Voyager

Planetary-exploration
satellites


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.


Satellite series covered:


(Later) USA Pioneer-series (planetary) spacecraft:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
(Earlier) Pioneer-series spacecraft
(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 (mockup)
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

USA Mariner-series spacecraft:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
Mariner-1 [failed]1962-07-22Mariner-2MarinerMariner
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-5 (newspaper article)
Mariner-6 (Mariner-F) (Mars flyby)1969-02-24 Mariner-6/7 type
Mariner-6/7 type
Mariner-7 (newspaper article)
Mariner-7 (Mariner-G) (Mars flyby)1969-03-27
Mariner-8 (Mariner-H) [failed]1971-05-09 Mariner-8 (newspaper article)
Mariner-8 (newspaper article)
Mariner-9 (Mariner-I) (Mars orbiter)1971-05-30 Mariner-9
Mariner-9
Mariner-10 (Mariner-J) (Venus and Mercury flybys)1973-11-03 Mariner-10
Mariner-10 (newspaper article)

Russian Mars-series spacecraft:

Satellite (Spacecraft Bus*)Launch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
Mars-(1a) (1M #1) [failed]1960-10-10Mars-1mMarsMars
Mars-(1b) (1M #2) [failed]1960-10-14
Mars-(1c) (2MV-4 #1) / Sputnik-22 [failed]1962-10-24Mars-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]1969-03-27Mars-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
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)1973-07-21Mars-4
Mars-5 (M-73 Orbiter #2)1973-07-25
Mars-6 (M-73 Lander #1)1973-08-05Mars-6
Mars-7 (M-73 Lander #2)1973-08-09
Mars-'94Canceled
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.

Russian Venera (Venus / Venusik) series satellites:

Satellite (Spacecraft Bus*)Launch DateImages
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Venera-(1a) (1VA #1) / Sputnik-7 [partial failure]1961-02-04 Venera-1
Venera-1
VeneraVenera
Venera-1 (1VA #2) / Sputnik-81961-02-12
Venera-(2a) (2MV-1 #1) / Sputnik-19 [failed]1962-08-25Venera-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-3
Venera-4 (V-67 #1)1967-06-12 Venera-4
Venera-4 (capsule)
Venera-(5a) (V-67 #2) / Kosmos-167 [failed]1967-06-17
Venera-5 (V-69 #1)1969-01-05 Venera-5/6 type
Venera-5/6 type
Venera-6
Venera-6 (V-69 #2)1969-01-10
Venera-7 (V-70 #1)1970-08-17 Venera-7
Venera-7 (capsule)
Venera-7 (capsule)
Venera-(8a) (v-70 #2) / Kosmos-359 [failed]1970-08-22
Venera-8 (V-72 #1)1972-03-27 Venera-8
Venera-(9a) (V-72 #2) / Kosmos-482 [failed]1972-03-31
Venera-9 (4V1 #1)1975-06-08 Venera-9 (lander)
Venera-10
Venera-11/12 type (lander and orbiter)
Venera-10 (4V1 #2)1975-06-14
Venera-11 (4V1 #3)1978-09-09
Venera-12 (4V1 #4)1978-09-14
Venera-13 (4V1M #1)1981-10-30 Venera-13 (lander)
Venera-14 (4V1M #2)1981-11-04
Venera-15 (4V2 #1)1983-06-02 Venera-15/16 type
Venera-16
Venera-16 (4V2 #2)1983-06-07

*Spacecraft Bus designations and reference images were obtained from Gunter's Space Page.

Russian Phobos (Fobos) series (Martian moon) satellites:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
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Phobos-1 (Martian moon orbiter)1988-07-07Phobos-1PhobosPhobos
Phobos-21988-07-12Phobos-2
Phobos-Grunt [incomplete mission]2011-11-09 Phobos-Grunt
Phobos-Grunt

(Later) Japanese Planet-series (planetary) spacecraft:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
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(Earlier) Planet-series spacecraft
(cometary: MS-T5 — Planet-A)
(Earlier) Planet (cometary)(Earlier) Planet (cometary)
Planet-B / Nozomi (Mars orbiter)1998-07-03Planet-B(Later) Planet (planetary)(Later) Planet (planetary)
Planet-C / VCO / Akatsuki (Venus)2010-05-20Planet-C

USA Viking-series spacecraft:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
Viking-DS [failed]1974-02-11Viking-DSVikingViking
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 (Viking-C, Mars rover)CanceledViking-3 (rover)

USA Voyager-series spacecraft:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
Voyager-2 (Voyager-B) (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune flybys)1977-08-20 Voyager
Voyager
Voyager (sketch)
Voyager (mockup)
Voyager (patch)
Voyager (patch)
VoyagerVoyager
Voyager-1 (Voyager-A) (Jupiter and Saturn flybys)1977-09-05

USA Mars rover missions:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
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Mars Pathfinder / Sojourner (rover) / Discovery-11996-12-04 Mars Pathfinder (cruise)
Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner
Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner
Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner (patch)
Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner (patch)
Mars Pathfinder/SojournerMars 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/SpiritMER/Spirit and Opportunity
MER-1 (Mars Exploration Rover-B) / Opportunity (rover)2003-07-08MER-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/CuriosityMSL/Curiosity
Mars-2020 / Perseverance (rover)2020-07-30 Mars-2020/Perseverance
Mars-2020 (logo)
Mars-2020/PerseveranceMars-2020/Perseverance

European Space Agency (ESA) ExoMars-series spacecraft:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
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ExoMars 2016 (TGO and EDM/Schiaparelli)2016-03-14 ExoMars-TGO
ExoMars-EDM
ExoMarsExoMars
ExoMars (rover)2028 ExoMars
ExoMars (rover)
ExoMars (orbiter and rover)

Other (selected) USA planetary-exploration satellites:

SatelliteLaunch DateImages
referencelaunch coversother postal items
Magellan (Venus orbiter) [STS-30R/Atlantis-deployed]1989-05-04 Magellan
Magellan
Magellan
Magellan (patch)
Magellan (patch)
MagellanMagellan
Galileo (Jupiter orbiter) [STS-34/Atlantis-deployed]1989-10-18 Galileo
Galileo
Galileo
Galileo
Galileo (STS-34/Atlantis-deployment, booster attached)
Galileo (probe)
Galileo (patch)
Galileo (patch)
Galileo (patch)
Galileo (patch, with STS-34/Atlantis)
GalileoGalileo
Mars Observer (orbiter)1992-09-25 Mars Observer
Mars Observer
Mars Observer
Mars Observer (patch)
Mars ObserverMars Observer
MarsnetCanceledMarsnet
Mars Telecommunications OrbiterCanceledMars Telecommunications Orbiter
MGS (Mars Global Surveyor)1996-11-07 MGS
MGS (patch)
MGS (patch)
MGS (patch)
MGSMGS
Mariner Mark II (Cassini-Huygens forerunner)CanceledMariner Mark II
Cassini-Huygens (Saturn)1997-10-15 Cassini-Huygens
Cassini-Huygens (patch)
Cassini (patch)
Cassini-CIRS (patch)
Huygens (patch)
Cassini-HuygensCassini-Huygens
Mars Surveyor 1998 Orbiter (MCO forerunner)CanceledMars Surveyor 1998 (patch)Mars Surveyor 1998 Orbiter
Mars Surveyor 1998 Lander (MPL forerunner)CanceledMars Surveyor 1998 (patch)Mars Surveyor 1998 Lander
MCO (Mars Climate Orbiter) [lost]21998-12-11MCOMCOMCO
MPL (Mars Polar Lander) / Deep Space-21 / NMP [lost]1999-01-03 MPL
DS-2
MPL+DS-2MPL+DS-2
Mars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter (Mars Odyssey forerunner)CanceledMars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter
Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander (PML forerunner)CanceledMars Surveyor 2001 Lander
Mars Odyssey (derived from Mars Surveyor 2001 Orbiter)2001-04-07 Mars Odyssey
Mars Odyssey (patch)
Mars OdysseyMars Odyssey
Multi-Scout Mars LanderCanceledMulti-Scout Mars Lander
Mars WaterCanceledMars Water
MESSENGER / Discovery-8 (Mercury orbiter)2004-08-03 MESSENGER
MESSENGER (patch)
MESSENGERMESSENGER
MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter)2005-08-12 MRO
MRO (patch)
MRO (patch)
MRO (patch)
MRO (patch)
MROMRO
New Horizons / New Frontiers-1 / formerly Kuiper Express (Pluto flyby)2006-01-19 New Horizons
New Horizons (patch)
New HorizonsNew Horizons
PML (Phoenix Mars Lander) / Mars Scout-1 (derived from Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander)2007-08-04 PML
PML (patch)
PMLPML
JUNO / New Frontiers-2 (Jupiter orbiter)2011-08-05 JUNO
JUNO (patch)
JUNO (patch)
JUNO (patch)
JUNOJUNO
MAVEN / Mars Scout-2 (Mars orbiter)2013-11-18 MAVEN
MAVEN (patch)
MAVEN (patch)
MAVENMAVEN
InSight / Discovery-12 (Mars lander), MarCO-A, MarCO-B2018-05-05 InSight (cruise)
InSight (lander)
MarCO-A/B (cubesats)
InSightInSight
Dragonfly / New Frontiers-4 (Titan lander and helicopter)2026-? Dragonfly (cruise)
Dragonfly (helicopter)
DAVINCI+ / Discovery-15 (Venus lander)2029-? DAVINCI+ (cruise)
DAVINCI+ (lander)
VERITAS / Discovery-16 (Venus orbiter)2031-? VERITAS

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.

Other (selected) non-USA planetary-exploration satellites:

SatelliteCountryLaunch DateImages
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Mars Sample Return (Russian Phobos-Grunt automatic probe)Russia (USSR)CanceledMars Sample Return
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 ExpressMars Express
Venus Express (orbiter)Europe (ESA)2005-11-09 Venus Express
Venus Express (patch)
Venus ExpressVenus Express
NetLander (Mars orbiter and 4 landers)Europe (CNES and ESA)CanceledNetLander
Yinghuo-1 (Mars orbiter) [incomplete mission]China/PRC2011-11-09Yinghuo-1 Tianwen-1 ("Yinghuo-1" in text)
Tianwen-1 ("Yinghuo-1" in text)
MOM / Mangalyaan (Mars orbiter)India (ISRO)2013-11-05 MOM
MOM (patch)
Mangalyaan / MOMMangalyaan / MOM
BepiColombo (Mercury orbiter)Europe (ESA)-Japan (JAXA)2018-10-20 BepiColombo (cruise configuration)
BepiColombo-MMO
BepiColombo-MPO
BepiColombo (patch)
BepiColomboBepiColombo
EMM / Al-Amal / Hope (Mars orbiter)UAE2020-07-19 Al-Amal / Hope (early-design)
Al-Amal / Hope (early-design)
Al-Amal / Hope
Al-Amal / Hope (patch)
Al-Amal / HopeAl-Amal / Hope
Tianwen-1 / Huoxing-1 (Mars orbiter, lander, and rover)China/PRC2020-07-23 Tianwen-1
Tianwen-1 (cruise)
Tianwen-1 (lander)
Tianwen-1 (rover)
Tianwen / HuoxingTianwen / Huoxing
JUICE (Jupiter)Europe (ESA)2023-04-14 JUICE
JUICE
"JUICE"
"JUICE"
MMX (Mars mission)Japan (ISAS/JAXA)2024-?MMX"MMX"
Europa Clipper (Jupiter moon mission)Europe (ESA)2024-? Europa Clipper
Europa Clipper (patch)
Bridget (rover, tested on Earth, controlled from the ISS)Europe (ESA)UncertainBridget "Bridget" (rover)
"Bridget" (rover)


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Updated: 2024-07-23