# History of Space Exploration

There are things that are known and things that are unknown; in between is exploration. -Anonymous

## Space History

- Introduction
- Rocket History
- Early Astronauts
- Automated Spacecraft
- Hypothetical Planets

## Space Exploration Chronology

- By Date
- By Planetary Body
- Chronology of Solar System Discovery

## Spacecraft Mission Summaries

This is a partial list of past, present, and future planetary and solar missions; for a complete account, please see the Space Exploration Chronology. Space exploration is becoming increasingly internationalized; as a result, the national designations listed here are not completely representative of the true nature of all projects.

### U.S. Missions

- Apollo Landing Missions
  - Prologue
  - Spacecraft, Suits, and Rovers
  - Precursors to the Landing Missions
  - Apollo 11, Apollo 12, Apollo 13, Apollo 14, Apollo 15, Apollo 16, Apollo 17
  - Epilogue: When might we go back to the Moon?
  - Apollo Lunar Surface Journal

- Robotic Spacecraft
  - Mariner Missions
    - Mariner 2, Mariner 4, Mariner 5, Mariner 6 & 7, Mariner 9, Mariner 10
  - Ranger to the Moon (1964 - 1965)
    - Ranger 7, Ranger 8, Ranger 9
  - Lunar Orbiter (1966-1967)
    - Lunar Orbiter 1, Lunar Orbiter 2, Lunar Orbiter 3, Lunar Orbiter 4, Lunar Orbiter 5
  - Surveyor
  - Pioneer 10 & 11
  - Viking
    - Project Viking Fact Sheet
  - Voyager
    - The Voyager Planetary Mission
      - Voyager Jupiter Science Summary
      - Voyager Saturn Science Summary
      - Voyager Neptune Science Summary
      - Voyager Uranus Science Summary
  - Magellan
  - Galileo
    - Galileo Project Fact Sheet
    - Galileo Finds Giant Iron Core in Jupiter's Moon Io
    - Galileo Probe Suggests Planetary Science Reappraisal
    - Galileo Crosses Boundary Into Jupiter's Environment
  - Clementine to the Moon
  - NEAR

- Future Missions
  - Mars Global Surveyor
  - Mars Pathfinder
  - Cassini/Huygens
    - Cassini Fact Sheet
  - Lunar Prospector
  - Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter
  - Mars Surveyor '98 Lander
  - Pluto Express
  - Stardust

### USSR/Russia Missions

- The Soviet Lunar Program
  - Luna Mission Summaries, 1959 - 1976
  - Zond Mission Summaries, 1965 - 1970
- The Soviet/Russia Mars Program
  - Phobos
  - Mars 96
- The Soviet Venus Program
  - Venera Mission Summaries, 1967 - 1983
    - Venera 15 & 16

### European Missions

- Giotto
- Ulysses
- SOHO
- Cassini/Huygens
- Rosetta

### Japanese Missions

- Sakigake
- Suisei
- Yohkoh

## Spacecraft Home Pages for Current and Future Missions

- SOHO - The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
- Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
- Cassini: Voyage to Saturn
- Voyager Project Home Page
- Project Galileo (JPL) - Home Page
- Ulysses Home Page
- Cassini: Voyage to Saturn Home Page
- Mars Global Surveyor Home Page
- Mars Pathfinder Home Page
- Pluto Express Home Page

## Educator Guides

- Educator's Guide to Robotic Spacecraft
- Educator's Guide to Spotting the Shuttle

## Additional History Resources

- Basics of Space Flight (JPL)
- Apollo Lunar Surface Journal
- NASA Historical Space Archive

Return to the Comets

##### Author: Calvin J. Hamilton.