Humanity's ongoing journey of discovery
Perseverance continues searching for signs of ancient microbial life and has collected 26 samples for future return to Earth. Ingenuity completed 72 flights over nearly 3 years before ending its mission on January 18, 2024, becoming a stationary weather station.
Continuing to explore Mount Sharp, analyzing rock layers that preserve a record of Mars' transformation from a wet world to today's dry planet. Still making new discoveries after 13+ years on Mars.
Celebrating its third year of groundbreaking observations, Webb continues to revolutionize our understanding of the universe. Recently discovered its first exoplanet and captured auroras on Neptune and Jupiter.
Humanity's most distant emissaries continue transmitting from interstellar space. Voyager 1 is 166 AU (24.9 billion km) from Earth; Voyager 2 is 139 AU (20.8 billion km) away. Power expected until ~2025-2030.
Creating the most detailed maps of the lunar surface ever made, supporting future Artemis landing site selection and monitoring changes on the Moon. Still operational after 16 years.
Successfully landed on March 2, 2025, carrying 10 NASA payloads. Part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, conducting science operations for approximately 14 Earth days.
Humanity's permanent outpost in space, conducting research in microgravity and serving as a testbed for technologies needed for deep space exploration. Currently hosting Expedition 72/73.
Studying Mars' upper atmosphere to understand how the planet lost most of its atmosphere and water, transforming from a potentially habitable world to the cold, dry planet we see today.
Studying Jupiter's composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere. Mission may end in 2025 with a controlled deorbit into Jupiter's atmosphere.
Second Intuitive Machines lunar lander mission. Like IM-1, landed on its side but operational. Carrying PRIME-1 drill to search for water ice and multiple rovers including international payloads.
Successfully launched and now traveling to Jupiter. Will conduct detailed reconnaissance of Europa's ice shell and subsurface ocean, investigating whether this moon could harbor conditions suitable for life.
China's first asteroid sample return mission. Will rendezvous with near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamo'oalewa in 2026, collect samples for Earth return in 2027, then continue to comet 311P/PANSTARRS.
Twin spacecraft mission to study Mars' magnetosphere. Originally planned for 2024 but delayed. Will use Venus gravity assist, extending journey to Mars by 1.5 years.
The most ambitious robotic mission ever attempted - retrieving samples collected by Perseverance and returning them to Earth. Currently undergoing redesign to reduce costs and complexity.
A nuclear-powered rotorcraft that will fly through Titan's thick atmosphere, exploring methane lakes and searching for signs of prebiotic chemistry on Saturn's largest moon.
Will create a map of the entire sky in 96 different color bands, studying over 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars in the Milky Way to understand cosmic origins.