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Planetary-exploration
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Below are checklists of Planetary-exploration satellites, including launch dates and images of the satellites. This is a work in progress, and completeness is our goal. If readers know of additional information or images, please contact the authors using the e-mail addresses at the bottom of this page.
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Satellite | Launch Date | Images | ||
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reference | launch covers | other postal items | ||
(non-planetary: Pioneer-0 — Pioneer-E) | reference | (Earlier) Pioneer (non-planetary) | (Earlier) Pioneer (non-planetary) | |
Pioneer-10 (Pioneer-F) (Pioneer-Jupiter-1) | 1972-03-03 | Pioneer-10 Pioneer-10 Pioneer-10 Pioneer-10 Pioneer-10/11 type (patch) | (Later) Pioneer (planetary) | (Later) Pioneer (planetary) |
Pioneer-11 (Pioneer-G) (Pioneer-Jupiter-2) | 1973-04-06 | Pioneer-11 Pioneer-10/11 type (patch) | ||
Pioneer-12 (Pioneer-Venus-1 / Orbiter) | 1978-05-20 | Pioneer-12 Pioneer-12 | ||
Pioneer-13 (Pioneer-Venus-2 / Multi-probe) | 1978-08-08 | Pioneer-13 Pioneer-13 |
Satellite | Launch Date | Images | ||
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reference | launch covers | other postal items | ||
Mariner-1 [failed] | 1962-07-22 | Mariner-2 | Mariner | Mariner |
Mariner-2 (Venus flyby) | 1962-08-27 | |||
Mariner-3 (Mars probe) [failed] | 1964-11-05 | Mariner-4 Mariner-4 Mariner-4 (patch, Mariner-1/2 type depicted) | ||
Mariner-4 (Mars probe) | 1964-11-28 | |||
Mariner-5 (Venus flyby) | 1967-06-14 | Mariner-5 | ||
Mariner-6 (Mariner-F) (Mars flyby) | 1969-02-24 | Mariner-6/7 type Mariner-6/7 type | ||
Mariner-7 (Mariner-G) (Mars flyby) | 1969-03-27 | |||
Mariner-8 (Mariner-H) [failed] | 1971-05-09 | Mariner-9 Mariner-9 | ||
Mariner-9 (Mariner-I) (Mars orbiter) | 1971-05-30 | |||
Mariner-10 (Mariner-J) (Venus and Mercury flybys) | 1973-11-03 | Mariner-10 |
Satellite (Spacecraft Bus*) | Launch Date | Images | ||
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reference | launch covers | other postal items | ||
Mars-(1a) (1M #1) [failed] | 1960-10-10 | Mars-1m | Mars | Mars |
Mars-(1b) (1M #2) [failed] | 1960-10-14 | |||
Mars-(1c) (2MV-4 #1) / Sputnik-22 [failed] | 1962-10-24 | Mars-1 | ||
Mars-1 (2MV-4 #2) / Sputnik-23 (Mars flyby) | 1962-11-01 | |||
Mars-(2a) (2MV-3 #1) / Sputnik-24 [failed] | 1962-11-04 | |||
Mars-(2b) (M-69 #1) [failed] | 1969-03-27 | Mars-69 | ||
Mars-(2c) (M-69 #2) [failed] | 1969-04-02 | |||
Mars-(2d) (M-71 #1) / Kosmos-419 [failed] | 1971-05-10 | Mars-3 Mars-3 (lander) | ||
Mars-2 (M-71 #2) | 1971-05-19 | |||
Mars-3 (M-71 #3) | 1971-05-28 | |||
Mars-4 (M-73 Orbiter #1) | 1973-07-21 | Mars-4 | ||
Mars-5 (M-73 Orbiter #2) | 1973-07-25 | |||
Mars-6 (M-73 Lander #1) | 1973-08-05 | Mars-3 Mars-3 (lander) | ||
Mars-7 (M-73 Lander #2) | 1973-08-09 | |||
Mars-8 (Mars-96) | 1996-11-16 | Mars-8 (orbiter) Mars-8 (lander) |
*Spacecraft Bus designations and reference images were obtained from Gunter's Space Page.
Satellite (Spacecraft Bus*) | Launch Date | Images | ||
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reference | launch covers | other postal items | ||
Venera-(1a) (1VA #1) / Sputnik-7 [partial failure] | 1961-02-04 | Venera-1 | Venera | Venera |
Venera-1 (1VA #2) / Sputnik-8 | 1961-02-12 | |||
Venera-(2a) (2MV-1 #1) / Sputnik-19 [failed] | 1962-08-25 | Venera-2mv-1 | ||
Venera-(2b) (2MV-1 #2) / Sputnik-20 [failed] | 1962-09-01 | |||
Venera-(2c) (2MV-2 #1) / Sputnik-21 [failed] | 1962-09-12 | |||
Venera-(2d) (3MV1 #1) / Kosmos-27 [failed] | 1964-03-27 | Zond-1 Kosmos-27 (3mv-1) | ||
Venera-2 (3MV-4 #3) | 1965-11-12 | Zond-3 Kosmos-96 (3mv-4) | ||
Venera-(4a) (3MV-4 #4) / Kosmos-96 [failed] | 1965-11-23 | |||
Venera-3 (3MV-3 #1) | 1965-11-16 | Venera-3 | ||
Venera-4 (V-67 #1) | 1967-06-12 | |||
Venera-(5a) (V-67 #2) / Kosmos-167 [failed] | 1967-06-17 | |||
Venera-5 (V-69 #1) | 1969-01-05 | Venera-6 Venera-7 (capsule) | ||
Venera-6 (V-69 #2) | 1969-01-10 | |||
Venera-7 (V-70 #1) | 1970-08-17 | Venera-7 Venera-7 (capsule) | ||
Venera-(8a) (v-70 #1) / Kosmos-359 [failed] | 1970-08-22 | |||
Venera-8 (V-72 #1) | 1972-03-27 | Venera-8 Venera-7 (capsule) | ||
Venera-(9a) (V-72 #2) / Kosmos-482 [failed] | 1972-03-31 | |||
Venera-9 (4V1 #1) | 1975-06-08 | Venera-10 Venera-9 (lander) | ||
Venera-10 (4V1 #2) | 1975-06-14 | |||
Venera-11 (4V1 #3) | 1978-09-09 | |||
Venera-12 (4V1 #1) | 1978-09-14 | |||
Venera-13 (4V1M #1) | 1981-10-30 | Venera-10 Venera-13 (lander) | ||
Venera-14 (4V1M #2) | 1981-11-04 | |||
Venera-15 (4V2 #1) | 1983-06-02 | Venera-16 | ||
Venera-16 (4V2 #2) | 1983-06-07 |
*Spacecraft Bus designations and reference images were obtained from Gunter's Space Page.
Satellite | Launch Date | Images | ||
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reference | launch covers | other postal items | ||
Phobos-1 (Martian moon orbiter) | 1988-07-07 | Phobos-1 | Phobos | Phobos |
Phobos-2 | 1988-07-12 | Phobos-2 | ||
Phobos-Grunt [incomplete mission] | 2011-11-09 | Phobos-Grunt Phobos-Grunt |
Satellite | Launch Date | Images | ||
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reference | launch covers | other postal items | ||
(cometary: Planet-A1 — Planet-A2) | (Earlier) Planet (cometary) | (Earlier) Planet (cometary) | ||
Planet-B / Nozomi (Mars) | 1998-07-03 | Planet-B | (Later) Planet (planetary) | (Later) Planet (planetary) |
Planet-C / VCO / Akatsuki (Venus) | 2010-05-20 | Planet-C |
Satellite | Launch Date | Images | ||
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reference | launch covers | other postal items | ||
Viking-DS [failed] | 1974-02-11 | Viking-DS | Viking | Viking |
Viking-1 (Viking-A, Mars orbiter and lander) | 1975-08-20 | Viking orbiter Viking lander Viking (patch) Viking (patch) | ||
Viking-2 (Viking-B, Mars orbiter and lander) | 1975-09-09 | |||
Viking-3 (Mars rover) | Canceled | Viking-3 (rover) |
Satellite | Launch Date | Images | ||
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reference | launch covers | other postal items | ||
Voyager-2 (Voyager-B) (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune flybys) | 1977-08-20 | Voyager Voyager Voyager (sketch) Voyager (patch) Voyager (patch) | Voyager | Voyager |
Voyager-1 (Voyager-A) (Jupiter and Saturn flybys) | 1977-09-05 |
Satellite | Launch Date | Images | ||
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reference | launch covers | other postal items | ||
Mars Pathfinder / Sojourner (rover) / Discovery-1 | 1996-12-04 | Mars Pathfinder (cruise) Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner (patch) Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner (patch) | Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner | Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner |
MER-2 (Mars Exploration Rover-A) / Spirit (rover) | 2003-06-10 | MER-A (cruise) MER-A lander/rover MER/Spirit (patch) MER/Opportunity (patch) | MER-A/Spirit | MER/Spirit and Opportunity |
MER-1 (Mars Exploration Rover-B) / Opportunity (rover) | 2003-07-08 | MER-B/Opportunity | ||
MSL (Mars Science Laboratory) / Curiosity (rover) | 2011-11-26 | MSL (cruise) MSL/Curiosity MSL/Curiosity MSL/Curiosity (patch) MSL/Curiosity (patch) MSL/Curiosity (patch) | MSL/Curiosity | MSL/Curiosity |
Mars-2020 / Perseverance (rover) | 2020-07-30 | Mars-2020/Perseverance | Mars-2020/Perseverance | Mars-2020/Perseverance |
Satellite | Launch Date | Images | ||
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reference | launch covers | other postal items | ||
Magellan (Venus orbiter) [STS-30R/Atlantis-deployed] | 1989-05-04 | Magellan Magellan Magellan (patch) Magellan (patch) | Magellan | Magellan |
Galileo (Jupiter orbiter) [STS-34/Atlantis-deployed] | 1989-10-18 | Galileo Galileo Galileo Galileo (STS-34/Atlantis-deployment, booster attached) Galileo probe Galileo (patch) Galileo (patch) Galileo (patch) | Galileo | Galileo |
Mars Observer (orbiter) | 1992-09-25 | Mars Observer Mars Observer Mars Observer Mars Observer (patch) | Mars Observer | Mars Observer |
Marsnet | Canceled | Marsnet | ||
MGS (Mars Global Surveyor) | 1996-11-07 | MGS MGS (patch) MGS (patch) MGS (patch) | MGS | MGS |
Cassini-Huygens (Saturn) | 1997-10-15 | Cassini-Huygens Cassini-Huygens (patch) Cassini (patch) Cassini-CIRS (patch) Huygens (patch) | Cassini-Huygens | Cassini-Huygens |
MCO (Mars Climate Orbiter) [lost]2 | 1998-12-11 | MCO | MCO | MCO |
MPL (Mars Polar Lander) / Deep Space-21 / NMP [lost] | 1999-01-03 | MPL DS-2 | MPL+DS-2 | MPL+DS-2 |
Mars Surveyor Lander | Canceled | Mars Surveyor (patch) | "Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander" | |
Mars Surveyor Orbiter (renamed as Mars Odyssey, spacecraft body became PML) | Canceled | Mars Surveyor (patch) | "Mars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter" Mars Surveyor Orbiter | |
Mars Odyssey (renamed from Mars Surveyor Orbiter) | 2001-04-07 | Mars Odyssey Mars Odyssey (patch) | Mars Odyssey | Mars Odyssey |
Multi-Scout Mars Lander | Canceled | Multi-Scout Mars Lander | ||
MESSENGER / Discovery-8 (Mercury orbiter) | 2004-08-03 | MESSENGER MESSENGER (patch) | MESSENGER | MESSENGER |
MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) | 2005-08-12 | MRO MRO (patch) MRO (patch) MRO (patch) MRO (patch) | MRO | MRO |
New Horizons / New Frontiers-1 (formerly Kuiper Express, Pluto flyby) | 2006-01-19 | New Horizons New Horizons (patch) | New Horizons | New Horizons |
PML (Phoenix Mars Lander) / Mars Scout-1 | 2007-08-04 | PML PML (patch) | PML | PML |
JUNO / New Frontiers-2 (Jupiter orbiter) | 2011-08-05 | JUNO JUNO (patch) JUNO (patch) JUNO (patch) | JUNO | JUNO |
MAVEN / Mars Scout-2 (Mars orbiter) | 2013-11-18 | MAVEN MAVEN (patch) MAVEN (patch) | MAVEN | MAVEN |
InSight / Discovery-12 (Mars surface), MarCO-A, MarCO-B | 2018-05-05 | InSight (cruise) InSight (lander) | InSight | InSight |
Dragonfly / New Frontiers-4 (Titan lander and helicopter) | 2026-? | Dragonfly (cruise) Dragonfly (helicopter) |
1Deep Space-2 consists of a set of two probes launched with the Mars Polar Lander (MPL). However, all contact with both MPL and DS-2 was lost after landing.
2The Mars Climate Orbiter (MCO) was lost as it was occulted by Mars (went behind Mars as viewed from Earth). The root cause of the loss was found to be the use of English units for thruster performance data generated by a ground based computer program. This data was used in the construction of trajectory models for the spacecraft, and the modellers assumed the data was in metric units as per the specifications.
Satellite | Country | Launch Date | Images | ||
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reference | launch covers | other postal items | |||
Mars Express (orbiter) [success] / Beagle-2 (lander) [failed] | Europe (ESA) | 2003-06-02 | Mars Express Mars Express Mars Express Mars Express Beagle-2 Mars Express (patch) Mars Express (patch) Mars Express (patch) | Mars Express | Mars Express |
Venus Express (orbiter) | Europe (ESA) | 2005-11-09 | Venus Express Venus Express (patch) | Venus Express | Venus Express |
NetLander (Mars orbiter and 4 landers) | Europe (CNES and ESA) | Canceled | "Net Lander (2007)" "Net Lander (2007)" | ||
MOM / Mangalyaan (Mars orbiter) | India (ISRO) | 2013-11-05 | MOM MOM (patch) | Mangalyaan / MOM | Mangalyaan / MOM |
ExoMars 2016 (TGO and EDM/Schiaparelli) | Europe (ESA) | 2016-03-14 | ExoMars-TGO ExoMars-EDM | ExoMars | ExoMars |
BepiColombo (Mercury orbiter) | Europe (ESA) / Japan (JAXA) | 2018-10-20 |
BepiColombo BepiColombo-MMO BepiColombo-MPO BepiColombo (patch) | BepiColombo | BepiColombo |
EMM / Al-Amal / Hope (Mars) | UAE | 2020-07-19 |
Al-Amal / Hope (early design) Al-Amal / Hope (early design) Al-Amal / Hope Al-Amal / Hope (patch) |
Al-Amal (scrubbed) Al-Amal (launch) |
Al-Amal / Hope (early design) Al-Amal / Hope (fdc) Al-Amal / Hope (fdc) |
Tianwen-1 (Mars) | China/PR | 2020-07-23 |
Tianwen-1 Tianwen-1 (cruise) Tianwen-1 (lander) Tianwen-1 (rover) | ||
ExoMars (rover) | Europe (ESA) | 2022-? | ExoMars ExoMars (rover) ExoMars (orbiter and rover) | ||
MMX (Mars mission) | Japan (ISAS/JAXA) | 2024-? | MMX | "MMX" | |
Europa Clipper (Jupiter moon mission) | Europe (ESA) | 2024-? | Europa Clipper Europa Clipper (patch) |
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