mapped and studied our Moon’s surface.
Mars: The Red Planet and Its Robotic Explorers
Discover Mars through missions like Curiosity, Perseverance, and the upcoming Mars Sample Return, which have been studying the landscape.
The Sun: Spacecraft Revealing the Heart of Our Solar System
Explore the Sun and its powerful energy output through missions like SOHO and Parker Solar Probe, which study solar flares and solar wind.
Missions to the Outer Solar System
The outer solar system has also been a focal point for exploration, with missions targeting the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn and their unique moon systems. The Galileo mission provided the first in-depth look at Jupiter and its moons, discovering potential subsurface oceans on Europa, while the Cassini mission orbited Saturn for over a decade, capturing stunning images of its rings and exploring its moons.
Jupiter: Uncovering Secrets of the Giant Planet
Learn about Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet, explored by spacecraft like Galileo and Juno, which have revealed its uniqueness.
Saturn: Saturn’s Rings and the Spacecraft That Studied Them
Explore Saturn, known for its stunning rings, through missions like Cassini, which provided images of the rings, atmosphere, and moons.
Uranus: The Icy Giant Visited by Voyager
Discover the mysterious, tilted world of Uranus, observed only by Voyager 2, and learn what we know about its icy atmosphere and moons.
Neptune: Exploring the Distant Blue Giant
Dive into the enigmatic world of Neptune, also explored by Voyager 2, with its powerful winds, dynamic storms, and distant, icy moon Triton.
Pluto and Beyond: New Horizons in the Kuiper Belt
Follow New Horizons, the first spacecraft to visit Pluto, and learn about its findings on this icy dwarf planet and other Kuiper Belt objects.
The Asteroid Belt: Missions to the Rocky Remnants of the Solar System
Delve into the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter, where missions like Dawn and OSIRIS-REx have explored asteroids and returned samples.
Missions Beyond Our Solar System
Moving further out, other missions have also expanded the boundaries of human exploration. After Pluto, New Horizons continued on to explore a Kuiper Belt object named Arrokoth, providing a glimpse into the primitive building blocks of the solar system. Space exploration has also extended beyond our solar system to study stars, galaxies, and cosmic phenomena. In fact, telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope have captured breathtaking images of distant galaxies, nebulae, and star-forming regions.
A Cosmic Quest: How Spacecraft Unlock the Secrets of Nebulae
Several spacecraft and space telescopes have studied nebulae, capturing stunning images and providing valuable scientific data.
Exploring Other Galaxies: Peering Into the Depths of the Universe
Beyond the Milky Way, our galaxy, lie countless other galaxies. Observing them requires powerful telescopes. Here is how we do it.