Landmark missions that defined our understanding of the solar system and beyond.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969. They collected 21.5 kg of lunar samples and deployed science instruments that operated for years. The mission fulfilled President Kennedy's 1961 challenge.
Launched 16 days apart, the twin Voyagers took advantage of a rare planetary alignment for a grand tour. Voyager 2 remains the only spacecraft to have visited all four outer planets. Voyager 1 crossed into interstellar space in 2012.
Despite an initial mirror flaw, a 1993 servicing mission corrected it, and Hubble went on to revolutionize astronomy. It has made over 1.5 million observations, helped pin down the age of the universe, and revealed that the universe's expansion is accelerating.
After a seven-year journey, Cassini orbited Saturn for 13 years. The Huygens probe landed on Titan in 2005, transmitting images of a landscape shaped by liquid methane. Cassini's mission ended in 2017 with a deliberate plunge into Saturn's atmosphere.
The car-sized rover landed in Gale Crater using the innovative sky-crane system. It confirmed that ancient Mars had the right chemistry to support microbial life and has driven over 30 km across the Martian surface while climbing Mount Sharp.
Perseverance carries the Ingenuity helicopter — the first powered aircraft to fly on another planet. Its primary goal is astrobiology: collecting rock and soil samples for eventual return to Earth, searching for signs of ancient microbial life.
JWST observes in infrared, allowing it to peer through dust clouds and see the earliest galaxies formed after the Big Bang. Its first images stunned the world with unprecedented depth and clarity, observing galaxies over 13 billion light-years away.
NASA's Artemis program aims to return humans to the Moon — including the first woman and first person of color. Artemis I flew an uncrewed test in 2022. Crewed missions will establish a lunar Gateway station and prepare for eventual Mars exploration.
| Year | Mission | Agency | Destination | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Apollo 11 | NASA | Moon | Complete |
| 1977 | Voyager 1 & 2 | NASA | Outer planets / Interstellar | Active |
| 1990 | Hubble Space Telescope | NASA / ESA | Low Earth Orbit | Active |
| 1997 | Cassini–Huygens | NASA / ESA | Saturn | Complete |
| 2004 | Mars Rovers (Spirit & Opportunity) | NASA | Mars | Complete |
| 2012 | Curiosity Rover | NASA | Mars | Active |
| 2016 | Juno | NASA | Jupiter | Active |
| 2021 | Perseverance & Ingenuity | NASA | Mars | Active |
| 2022 | James Webb Space Telescope | NASA / ESA / CSA | L2 Point | Active |
| 2025 | Europa Clipper | NASA | Jupiter / Europa | En Route |