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Period: to
Unmanned Missions
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Explorer Program (1958-2011)
Explorer I is launched, and the program continues until 2011, sending the first U.S satellite. -
Pioneer Program (1958-1978)
The Pioneer program begins on Aug. 17, 1958 and ends in 1978, some orojects exploring the outer planets and solar system. -
Echo Project (1960-1964)
The Echo project starts on May 13, 1960 and ends in 1964. This project was the first passive communications satellite experiment. -
Telstar Project (1962-1963)
Consisting of two missions, the Telstar project is meant to be for commercial communication satellites. -
Mariner Program (1962-1963)
The Mariner project began in 1962 and ended in 1963, consisting of robotic probes intending to explore Mars, Venus, and Mercury. -
Surveyor Program (1966-1968)
The Surveyor program begins in 1966 and ends in 1968, sending seven spacecraft to the moon to demonstrate the ability of soft landings. -
Helios Probes (1974-1976)
The Helios probes are launched into space only a few weeks away from each other, both built for the purpose of studying solar processes. -
Viking Program
The Viking program consists of a pair of space probes sent to Mars—Viking 1 and Viking 2, both in the same year. -
Voyager Program
The Voyager Project, which consists of two probes, is still active today, exploring the farthest reaches of the solar system. -
Galileo Probe
The space craft Galileo is sent by NASA to study the planet Jupiter and its moons. -
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is carried into space, serving as one of the most active telescopes even today. -
UARS (Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite)
UARS is sent up as a science satellite to study Earth's atmosphere, including the ozone layer. -
Mars Global Surveyor
The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) is sent up to Mars on November 7, using series of high-resolution cameras to explore the surface of Mars. -
Mars Pathfinder
The Mars Pathfinder, a robotic rover, is sent up to explore the surface of Mars. -
Mars Exploration Rovers
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission (MER), is launched as a robotic space mission involving two rovers exploring the planet Mars. -
New Horizons probe
New Horizons is a NASA robotic spacecraft mission sent to the dwarf planet Pluto. It is the first spacecraft to fly by and study Pluto and its moons, Charon, Nix, and Hydra. -
Mars Curiosity Rover
The robotic Curiosity rover is scheduled to land on Mars in August 2012, where it will search for evidence of past or present life on Mars.
