Engineering:List of interplanetary voyages

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This is a comprehensive list of interplanetary spaceflights, spaceflight between two or more bodies of the Solar System, listed in chronological order by launch date. It includes only flights that escaped Earth orbit and reached the vicinity of another planet, asteroid, or comet. Flights that were planned but not executed, were destroyed at or shortly after launch, or missed their target entirely are not included. Flights which reached, but failed to return useful scientific data regarding their target, are given a gray background.

The list is divided between flights that stopped at a destination, and those that flew by their target.

Completed flights

The following flights were completed by matching velocity with the target object, whether by station-keeping, entering orbit, landing, or impact.

1960s

Spacecraft Destination Date and
launch site
Reached planet Flight duration Notes Ref
Venera 3 Venus 16 November 1965
Molniya M
Baikonur 31/6
1 March 1966
impact
106 days
(3 mo, 14 d)
Venera 3 was intended to soft-land on Venus. Contact with the spacecraft was lost before arrival, and Venera 3 crashed. [1]
Venera 4 Venus 12 June 1967
Molniya 8K78M
Baikonur 1/5
18 October 1967
entered atmosphere
129 days
(4 mo, 7 d)
Venera 4, a Venus atmosphere probe, continued to transmit to an altitude of 25 km [2]
Venera 5 Venus 5 January 1969
Molniya 8K78M
Baikonur 1/5
16 May 1969
entered atmosphere
132 days
(4 mo, 12 d)
Venera 5 was a Venus atmosphere probe. [3]
Venera 6 Venus 10 January 1969
Molniya 8K78M
Baikonur 1/5
17 May 1969
entered atmosphere
128 days
(4 mo, 8 d)
Venera 6 was a Venus atmosphere probe. [4]

1970s

Spacecraft Destination Launch date Reached planet Flight duration Notes Ref
Venera 7 lander Venus 17 August 1970 15 December 1970
landed
121 days
(3 mo, 29 d)
Venera 7 made the first successful landing on another planet, and returned signals from the surface of Venus for 23 minutes. [5]
Mars 2 Orbiter and Lander Mars 19 May 1971 27 November 1971
impact
193 days
(6 mo, 9 d)
The Mars 2 lander crashed into Mars on 27 November 1971, in a failed soft landing attempt. It was the first manmade object to reach the surface of Mars. The orbiter continued operating until 22 August 1972. [6][7]
Mars 3 Orbiter and Lander Mars 28 May 1971 2 December 1971
entered orbit/landed
189 days
(6 mo, 5 d)
Mars 3 did not attain its intended orbit due to insufficient fuel. The lander reached the surface on 2 December 1971, but contact was lost immediately afterward. The orbiter continued operating until 22 August 1972. [8][9]
Mariner 9 Orbiter Mars 30 May 1971 14 November 1971
entered orbit
169 days
(5 mo, 16 d)
Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. It remained active until 27 October 1972. [10]
Venera 8 lander Venus 27 March 1972 22 July 1972
landed
118 days
(3 m, 26 d)
Venera 8 returned signals from the surface of Venus for 50 minutes. [11]
Mars 5 Orbiter Mars 25 July 1973 12 February 1974
entered orbit
203 days
(6 mo, 19 d)
Mars 5 collected images and other data from Mars for 22 days. [12]
Mars 6 Lander Mars 5 August 1973 12 March 1974
impact
220 days
(7 mo, 8 d)
Mars 6 crash-landed on Mars and contact with the craft was lost. [13]
Venera 9 orbiter and lander Venus 8 June 1975 20 October 1975 entered orbit
22 October 1975 landed
135 days
(4 mo, 13 d)
The Venera 9 lander transmitted the first images from the surface of Venus. [14][15]
Venera 10 orbiter and lander Venus 14 June 1975 23 October 1975 entered orbit
25 October 1975 landed
132 days
(4 mo, 10 d)
Venera 10 successfully landed and sent back images from the surface of Venus. [16][17]
Viking 1 Orbiter and Lander Mars 20 August 1975 19 June 1976 entered orbit
20 July 1976 landed
305 days
(10 mo)
Viking 1 transmitted the first images from the surface of Mars. The Viking orbiter was active until 17 August 1980, the lander until 13 November 1982. [18][19]
Viking 2 Orbiter and Lander Mars 9 September 1975 7 August 1976 entered orbit
3 September 1976 landed
334 days
(10 mo, 30 d)
Viking 2 was the second craft to land on Mars. The Viking orbiter was active until 25 July 1978, the lander until 11 April 1980. [20][21]
Pioneer Venus Orbiter Venus 20 May 1978 4 December 1978
entered orbit
199 days
(6 mo, 15 d)
Pioneer Venus made radar and other observations of Venus. The orbiter operated until August 1992. [22]
Pioneer Venus Multiprobe Venus 8 August 1978 9 December 1978
entered atmosphere
124 days
(4 mo, 2 d)
The Pioneer Venus multiprobe included a "bus" and four atmospheric probes, one of which survived its impact with Venus and continued to transmit from the surface for over an hour. [23][24][25][26][27]
Venera 12 Lander Venus 14 September 1978 21 December 1978
landed
99 days
(3 mo, 8 d)
Venera 12 returned data for 110 minutes. Images were not returned. [28]
Venera 11 Lander Venus 9 September 1978 25 December 1978
landed
107 days
(3 mo, 16 d)
Venera 11 returned data for 95 minutes. Images were not returned. [29]

1980s

Spacecraft Destination Launched Reached planet Flight duration Notes Ref
Venera 13 Lander Venus 30 October 1981 1 March 1982
landed
123 days
(4 months, 2 days)
Venera 13 survived on the surface of Venus for 127 minutes. [30]
Venera 14 Lander Venus 4 November 1981 5 March 1982
landed
122 days
(4 months, 2 days)
Venera 14 survived on the surface of Venus for 57 minutes. [31]
Venera 15 Orbiter Venus 2 June 1983 10 October 1983
entered orbit
131 days
(4 months, 9 days)
Venera 15 carried out radar mapping of Venus. [32]
Venera 16 Orbiter Venus 7 June 1983 14 October 1983
entered orbit
130 days
(4 months, 8 days)
Venera 16 carried out radar mapping of Venus. [33]
Vega 1 Lander and balloon Venus 15 December 1984 11 June 1985
landed/deployed
179 days
(5 months, 28 days)
Some of the Vega 1's instruments deployed prematurely, rendering them useless. [34][35]
Vega 2 Lander and balloon Venus 21 December 1984 15 June 1985
landed/deployed
177 days
(5 months, 26 days)
[36][37]
Phobos 2 Orbiter and Lander Mars and Phobos 12 July 1988 29 January 1989 202 days
(6 months, 18 days)
Phobos 2 achieved Mars orbit, but contact was lost on 27 March 1989 shortly before Phobos approach phase and deployment of Phobos landers [38]
Magellan Orbiter Venus 4 May 1989 10 August 1990
entered orbit
464 days
(1 yr, 3 mo, 7 d)
Magellan carried out global radar mapping of Venus. Magellan's mission continued to 12 October 1994, when the craft burned up in Venus' atmosphere. [39]
Galileo orbiter and atmosphere probe Jupiter 18 October 1989 7 December 1995
entered orbit
2242 days
(6 yr, 1 mo, 20 d)
Flew by several of Jupiter's moons; impacted into Jupiter 21 September 2003. [40][41]

1990s

Spacecraft Destination Launched Reached planet Flight duration Notes Ref
Mars Observer orbiter Mars 25 September 1992 24 August 1993
entered orbit?
334 days
(11 months)
Contact with Mars Observer was lost 21 August 1993, shortly before Mars orbit insertion. May not have attained Mars orbit. [42][43][44][45][46]
Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Asteroid 433 Eros 17 February 1996 14 February 2000 entered orbit
12 February 2001 landed
1459 days
(3 yr, 11 mo, 29 d)
The orbiter performed an improvised landing on Eros. Its mission ended 28 February 2001. [47]
Mars Global Surveyor orbiter Mars 7 November 1996 11 September 1997
entered orbit
309 days
(10 months, 5 days)
Contact lost after 5 November 2006. [48]
Mars Pathfinder lander and Sojourner rover Mars 4 December 1996 4 July 1997
landed
213 days
(7 months, 1 day)
Rover deployed 6 July 1997. Mission continued to 27 September 1997. [49][50]
Cassini orbiter
and Huygens Titan lander
Saturn and Titan 15 October 1997 1 July 2004 entered orbit 2452 days (6 yr, 8 mo, 17 d) Mission ended 15 September 2017. Saturn orbiter, performing repeated by-flights of Saturn's moons; also deployed the Huygens Titan lander, the first probe to land on a satellite of another planet. [51][52]
14 January 2005
Huygens landed on Titan
2649 days (Huygens) (7 years, 3 months)
Mars Climate Orbiter Mars 11 December 1998 23 September 1999
entered atmosphere
287 days
(9 months, 13 days)
Orbit insertion failed due to a navigational error, and Mars Climate Orbiter burned up in the Martian atmosphere. [53]
Mars Polar Lander with Deep Space 2 ground-penetrators "Amundsen" and "Scott" Mars 3 January 1999 3 December 1999
entered atmosphere
335 days
(11 months, 1 day)
Contact with Mars Polar Lander was lost just prior to entering the Martian atmosphere. [54][55]

2000s

Spacecraft Destination Launched Reached planet Flight duration Notes Ref
Mars Odyssey orbiter Mars 7 April 2001 24 October 2001
entered orbit
201 days
(6 months, 18 days)
Continuing mission. [56]
Hayabusa and MINERVA Asteroid 25143 Itokawa 9 May 2003 12 September 2005 matched velocity with Itokawa
19 and 25 November 2005 landings
858 days
(2 yr, 4 mo, 4 d)
The MINERVA hopper was lost on 12 November 2005. Hayabusa's return journey to Earth began in April 2007; the spacecraft returned to Earth 13 June 2010. [57]
Mars Express orbiter and Beagle 2 lander Mars 2 June 2003 25 December 2003
entered orbit
207 days
(6 months, 24 days)
Continuing mission. Contact with Beagle 2 was lost after entering Mars' atmosphere on 25 December 2003. [58]
MER-A Spirit rover Mars 10 June 2003 4 January 2004
landed
209 days
(6 months, 26 days)
Last contact on 22 March 2010. [59]
MER-B Opportunity rover Mars 7 July 2003 25 January 2004
landed
203 days
(6 months, 19 days)
Last contact on 10 June 2018 [60]
Rosetta orbiter and Philae lander Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko 2 March 2004 6 August 2014 (Entered orbit)
12 November 2014 (Philae landed)
N/A 64 Hours data transmission. Lander reactivated for 85 seconds 13 June 2015. Controlled impact to end mission on 30 September 2016. [61][62]
MESSENGER Mercury 3 August 2004 17 March 2011 entered orbit 2418 days
(6 years, 7 months, 15 days)
First probe to orbit Mercury. Deorbited on 30 April 2015 [63]
Deep Impact impactor Comet 9P/Tempel 12 January 2005 4 July 2005
impacted Tempel
174 days
(5 months, 23 days)
First probe to directly impact a comet. [64]
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars 12 August 2005 10 March 2006
entered orbit
211 days
(6 months, 27 days)
Continuing mission. [65][66]
Venus Express Orbiter Venus 9 November 2005 11 April 2006
entered orbit
154 days
(5 months, 3 days)
Continuing mission to study the atmosphere of Venus. Last contact 18 January 2015. [67]
Phoenix Lander Mars 4 August 2007 25 May 2008
landed
296 days
(9 months, 22 days)
Collected soil samples near Mars' north pole to elucidate the history of water on Mars. Mission concluded 10 November 2008. [68]
Dawn Asteroid 4 Vesta 27 September 2007 16 July 2011
entered orbit
1388 days
(3 years, 9 months, 19 days)
Departed Vesta for 1 Ceres 5 September 2012. [69]
1 Ceres 6 March 2015
entered orbit
2718 days
(7 years, 5 months, 8 days)
Last contact 31 October 2018. [70]

2010s

Spacecraft Destination Launched Reached planet Flight duration Notes Ref
Akatsuki Venus 20 May 2010 7 December 2015
entered orbit
N/A Entered orbit five years after failed orbit insertion on 7 December 2010. Continuing mission to study the atmosphere of Venus. [71]
Juno Jupiter 5 August 2011 4 July 2016
entered orbit
1,795 days (4 y, 10 m, 29 d) First solar-powered Jupiter orbiter, mission to study Jupiter's interior and magnetic environment. [72]
Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity - Rover) Mars 26 November 2011 6 August 2012
landed
253 days (8 m, 10 d) 14h 15m 57s 900 kg mobile lander [73]
Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) Mars 5 November 2013 Reached Mars orbit on 24 September 2014
MAVEN Mars 18 November 2013 Reached Mars orbit on 22 September 2014
Hayabusa2 with MINERVA-II rovers
and MASCOT lander
Asteroid 162173 Ryugu 3 December 2014 27 June 2018 matched velocity with Ryugu
21 February 2019 landing
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO)/
Schiaparelli lander
Mars 14 March 2016 19 October 2016 Schiaparelli failed to land. TGO is still active to this date.
OSIRIS-REx 101955 Bennu 8 September 2016 3 December 2018 Orbiter and Sample Return.
InSight Mars 5 May 2018 26 November 2018
landed
Robotic lander
BepiColombo Mercury 20 October 2018 5 December 2025
(planned)
2604 days (7 yr, 1 mo, 16 d) Dual satellite mission. [74]

2020s

Spacecraft Destination Launched Closest approach Time elapsed Notes Ref
Emirates Mars Mission Mars 19 July 2020 9 February 2020
in orbit
Orbiter
Tianwen-1 Mars 23 July 2020 10 February 2021
landed
Robotic orbiter, deployable and remote cameras, lander, rover
Mars 2020 Mars 30 July 2020 18 February 2021
landed
Robotic rover and helicopter
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) Dimorphos 24 November 2021 26 November 2022
impacted
Impactor spacecraft that crashed into the minor-planet moon Dimorphos, deployed flyby cubesat LICIACube 15 days before.
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) Jupiter 14 April 2023 July 2031
(planned)
Orbiter
Psyche Asteroid 16 Psyche 13 October 2023 August 2029
(planned)
Orbiter [75]

Passing flights

The following flights flew by the target object at close range, but did not match velocity with their target or continued to another destination.

1960s

Spacecraft Destination Launch date Closest approach Time elapsed Notes Ref
Venera 1 Venus 12 February 1961 19 May 1961 97 days
(3 months, 8 days)
Contact with Venera 1 was lost 7 days after launch. It was the first spacecraft to fly by Venus, or indeed any planet. [76]
Mariner 2 Venus 27 August 1962 14 December 1962 110 days
(3 months, 18 days)
Mariner 2 flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 34,773 km. It was the first spacecraft to return data from Venus. [77]
Mars 1 Mars 1 November 1962 19 June 1963 231 days
(7 months, 19 days)
Mars 1 flew within approx. 193,000 km of Mars. Contact with it was lost on 21 March 1963. [78]
Zond 1 Venus 2 April 1964 14 July? 1964 104 days
(3 months, 13 days)
Zond 1 was intended as a Venus lander. Contact with it was lost en route. [79]
Mariner 4 Mars 28 November 1964 15 July 1965 230 days
(7 months, 18 days)
Mariner 4 returned the first close-up images of Mars. [80]
Zond 2 Mars 30 November 1964 6 August 1965 250 days
(8 months, 8 days)
Zond 2 flew within 1,500 km of Mars. Contact with it was lost en route. [81]
Venera 2 Venus 12 November 1965 27 February 1966 108 days
(3 months, 16 days)
Venera 2 flew by Venus at a distance of 24,000 km, but ceased to operate en route. [82]
Mariner 5 Venus 14 June 1967 19 October 1967 128 days
(4 months, 6 days)
Mariner 5 flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 5,000 km. [83]
Mariner 6 Mars 25 February 1969 31 July 1969 156 days
(5 months, 6 days)
Mariner 6 flew by Mars. [84]
Mariner 7 Mars 27 March 1969 5 August 1969 131 days
(4 months, 9 days)
Mariner 7 flew by Mars. [85]

1970s

Spacecraft Destination Launched Closest approach Time elapsed Notes Ref
Pioneer 10 Jupiter 3 March 1972 3 December 1973 641 days
(1 yr, 9 mos, 1 d)
Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to fly by Jupiter. [86]
Pioneer 11 Jupiter 6 April 1973 4 December 1974 608 days
(1 yr, 7 mo, 29 d)
Pioneer 11 flew by Jupiter. [87]
Saturn 1 September 1979 2340 days
(6 yr, 4 mo, 27 d)
Pioneer 11 was the first spacecraft to fly by Saturn.
Mars 4 Mars 21 July 1973 10 February 1974 205 days
(6 months, 21 days)
Mars 4 failed to enter Mars orbit and flew by it instead. [88]
Mars 6 Mars 5 August 1973 12 March 1974 220 days
(7 months, 8 days)
The Mars 6 bus flew by Mars at a minimum distance of 1600 km. Also carried a lander. [13]
Mars 7 Mars 9 August 1973 9 March 1974 213 days
(7 months, 1 day)
Mars 7's lander was released prematurely and missed Mars. [89]
Mariner 10 Venus 3 November 1973 5 February 1974 95 days
(3 months, 3 days)
Mariner 10 flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 5768 km. It was the first use of a gravity assist by an interplanetary spacecraft. [90]
Mercury 29 March 1974 147 days
(4 months, 27 days)
Mariner 10 flew by Mercury at a minimum distance of 704 km.
21 September 1974 323 days
(10 months, 19 days)
Mariner 10 flew by Mercury at a minimum distance of 48,069 km.
16 March 1975 499 days
(1 yr, 4 mo, 14 d)
Mariner 10 flew by Mercury at a minimum distance of 327 km.
Voyager 2 Jupiter 20 August 1977 9 July 1979 689 days
(1 yr, 10 mo, 20 d)
Voyager 2 flew by Jupiter. [91]
Saturn 5 August 1981 1447 days
(3 yr, 11 mo, 17 d)
Voyager 2 flew by Saturn.
Uranus 24 January 1986 3080 days
(8 yr, 5 mo, 5 d)
Voyager 2 flew by Uranus and was the first spacecraft to visit it.
Neptune 25 August 1989 4389 days
(12 yr, 6 days)
Voyager 2 flew by Neptune and was the first spacecraft to visit it.
Voyager 1 Jupiter 5 September 1977 5 March 1979 547 days
(1 yr, 6 mo, 1 d)
Voyager 1 flew by Jupiter and returned the first detailed images. [92]
Saturn 12 November 1980 1165 days
(3 yr, 2 mo, 8 d)
Voyager 1 flew by Saturn.
ICE Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner 12 August 1978 11 September 1985 2588 days
(7 yr, 1 mo)
ICE flew by Giacobini-Zinner. ICE was previously the solar monitor ISEE3. [93]
Comet 1P/Halley 28 March 1986 2786 days
(7 yr, 7 mo, 17 d)
ICE flew by Halley at a minimum distance of 32 million km.
Venera 11 Venus 9 September 1978 25 December 1978 108 days
(3 months, 17 days)
The Venera 11 bus flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 34,000 km and left a lander. [94]
Venera 12 Venus 14 September 1978 19 December 1978 97 days
(3 months, 6 days)
The Venera 12 bus flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 34,000 km and left a lander. [95]

1980s

Spacecraft Destination Launched Closest approach Time elapsed Notes Ref
Venera 13 Venus 30 October 1981 1 March 1982 123 days
(4 months, 2 days)
The Venera 13 bus flew by Venus and left a lander. [96]
Venera 14 Venus 4 November 1981 5 March 1982 122 days
(4 months, 2 days)
The Venera 14 bus flew by Venus and left a lander. [97]
Vega 1 Venus 15 December 1984 11 June 1985 179 days
(5 months, 28 days)
Vega 1 flew by Venus. [98]
Comet 1P/Halley 6 March 1986 447 days
(1 yr, 2 mo, 20 d)
Vega 1 flew by Halley at a minimum distance of 8,890 km.
Vega 2 Venus 21 December 1984 15 June 1985 177 days
(5 months, 26 days)
Vega 2 flew by Venus. [99]
Comet 1P/Halley 9 March 1986 444 days
(1 yr, 2 mo, 17 d)
Vega 2 flew by Halley at a minimum distance of 8,890 km.
Sakigake Comet 1P/Halley 7 January 1985 11 March 1986 429 days
(1 yr, 2 mo, 5 d)
Sakigake flew by Halley at a minimum distance of 6.99 million km. [100]
Giotto Comet 1P/Halley 2 July 1985 14 March 1986 256 days
(8 months, 13 days)
Giotto flew by Halley at a minimum distance of 596 km. [101]
Comet 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup 10 July 1992 2566 days
(7 yr, 9 d)
Giotto flew by Grigg-Skjellerup
Suisei Comet 1P/Halley 18 August 1985 8 March 1986 203 days
(6 mo, 19 d)
Suisei flew by Halley at a minimum distance of 151,000 km. [102]
Galileo Venus 18 October 1989 10 February 1990 116 days
(3 months, 24 days)
Galileo flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 16,000 km as a gravity assist en route to Jupiter. [103]
Asteroid 951 Gaspra 29 October 1991 742 days
(2 yr, 12 d)
Galileo flew by Gaspra at a minimum distance of 1900 km en route to Jupiter.
Asteroid 243 Ida 28 August 1993 1411 days
(3 yr, 10 mo, 11 d)
Galileo flew by Ida at a minimum distance of 2400 km en route to Jupiter. It discovered the first known asteroid moon, Dactyl.

1990s

Spacecraft Destination Launched Closest approach Time elapsed Notes Ref
Ulysses Jupiter 6 October 1990 8 February 1992 491 days
(1 yr, 4 mo, 3 d)
Ulysses flew by Jupiter for a gravity assist en route to solar polar observations [104]
Jupiter 4 February 2004 4870 days
(13 yr, 3 mo, 30 d)
Ulysses flew by Jupiter at a minimum distance of 0.8 AU.
Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Asteroid 253 Mathilde 17 February 1996 27 June 1997 497 days
(1 yr, 4 mo, 11 d)
NEAR flew by Mathilde en route to Eros. [47]
Asteroid 433 Eros 23 December 1998 1041 days
(2 yr, 10 mo, 7 d)
NEAR flew by Eros at a minimum distance of 3827 km after a failed attempt to enter orbit. NEAR attained orbit later (see Completed Flights).
Cassini Venus 15 October 1997 26 April 1998 194 days
(6 months, 12 days)
Cassini flew by Venus for a first gravity assist en route to Saturn. [51][105]
Venus 24 June 1999 618 days
(1 yr, 8 mo, 10 d)
Cassini flew by Venus for a second gravity assist en route to Saturn.
Asteroid 2685 Masursky 23 January 2000 831 days
(2 yr, 3 mo, 9 d)
Cassini flew by Masursky en route to Saturn.
Jupiter 30 December 2000 1173 days
(3 yr, 2 mo, 16 d)
Cassini flew by Jupiter for a gravity assist en route to Saturn.
Nozomi Mars 3 July 1998 14 December 2003 1991 days
(5 yr, 5 mo, 12 d)
Nozomi failed to attain an orbit around Mars and flew by it instead. [106]
Deep Space 1 Asteroid 9969 Braille 24 October 1998 29 July 1999 279 days
(9 months, 6 days)
Deep Space 1 flew by Braille. No close-up images were made due to a camera pointing error. [107]
Comet 19P/Borrelly 22 September 2001 1065 days
(2 yr, 10 mo, 30 d)
Deep Space 1 flew by Borrelly and returned images.
Stardust Asteroid 5535 Annefrank 7 February 1999 2 November 2002 1365 days
(3 yr, 8 mo, 27 d)
Stardust flew by Annefrank [108]
Comet 81P/Wild 21 January 2004 1810 days
(4 yr, 11 mo, 15 d)
Stardust flew a sample return mission by Wild.
Comet 9P/Tempel 14 February 2011 N/A Stardust flew by Tempel on an extended mission.

2000s

Spacecraft Destination Launched Closest approach Time elapsed Notes Ref
Rosetta Mars 2 March 2004 25 February 2007 1091 days
(2 yr, 11 mo, 24 d)
Rosetta flew by Mars as a gravity assist on the way to future encounters. [61]
Asteroid 2867 Šteins 5 September 2008 1649 days
(4 yr, 6 mo, 11 d)
Rosetta flew by Šteins.
Asteroid 21 Lutetia 10 July 2010 2322 days (6 yr, 4 mo, 9 d) Rosetta flew by Lutetia en route to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
MESSENGER Venus 3 August 2004 24 October 2006 813 days
(2 yr, 2 mo, 22 d)
Messenger flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 2990 km. This was for a gravity assist only; no data was collected. [63]
6 June 2007 1038 days
(2 yr, 10 mo, 4 d)
Messenger flew by Venus at a minimum distance of 300 km en route to Mercury.
Mercury 14 January 2008 1260 days
(3 yr, 5 mo, 12 d)
Messenger flew by Mercury a first time en route to Mercury orbit insertion.
29 September 2009 1884 days
(5 yr, 1 mo, 27 d)
Messenger flew by Mercury a second time.
Deep Impact Comet 9P/Tempel 12 January 2005 3 July 2005 173 days
(5 months, 22 days)
Deep Impact flew by Tempel. [64]
Comet 103P/Hartley 2 4 November 2010 2122 days
(5 years, 9 months, 23 days)
Deep Impact flew by and imaged Hartley 2 as part of its extended mission.
New Horizons Asteroid 132524 APL 19 January 2006 13 June 2006 146 days
(4 months, 26 days)
New Horizons flew by 132524 APL en route to Pluto. [109]
Jupiter 28 February 2007 416 days
(1 years, 1 months, 20 days)
New Horizons flew by Jupiter as a gravity assist en route to Pluto.
Pluto 14 July 2015 3318 days
(9 years, 1 month, 1 day)
New Horizons flew by the Pluto system.
486958 Arrokoth 1 January 2019 4730 days
(12 years, 11 months, 13 days)
First flyby of a small Kuiper Belt Object
Dawn Mars 27 September 2007 17 February 2009 509 days
(1 yr, 4 mo, 21 d)
Dawn flew by Mars at a closest approach of 549 km for a gravity assist en route to the asteroids Vesta and Ceres [69]

2010s

Spacecraft Destination Launch date Closest approach Time elapsed Notes Ref
Akatsuki Venus 20 May 2010 7 December 2010 201 days (6 months, 17 days) Attempted but failed to enter orbit; later entered orbit during a second attempt on 7 December 2015
Chang'e 2 Asteroid 4179 Toutatis 1 October 2010 13 December 2012 804 days (2 years, 2 months, 12 days)
PROCYON Asteroid (185851) 2000 DP107 4 December 2014 Failed 3 December 2015, and thus never made the flyby.
MarCO Mars 5 May 2018 26 November 2018 206 days
(6 mo, 22 d)
Provided communications support for the landing of InSight. Went silent in heliocentric orbit on 5 January 2019. [110]
Parker Solar Probe Venus 12 August 2018 11 July 2020 700 days
(1 yr, 11 mo)
Obtain direct solar observations. Not making observations during the Venus flybys.
BepiColombo Venus 20 October 2018 10 August 2021 1028 days
(2 yr, 9 mo, 24 d)
Second of two Venus gravity assist en route to Mercury. [111]
Mercury 1 October 2021 1078 days
(2 yr, 11 mo, 12 d)
First of six Mercury gravity assist en route to Mercury orbital insertion.

2020s

Spacecraft Destination Launch date Closest approach Time elapsed Notes Ref
LICIACube Asteroid 65803 Didymos 24 November 2021 26 September 2022 307 days
(10 mo, 7 d)
Separated from DART and took pictures of its impact with the asteroid. [112]
Lucy Asteroid 152830 Dinkinesh 16 October 2021 1 November 2023 746 days
(2 yr, 17 d)
Smallest main-belt asteroid explored by spacecraft yet. Discovered a natural satellite of the asteroid during the flyby. [113]
Asteroid 52246 Donaldjohanson 20 April 2025
(planned)
1283 days
(3 yr, 6 mo, 5 d)
Asteroid 3548 Eurybates 12 August 2027
(planned)
4156 days
(11 yr, 4 mo, 15 d)
Asteroid 15094 Polymele 15 September 2027
(planned)
2161 days
(5 yr, 11 mo)
Asteroid 11351 Leucus 18 April 2028
(planned)
2377 days
(6 yr, 6 mo, 3 d)
Asteroid 21900 Orus 11 November 2028
(planned)
2584 days
(7 yr, 27 d)
Asteroid 617 Patroclus 2 March 2033
(planned)
2377 days
(6 yr, 6 mo, 3 d)
Psyche Mars 13 October 2023 May 2026
(planned)
Mars gravity assist en route to the asteroid 16 Psyche [75]

References

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  2. "Venera 4 NSSDCA Spacecraft Details". https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1967-058A. 
  3. "Venera 5 NSSDCA Spacecraft Details". https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1969-001A. 
  4. "Venera 5 NSSDCA Spacecraft Details". https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1969-002A. 
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See also