Current Missions
Here’s a quick guide to the top robotic space rangers.
See more
Mercury
MESSENGER
Orbiter
Agency: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) (NASA)
Venus
Akatsuki
Orbiter
Agency: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Venus Express
Orbiter
Agency: European Space Agency (ESA)
Official site | Wikipedia | WolframAlpha
Luna (Earth’s Moon)
Chang’e 2
Orbiter
Agency: China National Space Administration (CNSA)
Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)
Twin orbiters
Agency: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL / NASA)
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
Orbiter
Agency: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL / NASA)
Official NASA site | Official Goddard site | Wikipedia
Mars
Mars Exploration Rovers
Twin rovers (‘Spirit’ no longer operational; ‘Opportunity’ still going strong)
Agency: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL / NASA)
Mars Express
Orbiter
Agency: European Space Agency (ESA)
Mars Odyssey
Orbiter
Agency: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL / NASA)
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Orbiter
Agency: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL / NASA)
Mars Science Laboratory (‘Curiosity’)
Rover en route to Mars (arrives August 2012)
Agency: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL / NASA)
Asteroids & Comets
Dawn
Multiple asteroid orbiter
Agency: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL / NASA)
EPOXI (formerly Deep Impact)
En route to Asteroid 163249 (January 2020 – pending 3rd mission extension approval)
Agency: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL / NASA)
Rosetta
En route to Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko (arrives May 2014)
Agency: European Space Agency (ESA)
Jupiter
Juno
Orbiter en route to Jupiter (arrives July 2016)
Agency: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL / NASA)
Saturn
Cassini
Orbiter
Agency: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL / NASA)
Pluto & Beyond
New Horizons
En route to Pluto (arrives July 2015)
Agency: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) (NASA)
Official site | Wikipedia | WolframAlpha
Voyager
Twin spacecraft en route to interstellar space (after multi-planet tour in 1970s-80s)
Agency: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL / NASA)