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Space Probes

Space Imagery    Space Vehicles    Space Probes 1    Space Probes 2    NASA History

• Apollo
• Explorer
• Galileo
• Giotto
• Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
• Integral
• Lunar Orbiter
• Magellan
• Mariner
• Mars Pathfinder/Sojourner
• Pioneer Venus
• Pluto Express
• Skylab
• Sputnik
• Surveyor
• Ulysses
• Viking Orbiter
• Voyager

APOLLO  Spacelink - Apollo Missions

Begun in 1961, the Apollo program became the backbone of the American space program. Two significant highlights during the Apollo program were the first humans to leave Earth orbit and the first human landing on the Moon.

The Apollo Program  - Many people feel that the Apollo program stands as mankind's greatest technological achievement. A few of the things you can find at this site include Mission Goals, Press Kits, Image Directory, Spacecraft Chronology, Unmanned Flights, and much more.

NASA Links about Apollo  - Contains over 20 links to various Apollo websites, along with links for on-line books on this subject.

Space History - Apollo Program  - The Apollo program included a large number of uncrewed test missions and 11 crewed missions. The 11 crewed missions include two Earth orbiting missions, two lunar orbiting missions, a lunar swingby, and six Moon landing missions.

JSC Digital Image Collection  - Review the many images from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle missions

Apollo 30th Anniversary  - On July 20, 1969, the human race accomplished its single greatest technological achievement of all time when a human first set foot on another celestial body. This site contains biographical information, timelines, a photo gallery, and information of historical value about man's journey to the moon.

Apollo Insignias

Apollo Lunar

Begun in 1961, the Apollo program became the backbone of the American space program. Two significant highlights during the Apollo program were the first humans to leave Earth orbit and the first human landing on the Moon

Left: Astronaut Jim Irwin sets up the first Lunar Roving Vehicle during Apollo 15.

Right: Lunar Module test flight from Apollo 9.

Below: Apollo Command and Service Module.

   GALILEO About the Galileo mission

Galileo being deployed during the STS 34 flight.

GIOTTO    About the Giotto mission

Artist's concept of Giotto. (Photo courtesy of ESA)

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE    About the Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) being deployed during the STS 31 flight.

INTEGRAL
Tracking violent radiation across the Universe

LUNAR ORBITER    About the Lunar Orbiter missions
Image of Lunar Orbiter.

MAGELLAN    About the Magellan mission

Magellan being deployed during the STS 30 (Atlantis) flight.

MARINER

Image of Mariner 4

MARS PATHFINDER/SOJOURNER    About the Mars Pathfinder rover (Sojourner)

Image of the Mars Pathfinder rover, Sojourner.

On July 4, 1997, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft arrived on the Red Planet. Pathfinder deployed a small rover called Sojourner to explore the Martian landscape.

Mars Pathfinder Mission  - The Mars Pathfinder is managed for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. The Mars Pathfinder Mission is the second launch in the Discovery Program, a NASA initiative for planetary missions.

Mars Pathfinder Images from Mars  - Follow this link to view an archived collection of all images related to the Mars Pathfinder mission.

PIONEER VENUS    About the Pioneer Venus mission

Artist's concept of the Pioneer Venus Bus and probes, shortly after probe deployment.

Pioneer Venus provided data for the first topographic maps of 90 percent of the planet's previously unknown surface.
 

Pioneer Venus Project  - Learn about the Pioneer Venus Project which studied Earth's twin....Venus, the planet that had hot oceans spanning its surface millions of years ago.

Lightning on Venus  17-Jul-1991 (6K)
Pioneer Closes in on Venus  01-Sep-1992 (3K)
Pioneer Enters Venus Atmosphere  09-Oct-1992 (2K)
Venus Discoveries  17-Jul-1991 (8K)

PLUTO EXPRESS    About the Pluto Kuiper Express mission

Artist's concept of Pluto Express (now called Pluto Kuiper Express).

This mission has been cancelled for budgetary reasons. A new mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt is under study. For information on the "New Horizons" mission, see: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=NHORIZONS

SKYLAB    About Skylab

Image of Skylab

Skylab, America's first space station, was launched into orbit on May 14, 1973 and was manned for over 171 days. The station re-entered Earth's atmosphere on July 11, 1979, scattering debris mainly over the Indian Ocean with parts falling to western Australia.

The Skylab Project  - America's first experimental space station. Designed for long duration mission, Skylab program objectives were twofold: To prove that humans could live and work in space for extended periods, and to expand our knowledge of solar astronomy well beyond Earth-based observations.

Skylab-1  - The station was launched into orbit by a Saturn V booster. Almost immediately, technical problems developed due to vibrations during lift-off. A critical meteoroid shield ripped off taking one of the craft's two solar panels with it; a piece of the shield wrapped around the other panel keeping it from deploying.

Skylab-2  - On May 25, 1973, the Skylab 2 mission was initiated with three astronauts launching in the Saturn IB rocket. With a diversified science program set forth, the astronauts stayed in space for 28 days and 49 minutes. This doubled the previous length of time in space, making Skylab 2 a major milestone for NASA.

Skylab-3  - The Skylab 3 mission started July 28,1973, with the launch of three astronauts on the Saturn IB rocket, and lasted 59 days, 11 hours and 9 minutes. A total of 1084.7 astronaut-utilization hours were tallied by Skylab 3 astronauts performing scientific experiments in the areas of medical activities, solar observations, Earth resources and other experiments.

Skylab-4  - The Skylab 4 mission was initiated with the launch of three astronauts in the Saturn IB rocket. Skylab 4 was launched on November 16, 1973 and landed on February 8, 1974, making this mission a 84 days, 1 hour and 16 minutes in length, thus marking the longest mission in history for NASA.

SURVEYOR    About the Surveyor missions 

Image of Surveyor

Under the Mars Surveyor '98 program, the Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander were the second set of spacecraft launched in NASA's long-term program of robotic exploration of Mars.

Mars Surveyor 98  - The Mars Surveyor 1998 Missions were designed, and their payloads selected, to address the science theme "Volatiles and Climate History" on Mars, thereby directly addressing the climate-history and resource themes of the Mars Surveyor Program.

Mars Climate Orbiter - Mars Climate Orbiter launched on December 11, 1998, to embark on a study of the planet's climate and current water resources. The spacecraft was lost as it was entering orbit around Mars on September 23, 1999.

Mars Polar Lander - The Mars Polar Lander launched on January 3, 1999 on its way to the south pole of Mars to search for water ice beneath the edge of layered terrain in this uncharted region of the planet

ULYSSES

Ulysses in flight configuration

Launched by Space Shuttle Discovery in October, 1990, the Ulysses spacecraft is designed to explore the polar regions of the Sun. Ulysses is a joint venture of NASA and the European Space Agency.

The Ulysses Mission - A Deep Space Voyage  - Ulysses explored the Sun's atmosphere over the solar poles in 1994 and 1995. Ulysses embarked on a second orbit of the Sun, which completed December, 2001. Items of interest to educators and students at the Ulysses web

NASA Projects: Flight 036 STS-41 - Learn in this area about STS-41 and how Discovery deployed the Ulysses International Solar Polar spacecraft, a joint European Space Agency and NASA project, for its five-year journey to explore the Sun's southern and northern polar regions.

VIKING ORBITER    About the Viking missions

Left: Image of the Viking Orbiter.  Right: Image of the Viking Lander.

Viking Mission to Mars  - NASA's Viking Mission to Mars was composed of two spacecraft, Viking 1 and Viking 2, each consisting of an orbiter and a lander. The primary mission objectives were to obtain high resolution images of the Martian surface, characterize the structure and composition of the atmosphere and surface, and search for evidence of life.

VOYAGER    About the Voyager missions

Left: Image of Voyager without the magnetometer boom deployed. Right: Image of Voyager with the magnetometer boom deployed.

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were twin spacecraft launched by NASA during the summer of 1977 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Barring any serious spacecraft subsystem failures, the Voyagers may survive and relay data from the outer planets until the early twenty-first century.

Voyager 1 and 2 Project  - The Voyager missions received dedicated efforts of many skilled personnel for over two decades, and have returned more new knowledge about the outer planets than had existed in all of the preceding history of astronomy and planetary science.

SPUTNIK

Explanation: Sputnik means "traveling companion". Despite the innocuous sounding name, the launch of the Earth's first "artificial moon", Sputnik 1, by the Soviets on October 4, 1957 shocked the free world, setting in motion events which resulted in the creation of NASA and the race to the Moon. Sputnik 1 was a 184 pound, 22 inch diameter sphere with four whip antennas connected to battery powered transmitters. The transmitters broadcast a continuous "beeping" signal to an astounded earthbound audience for 23 days. A short month later, on November 3, the Soviet Union followed this success by launching a dog into orbit aboard Sputnik 2.

EXPLORER Explorer I on launch pad venting. Jan. 31, 1958.

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