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Planetary Environments
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Planetary Environments
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Below is a checklist of Planetary Environments (Atmosphere, Weather, Climate, and Water/Ice (or their Analogues) at or Near the Surface) on postal items (stamps, souvenir sheets, aerogrammes, postal cards, etc.). Catalog numbers, years of issue, and notes on the items featured are given when available. If readers know of additional information or images, please contact the authors using the e-mail addresses at the bottom of this page.
This page refers to the weather and climate of the planets or moons of our solar system (except for the Earth). Philatelic items are included if they illustrate or refer to the following elements:
| Launch covers (including anniversary-of-launch covers, and launch-related event covers) (farther below) |
Other postal items (stamps, souvenir sheets, aerogrammes, postal cards, etc.) (immediately below) |
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| Planetary Environments | Planetary Environments |
Below is a list of Planetary Environments on postal items (stamps, souvenir sheets, aerogrammes, postal cards, etc.).
| Country | Catalog Number | Type of Item | Year of Issue | Notes on Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planetary Environments (on Stamps) | ||||
| Ajman | Mi680A Mi680B | Imperforate | 1971 | "After landing [on Mars], astronauts begin exploration by taking meteorological soundings" |
| Ajman | Mi680 ds | Deluxe sheet (Mi680) | ||
| Ajman | Mi680A-681A ms | MS10 (5x (Mi680A-681A)) | ||
| Ajman | Mi678A-683A fdc | One of six stamps on FDC | ||
| Belgium | 2890b (Mi4900) | One of MS5 (2890 (a-e)) (BL238, Mi4899-4903), also margin | 2019 | Symbolic Martian atmosphere; "the NOMAD instrument, aboard the Trace Gas Orbiter satellite, mapping the atmosphere of Mars through measurements of methane and other gases" (in French and Dutch text) |
| Burundi | 1262d (Mi2981) i1262d | One of MS4 (1262 (a-d)) (Mi2978-2981) One of imperforate MS4 (i1262 (a-d)) | 2012 | "Tempêtes sur Jupiter" (Storms on Jupiter, in French text) |
| Central African Republic | 845a (BL409A) i845a (BL409B) | In (upper-right) margin of SS1 (845) In (upper-right) margin of imperforate SS1 (i845) | 1987 | Mars polar ice cap |
| Central African Republic | BL2297 | In (lower-right) margin of SS1 | 2021 | Diagram made by Mikhaïl Lomonossov of his observations of the transit of Venus across the Sun on 26 May 1761, during which he detected a thin luminescence around that portion of the planet's disk not yet in contact with the solar disk during transit entry. A related effect occurred on transit exit. He inferred that only refraction in a sufficiently thick envelope of gas could explain those observations and concluded that Venus must have an atmosphere comparable to, or even denser than, that of Earth. Lomonosov is generally therefore credited with "la découverte de l'atmosphère de Vénus" (the discovery of Venus' atmosphere); (see also Guinea BL3512) |
| China (People's Republic) | None | Postal card | 2003 | Neptune and the Great Dark Spot2 as seen by Voyager-2 |
| China (People's Republic) | None | Postal card | 2003 | False-color image of Uranus from the Hubble Space Telescope's Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) on 8 August 1998; the bright spots are transient storms in the Uranian atmosphere; they have a lifetime of a few months are not seen in the visible light spectrum |
| Dahomey | C240 (Mi602) iC240 | Imperforate | 1979 | Martian polar ice cap |
| Dahomey | C240a (BL46) | On stamp of SS1 (C240) | ||
| Franklin Mint (USA) | None | (Bronze) medallion, also reverse | 1970s | Mariner-2 made the "First exploration of Venus atmosphere" and "transmitted information on the planet's temperatures and chemical make-up" |
| Franklin Mint (USA) | None | (Silver) medallion, also reverse | ||
| Gambia | 3646 (Mi7123-7126) | MS4 (3646 (a-d)) | 2015 | "Akatsuki Venus Climate Orbiter" (VCO); "Planetary meteorology" (stamp 'd' of MS4) |
| Gambia | 3647 (BL926, Mi7127) | SS1 | ||
| Great Britain | 1375a+1377a fdc (Mi1337-1340 fdc) | Insert from FDC, also front (Benham cachet, and second cancel for 30th anniv. Gagarin's flight) | 1991 | "In 1967 they [the Russians] landed a spacecraft on Venus which indicated that it is too hot to permit manned landings" (this refers to Venera-4, which on 18 October 1967 became the first spacecraft to make in-situ measurements of the atmosphere of another planet. The Soviets initially claimed that Venera-4 had reached the surface of Venus intact, but that was soon shown to be impossible since the surface pressure of the planet exceeded by a wide margin the spacecraft's hull strength); "The dense atmosphere [of Venus] consists mostly of carbon dioxide and the surface pressure is about 100 times as great as Earth's atmospheric pressure" |
| Great Britain | 3114 (Mi3367) | From presentation pack (3113-3118) (Mi3366-3371) | 2012 | "Clouds in the southern hemisphere viewed by Venus Express" |
| Great Britain | 3115 (Mi3368) | "Ice within a 35 km wide impact crater photographed by Mars Express" | ||
| Great Britain | 3113-3118 fdc1 | Two of six stamps on FDC (Tallents House, Edinburgh cancel, Royal Mail cachet) | (As above for stamps) | |
| Great Britain | 3113-3118 fdc2 | Two of six stamps on FDC (Star Gaerwen, Gwynedd cancel, Royal Mail cachet) | ||
| Great Britain | 3113-3118 fdc3 | Two of six stamps on FDC (Sunbeam Way, Birmingham cancel, Royal Mail cachet) | ||
| Great Britain | 3113-3118 fdc4 | Two of six stamps on FDC (Picadilly, London cancel, Royal Mail cachet) | ||
| Great Britain | 3113-3118 fdc5 | Two of six stamps on FDC (Macclesfield, Cheshire cancel, Cotswold Covers/BPCPA cachet) | ||
| Great Britain | 3939 (Mi4533) | 2020 | "Enceladus has geysers of water ice and vapour"; "Geysers on Enceladus" (on Presentation Pack back) | |
| Great Britain | 3938-3945 fdc | One of eight stamps on FDC | ||
| Great Britain | 3938-3945 booklet | Pane3 from Prestige Booklet (3938-3945) | ||
| Great Britain | 3938-3945 pack | Front of Presentation Pack (3938-3945), also back and insert | ||
| Grenada | 2000c (Mi2289) | From MS9 (2000 (a-i)) (Mi2287-2295) | 1991 | "Dusty face of Mars" (artistic depiction of a dust storm on Mars) |
| Grenada | 2000g (Mi2293) | "Nix Olympica"9 (artistic depiction of a local glacier on Olympus Mons) | ||
| Grenada | 2000i (Mi2295) | Artistic depiction of the Martian "South Polar Cap" | ||
| Grenada | 2002d (Mi2308) | From MS9 (2002 (a-i)) (Mi2305-2313) | "Polar cycle" (artistic depiction of Mars' north polar ice cap) | |
| Grenada | 2002f (Mi2310) | "South pole" (artistic depiction of Mars' south polar ice cap) | ||
| Grenada | 2002g (Mi2311) | "Nix Olympica"9 (but the stamp depiction is misleading because it shows the mountain covered in white, which implies ice/snow, or perhaps clouds. Neither is correct. The mountain is dry, though researchers have found some small localized glaciers on some of its flanks). | ||
| Grenada | 2002i (Mi2313) | "Outflow channel" (artistic depiction of the remains of a watercourse on Mars; in one such real-life example, in April 2022 the rover Perseverance began exploring an ancient river delta formed by a river that flowed into an ancient lake in the Jezero Crater) | ||
| Grenada | 2932o (Mi4140) | One stamp and in (left) margin of MS17 (2932 (a-q + label)) (Mi4126-4142) | 2000 | "1666, Cassini observes the polar caps on Mars" |
| Grenada | 2932o specimen | Overprinted "specimen" | ||
| Guernsey (Great Britain) | 449-452 fdc (Mi518-521 fdc) | Insert from FDC, also insert back and FDC front | 1991 | Neptune's "thick atmosphere of hydrogen and methane also contains white clouds of frozen methane" and Triton has "active geysers of nitrogen and methane" |
| Guinea Republic | 1086a (BL304A) | On stamp (1086, Mi1206) and in (left-center) margin of SS1 | 1988 | Vega-1/2 type instrumented balloon for atmospheric measurements (in stamp and left-center margin); "ballon sonde pour atmosphère vénusienne" (in French text in left-center margin) |
| Guinea Republic | 1086a proof | On stamp and in (left-center) margin of SS1 proof (no text in left margin) | ||
| Guinea Republic | 1621 (BL622) | In (lower) margin of SS1 | 1999 | "The Mars Global Surveyor studies the surface, the atmosphere and the magnetic fields of Mars" (in French text) |
| Guinea Republic | 2229a (BL816A) i2229a (BL816B) | In (upper) margin of SS1 (2229) In (upper) margin of imperforate SS1 (i2229) | 2003 | "Odyssey Ice Detection" |
| Guinea Republic | 2229a fdc | SS1 on FDC | ||
| Guinea Republic | BL1482 | In (upper-right) margin of SS1 | 2007 | "The [Pathfinder] mission included scientific instruments to analyze the weather, climate and geology of Mars" (in French text) |
| Guinea Republic | BL1483 | In (upper and lower-right) margin of SS1 | The goals of the Cassini-Huygens mission included observing Saturn's atmosphere and clouds, and studying the surface and the meteorology of Titan (in French text); also a drawing of Jupiter and its Great Red Spot4 | |
| Guinea Republic | BL1483 fdc | SS1 on FDC | ||
| Guinea Republic | BL1842 | In (bottom) margin of SS1 | 2010 | Once in orbit around Venus, Akatsuki will "measure [its] atmospheric temperatures" |
| Guinea Republic | BL1842 fdc | SS1 on FDC | ||
| Guinea Republic | BL3512 | In (lower-center and center-left) margins of SS1 (Mi15765) | 2021 | Diagram made by Mikhaïl Lomonossov of his observations of the transit of Venus across the Sun on 26 May 1761, during which he detected a thin luminescence around that portion of the planet's disk not yet in contact with the solar disk during transit entry. A related effect occurred on transit exit. He inferred that only refraction in a sufficiently thick envelope of gas could explain those observations and concluded that Venus must have an atmosphere comparable to, or even denser than, that of Earth. Lomonosov is generally therefore credited with "la découverte de l'atmosphère de Vénus" (the discovery of Venus' atmosphere); (see also Central Africa BL2297) |
| Guyana | 3503d (Mi6903) i3503d | One of MS6 (3503 (a-f)) (Mi6900-6905) One of imperforate MS6 (i3503 (a-f)) | 2000 | Martian polar ice cap |
| Malagasy (DR) | 746 (BL32) | In (right) margin of SS1 | 1985 | Vega-1/2 type instrumented balloon for Venus atmospheric measurements |
| Malagasy (DR) | 967 (Mi1246A) i967 (Mi1246B) | One of MS6 (972b (967-972)) (Mi1246A-1251A) One of imperforate MS6 (i972b (i967-i972)) (Mi1246B-1251B) | 1990 | Voyager-2 above Neptune; bright patches such as the one in the stamp have been observed and are possibly areas of high cirrus clouds composed of methane crystals; they seem to accompany Neptune's Great Dark Spot2 |
| Malagasy (DR) | 967a (BL133) i967a | On stamp and in (right) margin of SS1 (967) On stamp and in (right) margin of imperforate SS1 (i967) | ||
| Malagasy (DR) | 970a (BL136) i970a | In (right) margin of SS1 (970) In (right) margin of imperforate SS1 (i970) | "dioxide de carbone" and graphic showing the runaway greenhouse effect of Venus, with the temperatures around 0°C near the cloud tops and around 450°C at the surface | |
| Maldive Islands | 2956c (Mi4679) | From MS6 (2956 (a-f)) (Mi4677-4682) | 2008 | Voyager-2 and Neptune's Great Dark Spot2 |
| Maldive Islands | 2956d (Mi4680) | Voyager-2 and Jupiter's Great Red Spot4 | ||
| Maldive Islands | 3230 (BL740) | SS1 | 2014 | The Cassini-Huygens satellite "includes a Saturn orbiter and an atmospheric probe/lander for the moon Titan called Huygens" |
| Maldive Islands | 3230 fdc | SS1 on FDC | ||
| Maldive Islands | 3554 (Mi6170-6173) | MS4 (a-d) | 2016 | "The discovery of liquid salty water on Mars" |
| Maldive Islands | 3563 (BL894) | SS1 | ||
| Mali | Unknown ms (Mi none) | MS2 (a-b) [known illegal issue] | 2018 | "The discovery of liquid water on Mars" (in French text) by the "MARSIS5" instrument aboard Mars Express; "MARSIS5" also conducted active ionospheric sounding of the Martian atmosphere |
| Mali | Unknown ss (BL none) | SS1 with stamp [known illegal issue] | ||
| Marshall Islands | 930e (Mi2352) | From MS10 (930 (a-j)) (Mi2348-2357) | 2008 | Voyager-2 above Jupiter and the Great Red Spot4 |
| Marshall Islands | 930j (Mi2357) | Voyager-2 above Neptune and the Great Dark Spot2 (same design as on cachet of USA 2576 fdc) | ||
| Micronesia | 334r (Mi718) | One of MS20 (334 (a-t)) (Mi701-720) | 1999 | "First balloon station1 deployed in another planet's atmosphere / Vega-1 to Venus - 1985" |
| Mozambique | Unknown d (Mi?) | One of MS4 (a-d) | 2019 | InSight mission "[ground] temperature sonde" (in Portuguese text) |
| Mozambique | Unknown ms fdc | MS4 on FDC | ||
| Niger | BL459 | On stamp from SS1 | 2015 | "Capteur de température" (referring to the footpad temperature sensor6) |
| Palau | 412 (BL47) | SS1 | 1996 | Mars Surveyor 1998 Lander7 (forerunner of MPL) described as a "NASA water probe on Mars" searching for "Martian subsurface water" |
| Palau | 412 fdc | SS1 on FDC | ||
| Palau | 501b (Mi1457) | From MS6 (501 (a-f)) (Mi1456-1461) | 1999 | The Mars Climate Orbiter mission plan included making daily global soundings of the Martian atmosphere (but the satellite was lost before this could occur) |
| Palau | 501c (Mi1458) | The Mars Polar Lander studied Martian weather, climate and water | ||
| Palau | 501f (Mi1461) | The Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander8 mission plan included measurements related to Martian atmospheric chemistry, but the mission was canceled | ||
| Russia (USSR) | 4593 fdc (Mi4652 fdc) | (Fleetwood) back of FDC, also front | 1977 | "the [lander] vehicles withstood pressures of 1323 pounds per square inch and extreme temperatures of 887°F" |
| Russia (USSR) | 5372 (Mi5513) | From MS8 (5372a (8x 5372)) | 1985 | Vega lander and balloon1 (also in surrounding margins of MS8) (they carried instruments to make atmospheric and other observations of Venus) |
| Russia (USSR) | 5372 fdc | Stamp and (pictorial) cancel and (Soviet Ministry of Postal Services and Telecommunications) cachet on FDC, also back | ||
| St. Thomas and Prince Islands | Mi8988-8991_ms4 | MS4 (Mi8988-8991) | 2020 | "Venera-7" and its capsule descending by parachute to the surface |
| St. Thomas and Prince Islands | BL1643 | SS1 (Mi8992) | "The Venera-7 capsule reached the surface of Venus on 17 August 1970 ... a hellish world whose 475° Fahrenheit [an error, should be 475° Celsius] temperature is hot enough to melt lead, and whose atmospheric pressure is 93 times that of Earth" (in Portuguese text) | |
| Sierra Leone | 1168d (Mi1377) | From MS9 (1168 (a-i)) (Mi1374-1382) | 1990 | "South polar ice cap" |
| Sierra Leone | 1168f (Mi1379) | "[North] polar (ice) cap" | ||
| Sierra Leone | 1168i (Mi1382) | "North Pole" (with ice cap) | ||
| Sierra Leone | 1168 fdc | MS9 on FDC | (As above for stamps) | |
| Sierra Leone | 2930a (Mi5116) i2930a | From MS6 (2930 (a-f)) (Mi5116-5121) From imperforate MS6 (i2930 (a-f)) | 2009 | "Martian north pole dust storms" |
| Sierra Leone | 2930c (Mi5118) i2930c | "Jupiter's atmosphere" | ||
| Sierra Leone | 2930 fdc | MS6 on FDC | ||
| Sierra Leone | BL2328 | SS1 (Mi14148) | 2022 | "In 1967, it [Venera-4] was the first successful probe to perform in-place analysis of the environment of another planet. Venera-4 provided the first chemical analysis of the Venusian atmosphere, showing it to be primarily carbon dioxide, with a few percents of nitrogen and below one percent of oxygen and water vapor" |
| Spain | None | (Multi-color printed) cachet on (un-canceled) (Spanish Post) stamped envelope (from 2011) | 2013 | "Images tracking the development of Saturn's giant storm" |
| Togo | C227 (Mi1049A) iC227 | Imperforate | 1974 | Jupiter's Great Red Spot4 |
| Togo | C227 rouletted (Mi1049C) | Rouletted from C228a rouletted with drawn-perforations | ||
| Togo | C227 imperf (Mi1049B) | Imperforate from C228a imperf with drawn-perforations | ||
| Togo | 878-879+C227-C228 fdc1 | One of four stamps on FDC (blue printed cachet) | ||
| Togo | 878-879+C227-C228 fdc2 | One of four stamps on FDC (blank/no cachet) | ||
| Togo | C228a rouletted (BL86C) C228a rouletted back | On one stamp and in (upper) margin of rouletted with drawn-perforations MS2 (C227-C228) | ||
| Togo | C228a imperf (BL86B) C228a imperf back | One one stamp and in (upper) margin of imperforate with drawn-perforations MS2 (C227-C228) | ||
| Togo | C345a (BL132) | In (lower) margin of MS2 (C344-C345) | 1978 | "Weather forecast for Venus" (in French text) |
| Uganda | 1109 (BL179) | On stamp of SS1 | 1992 | Voyager-2 view of Jupiter's Great Red Spot4 |
| Uganda | 1484A (Mi1855-1862) | In (lower) margin1 and (lower) margin2 of MS8 (1484A (b-i)) | 1997 | The Galileo entry probe plunged into "Jupiter's thick and stormy atmosphere"; Pioneer-Venus-1 "returned images of the turbulent atmosphere" of Venus |
| United Nations (Geneva) | 718 (Mi1171) | Stamps of MS10 (718a (10x 718)) | 2022 | Mars photo, including a Martian ice cap, taken by the Hope orbiter; (see also the upper margin of UN-Geneva 719a) |
| United Nations (Geneva) | 719a (Mi1172) | In (upper) margin of MS10 (719a (10x 719)) | Mars photo, including a Martian ice cap, taken by the Hope orbiter; (see also UN-Geneva 718) | |
| United Nations (Vienna) | 623 (Mi1017) | From MS20 (623a (20x 623)) | 2018 | "Great red spot on Jupiter" (in German text) |
| United Nations (Vienna) | 623-624 fdc | One of two stamps on FDC | ||
| United States | None | (Sarzin/Michigan Stamp Club) cachet on cover | 1975 | "Multi-colored clouds top Jupiter's massive atmosphere and whirl into streaming bands by the planet's 10 hour rotation" |
| United States | 1556 fdc1 (Mi1164 fdc1) | Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also back | 1975 | Made measurements of Jupiter's "temperature" (in cachet text) and "atmosphere" (in text on back) |
| United States | 1556 fdc2 (Mi1164 fdc2) | Stamp and (Fleetwood) cachet (and signatures) on FDC, also back | ||
| United States | 1556 fdc3 (Mi1164 fdc3) | (The Century Club, University of Louisville) insert (inside) from FDC, also insert (front and back) and front | Pioneer-10 and Pioneer-11 relayed "valuable information about [Jupiter's] weather patterns [and] atmosphere"; "the Great Red Spot4 - a mystery since Galileo first turned his telescope on it - may well be a gigantic hurricane which has been raging along a 25,000-mile front for at least 400 years" | |
| United States | 1556 fdc4 (Mi1164 fdc4) | (Cover Craft Cachets) insert from FDC, also front | The Pioneer spacecraft relayed "valuable information about [Jupiter's] weather patterns [and] atmosphere. Conclusions are that Jupiter is a whirling ball of liquid hydrogen, and that the Great Red Spot seen by telescopes is probably a 400 year-old, 25,000 mile-wide, raging hurricane" | |
| United States | 1556 fdc5 (Mi1164 fdc5) | (Fleetwood) back of FDC, also front | Pioneer-10 and 11 observed Jupiter's "weather patterns, atmosphere and hostile radiation belts" | |
| United States | 1556 sc (Mi1164 sc) | (PCS) souvenir card (with Aristocrat FDC) | Pioneer-10 and Pioneer-11 provided "valuable information about [Jupiter's] weather patterns, atmosphere and intense radiation belts" along with evidence that the "huge red blot on Jupiter appears to be a tremendous hurricane raging along a 25,000 mile front for more than four centuries" | |
| United States | SP360 | (USPS) souvenir page (1556) | "Pioneer-10 and Pioneer-11 provided valuable information about Jupiter's "weather patterns, atmosphere and radiation belts" | |
| United States | CP44 | (USPS) commemorative panel (1556) | Pioneer-10 "provided new information about Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere, its Great Red Spot4, its murky interior and the surrounding environments" | |
| United States | 1557 fdc1 (Mi1170 fdc1) | (JPL Stamp Club) insert (yellow) from FDC, also insert back, or insert (white), and cover front | 1975 | Mariner-10 photographed "intricate circulation patterns in the clouds that shroud Venus" |
| United States | 1557 fdc2 (Mi1170 fdc2) | (Fleetwood) cachet (different) on FDC (small-font cancel), also back | Mariner explored "cloud formations, temperatures and atmospheres" of Venus and Mercury | |
| United States | 1557 fdc3 (Mi1170 fdc3) | (Fleetwood) cachet on FDC (large-font cancel), also back | ||
| United States | 1557 fdc4 (Mi1170 fdc4) | (Fleetwood and ?) cachet on FDC (large-font cancel), also back | ||
| United States | 1557 fdc5 (Mi1170 fdc5) | (Postmasters of America) insert from FDC, also front, and back | "A third encounter with the planet nearest the Sun was planned so that Mariner-10 could study Mercury's mysterious magnetic field, which had been discovered during the first approach. In March 1975 the spacecraft skimmed over Mercury at a distance of only 203 miles, its instruments obtaining data which confirmed the earlier findings". | |
| United States | 1557 fdc6 (Mi1170 fdc6) | (PCS) information card with FDC (ArtCraft cachet) | Mariner-10's cameras "took some 3000 photos, providing the first clear study of Venusian weather patterns"; "Mariner's instruments detected that Mercury has a magnetic field, though only 1% as strong as Earth's, and also has an atmosphere, though only a wisp of one"; "meteorologists say [that] new knowledge of other planets' atmospheres has increased understanding of Earth's, thus improving weather predictions" | |
| United States | None | (Sarzin/Michigan Stamp Club) cachet on cover | 1975 | Pioneer-11 provided "detailed images of ... multi-colored clouds [that] top Jupiter's massive atmosphere and whirl into streaming bands by the planet's 10-hour rotation" |
| United States | 1759 fdc1 (Mi1356 fdc1) | (Fleetwood) back of FDC, also front | 1978 | "Martian water does not exist in its most familiar earthly state. At low Martian temperatures and pressures, it is virtually never liquid but more like permafrost. Most scientists believe that there have been at least several episodes of climatic upheavals on Mars." |
| United States | 1759 fdc2 (Mi1356 fdc2) | (Fleetwood) back of FDC (different), also front | "Also revealed were layered terrains in the polar regions and the effects of dust moved by winds of several hundred miles per hour" | |
| United States | 1759 fdc3 (Mi1356 fdc3) | (Fleetwood) back of FDC (different), also front | "Other Viking experiments found Mars to be a cold, desert-like place with a very thin carbon dioxide atmosphere. The landers also discovered nitrogen in the air" | |
| United States | 1759 fdc4 (Mi1356 fdc4) | (Fleetwood) back of FDC (different), also front | The Viking lander included "a meteorology boom, designed to measure the Martian weather" | |
| United States | 1759 fdc5 (Mi1356 fdc5) | (JPL Stamp Club) insert from FDC, also front | "Many local dust storms and two global ones have been observed. Changes have been followed in the surface temperatures, in the polar [ice] caps and in the distribution of water vapor" | |
| United States | CP100 | (USPS) commemorative panel (1759) | Viking studied the "Martian atmosphere" and Mars' "atmospheric circulation", which provided clues to "the mysteries of Earth's complex weather system" | |
| United States | 1774 cover (Mi1375 cover) | (Multi-color printed) cachet on cover, also back | 1980 | Martian dust storm (image from the Viking-2 orbiter from 22 February 1977); "this is the first color picture of a dust storm taken from a spacecraft orbiting the planet" |
| United States | 1916 fdc1 (Mi1485 fdc1) | (Fleetwood) back of FDC, also front | 1981 | "Pioneer-10 and Pioneer-11 provided data about the "atmosphere, temperatures, gravity, radiation and magnetic fields" of Jupiter (from text on back); Pioneer-10 scanning "Jupiter's cloud tops" (from the cachet on the front) |
| United States | 1916 fdc2 (Mi1485 fdc2) | (PCS golden-replica) insert from FDC, also front | "Venus' temperature is about 800 deg F, and Mars has a thin atmosphere" | |
| United States | 1919 fdc (Mi1488 fdc) | (PCS golden-replica) insert from FDC, also front | "we have learned to measure [planetary] atmospheres to see if they might sustain some form of organic existence" | |
| United States | 2568 fdc1 (Mi2183 fdc1) | (Koslow/Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also back | 1991 | "First [planet] from the Sun, with extremes of hot and cold"; "on Mercury, cool is a relative term; the planet's surface temperature on the side facing the Sun is 950°F. In contrast, Mercury's tenuous atmosphere of argon, neon and helium - a trillionth the density of Earth's atmosphere - retains virtually no heat on the planet's night side, with a resulting temperature of -350°F" |
| United States | 2568 fdc2 (Mi2183 fdc2) | (PCS golden-replica) insert from FDC, also front | Mercury`s "atmosphere [is] comprised of hydrogen and helium" | |
| United States | 2568+2573 sc/fdc (Mi2183+2188 sc/fdc) | (PCS) cachet on SC/FDC | Pioneer-11 "transmitted data about [Jupiter's] cloud formations", including "the Great Red Spot4 in the planet's southern hemisphere" | |
| United States | 2568 maxi (Mi2183 maxi) | (Unicover) maxicard back, also front | Mercury's "surface temperatures on the side facing the Sun is 950ºF. In contrast, Mercury's tenuous atmosphere of argon, neon and helium - a trillionth the density of Earth's atmosphere - retains virtually no heat on the planet's night side, with a resulting temperatures of -350ºF" | |
| United States | 2569 fdc1 (Mi2184 fdc1) | (Fleetwood) back of FDC, also front | "temperatures rise to 800°F beneath the omnipresent clouds ... the atmosphere is composed of at least 80% CO2, which supports the theory that the intense heat is the result of an intense greenhouse effect ... the atmosphere also has a high concentration of sulfuric acid, which is a major component of acid rain on Earth" | |
| United States | 2569 fdc2 (Mi2184 fdc2) | (PCS golden-replica) insert from FDC, also front | Venus temperatures (in text), from 150°F at cloud top to 800°F at the surface | |
| United States | 2569 maxi (Mi2184 maxi) | (Unicover) maxicard back, also front | "Beneath bright cloud cover, temperatures rise to 800°F - hot enough to melt lead both day and night. And despite its deceptively brilliant appearance, Mariner-2 confirmed that there is never a sunny day on Venus, finding no breaks in the omnipresent clouds. A subsequent Mariner flight discovered that the Venusian atmosphere is composed of at least 80% carbon dioxide, giving credence to the earlier-held theory that Venus' intense heat is the result of the greenhouse effect. Also found in a high concentration in the exceedingly dense atmosphere of Venus is sulphuric acid, a major component of acid rain on Earth". | |
| United States | 2569+2574 sc/fdc (Mi2184+2189 sc/fdc) | (PCS) cachet on SC/FDC | "Because of its [i.e. Venus'] dense cloud cover, scientists knew little about its temperatures, atmosphere and composition"; Mariner-2 "showed the planet to be hotter and less hospitable than had been previously thought" | |
| United States | 2570 fdc (Mi2185 fdc) | (Artmaster) back of FDC, also front | Temperatures on Mercury "range from about 800°F on the dayside to about -280°F on the nightside"; Venus is a "hot planet covered with clouds and haze"; "Because of its small mass, the Moon is unable to hold an atmosphere, which accounts for its cratered, ravaged surface"; "Mars has a diverse topography of volcanoes, sand seas, canyons and dry riverbeds"; "Cloud-covered, it [Jupiter] features white, and brown and yellow, bands parallel to its equator, and large numbers of vertical whorls, including the Great Red Spot" | |
| United States | 2571+2576 sc/fdc (Mi2186+2191 sc/fdc) | (PCS) cachet on SC/FDC | "Voyager-2 flew within 3000 miles of Neptune and found quick-changing white clouds high above the planet's surface" | |
| United States | 2572 fdc (Mi2187 fdc) | (Artmaster) back of FDC, also front | Temperatures on Mercury "range from about 800°F on the dayside to about -280°F on the nightside"; Venus is a "hot planet covered with clouds and haze"; "Because of its small mass, the Moon is unable to hold an atmosphere, which accounts for its cratered, ravaged surface"; "Mars has a diverse topography of volcanoes, sand seas, canyons and dry riverbeds"; "Cloud-covered, it [Jupiter] features white, and brown and yellow, bands parallel to its equator, and large numbers of vertical whorls, including the Great Red Spot" | |
| United States | 2572 maxi (Mi2187 maxi) | (Unicover) maxicard back, also front | "The Martian atmosphere contains oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and even water vapor, though the planet is drier than Earth's driest desert ... other Viking data suggest that Mars was once much warmer and its atmosphere substantially thicker than at present. Today, the Martian atmosphere is but 1/100th as thick as Earth's and temperatures are bitterly cold, with daytime highs only approaching -20ºF" | |
| United States | 2572+2577 sc/fdc (Mi2187+2192 sc/fdc) | (PCS) cachet on souvenir card | "For several years, the Viking craft relayed a wealth of data, from photographs of Martian soil to measurements of atmospheric properties"; "Pluto's density suggests that it consists mainly of frozen water, ammonia, and perhaps methane" | |
| United States | 2573 fdc1 (Mi2188 fdc1) | (PCS golden-replica) back of FDC, also front | "photographs of the Great Red Spot4 supported the belief that the spot is an intense atmospheric disturbance, similar to a hurricane" | |
| United States | 2573 fdc2 (Mi2188 fdc2) | (Fleetwood) back of FDC, also front | "Pioneer-11 revealed [the Great Red Spot] to be a massive atmospheric storm that rotates counterclockwise every six days. Blue-colored oval-shaped cloud systems that first formed 40 years ago are approaching it"; also "discovery of lightning [and] auroras" | |
| United States | 2573 maxi (Mi2188 maxi) | (Unicover) maxicard back, also front | Pioneer-11 revealed that "Jupiter's Great Red Spot, the planet's only permanent feature, [which] has been observed for hundreds of years" is a "massive storm" | |
| United States | 2574 maxi (Mi2189 maxi) | (Unicover) maxicard back, also front | "Saturn is beset by gigantic thunderstorms" and "radiates more heat than it receives from the Sun" ... Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons, has an "atmospheric nitrogen level [that] is similar to Earth's, as is its water content. However, the Saturnian satellite is bitterly cold - with a surface temperature of -288ºF" | |
| United States | 2575 fdc1 (Mi2190 fdc1) | (JPL) cachet on FDC | Voyager-2 above Uranus and a Uranian Dark Spot (UDS)3 (though Voyager-2 did not actually observe a UDS) | |
| United States | 2575 fdc2 (Mi2190 fdc2) | (Fleetwood) back of FDC, also front | Voyager-2 made measurements showing that mid-way between the poles and equator of Uranus, wind speeds around the planet can approach 450 mph (in text) | |
| United States | 2575 maxi (Mi2190 maxi) | (Unicover) maxicard back, also front | "the Uranian moons are nearly half water ice ... winds approaching 450 miles per hour roar around the planet" | |
| United States | 2576 fdc1 (Mi2191 fdc1) | (Koslow/Fleetwood) cachet on FDC, also back | Voyager-2 above Neptune and the Great Dark Spot2 (same design as Marshall Islands 930j) | |
| United States | 2576 fdc2 (Mi2191 fdc2) | (PCS golden-replica) insert from FDC, also front | Neptune's "frigid methane clouds" and "Great Dark Spot2" and "Triton is believed to contain icy volcanoes. It is the coldest known spot in the solar system" | |
| United States | 2577 fdc (Mi2192 fdc) | (PCS golden-replica) insert from FDC, also front | Spectroscopic and infrared measurements indicate that Pluto and its moon Charon "are composed largely of methane frost and ice" | |
| United States | 2577a fdc (Mi2183-2192 fdc) | (Artmaster) back of FDC, also front | Temperatures on Mercury "range from about 800°F on the dayside to about -280°F on the nightside"; Venus is a "hot planet covered with clouds and haze"; "Because of its small mass, the Moon is unable to hold an atmosphere, which accounts for its cratered, ravaged surface"; "Mars has a diverse topography of volcanoes, sand seas, canyons and dry riverbeds"; "Cloud-covered, it [Jupiter] features white, and brown and yellow, bands parallel to its equator, and large numbers of vertical whorls, including the Great Red Spot" | |
| United States | 2634 maxi (Mi2238 maxi) | (Fleetwood) maxicard back, also front | 1992 | "Drier than any Earthly desert, Mars is still the most likely of the planets to harbor life. Its atmosphere contains oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and even water vapor. And evidence suggests that at one time water flowed there. In fact, scientists theorize Mars once had enough water to cover the entire planet 33 feet deep! The puzzling question remains: Where did it all go?" |
| United States | 2634a fdc (Mi2235-2238 fdc) | (Fleetwood) back of FDC, also front | ||
| United States | SP1256 | (USPS) souvenir page (3178) | 1997 | "...people around the world are fascinated by Mars. They wonder what kind of weather it has." |
| United States | 3189i fdc (Mi3233 fdc) | Stamp and (PCS golden-replica) back of FDC, also front | 1999 | Pioneer-10 "provided important information about [Jupiter's] atmosphere, magnetic fields and intense radiation belts" |
| United States | 3189i fdc2 (Mi3233 fdc2) | (PCS) information sheet from FDC, also front | Pioneer-10 recorded "important scientific data" about Jupiter's "atmosphere [and] temperatures"; it photographed the planet's "Great Red Spot" which scientists believe is "actually a gigantic, long-lived hurricane that will some day disappear" | |
| United States | 3189i fdc3 (Mi3233 fdc3) | (Mystic) back of FDC, also front | Pioneer-10 "took pictures of Jupiter's 'Great Red Spot', which were the first images that suggested that the area was a massive storm" | |
| United States | 4528 fdc1 (Mi4702 fdc1) | (Multi-color printed) cachet on FDC (DCP cancel) | 2011 | MESSENGER observation of Mercury's "atmosphere, magnetosphere and plasma environment" |
| United States | 4528 fdc2 (Mi4702 fdc2) | (Multi-color printed) cachet on FDC (text cancel) | ||
| United States | 4528 fdc3 (Mi4702 fdc3) | (Fleetwood) back of FDC, also front | "Mercury has the ... thinnest atmosphere of the planets" and "a July 2008 flyby revealed the presence of water in Mercury's upper atmosphere" | |
| United States | 4528 fdc4 (Mi4702 fdc4) | (Fleetwood) back of FDC, also front (different cancel) | ||
| United States | None | (Zazzle.com) personalized postage | 2014 | Closeup view of Jupiter's Great Red Spot4 |
| United States | 5069 fdc (Mi5243 fdc) | (Bullfrog) cachet on FDC | 2016 | "Partly because it has almost no atmosphere to retain heat, Mercury's surface temperatures varies diurnally more than any other planet in the Solar System, ranging from 100 K (-173ºC, -280ºF) at night to 700 K (427ºC, 800ºF) during the day in some equatorial regions. The poles are constantly below 180 K (-93ºC, -135ºF)". |
| United States | 5070 fdc (Mi5244 fdc) | (Bullfrog) cachet on FDC | Venus has "the densest atmosphere of the four terrestrial planets, consisting of more than more than 96% carbon dioxide. The atmospheric pressure at the planet's surface is 92 times that of Earth. Venus is by far the hottest planet in the Solar System, with a mean surface temperatures of 735 K (462ºC, 863ºF)" | |
| United States | 5072 fdc1 (Mi5246 fdc1) | (Bullfrog) cachet on FDC | "Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere" | |
| United States | 5072 fdc2 (Mi5246 fdc2) | (Bullfrog) cachet (different) on FDC | ||
| United States | 5073 fdc (Mi5247 fdc) | (Bullfrog) cachet on FDC | Jupiter's "outer atmosphere is visibly segregated into several bands at different latitudes, resulting in turbulence and storms along their interacting boundaries. A prominent result is the Great Red Spot, a giant storm that is known to have existed since at least the 17th century when it was first seen by telescope". | |
| United States | 5074 fdc (Mi5248 fdc) | (Bullfrog) cachet on FDC | "Saturn has a pale yellow hue due to ammonia crystals in its upper atmosphere". "Wind speeds on Saturn can reach 1800 km/h (500 m/s), higher than on Jupiter, but not as high as those on Neptune". | |
| United States | 5075 fdc1 (Mi5249 fdc1) | (Bullfrog) cachet on FDC | "Uranus' atmosphere is similar to Jupiter's and Saturn's in its primary composition of hydrogen and helium, but it contains more 'ices' such as water, ammonia and methane, along with traces of other hydrocarbons" | |
| United States | 5075 fdc2 (Mi5249 fdc2) | (Bullfrog) cachet (different) on FDC | "Uranus' atmosphere is similar to Jupiter's and Saturn's in its primary composition of hydrogen and helium, but it contains more 'ices' such as water, ammonia and methane, along with traces of other hydrocarbons. It is also the coldest planet in the Solar System, with a minimum temperatures of 49 K (-224.2ºC), and has a complex, layered cloud structure with water thought to make up the lowest clouds and methane the uppermost layer of clouds". | |
| United States | 5076 fdc1 (Mi5250 fdc1) | (Bullfrog) cachet on FDC | Cutaway drawing of Neptune including "upper atmosphere, cloud tops" and "atmosphere - hydrogen, helium, methane gas" | |
| United States | 5076 fdc2 (Mi5250 fdc2) | (Bullfrog) cachet (different) on FDC | ||
| United States | SP2015 | (USPS) souvenir page (5069-5076) | "Mariner-2 became the first spacecraft to reach another planet when it flew past Venus in 1962 and gathered information on its atmosphere and surface"; the "Hubble Space Telescope ... has captured high-resolution images of the global seasonal dust storms on Mars ... [and] the storms and bright clouds of Neptune" | |
| United States | CP966 | (USPS) commemorative panel (5069-5076) | "Mariner-2 became the first spacecraft to reach another planet when it flew past Venus in 1962 and gathered information on its atmosphere and surface"; "NASA's famed Hubble Space Telescope ... has captured high-resolution images of the global seasonal dust storms on Mars ... [and] the storms and bright clouds of Neptune" | |
1The Vega-1 and Vega-2 landers carried the following instruments for Venus atmospheric measurements: temperatures and pressure sensors, a hygrometer, a nephelometer/scatterometer, a gas chromatograph, a particle size spectrometer and an aerosol analyzer. The Vega-1 and Vega-2 balloons were designed to float at 54 km altitude (which was judged to be the most active layer of the Venusian cloud system). In addition to a nephelometer, they carried instruments that measured temperature, pressure, wind speed and aerosol density. The nephelometer estimated cloudiness through its measurements of the concentration of suspended cloud particles. The balloons had batteries designed to allow up to 60 hours of data transmission.
2The first known Neptunian Great Dark Spot was observed in 1979 by Voyager-2. It was about the size of Earth, and, other than the color, roughly similar in appearance to Jupiter's Great Red Spot4 (though only about half the size of the Great Red Spot). A Great Dark Spot is a storm in Neptune's atmosphere that rotates in a counter-clockwise direction. A series of them has been observed by telescopes (such as the Hubble Space Telescope) since 1979. They have lifetimes of a few years or so (Jupiter's Great Red Spot, on the other hand, has lasted for hundreds of years). It appears that Neptune's thick clouds are thinned out or dissipated in a Great Dark Spot. However, the Spots are generally accompanied by smaller bright areas, called "bright companions", which are hypothesized to be high "cirrus" clouds composed of frozen methane crystals. Winds in the Neptunian atmosphere drive the clouds at speeds as fast as 2000 km/h. These are the strongest known winds of any planet in the solar system. Their process of formation is not understood.
3A Uranian Dark Spot (UDS) appears to be a storm in the Uranian atmosphere in which the planetary clouds are thinned out or dissipated. It is therefore similar to a Neptunian Great Dark Spot2 (but is significantly smaller). A UDS was first observed in 2006 by the Hubble Space Telescope. Voyager-2 did not "see" such a feature in 1986 when it flew past Uranus.
4Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) is a massive storm in the southern hemisphere of the planet. It rotates in a counter-clockwise direction, and has lasted for some 400 years. Winds at the edge of the GRS can be as high as around 400 km/h, while close to the center they are light. The GRS is filled with clouds whose tops are colder and some 8 km higher than the tops of the surrounding clouds. It remains at more or less the same Jovian latitude because any northward or southward motion is blocked by strong jet streams to its north and south. The red color of the GRS may be caused by complex organic molecules, red phosphorous or sulfur compounds in the Jovian atmosphere. Its color varies through various shades of red, and at times may even be whitish and very hard or impossible to see in visible light.
5"MARSIS" (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding) is an instrument carried by Mars Express. Its subsurface and ionospheric sounding functions are schematically depicted in the stamp contained in Mali Unknown ss (2018) [known illegal issue].
6The footpad temperature sensors were part of the atmospheric structure experiment and were designed to measure atmospheric temperatures during the descent phase of the mission. They also provided measurements after landing, though those values were not necessarily precise soil temperatures. The landed sensor was strongly affected by the ambient temperature of the lander, shading, and wind direction. Furthermore, the Viking-1 Lander sensor was buried under about 16.5 cm of soil after landing while the Viking-2 Lander sensor was not buried.
7Mars Surveyor 1998 program: see https://nasa.fandom.com/wiki/Mars_Surveyor_%2798_program.
8Mars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter: see https://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/factsheet/Mars_Surveyor_factsheet.html.
9During his Martian observations, Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli noticed a bright spot that remained visible even during global dust storms. He therefore concluded that it must be a high altitude feature and named it "Nix Olympica" ("Olympic Snows"), probably because of the inference that it was snow-covered. After it was observed by the Mariner-9 mission to be a high and dry mountain, it was renamed "Olympus Mons".
Below is a list of Planetary Environments on launch covers (including anniversary-of-launch covers, and launch-related event covers).
| Country | Cancel Date | Cancel Location | Type of Item | Notes on Content |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planetary Environments (on Launch Covers) | ||||
| United States | 1962-08-27 | Patrick AFB, FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) insert from Mariner-2 launch cover, also front | "A microwave radiometer will study composition of the atmosphere and surface temperature and an infrared radiometer will record temperatures in the atmosphere [of Venus]" |
| United States | 1964-11-28 | Patrick AFB, FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Mariner-4 launch cover, also insert | "To collect data of the Martian atmosphere for future landing of instruments" |
| United States | 1964-11-28 | Cape Canaveral FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Mariner-4 launch cover, also insert | |
| United States | 1965-07-14 | Mars PA | (Sarzin) cachet on Mariner-4 event cover | depiction of Martian polar ice cap |
| United States | 1967-06-14 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Mariner-5 launch cover | To "learn origin of Venus atmosphere" |
| United States | 1967-06-14 | Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Mariner-5 launch cover | |
| United States | 1967-06-14 | Cape Canaveral FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Mariner-5 launch cover | "To obtain scientific information of the planet's atmosphere" (i.e. the atmosphere of Venus) |
| United States | 1967-06-14 | Cape Canaveral FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet (and signature) on Mariner-5 launch cover | |
| United States | 1967-06-14 | Patrick AFB, FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Mariner-5 launch cover | |
| United States | 1967-06-14 | Patrick AFB, FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet (and signature) on Mariner-5 launch cover | |
| Austria | 1967-10-18 | Gmünd | (Red printed) cachet on Mariner-5 event cover | Some details of Venusian atmospheric measurements |
| United States | 1967-10-19 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Mariner-5 event cover, also insert | "returns data on the Venusian temperatures, magnetic field and radiation" |
| United States | 1967-10-19 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet (and signature) on Mariner-5 event cover, also insert | |
| United States | 1967-10-19 | Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Mariner-5 event cover, also insert | |
| United States | 1967-10-19 | Patrick AFB, FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Mariner-5 event cover, also insert | |
| United States | 1967-10-19 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Mariner-5 event cover | "Venus has 500 deg [F] temperature" and "optical illusions" and "CO2 atmosphere, some hydrogen, no oxygen" |
| United States | 1969-02-24 | Patrick AFB, FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Mariner-6 launch cover | "will analyze the atmosphere" of Mars |
| United States | 1969-02-25 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Sarzin) cachet on Mariner-6 launch cover | studied Mars, a planet "known for its frosty polar [ice] caps, red deserts, swirling clouds of dust" |
| United States | 1969-03-27 | Cape Canaveral FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Mariner-7 launch cover | "to study the surface (and) atmosphere" of Mars |
| United States | 1969-03-27 | Patrick AFB, FL (machine cancel) | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Mariner-7 launch cover | |
| United States | 1969-03-27 | Patrick AFB, FL (hand cancel) | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Mariner-7 launch cover | |
| United States | 1969-03-27 | Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Mariner-7 launch cover | instruments included an IR Spectrometer/Radiometer (to measure "lower atmosphere composition and surface temperatures"), a UV Spectrometer (to measure "upper atmosphere composition") and a radio system for information on "density, height and pressure of [the] atmosphere" |
| United States | 1969-03-27 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Mariner-7 launch cover | |
| United States | 1969-03-27 1969-08-05 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Mariner-7 launch/event cover | |
| United States | 1969-07-31 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (Orbit Covers, no logo) cachet on Mariner-6 event cover | observed "no free nitrogen in Mars' atmosphere", but did observe "ice [water] crystals" |
| United States | 1969-07-31 | Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (Orbit Covers, no logo) cachet on Mariner-6 event cover | |
| United States | 1969-08-05 | Cape Canaveral FL (machine cancel) | (Orbit Covers, no logo) cachet on Mariner-7 event cover | Observed Martian "polar clouds", "ammonia and methane" gases, south polar "dry ice" and "snow-filled" polar craters |
| United States | 1969-08-05 | Cape Canaveral FL (hand cancel) | (Orbit Covers, no logo) cachet on Mariner-7 event cover | |
| United States | 1969-08-05 | Cape Canaveral FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Mariner-7 event cover, also insert | The "Martian atmosphere can provide clues to the age and evolution of the planet and the environment in which life forms would exist" |
| United States | 1969-08-09 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) cachet on Mariner-7 event cover | The "Martian atmosphere can provide clues to the age and evolution of the planet and the environment in which life forms would exist" |
| United States | 1969-11-19 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Blue and red and black printed) cachet on Apollo-12 lunar landing cover, also back | "Lunar Atmosphere Detector: Measures pressure of lunar atmosphere" (actual name of instrument: Cold Cathode Ion Gauge (CCIG)) |
| United States | 1971-05-10 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Space Voyage) cachet on Mariner-8 [failed] launch cover | designed to study Martian "dust storms, clouds and seasonal changes" |
| United States | 1971-05-10 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (InterSpace Cover) cachet on Mariner-8 [failed] launch cover | |
| United States | 1971-05-08 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Mariner-8 [failed] launch cover | designed to carry out a "Mars atmosphere gas test" |
| United States | 1971-05-30 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Solar Covers no.17) insert from Mariner-9 launch cover, also front | Mars meteorology experiments: "surface temperature measurements with an infrared radiometer; composition and structure of the atmosphere with an ultraviolet spectrometer; studies of the planet's surface and composition and temperature of its atmosphere with an infrared interferometer spectrometer; atmospheric pressure and structure with a C-band occultation experiment" |
| United States | 1971-05-30 1981-05-30 | Patrick AFB, FL (machine cancel) Patrick AFB, FL (hand cancel) | (Solar Covers no.17) insert from Mariner-9 launch cover, also front | |
| United States | 1971-06-01 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Solar Covers no.17) insert from Mariner-9 launch cover, also front | |
| United States | 1971-11-13 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Space Voyage) cachet on Mariner-9 event cover | "Huge dust storm covers most of planet Mars at time of orbit" |
| United States | 1971-11-13 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Space Voyage) cachet on Mariner-9 event cover | |
| United States | 1971-11-13 | Pasadena CA | (Space Voyage) cachet on Mariner-9 event cover | |
| United States | 1971-11-13 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Mariner-9 event cover | made "temperatures and atmosphere tests" |
| United States | 1971-11-13 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers) cachet (and signatures) on Mariner-9 event cover | |
| United States | 1971-11-13 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Solar Covers no.31) insert from Mariner-9 event cover, also front | "On November 11, Mariner-9 began taking a series of 31 photographs [of Mars] ... but a storm of what is believed to be yellowish dust raged over most of the planet's surface, obscuring surface features ... by November 19, details were starting to become visible as the storm slowly diminished. It was also announced on November 19 that the spacecraft's infrared spectrometer had detected water vapor over Mars' south pole. Water vapor had been detected in the past by Earth telescopes, but none of the previous Mariner missions had detected water vapor" |
| United States | 1971-11-13 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Solar Covers no.31) insert from Mariner-9 event cover, also front | |
| United States | 1971-11-15 | Patrick AFB, FL | (Solar Covers no.31) insert from Mariner-9 event cover, also front | |
| Russia (USSR) | 1971-12-02 | Moscow International PO | (Swanson) cachet on Mars-3 event cover | lander measured "moisture in [the] atmosphere" and "surface temperature" |
| United States | 1972-12-11 | Patrick AFB, FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) insert from Apollo-17 lunar landing cover, also front | "Surface Electric Properties Experiment to probe for lunar water or ice" |
| United States | 1972-12-11 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (SpaceCraft/Swanson) insert from Apollo-17 lunar landing cover, also front | |
| United States | 1972-12-18 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Apollo-17 event cover | "Lunar atmosphere" |
| United States | 1973-04-05 | Patrick AFB, FL | (Riser/Andromeda/Cygnus Cover no.44) cachet on Pioneer-11 launch cover, also insert | "extensive survey of Jupiter's atmosphere, radiation, temperatures, magnetic fields and chemical composition" |
| United States | 1973-04-05 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (SCPS ser.73/13 no.214) cachet on Pioneer-11 launch cover | studied Jupiter's "turbulent atmosphere" |
| United States | 1973-04-05 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Astro Covers) cachet on Pioneer-11 launch cover | To measure Jupiter's "atmosphere [and] temperature" |
| United States | 1973-04-05 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-11 launch cover, also insert | "Measure Jupiter's atmosphere, radiation, temperature, magnetic fields and chemical composition" |
| United States | 1973-04-06 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-11 launch cover, also insert | |
| United States | 1973-04-06 | Cape Canaveral FL | (InterSpace Cover) cachet on Pioneer-11 launch cover, also insert | |
| United States | 1973-04-06 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Pioneer-11 launch cover | Measure Jupiter's "heat balance"; "Examine Jupiter's Red Spot 30,000 mi. long. Jupiter['s] atmosphere has same life-producing ability as Earth" |
| United States | 1973-04-05 1991-10-01 | Kennedy Space Center FL Pasadena CA | (SCPS ser.73/1 no.236) cachet on Pioneer-11 launch cover (also USA 2573 FDC) | studied Jupiter's "turbulent atmosphere" |
| United States | 1973-04-06 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Black printed text) cachet on Pioneer-11 launch postcard, also back | "The dark bands that parallel the equator [of Saturn] are caused by chemical variations in the predominantly hydrogen atmosphere" |
| United States | 1973-07-28 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Space Voyage) insert from Skylab-3 event cover, also cover front | Depiction of "Earth Resources Experiment Package ground coverage" and study "the resources of the Earth" |
| United States | 1973-11-03 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Mariner-10 launch cover | various goals, including to "study [the] atmospheres" of Mercury and Venus |
| United States | 1973-11-03 | Cape Canaveral FL | (InterSpace Cover) cachet on Mariner-10 launch cover | explored the "atmosphere and surface of Mercury" |
| United States | 1973-12-03 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-10 event cover | provided "information on [the] atmosphere" (of Jupiter) |
| United States | 1973-12-03 | Pasadena CA | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-10 event cover | |
| United States | 1973-12-03 | Cape Canaveral FL | (InterSpace Cover) cachet on Pioneer-10 event cover | |
| United States | 1973-12-03 | Pasadena CA | (Astro Covers) cachet on Pioneer-10 event cover | made measurements of Jupiter's "temperatures and atmospheric composition" |
| United States | 1973-12-03 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Black printed text) cachet on Pioneer-10 event cover, also back | "The dark bands that parallel the equator [of Saturn] are caused by chemical variations in the predominantly hydrogen atmosphere" |
| United States | 1974-02-05 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Space Voyage) cachet on Mariner-10 event cover | studied the "magnetic field, cloud formations and atmospheric content" of Venus |
| United States | 1974-02-05 | Pasadena CA | (Space Voyage) cachet on Mariner-10 event cover | |
| United States | 1974-02-05 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Space Voyage) cachet on Mariner-10 event cover | |
| United States | 1974-02-05 | Cape Canaveral FL | (InterSpace Cover) cachet on Mariner-10 event cover | |
| United States | 1974-03-29 | Cape Canaveral FL | (InterSpace Cover) cachet on Mariner-10 event cover | "Search for atmosphere; measure temperature" |
| United States | 1974-03-29 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Space Voyage) cachet on Mariner-10 event cover | |
| United States | 1974-03-29 | Pasadena CA | (Space Voyage) cachet (different) on Mariner-10 event cover | |
| United States | 1974-03-29 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Mariner-10 event cover | UV scanners showed that Mercury has a "thin atmosphere and no carbon, oxygen, nitrogen or carbon dioxide" |
| United States | 1975-08-20 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Viking-1 launch cover | "To land at Chryse site, the location of channels made by flowing water" |
| United States | 1975-09-09 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Viking-2 launch cover | "Mars atmosphere probe" |
| United States | 1975-09-09 1975-09-09 | Greenbelt MD (machine cancel) Greenbelt MD (hand cancel) | Viking-2 Mission to Mars launch folder | Viking Lander drawing with "meteorology sensors" and [soil] "temperature sensor"; Orbiter: "Water vapor mapper (atmospheric) [and] "Thermal mapper (surface temperatures)"; On Entry: "Atmospheric composition [and] structure"; Lander: "Meteorology - pressure, temperature, wind velocity and wind direction sensors"; Radio: information transmitted includes "atmospheric and planetary data"; also Orbiter depiction including drawing of "Science platform: thermal mapper, two TV cameras and water vapor mapper" |
| Russia (USSR) | 1975-11-25 1984-12-15 | Moscow International Post Office Barstow CA | (Space Voyage grey and tan and red) cachet on Kosmos-782 launch and Vega-1 launch cover | "to gather data on the complex Venus weather system" |
| Russia (USSR) | 1975-11-25 1984-12-21 | Moscow International Post Office Barstow CA | (Space Voyage blue and pink and red) cachet on Kosmos-782 launch and Vega-2 launch cover | |
| Russia (USSR) | 1975-11-25 1984-12-21 | Moscow International Post Office Barstow CA | (Space Voyage blue and tan and red) cachet on Kosmos-782 launch and Vega-2 launch cover | |
| Russia (USSR) | 1975-11-25 1985-06-18 | Moscow International Post Office Barstow CA | (Space Voyage grey and pink and red) cachet on Kosmos-782 launch and Vega-2 launch cover | |
| Russia (USSR) | 1975-11-25 1985-06-18 | Moscow International Post Office Barstow CA | (Space Voyage grey and tan and red) cachet on Kosmos-782 launch and Vega-2 launch cover | |
| Russia (USSR) | 1975-11-25 1985-06-18 | Moscow International Post Office Barstow CA | (Space Voyage grey and pink and red) cachet on Kosmos-782 launch and Vega-2 launch cover | |
| United States | 1976-06-19 | Pasadena CA | (JPL Stamp Club) insert back from Viking-1 event cover, also insert front and cover front | Drawing with "meteorology sensors" and [soil] "temperature sensor"; Orbiter: "Water vapor mapper (atmospheric) [and] "Thermal mapper (surface temperatures)"; On Entry: "Atmospheric composition [and] structure"; Lander: "Meteorology - pressure, temperature, wind velocity and wind direction sensors"; Radio: information transmitted includes "atmospheric and planetary data"; also on insert front: Orbiter depiction including drawing of "Science platform: thermal mapper, two TV cameras and water vapor mapper" |
| United States | 1976-07-20 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Colorano silk) cachet on Viking-1 event cover | lander has instrument to study Martian soil, weather and atmosphere" |
| United States | 1976-07-20 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Red printed) cachet on Viking-1 event cover | "sent back remarkable photos showing the Martian sky to be pink" |
| United States | 1976-09-03 | Pasadena CA | (Space Voyage) cachet on Viking-2 event cover | descended by parachute in the "rarefied atmosphere" of Mars |
| United States | 1976-09-03 | Landing NJ | (Multi-color printed) cachet on Viking-2 event cover | "tests will be made to find out if there is moisture ... on Mars" |
| United States | 1976-09-24 1976-10-18 | Pasadena CA (machine cancel) Pasadena CA (hand cancel) | (Space Voyage) cachet on Viking-1 event and Viking-2 event cover | observations of the Martian north polar regions "determined that the polar [ice] cap was water as well as carbon dioxide" |
| United States | 1976-12-13 | WSMR, NM | (Space Voyage blue and orange) cachet on Pioneer-12/13 pre-launch cover | "objective of 1978 Venus landing is to characterize Venus' simple atmosphere and weather in order to better understand Earth's complex atmosphere and weather patterns". |
| United States | 1976-12-13 | Truth or Consequences NM | (Space Voyage green and red) cachet on Pioneer-12/13 pre-launch cover | |
| United States | 1976-12-13 | Truth or Consequences NM | (Space Voyage green and orange) cachet on Pioneer-12/13 pre-launch cover | |
| United States | 1976-12-16 | Truth or Consequences NM | (Space Voyage cyan and orange) cachet on Pioneer-12/13 pre-launch cover | "dense, hot lower atmosphere" (of Venus) |
| United States | 1976-12-16 | WSMR, NM | (Space Voyage blue and brown) cachet on Pioneer-12/13 pre-launch cover | |
| United States | 1978-05-20 | Barstow CA | (Space Voyage brown and blue) cachet on Pioneer-12 launch cover | "to study and map [the] CO2 atmosphere of Venus" |
| United States | 1978-05-20 | Barstow CA | (Space Voyage brown and blue and red) cachet on Pioneer-12 launch cover | |
| United States | 1978-05-20 | Cape Canaveral FL | (SCCS) cachet on Pioneer-12 launch cover | The "Pioneer Venus project is aimed at providing atmospheric information unavailable from telescopes and three previous US explorations" |
| United States | 1978-05-20 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Orbit Covers) cachet on Pioneer-12 launch cover | "Study why planets w/same mass & materials have different atmospheres. Why is Veuns [i.e. Venus'] surface so hot?" |
| United States | 1978-05-20 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Ames Research Center black rubber-stamp) cachet on Pioneer-12 launch cover | "will use radar to penetrate the clouds" to produce a topographic map of Venus |
| Spain | 1978-05-20 | Valores | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-12 launch cover | "to study and map its atmosphere in comparison to Earth" |
| United States | 1978-05-20 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-12 launch cover | "to orbit Venus for eight months and study its heavy atmosphere and 900 Fahrenheit temperature" |
| United States | 1978-05-20 | Mountain View CA | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-12 launch cover | "to study Venus' carbon dioxide atmosphere and apply studies to Earth weather systems" |
| United States | 1978-05-22 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-12 launch cover | "to orbit Venus for eight months and study its heavy atmosphere and 900 Fahrenheit temperature" |
| United States | 1978-08-08 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Zaso silk/IASP no.5) cachet on Pioneer-13 launch cover | "To enlarge our knowledge of the hot, cloudy planet's environment" |
| United States | 1978-08-08 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (KSC Philatelic Society) cachet on Pioneer-13 launch cover | studied "cloud composition", the "structure of atmosphere", "general atmospheric circulation patterns" and the "interaction of atmosphere and solar wind" |
| United States | 1978-08-08 | Moffett Field CA | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-13 launch cover | "To gain important insights into Earth weather through understanding of Venus weather" |
| United States | 1978-08-08 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-13 launch cover | "To obtain measurement of clouds, atmospheric structure, composition and lower atmosphere" |
| United States | 1978-08-08 | Satellite Beach FL | (Whitney black and purple) cachet on Pioneer-13 launch cover | "To study [the] atmosphere of Venus" |
| United States | 1978-08-08 | Patrick AFB, FL | (Whitney black and purple) cachet on Pioneer-13 launch cover, also back | |
| United States | 1978-08-08 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Space Master no.11) cachet on Pioneer-13 launch cover, also back | "Sampling device enters Venus atmosphere; 4 atmospheric probes crash to surface, Dec 9, 1978" |
| United States | 1978-08-08 1987-03-24 | Cape Canaveral FL Moffett Field CA | (Whitney black and purple) cachet on Pioneer-13 launch cover | "To study [the] atmosphere of Venus" "Comet 'Wilson' tracked by Pioneer-12" |
| United States | 1978-11-15 | Moffett Field CA | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-13 event cover | To study "Venus atmosphere, cloud particles and temperature" |
| United States | 1978-11-20 | Moffett Field CA (machine cancel) | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-13 event cover | "Study of Venus atmosphere layer, heat density and cloud particles" |
| United States | 1978-11-20 | Moffett Field CA (hand cancel) | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-13 event cover | |
| Spain | 1978-12-04 | Valores, Suc. 35, Madrid | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-12 event cover | Studied the "heavy atmosphere and 900 Fahrenheit temperature" of Venus |
| United States | 1978-12-04 | Moffett Field CA (machine cancel) | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-12 event cover | "Study of Venus atmosphere, cloud particles and temperatures" |
| United States | 1978-12-04 | Moffett Field CA (hand cancel) | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-12 event cover | |
| United States | 1978-12-04 | Barstow CA | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-12 event cover | "To study Venus carbon dioxide atmosphere and apply studies to Earth weather systems" |
| United States | 1978-12-04 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Centennial) cachet on Pioneer-12 event cover | To study the "atmosphere and other environmental conditions" of Venus |
| Spain | 1978-12-09 | Valores, Suc. 35, Madrid | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-13 event cover | "To gain important insights into Earth weather through understanding of Venus weather"; "study of Venus atmosphere heat, density and cloud particles" |
| United States | 1978-12-09 | Barstow CA | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-13 event cover | "4 probes to study Venus atmosphere, heat density and cloud particles" |
| United States | 1979-09-02 | Barstow CA | (Space Voyage) cachet on Pioneer-11 event cover | "Titan's atmosphere makes it the only place in the solar system other than the Earth where life forms may exist" |
| United States | 1980-11-11 | Pasadena CA | (Space Voyage blue and brown) cachet on Voyager-1 event cover | Titan "has [a] nitrogen atmosphere and [a] surface temperature of -288 F". |
| United States | 1980-11-11 | Barstow CA | (Space Voyage blue and orange) cachet on Voyager-1 event cover | |
| United States | 1981-07-23 | Pasadena CA | (Space Voyage green and blue and cyan) cachet on Voyager-2 event cover | Titan's "temperature measurement at -288 F" |
| United States | 1981-08-25 | Pasadena CA | (Space Voyage green and orange and pink) cachet on Voyager-2 event cover | Titan's "temperature measurement at -288 F" |
| United States | 1981-08-25 | Pasadena CA | (Space Voyage green and orange and yellow) cachet on Voyager-2 event cover | |
| United States | 1982-07-17 | Roswell NM | (Space Voyage) cachet on Galileo pre-launch-test cover | "Jupiter atmosphere probe" |
| Australia | 1985-06-10 | Canberra ACT | (Space Voyage blue and pink and red) cachet on Vega-1 event cover | "to gather data on the complex Venus weather system" |
| Australia | 1985-06-10 | Canberra ACT | (Space Voyage blue and tan and red) cachet on Vega-1 event cover | |
| Spain | 1985-06-11 | Madrid | (Space Voyage green and pink and red) cachet on Vega-1 event cover | "to gather data on the complex Venus weather system" |
| Spain | 1985-06-11 | Madrid | (Space Voyage green and tan and red) cachet on Vega-1 event cover | |
| Australia | 1985-06-14 | Canberra ACT | (Space Voyage brown and pink and red) cachet on Vega-2 event cover | "to gather data on the complex Venus weather system" |
| United States | 1985-06-14 | Barstow CA | (Space Voyage brown and tan and red) cachet on Vega-2 event cover | |
| Spain | 1985-06-15 | Madrid | (Space Voyage blue and pink and red) cachet on Vega-2 event cover | "to gather data on the complex Venus weather system" |
| United States | 1985-06-18 | Barstow CA | (Space Voyage green and tan and red) cachet on Vega-2 event cover | "to gather data on the complex Venus weather system" |
| United States | 1985-11-04 | Pasadena CA | (Space Voyage) cachet on Voyager-2 event cover | "study of Uranus' ... atmospheric composition and weather" |
| Australia | 1986-01-24 | Canberra ACT | (Space Voyage blue and red) cachet on Voyager-2 event cover | "study of Uranus' ... atmospheric composition and weather" |
| United States | 1986-01-24 | Pasadena CA | (Space Voyage green and red) cachet on Voyager-2 event cover | |
| United States | 1986-01-24 | Barstow CA | (Space Voyage black and orange) cachet on Voyager-2 event cover | |
| United States | 1989-08-24 | Houston TX | (Colorano silk) cachet on Voyager-2 event cover | discovered "700 mph retrograde winds in the atmosphere" |
| Japan | 1989-08-25 | Usuda | (Space Voyage) cachet on Voyager-2 event cover | "Study of Neptune's magnetosphere, atmospheric composition and weather" |
| United States | 1989-08-25 | Cape Canaveral FL | (ASCS) cachet on Voyager-2 event cover | "Neptune has a magnetic field with atmosphere mostly hydrogen. No aurora found. First time cloud shadow seen on any planet"; Triton "has pink snow, a result of chemical transformation of methane ice caused by solar radiation. Has vast ice basins, active ice volcanoes, frozen lakes and aurora. One of [the] few natural satellites in solar system with a distinct atmosphere of methane and nitrogen" |
| United States | 1989-11-03 | Cape Canaveral FL | (PCS) insert from Mariner-10 anniversary cover, also front | "found Venus to be surrounded by a 'shell' of carbon monoxide" and "provided ultraviolet views of an immense 4500-mile by 1250-mile 'oval blemish' in the atmosphere referred to as the 'Venusian Eye'" and detected "a small magnetic field and evidence of a thin atmosphere around Mercury" |
| United States | 1992-09-25 | Kennedy Space Center FL | (NASA/GE/JPL) insert from Mars Observer launch cover, also insert back and cover front and cover back | "The Mars Observer mission will conduct comprehensive study of the planet's atmosphere"; its observations will allow scientists to "construct a detailed, global portrait of Martian geology, climate and weather" |
| United States | 1995-12-07 | Pasadena CA | Insert from Galileo event cover, also insert back and cover front | "Galileo will be the first American spacecraft to ... penetrate the atmosphere of an outer planet" and will conduct "the first direct sampling of the atmosphere of Jupiter" to determine its "physical state" |
| United States | 2011-08-05 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Mission 57) back of JUNO launch cover, also front | The spacecraft's "scientific goals include surveying deep into Jupiter's atmosphere to measure chemical compositions, layer temperatures, cloud dynamics, and determine water content." |
| United States | 2013-11-18 | Cape Canaveral FL | (Colorano silk) cachet on MAVEN launch cover | "study the Red Planet's upper atmosphere" |
| United States | 2014-07-31 | Sagamore Beach MA | (Coverscape) cachet on Lunar Prospector and Ranger-7 anniversary cover | "NASA's Lunar Prospector was deliberately crashed into a crater near the lunar south pole, after the presence of ice had been successfully detected". In addition to mapping "possible polar ice deposits", the satellite studied "lunar outgassing". |
| United States | 2014-09-21 | Pasadena CA | (Lollini) cachet on MAVEN event cover | "First spacecraft dedicated to exploring the tenuous upper atmosphere of Mars" |
| United States | 2015-10-28 | Pasadena CA | (JPL printed) cachet on Cassini-Huygens event cover | explored "the plume of icy spray" from the south polar region of Enceladus |
| United States | 2015-11-23 | Pasadena CA | (JPL printed) cachet on Cassini-Huygens event cover | Tethys flyby; "water ice dominates the icy surfaces in the far reaches of our solar system, but ammonia and methane ices can also be found" |
| United States | 2015-12-19 | Pasadena CA | (JPL printed) cachet on Cassini-Huygens event cover | made "measurements of heat flow from the interior to the surface" of Enceladus. They provide "key information on what is driving the [icy spray] geysers" |
| Great Britain | 2016-03-14 | Leicester | (Buckingham Covers) insert from ExoMars launch cover, also front and back | The NOMAD (Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery) instrument aboard the ExoMars satellite includes the "'UVIS', a miniature ultraviolet spectrometer whose main objective is to detect and quantify trace gas concentrations, but also to study aerosols present in the Martian atmosphere" |
| United States | 2016-05-06 | Pasadena CA | (JPL printed) cachet on Cassini-Huygens event cover | "Radio Science Subsystem, or RSS, observed an atmospheric occultation, in which Cassini appears to go behind Titan's atmsophere as seen from Earth" |
| United States | 2016-11-29 | Pasadena CA | (JPL printed) cachet on Cassini-Huygens event cover | mapped Titan's "surface and surface temperatures" |
| United States | 2017-03-06 | GSFC, Greenbelt MD | (Multi-color printed) cachet on ExoMars event cover | "Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS)" to study the Martian atmosphere |
| United States | 2017-06-29 | Pasadena CA | (JPL printed) cachet on Cassini-Huygens event cover | "observed the edge of Saturn's atmosphere, studying ... hydrocarbons" and "mapped the temperature and composition of Saturn's north polar vortex" |
| United States | 2017-08-14 | Pasadena CA | (JPL printed) cachet on Cassini-Huygens event cover | "the first of the 'Final Five' dips into Saturn's atmosphere"; "used its on-board camera and instruments to directly sample Saturn's atmosphere for the first time"; "observed the edge of Saturn's atmosphere to determine different temperatures at different altitudes" |
| United States | 2017-08-20 | Pasadena CA | (JPL printed) cachet on Cassini-Huygens event cover | "the second of the 'Final Five' dips into Saturn's atmosphere"; "observed temperatures in Saturn's south polar vortex" |
| United States | 2017-08-27 | Pasadena CA | (JPL printed) cachet on Cassini-Huygens event cover | "made the third and lowest of the 'Final Five' dips into Saturn's atmosphere" and directly sampled "Saturn's upper atmosphere" |
| United States | 2017-09-02 | Pasadena CA | (JPL printed) cachet on Cassini-Huygens event cover | observed "haze in Titan's atmosphere"; "the fourth of the 'Final Five' dips into Saturn's atmosphere"; "passed briefly through Saturn's atmosphere" with direct "sampling of Saturn's upper atmosphere" |
| United States | 2017-09-09 | Pasadena CA | (JPL printed) cachet on Cassini-Huygens event cover | "the last of the 'Final Five' dips into Saturn's atmosphere"; determined "the abundance of helium in Saturn's atmosphere" and directly sampled "Saturn's upper atmosphere" |
| United States | 2018-07-14 | Pasadena CA | (Red Eagle) cachet on JUNO event cover | "flew directly over the Great Red Spot, returning numerous scientific data points on the storm, which indicate that the feature penetrates well below the visible cloud layer. |
| United States | 2019-02-13 | Sagamore Beach MA | (Coverscape) cachet on MER-B/Opportunity event cover | "Following the global 2018 dust storm on Mars, NASA's Opportunity Rover ceased communications on June 10. NASA hoped to re-establish contact with the rover, citing a windy period that could potentially clean off its solar panels", but the rover did not respond and was retired. |
| Finland | 2020-07-14 | Kerava | (SVP) cachet on Al-Amal / Hope scrubbed launch cover | to provide "the first complete picture of the Martian atmosphere": weather, climate dynamics and details of the structure and composition of the lower and upper atmosphere, and to examine how Martian weather might be influencing the loss of hydrogen and oxygen to space |
| Finland | 2020-07-19 | Kerava | (SVP) cachet on Al-Amal / Hope launch cover | |
| United States | 2020-07-19 | Boulder CO | (Lollini) cachet on Al-Amal / Hope launch cover | "The Emirates Mars mission will focus on the Martian atmosphere and climate. It will study how the lower and upper layers of the atmosphere interact with each other. It will search for connections between today's Martian weather and the ancient climate of the Red Planet" |
| United States | 2020-07-19 | Boulder CO | (Mission 57) back of Al-Amal / Hope launch cover, also front | UAE "Mars Atmospheric Probe" with instruments to measure "properties of water, ice, dust, aerosols and ozone in Mars' atmosphere" and "Mars' temperature profiles"; "during parts of each 55-hour orbit, the spacecraft matches Mars' rotation, giving science instruments sustained views of the same region, recording daily and seasonal weather cycles". |
| Finland | 2020-07-30 | Kerava | (SVP) cachet on Mars-2020 Perseverance launch cover | "pressure and humidity measurement devices ... as a part of [the] Spanish MEDA (Mars Environmental Dynamic Analyzer) instrument package" |
| United States | 2021-04-20 | Pasadena CA | (Red Eagle) cachet on Mars-2020 event cover | Perseverance experiment to convert "some of the Red Planet's thin, carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere into oxygen"; the rover is also equipped with "the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) weather station" |
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