Missions
6 questions tagged Missions — spanning every one of the seven Ws.
Which mission first landed a spacecraft on a comet?
ESA’s Rosetta mission deployed the Philae lander onto comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in 2014. It was the first soft landing on a comet nucleus.
Which space probe has orbited the most small bodies?
NASA’s Dawn mission is the only spacecraft to orbit two extraterrestrial bodies: Vesta and Ceres.
Which mission first landed on a comet?
ESA’s Rosetta mission deployed the Philae lander, which became the first spacecraft to land on a comet in 2014. The target was comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
Which spacecraft first reached interstellar space?
Voyager 1 was the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space, crossing the heliopause in 2012. Voyager 2 later followed in 2018.
How do NASA and other space agencies plan missions to the outer planets?
They use launch windows, gravity assists, and long cruise times because the outer Solar System requires precise timing and a lot of energy.
Which planetary mission has lasted the longest in operation?
NASA’s Juno mission at Jupiter has lasted many years and continues extended operations. For long-lived planetary spacecraft, missions are often extended far beyond their original plans.