Links
Space Agencies
| ASI | Italian Space Agency |
| BNSC | British National Space Centre |
| ESA | European Space Agency |
| IKI | Russian Space Research Institute |
| IRF | Swedish Institute of Space Physics |
| ISAS | Institute of Space and Astronautical Science |
| JPL | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| NASDA | Japanese Space Agency |
| RSA | Russian Aviation and Space Agency |
Solar System Missions
JPL and ESA maintain excellent sites on the status of current Solar System missions, so links (in the table below) to spacecraft such as Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Cassini or Ulysses will direct you towards the mission home pages. However, missions that took place prior to the advent of the World Wide Web have been extensively catalogued by the NSSDC, so head over to the NSSDC Chronology of Lunar and Planetary Exploration for information on older missions.
Missions to be excited about!
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Missions underway at Mars
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Solar System Missions
| Solar System body | Mission (and year of launch) |
|---|---|
| Sun | Ulysses
(1990) SOHO (1995) Solar Probe (2003) |
| Mercury | Mariner 10 (1973) MESSENGER (2004) |
| Venus | Venera 1 to 16 (1961
- 1983) Zond 1 (1964) Mariner 1, 2, 5, 10 (1962 - 1973) Pioneer Venus 1 & 2 (1978) Vega 1 & 2 (1984) Magellan (1989) Venus Express (2005) |
| Moon | Able 4, 5A, 5B (1958 -
1960) Pioneer 1, 2, 3, 4 (1958 & 1959) Luna 1 to 24 (1959 - 1976) Ranger 1 to 9 (1961 - 1965) Cosmos 60 (1965) Zond 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (1965 - 1970) Surveyor 1 to 7 (1966 - 1968) Orbiter 1 to 5 (1966 & 1967) Explorer 35, 49 (1967 - 1973) Apollo 8 to 17 (1968 - 1972) Hiten & Hagoromo (1990) Clementine (1994) Lunar Prospector (1998) SMART-1 (2003) SELENE (2007) Chandrayaan-1 (2007) Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (2008) |
| Mars | Mars 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (1962
- 1973) Mariner 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 (1964 - 1971) Zond 2 (1964) Viking 1 & 2 (1975) Phobos 1 & 2 (1988) Mars Observer (1992) Mars '96 (1996) Mars Pathfinder (1996) Mars Global Surveyor (1996) Mars Surveyor '98 (1998) Nozomi (or Planet-B) (1998) Mars Climate Orbiter (1998) Deep Space 2 (1999) Mars Polar Lander (1999) 2001 Mars Odyssey (2001) Mars Express (2003) Mars Exploration Rovers (2003) Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2005) Phoenix (2007) Mars Science Laboratory (2009) |
| Asteroids | Galileo
(1989) NEAR (1996) Deep Space 1 (1999) Stardust (1999) Hyabusa (or MUSES-C) (2002) Dawn (2007) |
| Jupiter | Pioneer
10 & 11 (1972 & 1973) Voyager 1 & 2 (1977) Galileo (1989) Ulysses (1990) Cassini-Huygens (1997) Jupiter Polar Orbiter (Juno) (2010) |
| Saturn | Pioneer
11 (1973) Voyager 1 & 2 (1977) Cassini-Huygens (1997) |
| Uranus | Voyager 2 (1977) |
| Neptune | Voyager 2 (1977) |
| Pluto | New Horizons (2006) |
| Comets | ICE (1978) Vega 1 & 2 (1984) Sakigake (1985) Giotto (1985) Suisei (1985) Stardust (1999) Deep Space 1 (1999) CONTOUR (2002) Rosetta (2004) Deep Impact (2005) |
Miscellaneous
| Astronomy Expert | Has detailed articles on celestial objects and various astronomical phenomena |
| BAA | British Astronomical Association |
| GSFC | Goddard Space Flight Center |
| IAU | Minor Planet Centre |
| ICQ | International Comet Quarterly |
| JPL's Solar System Simulator | Observe the current relative positions of the planets and their moons |
| KSC | Kennedy Space Center |
| LINEAR | Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research |
| NASA's Planetary Photojournal | Vast archive of images obtained by spacecraft |
| NSSDC | National Space Science Data Center |
| NSSDC Planetary Sciences | Planetary Sciences department of the NSSDC |
| Open
Directory Project's Solar System section |
See their main Astronomy section here |
| Planetary Society | Speaks for itself, I guess! |
| RAS | Royal Astronomical Society |
| SEC | Space Environment Center - a division of the NOAA - providing up-to-the-minute information on space weather and auroral activity |
| SEDS | Students for the Exploration and Development of Space |
| SETI@home | Download the screensaver and join the search for extraterrestrial intelligence! |
| SETI Institute | Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence |
| STScI | Space Telescope Science Institute (i.e. Hubble!) |
| W. M. Keck Observatory | One of the largest telescopes on Mauna Kea, Hawaii |