List of missions to the outer planets

A total of nine spacecraft have been launched on missions that involve visits to the outer planets; all nine missions involve encounters with Jupiter, with four spacecraft also visiting Saturn. One spacecraft, Voyager 2, also visited Uranus and Neptune. The nine missions include two; Ulysses and New Horizons, whose primary objectives are not related to the outer planets, but which flew past Jupiter to gain gravity assists en route to a polar orbit around the Sun, and Pluto - at the time of its launch considered an outer planet - respectively. Cassini–Huygens also flew past Jupiter for a gravity assist on its mission to explore Saturn.

Only three of the missions to the outer planets have been orbiters: Galileo orbited Jupiter for eight years, and Juno will enter orbit around Jupiter in 2016, while Cassini has been in orbit of Saturn since 2004.

Jupiter

Six spacecraft have been launched to explore Jupiter, with an additional three spacecraft making gravity-assist flybys without the exploration of Jupiter being one of their primary objectives.

Timeline
Spacecraft Launch Date Mission Outcome Remarks Carrier rocket
Pioneer 10 3 March 1972[1] Flyby 4Successful[2] Closest approach at 02:25 UTC on 4 December 1973[3] Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D[4]
Pioneer 11 6 April 1973[1] Flyby 4Successful[5] Closest approach at 05:22 UTC on 3 December 1974, later flew past Saturn[6] Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1A[4]
Voyager 2 20 August 1977[1] Flyby 4Successful Closest approach at 22:29 on 9 July 1979, later flew past Saturn, Uranus and Neptune[7] Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T[8]
Voyager 1 5 September 1977[1] Flyby 4Successful Closest approach at 12:05 UTC on 5 March 1979, later flew past Saturn[9] Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T[8]
Galileo 18 October 1989[1] Orbiter/Atmospheric 4Successful[10] Atmospheric probe entered atmosphere at 22:04 UTC on 7 December 1995 and operated for 57 minutes; main spacecraft entered orbit at 00:27 UTC on 8 December.[11] Spacecraft was deorbited on 21 September 2003, impacting Jupiter's atmosphere at 18:57:18 UTC.[12] Space Shuttle Atlantis
STS-34 / IUS[13]
Ulysses 6 October 1990[1] Gravity assist N/A Flyby on 8 February 1992 to reach a high-inclination heliocentric orbit.[14] Also made a distant incidental flyby on 4 February 2004[15] Space Shuttle Discovery
STS-41 / IUS[16]
Cassini–Huygens 15 October 1997[1] Gravity assist N/A Flyby on 30 December 2000 en route to Saturn[17] Titan IV(401)B Centaur-T[18]
New Horizons 19 January 2006[1] Gravity assist[19] N/A Flyby on 28 February 2007 (closest approach at 05:43:40[20]) en route to Pluto[21] Atlas V 551[19]
Juno 5 August 2011[1] Orbiter 5En route Scheduled to arrive in July 2016[22] Atlas V 551[23]
Missions whose primary objectives were not related to the exploration of Jupiter are indicated in grey

Saturn

Main article: Exploration of Saturn

Four spacecraft have visited Saturn; Pioneer 11, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 made flybys, while Cassini–Huygens entered orbit, and deployed a probe into the atmosphere of Titan.

Timeline
Spacecraft Launch Date Mission Outcome Remarks Carrier rocket
Pioneer 11 6 April 1973[1] Flyby 4Successful Closest approach on 1 September 1979 at 16:31 UTC[6] Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1A[4]
Voyager 2 20 August 1977[1] Flyby 4Successful Closest approach at 01:21 UTC on 26 August 1981, later flew past Uranus and Neptune[7] Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T[8]
Voyager 1 5 September 1977[1] Flyby 4Successful Closest approach on 12 November 1980 at 23:45 UTC[9] Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T[8]
Cassini 15 October 1997[1] Orbiter 5Operational Entered orbit 1 July 2004; operational on extended mission[24] Titan IV(401)B Centaur-T[18]
Huygens 15 October 1997[1] Titan lander 5Successful Deployed from Cassini; landed on Titan at 10:13 UTC on 14 January 2005 Titan IV(401)B Centaur-T[18]

Uranus

Main article: Exploration of Uranus

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited Uranus, making a single flyby as part of its grand tour of the outer planets.

Timeline
Spacecraft Launch Date Mission Outcome Remarks Carrier rocket
Voyager 2 20 August 1977[1] Flyby 4Successful Closest approach at 17:59 UTC on 24 January 1986, later flew past Neptune[7] Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T[8]

Neptune

Voyager 2 is also the only spacecraft to have visited Neptune, making a single flyby as part of its grand tour of the outer planets.

Timeline
Spacecraft Launch Date Mission Outcome Remarks Carrier rocket
Voyager 2 20 August 1977[1] Flyby 4Successful Closest approach at 03:26 UTC on 25 August 1989[7] Titan IIIE Centaur-D1T[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 McDowell, Jonathan. "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Page. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - Pioneer 10". NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - Pioneer 10". NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 Krebs, Gunter. "Pioneer 10, 11, H". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  5. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - Pioneer 11". NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Solar System Exploration - Pioneer 11". NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Solar System Exploration - Voyager 2". NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Krebs, Gunter. "Voyager 1, 2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  9. 1 2 "Solar System Exploration - Voyager 1". NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  10. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - Galileo". NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - Galileo". NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  12. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - Galileo - Dates". NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  13. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "Galileo". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - Ulysses". NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  15. ↑ "Ulysses - Encounter Trajectory". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  16. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "Ulyssees". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - Cassini - Dates". NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  18. 1 2 3 Krebs, Gunter. "Cassini". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  19. 1 2 Krebs, Gunter. "New Horizons". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  20. ↑ Muller, Daniel. "New Horizons Full Mission Timeline". Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  21. ↑ "New Horizons targets Jupiter kick". BBC News. 19 January 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  22. ↑ Amos, Jonathan (4 September 2012). "Juno Jupiter probe gets British boost". BBC News. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  23. ↑ Krebs, Gunter. "Juno (New Frontiers 2)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  24. ↑ "Solar System Exploration - Cassini". NASA. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
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