# Perigee > Perigee (Périgée in French) is a free, open-source web app showing in real time and in 3D the artificial objects orbiting the Earth, the Moon and Mars, and the spacecraft crossing the solar system. Every position is computed in the visitor's browser from public data; nothing is computed on a server. Interface in English and French. For education, not for navigation or conjunction assessment. Site: https://perigee.info/ (English: `?lang=en`, French: `?lang=fr`). It is a single-page WebGL 2 application: the views are rendered with JavaScript, so this file and the linked documents describe them in text. ## Views - [Earth](https://perigee.info/?lang=en): every active catalogued satellite (about 16,000), propagated with SGP4 from CelesTrak orbital elements (OMM), with launch sites, filters by operator, country, constellation, orbit type and object type, and the Moon. - [Moon](https://perigee.info/?lang=en&view=moon): active lunar orbiters from NASA/JPL Horizons ephemerides, and the landing and impact sites (Apollo, Luna, Chang'e, Chandrayaan, commercial landers). - [Mars](https://perigee.info/?lang=en&view=mars): Mars orbiters, Phobos and Deimos (Horizons), landing sites and the current rover positions (NASA MMGIS waypoint feeds). - [Solar system](https://perigee.info/?lang=en&view=solar): planets and moons (astronomy-engine, JPL mean elements), dwarf planets and interplanetary probes (Horizons), with their trajectories; `candidates=1` draws and lists the dwarf planet candidates (Gonggong, Quaoar, Orcus, Sedna, 2026 ED138; ids `quaoar`, `2026-ed138`…). ## Links into the app URL parameters: `view` (`moon`, `mars`, `solar`; Earth by default), `lang` (`en`, `fr`), `sel` (selected object: a NORAD catalogue number such as `25544` for the ISS, a mission id, `site:` for a landing site, or a planet id such as `jupiter`), `t` (ISO 8601 UTC instant, e.g. `2026-10-08T15:00:00Z`), `rate` (time multiplier, `0` pauses), `frame` (`inertial`). Example: https://perigee.info/?lang=en&view=moon&sel=site:apollo-11 More: `sel` also takes `moon:` (moons in the solar view, e.g. `moon:titan`), `star:` (named stars: `stars=1` names the bright ones, `nearby=1` those within 20 light-years; with `sel=star:`, `map=1` opens the star's 3D map with the Sun and `pick=star:` adds a star to compare, alone in the frame with `embed=1`), `comet:` (comets: `comets=1` draws and lists them, positions from JPL Horizons, tails illustrative), `asteroid:` (notable asteroids: `asteroids=1`), `sun`, and `moon` in the Earth view; `follow=1` follows the selected object. ## For AI assistants and lesson pages: embed mode Add `embed=1` to show the 3D view alone (no bars or panels) in an iframe, with a corner link to the full app; `ui=panel` keeps the selected object's information panel, `ui=time` the time bar (`ui=panel,time` for both). The embedding page can drive it with `postMessage` (protocol `perigee:v1`, any origin, replies to the caller's origin): - Request: `{ type: 'perigee:v1', id, method, params }`; reply: `{ type: 'perigee:v1', id, ok, result | error }`. - `get`: view, `sel`, simulation `time` (ISO UTC), `live`, `rate`, `frame`, `lang`, `following`, `url` (the same view in the full app). `{ details: true }` adds the selected object's facts (goals, status, sources, image with credit and licence) and its position with provenance: model, data source, fetch time, element age, validity window, data state (`fresh`, `interpolated`, `stale`, `extrapolated`, `hidden`, `modelled`, `none`) and typical accuracy. - `set`: any of `view`, `sel` (null clears), `time` (ISO or `now`), `rate`, `frame`, `lang`, `follow`. - `snapshot`: `{ kind: 'shown' | 'objects' }` returns a PNG data URL of the 3D view (as shown with labels, or the objects only) and its title. - Events posted to the parent: `ready`, `view`, `selection`, `time`, each with the state. ## MCP server Perigee's tools for AI assistants: `perigee_find` (ids by name), `perigee_object` (facts, goals, sources, image with credit), `perigee_state` (position and velocity at a date, the ground point below: latitude, longitude, country or sea, sunlight), `perigee_orbit` (perigee, apogee, period, inclination, regime), `perigee_passes` (when a satellite passes over a place: rise, highest point, set, direction, naked-eye visibility, local times), `perigee_sky` (the sky from a place: Sun and twilights, Moon phase, planets and bright stars, naked-eye visibility), `perigee_events` (Moon phases, eclipses also as seen from a place, equinoxes and solstices, planet oppositions and elongations, mission milestones), `perigee_tonight` (what to see tonight from a place: Moon, planets, visible passes of the ISS, Tiangong and Hubble, pairings, events), `perigee_sky_conjunctions` (close pairings of the Moon, planets and bright stars seen from a place, or a satellite passing near them), `perigee_shadow` (sunlight or Earth's shadow, next entry and exit), `perigee_ground_track` (the path below a satellite, with GeoJSON), `perigee_close_approach` (closest distance between two objects in space; education only), `perigee_stats` (counts of active satellites by owner, operator, constellation, orbit regime, launch year), `perigee_distance` and `perigee_distance_series`, `perigee_view` (link and iframe of the live 3D view), `perigee_describe_view` (a view link in words: alternative text and a description for lesson notes), `perigee_define` (student-level definitions, EN/FR), `perigee_about` (sources, models, accuracy). Every computed answer carries its provenance. - Hosted (Streamable HTTP, no account): https://perigee-mcp.perigeeinfo.workers.dev/mcp - Local (stdio, Node.js 20+): `npx -y perigee-mcp` ([npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/perigee-mcp)) ## Machine-readable documents - [Interface](https://perigee.info/api/interface.json): ids, URL parameters, the embed API (JSON Schema of `set`), data states, models and their typical accuracy, freshness and attribution. - [Catalogue](https://perigee.info/api/catalog.json): every curated object (missions, featured Earth science satellites, planets, moons, landing and launch sites, named stars) in English and French, with goals, status, identifiers, sources, `verified` dates, an image and `view`/`embed` links. - [Images](https://perigee.info/api/images.json): the catalogue's photographs and illustrations with credit, licence and source page. - [Glossary](https://perigee.info/api/glossary.json): student-level definitions (EN/FR) of the terms shown in the panels. - [Full text](https://perigee.info/llms-full.txt): this file followed by the whole catalogue and glossary in plain English. ## How it works - Positions: SGP4/SDP4 (satellite.js) for Earth satellites, cubic Hermite interpolation of JPL Horizons state vectors for spacecraft, two-body extrapolation beyond the published window (shown as extrapolated), astronomy-engine (VSOP87) for the planets. - Every object states how fresh and how reliable its position is (propagated from recent elements, interpolated from ephemerides, or extrapolated/modelled). - Data are refreshed by a GitHub Actions pipeline (CelesTrak every 4 h, SATCAT and Horizons daily) and served from the same site; the browser never contacts CelesTrak or Horizons. ## Documentation - [README](https://github.com/dlamarre-dev/Perigee/blob/master/README.md): features and usage. - [Data sources and attribution](https://github.com/dlamarre-dev/Perigee/blob/master/DATA_SOURCES.md): CelesTrak, Space-Track, NASA/JPL Horizons, NASA SVS, USGS, NASA 3D Resources and others. - [Mission catalogue](https://github.com/dlamarre-dev/Perigee/blob/master/catalog/missions.json): missions beyond Earth orbit with their status, Horizons ids and sources. - [Source code](https://github.com/dlamarre-dev/Perigee) (MIT licence). ## Optional - [Earth satellite data](https://perigee.info/data/manifest.json): manifest of the published datasets (OMM elements, SATCAT, ephemerides) with fetch times. # Full catalogue (generated) Generated from Perigee 1.15.1 (15dcc7e). Machine-readable versions: https://perigee.info/api/catalog.json, https://perigee.info/api/glossary.json, https://perigee.info/api/interface.json. Educational use only: not intended for navigation, collision avoidance or conjunction assessment. ## Dwarf planets (IAU) and candidates (solar view; positions from JPL Horizons) ### Pluto (id `pluto`) View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=pluto ### Ceres (id `ceres`) discovered 1801-01-01 · status active · around sun · Horizons 1; · verified 2026-10-28 Orbit: Main asteroid belt, ~2.8 AU, 4.6-year period Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/ceres/, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature18955, https://arxiv.org/pdf/2010.06086, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=Ceres View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=ceres ### Haumea (id `haumea`) discovered 2004-12-28 · status active · around sun · Horizons 136108; · verified 2026-10-28 Orbit: Kuiper Belt, ~43 AU, 284-year period Notes: Elongated ellipsoid measured during the 21 January 2017 stellar occultation; spins in 3.9 hours about the pole of its ring. The direction of its long axis at a given moment is illustrative (rotation phase not published). Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/haumea/, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature24051, https://arxiv.org/pdf/2006.03113, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=Haumea View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=haumea ### Makemake (id `makemake`) discovered 2005-03-31 · status active · around sun · Horizons 136472; · verified 2026-10-28 Orbit: Kuiper Belt, ~45 AU, 305-year period Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/makemake/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=Makemake View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=makemake ### Eris (id `eris`) discovered 2005-01-05 · status active · around sun · Horizons 136199; · verified 2026-10-28 Orbit: Scattered disc, ~68 AU, 559-year period Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/eris/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=Eris View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=eris ### Gonggong (id `gonggong`) discovered 2007-07-17 · status active · around sun · Horizons 225088; · verified 2026-10-28 Orbit: Scattered disc, ~67 AU, 550-year period (perihelion 33 AU, aphelion 101 AU) Notes: One of the largest bodies beyond Neptune, about 1,230 km across (measured from its heat glow). Its reddish surface holds water ice and methane, and it turns slowly, in 22 hours. Named in 2020 after a Chinese water god; its moon Xiangliu was found in Hubble images. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/225088_Gonggong, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_possible_dwarf_planets, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=225088 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=gonggong ### Quaoar (id `quaoar`) discovered 2002-06-04 · status active · around sun · Horizons 50000; · verified 2026-10-28 Orbit: Kuiper Belt, ~43 AU, nearly circular, 284-year period Notes: About 1,100 km across, sized precisely when it passed in front of stars (occultations). Those occultations also revealed two thin rings far from the body, much farther out than rings were thought to survive. Its moon is Weywot. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50000_Quaoar, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_possible_dwarf_planets, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=50000 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=quaoar ### Orcus (id `orcus`) discovered 2004-02-17 · status active · around sun · Horizons 90482; · verified 2026-10-28 Orbit: Kuiper Belt (plutino: 2 orbits for every 3 of Neptune, like Pluto), ~39 AU, 247-year period Notes: About 910 km across (measured from its heat glow). Orcus is a kind of “anti-Pluto”: same orbit size and period, but always on the opposite side of its orbit. Its large moon Vanth is about half its size. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/90482_Orcus, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_possible_dwarf_planets, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=90482 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=orcus ### Sedna (id `sedna`) discovered 2003-11-14 · status active · around sun · Horizons 90377; · verified 2026-10-28 Orbit: Detached object, ~500 AU, about 11,000-year period (perihelion 76 AU, aphelion ~900 AU) Notes: One of the reddest objects in the solar system, roughly 900 km across. Its enormous orbit never comes closer than 76 AU, so Neptune cannot have pushed it there: a passing star or an unseen planet may have. It is nearing its closest point to the Sun (2076). Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/90377_Sedna, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_possible_dwarf_planets, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=90377 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=sedna ### 2026 ED138 (id `2026-ed138`) discovered 2026 · status active · around sun · Horizons DES=2026 ED138; · verified 2026-10-28 Orbit: Kuiper Belt, ~43 AU, 282-year period, tilted 24.5° Notes: The first dwarf planet candidate found by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, announced on 27 October 2026. Seen 30 times in 2026 and traced back to 2016 in older images, it is about 46 AU from the Sun. Its size, between 600 and 1,500 km, is estimated from its brightness alone: further observations must measure it before it can be called a dwarf planet. Drawn here at 1,000 km. Sources: https://www.washington.edu/news/2026/10/27/rubin-observatory-new-dwarf-planet-candidate/, https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/news/2026-10-27-nsf-doe-vera-c-rubin-observatory-reveals-its-first-dwarf-planet-candidate-our-solar, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=2026%20ED138 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=2026-ed138 ## Missions beyond Earth orbit ### Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) (id `lro`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2009-06-18 · status active · around moon · Horizons -85 · NORAD 35315 · verified 2026-09-26 Goals: LRO was built to map the Moon in great detail to prepare future human and robotic missions. Its instruments measure the surface’s shape, temperature, composition and radiation environment, which helps choose safe landing sites. It also searches the polar regions for resources such as water ice and for places that get almost constant sunlight. Orbit: Low polar lunar orbit Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lro/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lro/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=LRO&group=sct View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=lro ### Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter (id `chandrayaan-2`) agency ISRO · country in · launched 2019-07-22 · status active · around moon · Horizons -152 · NORAD 44441 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter studies the Moon from a low polar orbit with eight scientific instruments. It maps the minerals and chemical elements of the surface, looks for water molecules and ice in the polar regions, and studies the very thin lunar atmosphere. These data help scientists understand how the Moon formed and evolved. Orbit: 100 km circular polar orbit Notes: Planned 7-year life reached around mid-2026; no end-of-mission announcement found as of 2026-10-24. ISRO's own page still describes the orbiter performing its scheduled science experiments. Website: https://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan_2.html Sources: https://www.isro.gov.in/Chandrayaan_2.html, https://www.isro.gov.in/Update_on_Chandrayaan_2.html, https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/chandrayaan-2, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Chandrayaan-2&group=sct View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=chandrayaan-2 ### Danuri (KPLO) (id `danuri`) agency KASA / KARI · country kr · launched 2022-08-04 · status active · around moon · Horizons -155 · NORAD 53365 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: Danuri is South Korea’s first lunar mission, designed to develop and test the technologies needed to explore the Moon. Its cameras and instruments map the surface to help choose future landing sites, study the Moon’s magnetic field and geology, and look for resources such as water ice. NASA’s ShadowCam on board images permanently shadowed polar craters. Orbit: Frozen elliptical polar orbit, about 60 × 200 km Notes: Extended through 2027; controlled impact planned in early 2028. Website: https://www.kari.re.kr/eng/contents/193 Sources: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10416318, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danuri, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=KPLO&group=sct View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=danuri ### ARTEMIS P1 (THEMIS-B) (id `artemis-p1`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2007-02-17 · status active · around moon · Horizons -192 · NORAD 30581 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: ARTEMIS P1 is one of two THEMIS probes that were moved from Earth orbit to the Moon to give them a second mission. With its twin P2, it measures the solar wind, the Earth’s magnetic tail and the “wake” the Moon leaves in the solar wind from two points at once. P1 was also the first spacecraft to fly around the Earth–Moon L1 and L2 points. Orbit: High-eccentricity lunar orbit Website: https://artemis.igpp.ucla.edu/ Sources: https://artemis.igpp.ucla.edu/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/themis-artemis, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=THEMIS-B&group=sct View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=artemis-p1 ### ARTEMIS P2 (THEMIS-C) (id `artemis-p2`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2007-02-17 · status active · around moon · Horizons -193 · NORAD 30582 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: ARTEMIS P2 is the second of two THEMIS probes sent to orbit the Moon. Flying with P1, it allows two-point measurements of the solar wind, the Earth’s magnetic tail and the Moon’s wake, revealing how particles are accelerated and how magnetic fields reconnect. The pair also studies the Moon itself: its tenuous exosphere, surface charging and the interior through magnetic induction. Orbit: High-eccentricity lunar orbit Website: https://artemis.igpp.ucla.edu/ Sources: https://artemis.igpp.ucla.edu/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/themis-artemis, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=THEMIS-C&group=sct View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=artemis-p2 ### CAPSTONE (id `capstone`) agency Advanced Space (NASA mission complete) · country us · launched 2022-06-28 · status active · around moon · Horizons -1176 · NORAD 52914 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: CAPSTONE is a microwave-oven-sized CubeSat built to test the near-rectilinear halo orbit planned for NASA’s lunar Gateway station: how to enter it and stay in it with little fuel. It also demonstrates a navigation system in which spacecraft locate themselves by exchanging signals with each other (here with LRO) instead of relying only on tracking from Earth. Orbit: Near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO), about 6.5-day period Notes: NASA’s mission ended June 2026 (declared complete 2026-07-06); Advanced Space continues flying the spacecraft commercially, station-keeping in the NRHO roughly weekly as of mid-2026. The public Horizons ephemeris stops on 2026-08-14 and has not resumed, likely because orbit-determination data is no longer submitted to JPL now that NASA's DSN-tracked mission has ended; shown as extrapolated/hidden per CLAUDE.md §5.2 beyond the public window. Website: https://www.nasa.gov/smallspacecraft/capstone/ Sources: https://www.nasa.gov/technology/space-comms/nasas-capstone-completes-extended-mission-testing-lunar-technologies/, https://advancedspace.com/advanced-spaces-resilient-capstone-mission-for-nasa-is-operating-at-the-moon-for-445-days-continues-to-transform-exploration-with-cutting-edge-technology/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=CAPSTONE&group=sct View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=capstone ### SWC-1 (Shams) (id `swc-1`) agency Saudi Space Agency (SSA) · country sa · launched 2026-04-01 · status active · around moon · Horizons -168540 · NORAD 68540 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: Shams (Space Weather CubeSat-1) is a small Saudi satellite built to study space weather far from Earth, where the planet’s magnetic field no longer protects spacecraft. It measures space radiation, solar X-rays, high-energy solar particles and the Earth’s magnetic field, to better understand how solar activity affects communications and navigation. Orbit: Highly elliptical Earth orbit (~500 × 70,000 km) in the Earth–Moon system Notes: 12U CubeSat deployed from the Artemis II SLS adapter (2026-04-01) to study space weather beyond Earth's magnetosphere; first Saudi/Arab spacecraft flown under the Artemis Accords. Still tracked in high Earth orbit in October 2026 (NORAD 68540, Space-Track elements, e.g. on N2YO), but its public JPL Horizons ephemeris ended on 2026-04-07: listed here without a 3D position. Sources: https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/artemis-ii-science/, https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/swc-1.htm, https://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=68540 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=swc-1 ### Queqiao-2 relay satellite (id `queqiao-2`) agency CNSA · country cn · launched 2024-03-20 · status active · around moon · NORAD 59276 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: Queqiao-2 is a relay satellite that passes messages between Earth and spacecraft on the far side and south pole of the Moon, which cannot talk to Earth directly. It serves China’s Chang’e-6, Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8 missions and the planned International Lunar Research Station. With its large antenna it also carries scientific instruments, including an extreme-ultraviolet camera and a neutral-atom imager that observe the Earth’s magnetosphere. Orbit: Highly elliptical lunar orbit, about 24 h period Notes: No public ephemeris (not in JPL Horizons); orbit figures come from independent tracking only. Sources: https://www.cnsa.gov.cn/english/n6465652/n6465653/c10489434/content.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queqiao-2 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=queqiao-2 ### Tiandu-2 (id `tiandu-2`) agency Deep Space Exploration Laboratory · country cn · launched 2024-03-20 · status unknown · around moon · NORAD 59279 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: Tiandu-2 is a small experimental satellite launched with Queqiao-2 to test technologies for a future Chinese navigation and communication constellation around the Moon. Flying in formation with Tiandu-1, it carries a communication payload and navigation devices to test links between the two craft and with Earth. Orbit: Large elliptical lunar orbit (2024) Sources: https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/tiandu-1.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiandu View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=tiandu-2 ### Tiandu-1 (id `tiandu-1`) agency Deep Space Exploration Laboratory · country cn · launched 2024-03-20 · status active · around moon · NORAD 59278 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: Tiandu-1 is an experimental satellite from China’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, a pathfinder for a future navigation and communication constellation around the Moon. It tests high-speed radio links, an in-space data router and laser ranging from Earth using a reflector on board, together with its smaller companion Tiandu-2. Orbit: 3:1 Earth–Moon resonant orbit since 2025-05-22 (no longer a lunar orbiter) Sources: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-05-28/China-s-Tiandu-1-satellite-enters-historic-Earth-moon-resonant-orbit-1DKj9SqRaSc/p.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiandu View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=tiandu-1 ### Queqiao relay satellite (id `queqiao-1`) agency CNSA · country cn · launched 2018-05-20 · status active · around moon · NORAD 43470 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: Queqiao was the first relay satellite placed beyond the Moon, near the Earth–Moon L2 point. It was built so that China’s Chang’e-4 lander and Yutu-2 rover, the first to land on the far side of the Moon, could communicate with Earth, which never sees that side. It also carried a Dutch–Chinese low-frequency radio instrument for astronomy. Orbit: Earth–Moon L2 halo orbit Notes: Well past its 5-year design life (launched 2018); no end-of-mission announcement found as of 2026-10-24, and Queqiao-2 (2024) now carries most of the relay traffic. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queqiao_relay_satellite, https://www.futura-sciences.com/sciences/actualites/exploration-queqiao-2-pas-avant-exploration-lunaire-chinoise-112261/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=queqiao-1 ### DRO-A (id `dro-a`) agency CAS (CSU) · country cn · launched 2024-03-13 · status active · around moon · NORAD 59228 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: DRO-A is an experimental satellite of the Chinese Academy of Sciences sent to a distant retrograde orbit, a very stable orbit around the Moon. With DRO-B and the DRO-L satellite in Earth orbit, it forms a three-satellite test network that tests precise navigation and radio links between spacecraft across Earth–Moon distances. Orbit: Distant retrograde orbit (DRO) Sources: https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/dro-a.htm, https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202504/16/WS67ff8351a3104d9fd381fbbb.html, https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/cas-in-media/202603/t20260326_1153818.shtml View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=dro-a ### DRO-B (id `dro-b`) agency CAS (CSU) · country cn · launched 2024-03-13 · status active · around moon · NORAD 60058 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: DRO-B is the twin of DRO-A, launched together to test spacecraft operations in the space between the Earth and the Moon. With DRO-A and DRO-L, it forms a three-satellite network that tests high-precision relative navigation and microwave links between spacecraft. Orbit: 3:2 Earth–Moon resonant orbit (moved from DRO in 2025) Sources: https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/dro-a.htm, https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/cas-in-media/202603/t20260326_1153818.shtml View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=dro-b ### Chang'e-7 (id `change-7`) agency CNSA · country cn · status planned · around moon · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: Chang'e-7 is a Chinese robotic mission to the Moon's south pole, made of an orbiter, a lander, a rover and a small hopping probe. Its main goal is to look for water ice and other volatiles in permanently shadowed craters, and to study the region's soil composition, environment and terrain. These findings will help prepare a future lunar research station. Notes: Not launched: the August 2026 window was lost to Typhoon Narra; launch postponed to 2027, with no official new date confirmed as of 2026-10-24. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang'e_7, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-delays-ambitious-change-7-moon-mission-until-2027/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=change-7 ### 2001 Mars Odyssey (id `mars-odyssey`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2001-04-07 · status active · around mars · Horizons -53 · NORAD 26734 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: 2001 Mars Odyssey was sent to map the chemical elements and minerals of the Martian surface and to look for signs of water, as part of NASA's "follow the water" strategy. It found large amounts of ice hidden just below the surface at high latitudes. It also studies clouds, fog and frost, helps choose safe landing sites and relays data from rovers to Earth. Orbit: Near-circular sun-synchronous polar orbit, ~400 km, 93.06° inclination, ~2 h period Notes: Longest continually active spacecraft at another planet (Mars orbit since 2001-10-24). NASA lists the mission as ongoing; propellant is low (earlier estimates: enough to end of 2025), so an end-of-mission announcement is plausible soon. Re-verify before each release. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/odyssey/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/odyssey/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Mars_Odyssey, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Mars%20Odyssey View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=mars-odyssey ### Mars Express (id `mars-express`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 2003-06-02 · status active · around mars · Horizons -41 · NORAD 27816 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Mars Express, ESA's first mission to another planet, studies Mars from below its surface to its upper atmosphere, as well as its two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Its camera produces 3D views of the landscape, its radar probes beneath the surface and its spectrometers analyse the air and the minerals. A central goal is to trace the history of water and whether early Mars could have hosted life. Orbit: Elliptical near-polar orbit, ~298 × 10,107 km, 86.3° inclination, ~7.5 h period Notes: In Mars orbit since 2003-12-25. ESA's Science Programme Committee endorsed a further extension in June 2026 (previously confirmed to 2026-12-31). ESA image releases continue in September 2026. Website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/mars_express/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Mars_Express, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/ESA_science_missions_get_green_light_for_new_discoveries, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Express, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Mars%20Express View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=mars-express ### Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (id `mro`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2005-08-12 · status active · around mars · Horizons -74 · NORAD 28788 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was built to understand where water has been on Mars and how that changed over time. Its HiRISE camera, the most powerful ever sent to another planet, can spot objects the size of a kitchen table, while other instruments map minerals formed in water, probe underground ice and monitor the daily weather. It is also a key relay for rovers on the surface. Orbit: Near-circular sun-synchronous polar orbit, ~250–316 km, 93° inclination, ~112 min period Notes: In Mars orbit since 2006-03-10; key relay for Curiosity and Perseverance. CRISM retired 2023; HiRISE has partial CCD degradation. Fuel reported sufficient to ~2035 (Jan 2024 estimate). Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Reconnaissance_Orbiter, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=MRO View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=mro ### ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (id `exomars-tgo`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 2016-03-14 · status active · around mars · Horizons -143 · NORAD 41388 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: The Trace Gas Orbiter, the first part of ESA's ExoMars programme, measures tiny amounts of gases such as methane in the Martian atmosphere, which could come from geological activity or even from living organisms. It also photographs surface features that might be linked to these gases and maps hydrogen, a sign of water ice, in the top metre of the ground. It serves as a data relay for rovers too. Orbit: Near-circular ~400 km, 74° inclination, ~2 h period Notes: Mars orbit insertion 2016-10-19; science since April 2018; relay for NASA rovers and the future Rosalind Franklin rover. Recent 2025–2026 science activity reported; formal extension beyond 2026 not found (TGO is not in the June 2026 SPC list, as it belongs to ESA's exploration programme). Website: https://explorationscience.esa.int/project/exomars-trace-gas-orbiter-tgo/ 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/trace_gas_orbiter/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/ExoMars_TGO_operations, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trace_Gas_Orbiter, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=TGO View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=exomars-tgo ### Emirates Mars Mission (Hope) (id `emm-hope`) agency UAE Space Agency / MBRSC · country ae · launched 2020-07-19 · status active · around mars · Horizons -62 · NORAD 45918 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: The Hope probe, the Arab world's first mission to another planet, is building the first complete picture of Martian weather through the day and across the seasons. From a high orbit, its three instruments observe dust storms and temperature changes in the lower atmosphere, and track how hydrogen and oxygen escape from the upper atmosphere into space. This helps explain how Mars lost much of its air and water. Orbit: High elliptical orbit ~20,000 × 43,000 km, 25° inclination, ~55 h period (adjusted in early 2023 from ~22,000 × 44,000 km to enable Deimos flybys) Notes: Mars orbit since 2021-02-09. Mission extended to 2028 (announced February 2026). Website: https://space.gov.ae/en/projects-and-initiatives/space-exploration/emirates-mars-mission Sources: https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2026/02/17/uae-extends-hope-probes-mars-mission-to-2028/, https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/uae-in-space/2023/02/09/uaes-hope-probe-moves-to-new-orbit-to-study-mars-tiny-moon-deimos/, https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/emm-hope, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirates_Mars_Mission, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=EMM View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=emm-hope ### Tianwen-1 orbiter (id `tianwen-1`) agency CNSA · country cn · launched 2020-07-23 · status active · around mars · NORAD 45935 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Tianwen-1 was China's first independent mission to Mars, combining an orbiter, a lander and the Zhurong rover in a single flight. The orbiter maps the planet's landforms and geology, studies the soil, the distribution of water ice and the surface composition, and measures the ionosphere, the climate and the planet's magnetic and gravity fields. It also served as the relay between the rover and Earth. Orbit: Elliptical near-polar remote-sensing orbit, ~275 × 10,749 km, 86.3° inclination, ~7.08 h period Notes: Mars orbit since 2021-02-10. Latest official confirmation opened: Xinhua (2025-11-06), operating stably for over 4 years in good condition (observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS). No public ephemerides; orbit parameters from Wikipedia and may be outdated. Sources: http://www.news.cn/politics/20251106/227d8d9752fc4079b2bb4990bd5e252f/c.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianwen-1 View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=tianwen-1 ### ESCAPADE Blue (id `escapade-blue`) agency NASA / UC Berkeley SSL / Rocket Lab · country us · launched 2025-11-13 · status cruise · around mars · NORAD 66451 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: ESCAPADE Blue is one of two identical small spacecraft, with its twin Gold, that will orbit Mars together to study how the solar wind interacts with the planet's patchy magnetic field. By measuring from two places at once, they can see how this space environment changes from minute to minute and how it strips away the atmosphere. This helps explain how Mars turned from a warmer, wetter world into today's cold one. Orbit: Currently on an Earth-proximity loiter trajectory near Sun–Earth L2; Earth flyby and trans-Mars injection planned November 2026, Mars arrival September 2027; science orbit ~170 × 8,400 km, 65° inclination (from mid-2028) Notes: Twin smallsats launched on the second New Glenn flight (NG-2). Not yet en route to Mars: TMI burns near Earth planned 2026-11-07 and 2026-11-09. A low-thrust TCM on one spacecraft in Dec 2025 was completed in Jan 2026. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade/, https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/escapade/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESCAPADE View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=escapade-blue ### ESCAPADE Gold (id `escapade-gold`) agency NASA / UC Berkeley SSL / Rocket Lab · country us · launched 2025-11-13 · status cruise · around mars · NORAD 66452 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: ESCAPADE Gold is one of two identical small spacecraft, with its twin Blue, that will orbit Mars together to study how the solar wind interacts with the planet's patchy magnetic field. By measuring from two places at once, they can see how this space environment changes from minute to minute and how it strips away the atmosphere. This helps explain how Mars turned from a warmer, wetter world into today's cold one. Orbit: Same as Blue: loiter near Sun–Earth L2, TMI November 2026, Mars arrival September 2027; science orbit ~170 × 8,400 km, 65° inclination Notes: Twin of Blue. In science campaign B their apoapses diverge (Blue ~7,000 km, Gold ~10,000 km). Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESCAPADE View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=escapade-gold ### Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) (id `mmx`) agency JAXA · country jp · launched 2026-10-19 · status cruise · around sun · Horizons -239 · NORAD 101109 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) is a Japanese mission to Phobos and Deimos, the two moons of Mars. It will study both moons from close up, land on Phobos to collect at least 10 grams of its surface and bring them back to Earth, to find out whether these moons are captured asteroids or debris from a giant impact on Mars. It carries IDEFIX, a small French–German rover. Orbit: Heliocentric cruise after a successful October 2026 launch; arrival in the Mars system in 2027 (~1-year cruise), Phobos observation and sampling 2027–2030, departure 2030, Earth return FY2031 Notes: Launched 2026-10-20 04:41:03 JST (= 2026-10-19 19:41:03 UTC) on H3 F10 from Tanegashima; the rocket placed MMX into its planned orbit about 71 minutes after liftoff. Carries the CNES/DLR IDEFIX rover and NASA MEGANE. NORAD 101109 / COSPAR 2026-236A; centred on the Sun during the heliocentric cruise (switches to Mars once in the Martian system). Website: https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/ Sources: https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2026/08/20260820-1_e.html, https://mmx-news.isas.jaxa.jp/?p=2753, https://www.mmx.jaxa.jp/en/, https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2026102000118/japan-successfully-launches-rocket-with-martian-moon-probe.html, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=MMX View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=mmx ### Phobos (id `phobos`) status active · around mars · Horizons 401 · verified 2026-09-27 Orbit: Near-circular, 9 376 km from the centre of Mars, 7.65 h Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Phobos View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=phobos ### Deimos (id `deimos`) status active · around mars · Horizons 402 · verified 2026-09-27 Orbit: Near-circular, 23 459 km from the centre of Mars, 30.3 h Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sats/phys_par/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Deimos View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=deimos ### Voyager 1 (id `voyager-1`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1977-09-05 · status active · around sun · Horizons -31 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Voyager 1 was launched to explore Jupiter and Saturn up close, studying their atmospheres, rings, magnetic fields and moons, including a close flyby of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Now the most distant human-made object, it measures particles, magnetic fields and plasma waves in interstellar space, outside the bubble created by the Sun. It also carries the Golden Record, a message from Earth. Notes: LECP instrument switched off on 2026-04-17; only the plasma wave instrument and magnetometer remain on. The same 'Big Bang' procedure tested on Voyager 2 is being applied; if it succeeds, LECP could be switched back on. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-1/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/voyager/2026/04/17/nasa-shuts-off-instrument-on-voyager-1-to-keep-spacecraft-operating/, https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-shuts-off-instrument-on-voyager-1-to-keep-spacecraft-operating/, https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/voyager/2026/08/04/nasa-engineers-help-prolong-voyager-2s-science-mission/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Voyager%201 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=voyager-1 ### Voyager 2 (id `voyager-2`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1977-08-20 · status active · around sun · Horizons -32 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited all four giant planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, studying their atmospheres, rings, magnetic fields and moons up close. It remains the only probe to have explored Uranus and Neptune. Now in interstellar space, outside the bubble created by the Sun, it measures the particles and magnetic fields found between the stars. Notes: LECP switched off in March 2025. The 'Big Bang' power reconfiguration (tests May-June, executed July 2026, announced 2026-08-04) keeps three science instruments on (magnetometer, plasma wave, cosmic ray) for at least one more year. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/voyager-2/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/voyager/2026/08/04/nasa-engineers-help-prolong-voyager-2s-science-mission/, https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/voyager/2026/04/17/nasa-shuts-off-instrument-on-voyager-1-to-keep-spacecraft-operating/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Voyager%202 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=voyager-2 ### New Horizons (id `new-horizons`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2006-01-19 · status active · around sun · Horizons -98 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: New Horizons was built to make the first close-up study of Pluto and its moons, mapping their surfaces, geology and atmospheres. It then explores the Kuiper Belt, a distant ring of icy bodies left over from the formation of the planets, and flew past Arrokoth, the most distant object ever visited by a spacecraft. It also measures the Sun's influence on the outer Solar System. Notes: Beyond 60 AU. Woke from its longest hibernation in good health (July 2026). Extended until it exits the Kuiper Belt (~2028-2029); a further KBO flyby remains possible if a target is found. No end date announced. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/new-horizons/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/new-horizons/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=New%20Horizons View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=new-horizons ### Juno (id `juno`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2011-08-05 · status active · around sun · Horizons -61 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Juno studies Jupiter to understand how the largest planet formed and evolved, since it kept much of the material of the early Solar System. From a polar orbit it measures Jupiter's gravity and magnetic field to probe its deep interior and core, and studies the water and ammonia of its atmosphere, its polar cyclones and its auroras. Its extended mission also observes the moons Ganymede, Europa and Io and the faint rings. Notes: Still operating in 2026: imaged the inner moon Thebe on 2026-05-01. Mission status was uncertain in late 2025 (FY2026 budget request zeroed it; first extension ended 2025-09-30). Wikipedia states a 3-year second extended mission began October 2025 (to ~September 2028) and that no deorbit is planned; NASA's mission page still shows the old 'through September 2025' text. No deliberate plunge into Jupiter is announced. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/juno/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/nasas-juno-misson-captures-jupiter-moon-thebe/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/juno/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juno_(spacecraft), https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Juno View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=juno ### Parker Solar Probe (id `parker-solar-probe`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2018-08-12 · status active · around sun · Horizons -96 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Parker Solar Probe flies through the Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, closer than any spacecraft before it. It aims to find out why the corona is far hotter than the Sun's visible surface, what accelerates the solar wind and where the Sun's most energetic particles come from. These answers help forecast space weather, which can disturb satellites and their electronics. Notes: 29th perihelion on 2026-09-04 (3.8 million miles, 430,000 mph), healthy beacon 2026-09-07. Extended into 2029 by the 2026 Heliophysics Senior Review. Perihelia recur roughly every 88 days (next date not confirmed by an opened source). Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/parker-solar-probe/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/parker-solar-probe/2026/09/10/after-latest-swing-past-sun-nasas-parker-solar-probe-checks-in/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Parker%20Solar%20Probe View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=parker-solar-probe ### Solar Orbiter (id `solar-orbiter`) agency ESA / NASA · country eu · launched 2020-02-10 · status active · around sun · Horizons -144 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Solar Orbiter combines close-up images of the Sun with measurements of the solar wind around the spacecraft, linking the particles to the regions of the Sun they came from. It seeks to explain the 11-year cycle of solar activity, the heating of the corona to millions of degrees and the origin of the solar wind. Its tilted orbit gives the first views of the Sun's poles, key to understanding its magnetic field. Notes: Mission extension approved by ESA's Science Programme Committee (June 2026). Further Venus flybys 2028-03-18, 2029-06-10, 2030-09-02 raise inclination to 33°. Next perihelion 2027-02-06 (0.28 AU). Website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/solar_orbiter/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter/Solar_Orbiter_perihelia_and_flybys, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/ESA_science_missions_get_green_light_for_new_discoveries, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Solar%20Orbiter View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=solar-orbiter ### BepiColombo (id `bepicolombo`) agency ESA / JAXA · country eu · launched 2018-10-20 · status cruise · around sun · Horizons -121 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: BepiColombo sends two orbiters to Mercury, the smallest planet and the closest to the Sun, still the least explored of the inner planets. Europe's MPO maps its surface, composition and interior, while Japan's Mio studies its magnetic field and its surroundings. Scientists want to know why Mercury has a magnetic field, how ice survives in its polar craters and what its strange 'hollows' are, shedding light on the history of the Solar System. Notes: Mercury Transfer Module separated 2026-09-03, all systems nominal. MPO (ESA) and Mio (JAXA) separate 2026-12-09/10; science phase from April 2027. Arrival had been delayed from 2025 by a 2024 thruster power anomaly. Website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/bepi_mcs/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo/Latest_updates_BepiColombo_s_arrival_at_Mercury, https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/BepiColombo_begins_Mercury_arrival_with_MTM_separation_success, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=BepiColombo View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=bepicolombo ### JUICE (id `juice`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 2023-04-14 · status cruise · around sun · Horizons -28 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: JUICE explores Jupiter and three of its large icy moons, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa, which are thought to hide oceans of liquid water beneath their crust. It will study these moons as possible habitats for life, explore Jupiter's atmosphere and magnetic environment, and finally orbit Ganymede. The Jupiter system also serves as a model for the giant planets found around other stars. Notes: Third gravity assist; instruments on from 23 Sept to 3 Oct for Earth/Moon calibration; eclipse in Earth's shadow night of 27-28 Sept. Final Earth flyby January 2029, Ganymede orbit 2034. Website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/juice/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice/Juice_to_fly_past_Earth_for_third_gravity_assist, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=JUICE View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=juice ### Europa Clipper (id `europa-clipper`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2024-10-14 · status cruise · around sun · Horizons -159 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Europa Clipper is designed to find out whether Jupiter's moon Europa has conditions suitable for life. Beneath its icy shell lies a salty ocean that may hold more than twice as much water as all of Earth's oceans. During 49 close flybys, its nine instruments and a gravity experiment will study the ice shell, the ocean, the moon's composition and its geology. Notes: Mars flyby 2025-03-01. The Earth flyby (~3,200 km) also allows the only post-launch absolute magnetometer calibration. 49 Europa flybys planned. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Europa%20Clipper View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=europa-clipper ### Psyche (id `psyche`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2023-10-13 · status cruise · around sun · Horizons -255 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Psyche is the first mission to an asteroid whose surface contains a large amount of metal. Orbiting it for about two years, the spacecraft will image and map the asteroid and work out what it is made of. Scientists think Psyche may be part of the iron core of an early planetary building block, which would give an indirect look at cores like Earth's, which can never be reached. Notes: Mars gravity assist 2026-05-15 at 4,609 km; all three instruments tested successfully. Thrusting resumes 'later this fall' (2026). Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/psyche/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/psyche/2026/07/17/nasas-psyche-mission-delivers-mars-flyby-data-time-lapse-video/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Psyche View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=psyche ### Lucy (id `lucy`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2021-10-16 · status cruise · around sun · Horizons -49 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Lucy is the first mission to the Trojan asteroids, two swarms that share Jupiter's orbit around the Sun, one ahead of the planet and one behind it. These bodies are thought to be leftovers of the material that built the outer planets, time capsules from the birth of the Solar System over four billion years ago. By flying past eleven asteroids of different types, Lucy tests models of how the planets formed. Notes: Camera tests on future targets in spring 2026. Then Polymele 2027-09-15, Leucus 2028-04-18, Orus 2028-11-11, Patroclus-Menoetius 2033-03-03. Past: Dinkinesh 2023-11-01, Donaldjohanson 2025-04-20. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lucy/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/lucy/2026/08/06/nasas-lucy-begins-camera-tests-ahead-of-2027-trojan-flybys/, https://lucy.swri.edu/mission/Tour.html, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Lucy View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=lucy ### OSIRIS-APEX (id `osiris-apex`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2016-09-08 · status cruise · around sun · Horizons -64 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: OSIRIS-APEX reuses the spacecraft that brought back samples of asteroid Bennu to study Apophis, a stony asteroid that passes about 32,000 km from Earth's surface in April 2029. It will observe how Earth's gravity changes the asteroid's orbit, spin and surface, then fly low and fire its thrusters to stir up dust and rocks and reveal the material beneath. This helps understand asteroids that come close to Earth. Notes: Former OSIRIS-REx (Bennu samples returned 2023). Earth gravity assist 2025-09-23 at 3,438 km, first of three. Planned 1.5-year stay at Apophis. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-apex/ Sources: https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/osiris-apex, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=OSIRIS-REx View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=osiris-apex ### Hera (id `hera`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 2024-10-07 · status cruise · around sun · Horizons -91 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: Hera is Europe's planetary defence mission. It surveys the binary asteroid Didymos and its small moon Dimorphos, which NASA's DART spacecraft deliberately struck to change its orbit, measuring the result of the impact in detail. This turns the DART experiment into a well-understood, repeatable technique for deflecting a dangerous asteroid. Hera is also the first probe to visit a binary asteroid and tests autonomous navigation close to asteroids. Notes: ESA targets arrival in November 2026, a month earlier than planned (an older ESA ops page mentions an 'impulsive rendezvous' in October 2026). Second deep-space manoeuvre March 2026 (367 m/s). Six-month survey of DART's impact aftermath; releases CubeSats Milani and Juventas. Website: https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera Sources: https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/ESA_s_Hera_targets_early_arrival_at_Didymos_asteroids, https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Hera_operations, https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Hera_on_course_for_asteroid_rendezvous, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hera_(space_mission), https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Hera View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=hera ### Tianwen-2 (id `tianwen-2`) agency CNSA · country cn · launched 2025-05-28 · status active · around sun · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Tianwen-2 is China's first mission to bring back samples from an asteroid. It studies Kamoʻoalewa, a small near-Earth asteroid that travels alongside Earth as a quasi-satellite and may be a fragment of the Moon, and returns material collected by touch-and-go and anchoring methods. It then goes on to study the main-belt comet 311P, to help understand how small bodies formed and what the early Solar System was like. Notes: Rendezvous 2026-06-07 (announced by CNSA 2026-07-06). Mapping and site selection July 2026-April 2027; sample (200-1000 g) by end of April 2027, departure ~2027-04-24. Earth flyby with capsule release November 2027, then cruise to main-belt comet 311P (~2035). Launch: 2025-05-29 Beijing time (17:31 UTC on 05-28). Sources: https://www.planetary.org/articles/chinas-tianwen-2-mission-has-probably-arrived-at-a-quasi-moon-of-earth, https://spacenews.com/tianwen-2-arrives-at-asteroid-kamooalewa-first-image-revealed/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=tianwen-2 ### Hayabusa2 (Hayabusa2#) (id `hayabusa2`) agency JAXA · country jp · launched 2014-12-03 · status cruise · around sun · Horizons -37 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Hayabusa2 explored the carbon-rich asteroid Ryugu and brought samples back to Earth, to learn how the Solar System formed and where Earth's water and the organic matter linked to life came from. Its extended mission, Hayabusa2#, uses its remaining fuel to fly past asteroid Torifune, a planetary defence rehearsal, and then reach 1998 KY26, a tiny asteroid about 11 m wide that spins in about 5 minutes. Notes: Flew past asteroid Torifune (2001 CC21) on 2026-07-05 at ~400 m, the closest flyby of any Solar System body; first laser ranging during an asteroid flyby. Earth swing-bys 2027 and 2028. Website: https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/ Sources: https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2026/07/20260730-1_e.html, https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/current/hayabusa2.html, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Hayabusa%202 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=hayabusa2 ### Aditya-L1 (id `aditya-l1`) agency ISRO · country in · launched 2023-09-02 · status active · around sun · Horizons -156 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: Aditya-L1 is India's first space observatory dedicated to the Sun, watching it without interruption from the L1 point, 1.5 million km from Earth towards the Sun. It studies the Sun's upper layers, the chromosphere and corona: what heats them, what triggers solar flares and coronal mass ejections, and how the solar wind forms. It also samples the particles reaching L1, to better understand space weather. Notes: Halo orbit insertion 2024-01-06. Operating: ISRO science release dated 2026-08-28; first guest-observer (AO) cycle April-June 2026. No end date published. Website: https://www.isro.gov.in/Aditya_L1.html Sources: https://www.isro.gov.in/Aditya_L1_Catches_the_Suns_Early_Warning_Signs.html, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Aditya-L1 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=aditya-l1 ### SOHO (id `soho`) agency ESA / NASA · country eu · launched 1995-12-02 · status active · around sun · Horizons -21 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: SOHO, a joint ESA–NASA observatory, watches the Sun without interruption from about 1.5 million km sunward of Earth. It studies the Sun from its deep interior, probed through surface vibrations, to its hot outer atmosphere (the corona) and the solar wind that flows out into space. Its images of solar storms also help forecast space weather. Notes: Extension endorsed by ESA's Science Programme Committee on 10-11 June 2026 (13 missions). End date of the new extension not stated in the opened source. Website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/SOHO 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/soho/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/ESA_science_missions_get_green_light_for_new_discoveries, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/SOHO/SOHO_overview, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=SOHO View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=soho ### James Webb Space Telescope (id `jwst`) agency NASA / ESA / CSA · country us · launched 2021-12-25 · status active · around sun · Horizons -170 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Webb is the largest infrared space telescope ever built, designed to look back to the first stars and galaxies that formed after the Big Bang. It studies how galaxies, stars and planetary systems are born, and analyses the atmospheres of planets around other stars, including worlds that might have conditions suitable for life. It builds on the discoveries of Hubble. Notes: Arrived at L2 2022-01-24; science since July 2022. Cycle 5 began July 2026 (STScI). ESA extended its Webb participation in June 2026. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/ESA_science_missions_get_green_light_for_new_discoveries, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=JWST View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=jwst ### Euclid (id `euclid`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 2023-07-01 · status active · around sun · Horizons -680 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Euclid is investigating dark energy and dark matter, the mysterious components that make up most of the Universe. It is mapping billions of galaxies over more than a third of the sky, looking back about 10 billion years, to see how cosmic structures grew and how the expansion of the Universe has changed over time. This tests how gravity behaves on the largest scales. Notes: Quick release Q2 (Galactic Bulge) on 2026-06-24; complete DR1 mid-2027. Still in its prime science phase (not part of the June 2026 extension round). Website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/euclid/ Sources: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/euclid/dr1-timeline, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/ESA_science_missions_get_green_light_for_new_discoveries, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Euclid View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=euclid ### Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (id `roman`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2026-08-30 · status cruise · around sun · NORAD 100532 · verified 2026-10-03 Goals: Roman is an infrared space telescope with a field of view more than 100 times larger than Hubble's. It will survey light from about a billion galaxies to study dark energy, carry out a census of planets across the Milky Way, and test a coronagraph that blocks starlight to photograph planets and the dusty discs where planets form. Notes: Launched 2026-08-30 on a Falcon Heavy; three-month, ~1.6 million km cruise to an orbit around Sun-Earth L2. The Wide Field Instrument (300-megapixel infrared camera) was activated during commissioning; the Coronagraph Instrument took its first light on 2026-09-22 and its guidance system was checked on 2026-09-30. Science operations expected to begin in early 2027. No Horizons match found yet (deep-space-candidate audit); add horizonsId once one appears. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/roman-launch/, https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-dark-universe-seeking-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope-launches/, https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/roman/2026/09/30/nasa-checks-roman-guidance-system-takes-first-coronagraph-observation/, https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/roman/2026/09/15/nasa-activates-romans-primary-instrument-checks-out-coronagraph/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=roman ### IMAP (id `imap`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2025-09-24 · status active · around sun · Horizons -43 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: IMAP maps the heliosphere, the giant bubble blown by the solar wind around the solar system, and its boundary with interstellar space, by catching neutral atoms that fly in from that frontier. It also studies how the Sun accelerates particles and measures interstellar dust. From its post near Sun–Earth L1 it sends real-time solar wind data that improve space-weather forecasts. Notes: Entered final L1 orbit 2026-01-10; science mission began 2026-02-01. Maps the heliosphere boundary. All 10 instruments collecting data; as of August 2026, science data from 7 of them has been released. Launched with Carruthers and SWFO-L1. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/imap/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/imap/2026/01/12/nasas-imap-mission-reaches-its-destination/, https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/imap/2026/08, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=IMAP View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=imap ### Carruthers Geocorona Observatory (id `carruthers`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2025-09-24 · status active · around sun · Horizons -171 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Carruthers studies the exosphere, the outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere, made of hydrogen that glows faintly in ultraviolet light (the geocorona). Watching the whole Earth from far away, it measures the shape, size and density of this layer, how solar storms reshape it, and how hydrogen from water vapour low in the atmosphere reaches such extreme altitudes. Notes: Reached L1 orbit 2026-01-08; 24-month primary mission started 2026-03-01 (to ~March 2028). Images Earth's hydrogen exosphere in ultraviolet. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/carruthers-geocorona-observatory/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/carruthers-geocorona-observatory/2026/03/02/nasas-carruthers-geocorona-observatory-begins-primary-science-mission/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Carruthers View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=carruthers ### SOLAR-1 (ex-SWFO-L1) (id `solar-1`) agency NOAA · country us · launched 2025-09-24 · status active · around sun · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: SOLAR-1 is NOAA's first satellite dedicated full-time to operational space-weather monitoring. From Sun–Earth L1 it watches the Sun with a coronagraph for eruptions heading towards Earth and measures the solar wind and its magnetic field, sending data to forecasters within minutes. Early warnings help protect power grids, communication and navigation systems, satellites and astronauts. Notes: Final L1 burn 2026-01-23, renamed SOLAR-1. NOAA said operational service would begin in spring 2026; a secondary search result reports full operations from 2026-06-10 (not confirmed on an opened NOAA page). Website: https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/OPPA/swfo-L1.php Sources: https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/swfo-l1-renamed-solar-1-reaches-final-destination-one-million-miles-earth View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=solar-1 ### STEREO-A (id `stereo-a`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2006-10-26 · status active · around sun · Horizons -234 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: STEREO used two nearly identical spacecraft, one ahead of Earth and one behind it in orbit around the Sun, to give the first stereoscopic views of the Sun. It was built to understand what triggers coronal mass ejections (huge solar eruptions), how they are structured and how they travel through the solar system, where energetic particles are accelerated, and how the solar wind is organised. Notes: STEREO-A remains active; STEREO-B lost in 2014. Earth-trailing/leading heliocentric orbit, useful for side views of the Sun. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/stereo/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/stereo/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=STEREO-A View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=stereo-a ### NEO Surveyor (id `neo-surveyor`) agency NASA · country us · status planned · around sun · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: NEO Surveyor will be NASA's first space telescope built for planetary defence. Its infrared detectors will find dark asteroids and comets that are hard to see in visible light but glow as the Sun warms them, including those coming from the Sun's direction where ground telescopes cannot look. Its data will also help scientists learn how the solar system evolved. Notes: Launch NET September 2027. Not displayed in 3D until launched. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/neo-surveyor/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/neo-surveyor/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=neo-surveyor ### Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt (MBR Explorer) (id `ema-mbr-explorer`) agency UAE Space Agency / MBRSC · country ae · status planned · around sun · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: The Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt plans to send the MBR Explorer spacecraft past seven asteroids of the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, then land on the last one, Justitia. It will study their surface composition, geology, density and temperatures to learn about the origin and evolution of water-rich asteroids, and whether asteroids could one day supply resources for future missions. Notes: Six main-belt asteroid flybys and a lander at a seventh ~2034; gravity assists at Venus, Earth, Mars. Other sources give March 2028. Website: https://space.gov.ae/en/projects-and-initiatives/space-exploration/emirates-mission-to-the-asteroid-belt Sources: https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2026/04/27/uaes-mbr-explorer-mission-to-asteroid-belt-on-track-for-2028-launch-as-tests-begin/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=ema-mbr-explorer ### DESTINY+ (id `destiny-plus`) agency JAXA · country jp · status planned · around sun · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: DESTINY+ is a JAXA technology and science mission. It will demonstrate electric propulsion and high-speed flyby techniques that could make deep-space exploration cheaper and more frequent, then fly past the asteroid Phaethon, the source of the Geminid meteor shower, to image it. Its German-built dust analyser will study interplanetary dust, which brings carbon and organic matter to Earth. Notes: Moved from Epsilon S (2025) to H3 (FY2028) after the 2023 Epsilon S motor test failure. Phaethon flyby FY2030; Apophis observation 2029 also planned. Website: https://destiny.isas.jaxa.jp/ Sources: https://destiny.isas.jaxa.jp/2024-10-15-15-26 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=destiny-plus ### Comet Interceptor (id `comet-interceptor`) agency ESA / JAXA · country eu · status planned · around sun · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: Comet Interceptor aims to be the first mission to visit a pristine comet, one arriving for the first time from the far edge of the solar system and still carrying material unchanged since the planets formed. The spacecraft will wait in space until a suitable target is found, then split into three craft to observe the comet from several directions at once and build a 3D picture of it. Notes: Three spacecraft (main + two probes, one from JAXA). Target not yet selected by design. Website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Comet_Interceptor 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/comet_interceptor/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Comet_Interceptor View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet-interceptor ## Inactive missions beyond Earth orbit (ended or silent) ### ICUBE-Q (id `icube-q`) agency IST / SUPARCO · country pk · launched 2024-05-03 · status inactive · around moon · NORAD 59629 · verified 2026-10-24 Goals: ICUBE-Q was Pakistan’s first lunar satellite, built by the Institute of Space Technology with SUPARCO and Shanghai Jiao Tong University and carried to the Moon by China’s Chang’e-6. Its goals were to prove that a small satellite could be released into lunar orbit and work there, to photograph the Moon’s surface with two cameras, and to collect magnetic-field data. Orbit: Elliptical lunar orbit Notes: Contact lost around July 2024; a published study predicted lunar impact by about April 2025. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICUBE-Q, https://journal.hep.com.cn/jdse/EN/10.15982/j.issn.2096-9287.2025.20240054 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=icube-q ### MAVEN (id `maven`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2013-11-18 · status ended · around mars · Horizons -202 · NORAD 39378 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) was the first mission devoted to Mars's upper atmosphere. It measured how the Sun and the solar wind strip gas from the top of the atmosphere into space, to find out how Mars lost its once-thick atmosphere and changed from a world that may have had liquid water to today's cold desert. It also relayed data from rovers. Orbit: Last known: elliptical ~180 × 4,500 km, 75° inclination, ~3.6 h period (spacecraft tumbling since loss of signal; actual current orbit unknown) Notes: Loss of signal 2025-12-06 after passing behind Mars; spacecraft found tumbling, batteries drained. Review board (Feb 2026) judged it unrecoverable; NASA declared end of mission 2026-06-03. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/maven/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/maven/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAVEN, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=MAVEN View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=maven ### Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) (id `mom`) agency ISRO · country in · launched 2013-11-05 · status ended · around mars · NORAD 39370 · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: The Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) was India's first interplanetary mission. Its main goal was technological: to show that India could design, build and fly a spacecraft able to reach Mars largely on its own and enter orbit around it. Its five small instruments also studied the planet's surface features, minerals and atmosphere, including a search for methane. Orbit: Last known: highly elliptical ~421.7 × 76,993.6 km, 150° inclination, ~72.9 h period Notes: Mars orbit 2014-09-24. Contact lost after a long eclipse in April 2022; ISRO declared the mission over in October 2022. Website: https://www.isro.gov.in/MarsOrbiterMissionSpacecraft.html Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Orbiter_Mission View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=mom ### Mariner 2 (id `mariner-2`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1962-08-27 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Mariner 2 was the first spacecraft to fly past another planet successfully: it passed Venus in December 1962. It showed that Venus is extremely hot, with a dense layer of clouds high above the surface and no detectable magnetic field. On the way it also confirmed that a solar wind of particles flows continuously from the Sun. Notes: Flew past Venus on 1962-12-14 at 34,854 km. Contact was lost on 1963-01-03, 86.7 million km from the Earth, a distance record at the time. It remains in orbit around the Sun. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mariner-2/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mariner-2/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=mariner-2 ### Pioneer 10 (id `pioneer-10`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1972-03-03 · status ended · around sun · Horizons -23 · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt and to fly past Jupiter, in December 1973, sending back the first close-up images of the giant planet and measuring its intense radiation belts. It was also the first probe set on a path that leaves the solar system. Now silent, it carries a plaque describing humanity in case it is ever found. Notes: Last signal received 2003-01-23, about 12 billion km from Earth: its nuclear power source had become too weak to run the radio. A final contact attempt on 2006-03-04 failed. It coasts toward the star Aldebaran, which it would pass in about two million years. JPL Horizons publishes its predicted trajectory, so the position shown is a prediction, not a measurement. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/pioneer-10/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/pioneer-10/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_10, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Pioneer%2010 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=pioneer-10 ### Pioneer 11 (id `pioneer-11`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1973-04-06 · status ended · around sun · Horizons -24 · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Pioneer 11 followed Pioneer 10 to Jupiter, returning the first pictures of its polar regions in 1974, then used the giant planet's gravity to reach Saturn. In September 1979 it became the first spacecraft to fly past Saturn, discovering its F ring and confirming that the planet has a magnetic field. Its visit helped prepare the route for the Voyager probes. Notes: Routine operations ended on 1995-09-30, when its fading power source could no longer run its instruments; the last engineering data arrived on 1995-11-24, after which contact was lost. It heads toward the constellation Aquila and would pass near the star Lambda Aquilae in about four million years. JPL Horizons publishes its predicted trajectory, so the position shown is a prediction, not a measurement. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/pioneer-11/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/pioneer-11/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_11, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Pioneer%2011 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=pioneer-11 ### Mariner 10 (id `mariner-10`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1973-11-03 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft to visit Mercury and the first to explore two planets, flying past Venus and then Mercury three times. It was also the first to use a planet's gravity to change course (a gravity assist), a technique used by most later missions. Its 2,700 images covered nearly half of Mercury, revealing a cratered world with a weak magnetic field. Notes: Flew past Venus on 1974-02-05, then Mercury on 1974-03-29, 1974-09-21 and 1975-03-16. Out of attitude-control gas, it was switched off after its last contact on 1975-03-24. It remains in orbit around the Sun. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mariner-10/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mariner-10/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=mariner-10 ### Helios 1 and 2 (id `helios`) agency DLR / NASA · country de · launched 1974-12-10 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: The twin Helios probes, built by West Germany and launched by NASA, flew closer to the Sun than any spacecraft before them, inside the orbit of Mercury. They measured the solar wind, the magnetic field and the dust near the Sun across a solar cycle. Helios 2 held the record for the closest approach to the Sun, and Helios 1 and 2 the speed record, until Parker Solar Probe. Notes: Helios 1 launched on 1974-12-10 and sent data until late 1982. Helios 2 launched on 1976-01-15, came to 0.29 AU (43.4 million km) from the Sun on 1976-04-17; its transmitter failed on 1980-03-03 and it was switched off on 1981-01-07. Both remain in orbit around the Sun. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/helios-1/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/helios-1/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/helios-2/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=helios ### Galileo (id `galileo`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1989-10-18 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Galileo was the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter, which it studied from 1995 to 2003 together with its large moons. Its probe was the first to dive into a giant planet's atmosphere, and the orbiter found strong evidence of a salty ocean under the ice of Europa, as well as a magnetic field around Ganymede. On the way it discovered Dactyl, the first known moon of an asteroid, and watched comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crash into Jupiter. Notes: Launched by Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-34); in orbit around Jupiter from 1995-12-07. Nearly out of propellant, it was deliberately sent into Jupiter's atmosphere on 2003-09-21, so that it could never crash onto Europa and contaminate its possible ocean. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/galileo/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/galileo/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=galileo ### Ulysses (id `ulysses`) agency ESA / NASA · country eu · launched 1990-10-06 · status ended · around sun · Horizons -55 · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Ulysses, a joint ESA–NASA probe, was the first spacecraft to fly over the poles of the Sun, which cannot be seen well from Earth. A flyby of Jupiter in 1992 tilted its orbit steeply so that it could study the solar wind and the Sun's magnetic field at all latitudes. It showed that the solar wind blows faster above the poles and followed the Sun through almost two 11-year activity cycles. Notes: Controlled switch-off on 2009-06-30, after 18.6 years in space and well beyond its design life, as its nuclear power supply was running out. It keeps circling the Sun on its steeply inclined orbit, like an artificial comet. JPL Horizons publishes its predicted trajectory, so the position shown is a prediction, not a measurement. Website: https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/ulysses 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/ulysses/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Joint_ESA_NASA_Ulysses_mission_to_end, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/ulysses/, https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/ulysses, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Ulysses View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=ulysses ### NEAR Shoemaker (id `near-shoemaker`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1996-02-17 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: NEAR Shoemaker was the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid, Eros, a 33 km long rocky body that passes near the Earth's orbit. During a year in orbit it photographed and mapped its surface and measured its composition, showing that it is a solid, very old object. At the end of its mission it became the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid. Notes: First mission of NASA's Discovery programme. Flew past asteroid Mathilde on 1997-06-27 and entered orbit around Eros on 2000-02-14. Although it was not designed to land, it touched down gently on Eros on 2001-02-12 and kept sending data until its last contact on 2001-02-28. It is still on the asteroid's surface. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/near-shoemaker/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/near-shoemaker/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=near-shoemaker ### Cassini–Huygens (id `cassini`) agency NASA / ESA / ASI · country us · launched 1997-10-15 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Cassini was the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, studying the planet, its rings and its moons for 13 years from 2004. It carried ESA's Huygens probe, which landed on Titan in 2005, the most distant landing ever made. Cassini discovered jets of water ice spraying from an ocean under the surface of Enceladus and mapped the seas of liquid methane of Titan. Notes: Arrived at Saturn in July 2004; Huygens landed on Titan on 2005-01-14 (its site is shown on Titan in the solar view). Nearly out of propellant after the 22 dives of its Grand Finale between the planet and its rings, Cassini was deliberately plunged into Saturn's atmosphere on 2017-09-15, so that it could never contaminate Enceladus or Titan. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens/Cassini-Huygens_factsheet View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=cassini ### Deep Space 1 (id `deep-space-1`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1998-10-24 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Deep Space 1 tested 12 new technologies in space, above all an ion engine, which pushes gently but for months, and a navigation system that steered the spacecraft by itself. Both worked, and ion propulsion was later used by Dawn and other missions. As a bonus, it flew past asteroid Braille and comet Borrelly, returning some of the best images of a comet's nucleus at the time. Notes: Flew past asteroid Braille on 1999-07-29 and comet Borrelly on 2001-09-22. Its ion engine was switched off on 2001-12-18, ending the mission; an attempt to contact it in March 2002 failed. It remains in orbit around the Sun. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/deep-space-1/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/deep-space-1/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=deep-space-1 ### Stardust (id `stardust`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1999-02-07 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Stardust was the first mission to bring back dust from a comet. In 2004 it flew through the dusty cloud around comet Wild 2 and caught particles in a very light foam called aerogel, then returned them to Earth in a capsule. The samples contained a wide range of organic compounds and grains formed close to the young Sun, along with a few rare particles of interstellar dust. Notes: Flew past asteroid Annefrank on 2002-11-02 and comet Wild 2 on 2004-01-02; its capsule landed in Utah on 2006-01-15. Renamed Stardust-NExT, it flew past comet Tempel 1 on 2011-02-15 to see the crater made by Deep Impact. A last engine burn emptied its tanks on 2011-03-24 and it sent its final signal the same day. It remains in orbit around the Sun. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/stardust/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/stardust/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=stardust ### WMAP (id `wmap`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2001-06-30 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe) mapped the faint glow left over from the Big Bang, the cosmic microwave background, across the whole sky. From the tiny temperature differences in this glow, it measured the age of the universe, 13.77 billion years, to within half a percent. It also showed that ordinary atoms make up only about 5% of the universe, the rest being dark matter and dark energy. Notes: Observed from Sun–Earth L2 for nine years; science operations ended on 2010-08-19. It was then moved from L2 to a heliocentric graveyard orbit and switched off in October 2010. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/wmap/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/wmap/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/wmap/wmap-overview/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilkinson_Microwave_Anisotropy_Probe View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=wmap ### Hayabusa (id `hayabusa`) agency JAXA · country jp · launched 2003-05-09 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Hayabusa was the first mission to bring back material from an asteroid. It studied the small asteroid Itokawa, mapping its shape, surface and composition, and touched down on it to collect dust. Despite many breakdowns, it returned its capsule to Earth, testing the ion engines, autonomous navigation and re-entry capsule later used by Hayabusa2. Notes: Arrived at Itokawa on 2005-09-12 and touched down twice in November 2005. Its capsule landed near Woomera (Australia) on 2010-06-13 and held tiny grains of the asteroid; the spacecraft itself burned up on re-entry the same day. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/past/hayabusa.html Sources: https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/past/hayabusa.html, https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2010/06/20100614_hayabusa2_e.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=hayabusa ### Spitzer Space Telescope (id `spitzer`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2003-08-25 · status ended · around sun · Horizons -79 · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Spitzer observed the Universe in infrared light, which reveals cool objects such as the dust clouds where stars are born, distant galaxies and planets around other stars. It was the first telescope to capture light coming directly from exoplanets, found a huge faint ring around Saturn and helped reveal the seven Earth-sized planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system. Notes: Mission ended on 2020-01-30, when engineers put the telescope in safe mode, stopping all science operations after more than 16 years. It drifts in its Earth-trailing orbit around the Sun, slowly falling farther behind Earth. JPL Horizons publishes its predicted trajectory, so the position shown is a prediction, not a measurement. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spitzer/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spitzer/, https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-spitzer-space-telescope-ends-mission-of-astronomical-discovery/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Spitzer View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=spitzer ### Rosetta (id `rosetta`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 2004-03-02 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Rosetta was the first spacecraft to orbit a comet, 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, and to follow it for two years as it came closer to the Sun and became active. It released the Philae lander, the first craft to land on a comet's nucleus, in November 2014. Its measurements of the comet's dust, ice and gas tell us about the materials the solar system formed from. Notes: Arrived at the comet on 2014-08-06; Philae landed on 2014-11-12, bounced and came to rest in a shaded spot, where it worked for about 60 hours. As the comet moved away from the Sun and solar power dwindled, Rosetta ended its mission with a controlled descent onto the comet on 2016-09-30; it rests on 67P's small lobe, beside Philae. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Rosetta 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/rosetta/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Rosetta/Rosetta_factsheet, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Rosetta/Mission_complete_Rosetta_s_journey_ends_in_daring_descent_to_comet View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=rosetta ### Deep Impact / EPOXI (id `deep-impact`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2005-01-12 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Deep Impact fired a copper impactor into comet Tempel 1 on 4 July 2005 and watched the collision, to see what lies beneath a comet's surface. The cloud of material it threw up showed that the nucleus is very porous, a fluffy mix of dust and ice. Renamed EPOXI, the spacecraft then flew past comet Hartley 2 and observed planets around other stars. Notes: Impact on Tempel 1 on 2005-07-04; flyby of comet Hartley 2 on 2010-11-04. Contact was lost in August 2013, and NASA ended its attempts to reach it on 2013-09-20. It remains silent in orbit around the Sun. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/deep-impact-epoxi/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/deep-impact-epoxi/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=deep-impact ### Dawn (id `dawn`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2007-09-27 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Dawn explored the two largest bodies of the asteroid belt, the giant asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres, using ion engines. It was the first spacecraft to orbit an object of the asteroid belt and the first to orbit two different worlds beyond the Earth. It found bright salt deposits on Ceres, signs that this dwarf planet may once have had an ocean beneath its surface. Notes: Orbited Vesta in 2011–2012, then Ceres from 2015. It missed its Deep Space Network contacts on 2018-10-31 and 2018-11-01: its hydrazine, needed to point its antenna at the Earth, had run out, and NASA ended the mission on 2018-11-01. It remains silent in orbit around Ceres, an orbit expected to last at least 20 years. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/dawn/ Sources: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-dawn-mission-to-asteroid-belt-comes-to-end, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/dawn/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=dawn ### Kepler (id `kepler`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2009-03-07 · status ended · around sun · Horizons -227 · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Kepler was a space telescope built to find out how common planets like Earth are around other stars. It stared at more than 150,000 stars, watching for the tiny dips in brightness caused when a planet passes in front of its star. With its second mission, K2, it found more than 2,600 confirmed exoplanets and showed that our galaxy holds more planets than stars. Notes: Retirement announced on 2018-10-30 after the telescope ran out of fuel; the final "goodnight" commands, sent on 2018-11-15, switched off its transmitters. It drifts in a safe orbit around the Sun, trailing behind Earth. JPL Horizons publishes its predicted trajectory, so the position shown is a prediction, not a measurement. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/kepler/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/kepler/, https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-retires-kepler-space-telescope-passes-planet-hunting-torch/, https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/kepler-telescope-bids-goodnight-with-final-commands/, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Kepler View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=kepler ### Planck (id `planck`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 2009-05-14 · status ended · around sun · Horizons -489 · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Planck mapped the cosmic microwave background, the oldest light in the Universe, emitted about 380,000 years after the Big Bang. Cooled to a tenth of a degree above absolute zero, its detectors measured tiny temperature differences across the whole sky. Its maps gave the most precise measurement of the age of the Universe and of how much normal matter, dark matter and dark energy it contains. Notes: Moved in August 2013 from the Sun–Earth L2 point to a stable parking orbit around the Sun; the last command, sent on 2013-10-23 after the remaining fuel had been used up, switched off its transmitter. JPL Horizons publishes its predicted trajectory, so the position shown is a prediction, not a measurement. Website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Planck 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/planck/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Planck/Last_command_sent_to_ESA_s_Planck_space_telescope, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Planck, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Planck View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=planck ### Herschel Space Observatory (id `herschel`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 2009-05-14 · status ended · around sun · Horizons -486 · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Herschel, with a 3.5 m mirror, was the largest infrared telescope sent to space before JWST, observing the cold and dusty Universe in far-infrared light. It revealed the long filaments of gas and dust where stars are born in our galaxy, traced water from interstellar clouds to planet-forming discs and comets, and found distant galaxies forming stars at a furious pace. Notes: Science ended on 2013-04-29 when its liquid helium coolant ran out. Thruster burns then moved it from the Sun–Earth L2 point to a heliocentric parking orbit; the last command, sent on 2013-06-17 after a final burn had emptied its tanks, switched it off. JPL Horizons publishes its predicted trajectory, so the position shown is a prediction, not a measurement. Website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Herschel 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/herschel/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Herschel/Herschel_closes_its_eyes_on_the_Universe, https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Herschel_ends_operations_as_orbiting_testbed, https://sci.esa.int/web/herschel/-/52798-herschel-status-report-06-2013, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Herschel View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=herschel ### Akatsuki (Venus Climate Orbiter) (id `akatsuki`) agency JAXA · country jp · launched 2010-05-20 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Akatsuki studied the weather of Venus, whose atmosphere spins around the planet about 60 times faster than the planet itself (super-rotation). Its cameras, observing at several wavelengths, helped explain what keeps this super-rotation going and found the largest stationary atmospheric wave seen in the solar system. It was also the first to use weather-forecasting methods from Earth (data assimilation) on Venus. Notes: Launched on 2010-05-21 Japan time. It missed Venus orbit insertion in December 2010 and was placed in orbit five years later, in December 2015, with its small attitude thrusters. Contact was lost in late April 2024; JAXA ended its operations on 2025-09-18. It remains silent in orbit around Venus. JPL Horizons publishes no trajectory for the present, so it is listed without a position. Website: https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/past/akatsuki.html Sources: https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2025/09/20250918-2_e.html, https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/past/akatsuki.html, https://cosmos.isas.jaxa.jp/our-last-presence-at-venus-has-gone-silent/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=akatsuki ### Gaia (id `gaia`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 2013-12-19 · status ended · around sun · Horizons -139479 · verified 2026-10-25 Goals: Gaia was built to make the most precise three-dimensional map of our galaxy, the Milky Way. By repeatedly measuring the positions, distances, motions, brightness and colours of nearly two billion stars and other objects, it helps astronomers understand how the Milky Way formed and evolved. Its catalogue is a reference used across almost all of astronomy. Notes: Confirmed: passivated and switched off 2025-03-27 after being moved from L2 to a heliocentric retirement orbit keeping it >10 million km from Earth for at least a century. Final legacy catalogue not before end of 2030. JPL Horizons publishes its predicted heliocentric trajectory, so the position shown is a prediction. Website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Gaia 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/gaia/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Farewell_Gaia!_Spacecraft_operations_come_to_an_end, https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons_lookup.api?sstr=Gaia View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=gaia ### DART (id `dart`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2021-11-24 · status ended · around sun · verified 2026-09-27 Goals: DART was the first test of planetary defence: could a spacecraft deliberately crashing into an asteroid change its path? It targeted Dimorphos, a small moon about 160 m wide orbiting the larger asteroid Didymos, which posed no threat to Earth. Measuring how much the impact changed Dimorphos's orbit shows how a dangerous asteroid could one day be deflected. Notes: Kinetic impact on Dimorphos 2022-09-26 (launch 2021-11-23 PST). Aftermath to be surveyed by ESA's Hera from late 2026. Show only as a historical marker, no trajectory after impact. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/dart/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/dart/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=dart ## Featured Earth science satellites ### International Space Station (ISS) (id `25544`) agency NASA / Roscosmos / ESA / JAXA / CSA · country int · launched 1998-11-20 · status active · NORAD 25544 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Crewed orbital laboratory Goals: The station exists to let people live and work in space continuously, so that scientists can run experiments impossible on the ground, where weightlessness changes how bodies, fluids, flames and materials behave. It also tests the technologies and studies the health effects needed for long journeys to the Moon and Mars, and shows that many nations can build and run a complex project together. Notes: Permanently crewed since November 2000, the station hosts research in biology, physics, materials and Earth observation. Its first module, Zarya, was launched on 20 November 1998. Website: https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/ Sources: https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=25544 ### Tiangong space station (CSS) (id `48274`) agency CMSA · country cn · launched 2021-04-29 · status active · NORAD 48274 · verified 2026-10-19 Purpose: Crewed orbital laboratory Goals: China's space station lets crews live and work in orbit for months at a time, to run experiments in weightlessness in life sciences, physics, materials and astronomy, and to test the technologies and study the health effects of long stays in space. It is also a step towards China's crewed missions to the Moon. Notes: Tiangong (“heavenly palace”) is called CSS (TIANHE) in the satellite catalogue, after its core module Tianhe, launched on 29 April 2021. The laboratory modules Wentian and Mengtian joined it in July and October 2022. Crews of three, flown on Shenzhou spacecraft, take turns about every six months. Website: https://en.cmse.gov.cn/ Sources: https://en.cmse.gov.cn/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiangong_space_station View: https://perigee.info/?sel=48274 ### Hubble Space Telescope (HST) (id `20580`) agency NASA / ESA · country us · launched 1990-04-24 · status active · NORAD 20580 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Optical/UV/near-IR space telescope Goals: Hubble was built to see the Universe above the blurring of Earth's atmosphere, with sharp images in visible, ultraviolet and near-infrared light. One of its founding goals was to measure how fast the Universe is expanding; it also studies how galaxies, stars and planets form and evolve, black holes, and the atmospheres of planets around other stars, and its observations contributed to the discovery of dark energy. Notes: Launched by Space Shuttle Discovery and serviced five times by astronauts. Since June 2024 it observes in one-gyro mode to save its remaining gyroscopes, which limits some targets but keeps science going. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/ 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/hst/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/, https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-pauses-science-due-to-gyro-issue/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=20580 ### Polar (id `23802`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1996-02-24 · status ended · NORAD 23802 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Polar magnetosphere and aurora observatory Goals: Polar was meant to understand how energy and charged particles from the solar wind enter Earth's magnetic shield and pour down over the polar regions. By watching the whole auroral oval from above while sampling the plasma it crossed, it helped explain what powers aurorae and magnetic storms, which can disturb satellites, radio links and power grids. Notes: Part of the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics programme, Polar imaged aurorae and measured particles and fields over the poles. The mission ended in April 2008 and the spacecraft was switched off; it remains in orbit. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/polar/ Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1996-013A View: https://perigee.info/?sel=23802 ### Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) (id `25560`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1998-12-06 · status inactive · NORAD 25560 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Submillimetre telescope (water, oxygen in clouds) Goals: SWAS set out to understand how giant clouds of gas and dust in our galaxy cool down enough to collapse and form new stars. Water, molecular oxygen and carbon were expected to be the main coolants, but their signals are absorbed by water vapour in Earth's atmosphere, so they had to be measured from space to test models of interstellar chemistry and star birth. Notes: A Small Explorer that studied water, molecular oxygen and carbon in interstellar clouds. Science ended in 2004; it was briefly reactivated in 2005 to watch the Deep Impact comet collision, then put back into hibernation. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/swas/ Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1998-071A View: https://perigee.info/?sel=25560 ### Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) (id `25867`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1999-07-23 · status active · NORAD 25867 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: X-ray space telescope Goals: Chandra was built to study the hottest and most violent places in the Universe, which shine in X-rays that Earth's atmosphere blocks. Its very sharp X-ray images let astronomers study black holes, exploded stars, neutron stars and the hot gas filling clusters of galaxies, helping to trace the structure and evolution of the Universe. Notes: NASA's flagship X-ray observatory, on a highly elliptical orbit reaching about a third of the way to the Moon. Proposed for cancellation, it was funded again by Congress in the FY2026 budget (January 2026) and keeps observing. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/chandra/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/chandra/, https://aas.org/posts/news/2026/01/congress-passes-fiscal-year-2026-spending-bills-nsf-nasa-and-doe View: https://perigee.info/?sel=25867 ### XMM-Newton (id `25989`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 1999-12-10 · status active · NORAD 25989 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: X-ray space telescope Goals: XMM-Newton was designed to collect as much X-ray light as possible from faint, distant sources, in order to understand the hot and energetic Universe. It probes the hearts of galaxies and the surroundings of black holes, follows stars through every stage of their lives, catches sudden events such as gamma-ray bursts, and studies how matter behaves in extreme conditions. Notes: ESA's X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission, with three X-ray telescopes and an optical/UV monitor, on a 48-hour elliptical orbit. Still observing more than 25 years after launch. Website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/XMM-Newton 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/xmm_newton/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/XMM-Newton View: https://perigee.info/?sel=25989 ### Terra (EOS AM-1) (id `25994`) agency NASA · country us · launched 1999-12-18 · status active · NORAD 25994 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Earth observation (land, oceans, atmosphere) Goals: Terra was built to understand how Earth is changing and what those changes mean for life, by observing together how the atmosphere, land, ice, oceans and the planet's energy balance interact to shape the climate. Its long, consistent records also serve practical needs: tracking wildfires, volcanic eruptions and air pollution, monitoring crops and food security, and improving climate models. Notes: Flagship of NASA's Earth Observing System, with Japanese and Canadian instruments. Drifting to an earlier overpass time with less power, it switched off MOPITT in April 2025, but MODIS, MISR, CERES and ASTER's visible camera still operate. Website: https://terra.nasa.gov/ Sources: https://terra.nasa.gov/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=25994 ### TIMED (id `26998`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2001-12-07 · status active · NORAD 26998 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Upper atmosphere (mesosphere, thermosphere) Goals: TIMED was the first mission to survey in depth the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, a layer too high for balloons and too low for most satellites, where the Sun's energy first enters Earth's environment. It aims to measure how this energy moves through the region and how it changes over the solar cycle, because this layer affects satellite drag, radio communications and our understanding of long-term climate change. Notes: Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics. Still listed as an active NASA mission after more than 20 years. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/timed/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/timed/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=26998 ### Coriolis (WindSat) (id `27640`) agency US Navy / USAF · country us · launched 2003-01-06 · status inactive · NORAD 27640 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Ocean wind radiometer and solar CME imager Goals: Coriolis was a US military experiment meant to prove that a passive microwave radiometer can measure from space not only the speed but also the direction of winds over the sea, a technique planned for future weather satellites and useful for naval forecasts. Its second instrument, SMEI, aimed to track clouds of solar material travelling towards Earth to improve warnings of solar storms. Notes: Carried WindSat, a polarimetric radiometer measuring ocean-surface wind speed and direction, and the SMEI solar imager (off since 2011). WindSat data production stopped in October 2020; the satellite is listed as inactive since December 2020. Sources: https://space.oscar.wmo.int/satellites/view/coriolis, https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/messages/2020/10/MSG_20201020_1304.html View: https://perigee.info/?sel=27640 ### SORCE (id `27651`) agency NASA / LASP · country us · launched 2003-01-25 · status ended · NORAD 27651 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Solar irradiance measurement Goals: SORCE was designed to measure precisely how much energy the Sun sends to Earth, both in total and wavelength by wavelength from X-rays to infrared. Because sunlight drives Earth's climate, these measurements help separate natural solar variations from human-caused change, extend a record begun in 1979, and show how solar ultraviolet light affects the ozone layer. Notes: Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment: measured the Sun's total and spectral irradiance, a key input for climate studies. Science ended in February 2020 and the spacecraft was decommissioned; it remains in orbit. Website: https://lasp.colorado.edu/sorce/ Sources: https://lasp.colorado.edu/sorce/, https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2003-004A View: https://perigee.info/?sel=27651 ### MOST space telescope (id `27843`) agency CSA · country ca · launched 2003-06-30 · status ended · NORAD 27843 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Stellar oscillation photometry Goals: MOST was built to measure the ages of stars in our galaxy by detecting tiny, regular flickers in their brightness. These vibrations work like seismic waves: they reveal what a star is made of and how it is built inside, which tells how old it is. The mission also showed that a very small, low-cost satellite could do front-line astronomy. Notes: Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars, Canada's first space telescope (53 kg, nicknamed the 'Humble Space Telescope'). CSA funding ended in 2014; operated afterwards by Microsatellite Systems Canada until a failure ended it in 2019. Website: https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/most/ Sources: https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/most/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=27843 ### SCISAT (ACE) (id `27858`) agency CSA · country ca · launched 2003-08-13 · status active · NORAD 27858 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Ozone-layer and atmospheric chemistry Goals: SCISAT was launched to help scientists understand why the ozone layer, which shields life from the Sun's ultraviolet rays, thins over Canada and the Arctic, by tracking the chemical processes that control it. Its measurements help check that the Montreal Protocol is working and follow the replacement chemicals; the mission has since widened to climate change, air quality and pollution. Notes: Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment: measures ozone and dozens of trace gases by watching sunrises and sunsets through the atmosphere. Designed for 2 years, it has operated for more than 20; the science team still released new data products in 2026. Website: https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/scisat/about.asp Sources: https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/scisat/about.asp, https://databace.scisat.ca/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=27858 ### Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (id `28485`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2004-11-20 · status active · NORAD 28485 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Gamma-ray burst observatory (gamma, X, UV) Goals: Swift was built to catch gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the Universe, born when massive stars collapse or neutron stars merge, and to study their fading glow before it disappears. Understanding these bursts sheds light on how black holes form and, because they are visible from very far away, on the young Universe; Swift also watches many other sudden events in the sky. Notes: Detects gamma-ray bursts and swings within minutes to observe them in X-rays and UV. A commercial reboost attempt (Katalyst LINK) was called off in August 2026; Swift resumed full science in September 2026 and is expected to re-enter in late 2026. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/swift/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/swift/2026/09/25/nasas-swift-powers-on-third-instrument-restarts-automated-slewing/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/swift/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=28485 ### Hinode (Solar-B) (id `29479`) agency JAXA / NAOJ / NASA / UKSA · country jp · launched 2006-09-22 · status active · NORAD 29479 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Solar observatory (magnetic fields, corona) Goals: Hinode was built to understand how the Sun's magnetic fields are created and move, and how they carry energy up from the visible surface to heat the outer atmosphere, the corona, to millions of degrees. It also aims to find what triggers solar flares and coronal mass ejections, the eruptions behind the space weather that can affect satellites and power grids on Earth. Notes: Japanese solar observatory with optical, X-ray and EUV telescopes built with US and UK partners, studying the Sun's magnetic fields and the heating of the corona. Still operating after nearly 20 years. Website: https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/current/hinode.html Sources: https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/current/hinode.html, https://hinode.nao.ac.jp/en/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=29479 ### Shijian-6 02A (SJ-6C) (id `29505`) agency CAST / SAST · country cn · launched 2006-10-23 · status unknown · NORAD 29505 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Space environment research (officially) Goals: According to official Chinese descriptions, the Shijian-6 pairs were built to probe the space environment around Earth, measure radiation and its effects on spacecraft, and record the physical conditions of near-Earth space, knowledge needed to design more reliable satellites. Their full purpose is not publicly documented, and some analysts believe they also test electronic-intelligence technology. Notes: Second pair of the Shijian-6 series. No official statement on its current status: listed as unknown. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2006-046A, https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/sj-6.htm View: https://perigee.info/?sel=29505 ### Shijian-6 02B (SJ-6D) (id `29506`) agency CAST / DFH · country cn · launched 2006-10-23 · status unknown · NORAD 29506 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Space environment research (officially) Goals: According to official Chinese descriptions, the Shijian-6 pairs were built to probe the space environment around Earth, measure radiation and its effects on spacecraft, and record the physical conditions of near-Earth space, knowledge needed to design more reliable satellites. Their full purpose is not publicly documented, and some analysts believe they also test electronic-intelligence technology. Notes: Companion of Shijian-6 02A, launched on the same rocket. No official statement on its current status: listed as unknown. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2006-046B, https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/sj-6.htm View: https://perigee.info/?sel=29506 ### Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (GLAST) (id `33053`) agency NASA / DOE · country us · launched 2008-06-11 · status active · NORAD 33053 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Gamma-ray space telescope Goals: Fermi was built to explore the most extreme and energetic places in the universe, such as black holes that launch powerful jets, pulsars and the explosions behind gamma-ray bursts. Scientists also use it to find out where cosmic rays come from, to test theories of gravity and to search for signs of dark matter. Notes: Launched as GLAST and renamed after physicist Enrico Fermi; its Large Area Telescope maps the whole gamma-ray sky every three hours, and its burst monitor catches gamma-ray bursts. Still operating. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/fermi/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/fermi/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=33053 ### Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) (id `36395`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2010-02-11 · status active · NORAD 36395 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Solar observatory (continuous full-disc imaging) Goals: SDO was built to understand where solar activity comes from: how the Sun's magnetic field is generated and how it releases energy in flares and coronal mass ejections. By watching the Sun's interior, atmosphere and energy output at the same time, it helps scientists learn to predict the space weather that can disturb satellites, radio links and power grids on Earth. Notes: From an inclined geosynchronous orbit, SDO images the full Sun in many wavelengths every few seconds and maps its magnetic field, feeding space-weather forecasts. Still operating. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/sdo/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/sdo/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=36395 ### CryoSat-2 (id `36508`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 2010-04-08 · status active · NORAD 36508 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Radar altimetry of ice sheets and sea ice Goals: CryoSat was designed to find out how fast polar ice is thinning or thickening, a key sign of climate change. Precise measurements of floating sea ice and of the edges of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets show how much ice is being lost, how much this adds to sea-level rise, and how melting may change ocean circulation and climate. Notes: ESA Earth Explorer carrying a radar altimeter. Still operating, well beyond its planned 3.5-year mission. Website: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/CryoSat Sources: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/CryoSat View: https://perigee.info/?sel=36508 ### X-SAT (id `37389`) agency NTU / DSO · country sg · launched 2011-04-20 · status unknown · NORAD 37389 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Earth-imaging technology demonstrator Goals: X-SAT was a technology project to show that Singapore could design, build and operate a satellite of its own. It aimed to develop a low-cost microsatellite able to take Earth images and process them on board in near real time, to build up the country's skills and facilities in satellite engineering, and to encourage university research in the field. Notes: Singapore's first locally built satellite (106 kg), from Nanyang Technological University with DSO National Laboratories. Last reported operational well past its 3-year design life; no recent official status, so listed as unknown. Website: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/sarc/research-capabilities/satellites/x-sat-micro-satellite Sources: https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/xsat, https://spacenews.com/singapores-first-locally-made-satellite-launched-into-space/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=37389 ### GCOM-W "Shizuku" (id `38337`) agency JAXA · country jp · launched 2012-05-17 · status active · NORAD 38337 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Water-cycle microwave radiometer (AMSR2) Goals: GCOM-W belongs to a Japanese programme that watches, over many years, how water moves between the oceans, the atmosphere and the land, and how this cycle is changing as the climate warms. Its long, continuous records are fed into weather and climate models to improve forecasts and to predict how global warming will affect rain, snow and sea ice. Notes: Global Change Observation Mission – Water: its AMSR2 radiometer measures rainfall, water vapour, sea-surface temperature, sea ice and soil moisture day and night. Still operating in good health past its 5-year design life. Website: https://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/AMSR/satellite/gcom-w_en.html Sources: https://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/AMSR/satellite/gcom-w_en.html View: https://perigee.info/?sel=38337 ### NuSTAR (id `38358`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2012-06-13 · status active · NORAD 38358 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: High-energy X-ray space telescope Goals: NuSTAR was built to observe the universe in high-energy X-rays, the light given off by matter heated to extreme temperatures near black holes and in exploding stars. Its goals include finding black holes hidden behind dust and gas, measuring how fast black holes spin, and learning how massive stars explode by mapping the radioactive elements they leave behind. Notes: Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, the first telescope to focus high-energy X-rays, using optics on a 10-metre deployable mast. Studies black holes, neutron stars and supernova remnants; still operating. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/nustar/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/nustar/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=38358 ### NEOSSat (id `39089`) agency CSA / DRDC · country ca · launched 2013-02-25 · status active · NORAD 39089 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Asteroid and space-object surveillance Goals: NEOSSat was built to find and follow asteroids and comets that could one day pass close to Earth, looking near the Sun where ground telescopes cannot search. It also helps Canada keep watch on satellites and space debris to reduce the risk of collisions, and lets astronomers confirm exoplanets by catching the slight dimming of a star when a planet passes in front of it. Notes: Near-Earth Object Surveillance Satellite, a suitcase-sized Canadian space telescope. Its guest-observer programme ran into 2026. Website: https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/neossat/ Sources: https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/neossat/, https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/funding-programs/funding-opportunities/ao/2025-neossat-science-guest-observation-program-cycle-10.asp View: https://perigee.info/?sel=39089 ### BRITE-Austria (TUGSAT-1) (id `39091`) agency TU Graz · country at · launched 2013-02-25 · status unknown · NORAD 39091 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Bright-star photometry nanosatellite Goals: Built by TU Graz, BRITE-Austria set out to prove that Austria could develop, launch and operate a satellite of its own. Scientifically, it serves the goal of the BRITE-Constellation: measuring tiny changes in the brightness of the sky's brightest stars, whose vibrations reveal their hidden interiors and show how massive stars evolve and enrich the galaxy with chemical elements. Notes: Austria's first satellite and one of the six 7-kg BRITE-Constellation nanosatellites that monitor the brightness of the brightest stars (blue filter). Last reported as one of the three still operating; no recent official update, so listed as unknown. Website: https://www.tugraz.at/en/institute/iks/space-missions/brite-austria-tugsat-1 Sources: https://brite-constellation.at/constellation/basic_information/, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00502-022-00987-5 View: https://perigee.info/?sel=39091 ### IRIS (id `39197`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2013-06-28 · status active · NORAD 39197 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Solar UV imaging spectrograph Goals: IRIS was built to tackle a long-standing puzzle: why the Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, is millions of degrees hotter than its visible surface. By following how matter and energy travel through the thin layers in between, it helps explain how the Sun heats its atmosphere, feeds the solar wind and sets off the flares and eruptions that drive space weather. Notes: Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph: observes the chromosphere and transition region, the layers where energy flows from the Sun's surface into its hot corona. Still operating. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/iris/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/iris/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=39197 ### Hisaki (SPRINT-A) (id `39253`) agency JAXA · country jp · launched 2013-09-14 · status ended · NORAD 39253 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Planetary EUV space telescope Goals: Hisaki was designed to study how planets lose their atmospheres to space and how the solar wind strips gas away, to help explain why Venus, Earth and Mars turned out so differently. It also watched the ring of plasma that Jupiter's volcanic moon Io feeds around the planet, to understand how energy moves through Jupiter's vast magnetic environment. Notes: The first space telescope dedicated to observing planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter's Io torus) in extreme ultraviolet, launched on the first Epsilon rocket. JAXA ended operations in December 2023 after ten years; it remains in orbit. Website: https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/home/sprint-a/index_en.html Sources: https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/home/sprint-a/index_en.html, https://www.shimadzu.com/today/20250605-1.html View: https://perigee.info/?sel=39253 ### CASSIOPE (e-POP / Swarm-Echo) (id `39265`) agency CSA / University of Calgary · country ca · launched 2013-09-29 · status unknown · NORAD 39265 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Ionosphere and space-weather research Goals: The e-POP instruments were designed to study space storms in fine detail, along with the charged particles that escape from the upper atmosphere into space. The aim is to understand space weather and how it disrupts radio communications, GPS navigation and other technologies. CASSIOPE also served to demonstrate Canada's first multi-purpose small-satellite platform. Notes: Canadian satellite carrying the e-POP plasma instruments, which joined ESA's Swarm mission as Swarm-Echo in 2018. Routine science ended after a reaction-wheel failure in December 2021; limited data collection continued, with an end of life planned for December 2025, unconfirmed. Website: https://epop.phys.ucalgary.ca/ Sources: https://epop.phys.ucalgary.ca/routine-cassiope-swarm-echo-science-operations-come-to-an-end/, https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/cassiope View: https://perigee.info/?sel=39265 ### STSAT-3 (id `39422`) agency KAIST / MSIP · country kr · launched 2013-11-21 · status inactive · NORAD 39422 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Infrared astronomy and Earth-observation tech Goals: STSAT-3 aimed to give Korea its own infrared view of space and to test technologies for its future satellites. Its infrared camera was meant to map the glowing hydrogen gas along the plane of our galaxy and to measure the faint infrared background, the combined glow of distant galaxies, while its spectrometer was to monitor changes in Earth's environment. Notes: Korean Science and Technology Satellite 3, carrying an infrared space telescope and a compact imaging spectrometer. Korea declared its observation mission complete in December 2015; it remains in orbit. Website: https://satrec.kaist.ac.kr/e_02_07.php Sources: https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/stsat-3 View: https://perigee.info/?sel=39422 ### Swarm B (id `39451`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 2013-11-22 · status active · NORAD 39451 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Earth's magnetic field mapping Goals: Swarm B and its two twins set out to separate the different sources of Earth's magnetic field, from the liquid core and the crust to the oceans and the electric currents high above us, to understand how the field is generated and why it is weakening in some regions. This field shields us from cosmic radiation and solar particles, so the data also serve space-weather research and the magnetic models used for navigation. Notes: One of the three Swarm satellites measuring Earth's magnetic field from the core, crust and oceans to the ionosphere. Swarm B flies alone in a higher orbit than the A/C pair. Still operating. Website: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Swarm Sources: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Swarm View: https://perigee.info/?sel=39451 ### Swarm A (id `39452`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 2013-11-22 · status active · NORAD 39452 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Earth's magnetic field mapping Goals: The Swarm mission sets out to separate the different sources of Earth's magnetic field, from the liquid core and the crust to the oceans and the electric currents high above us, to understand how the field is generated and why it is weakening in some regions. This field shields us from cosmic radiation and solar particles, so the data also serve space-weather research and the magnetic models used for navigation. Notes: One of the three Swarm satellites measuring Earth's magnetic field and the ionosphere. Swarm A flies side by side with Swarm C to measure field gradients. Still operating. Website: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Swarm Sources: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Swarm View: https://perigee.info/?sel=39452 ### Swarm C (id `39453`) agency ESA · country eu · launched 2013-11-22 · status active · NORAD 39453 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Earth's magnetic field mapping Goals: The Swarm mission sets out to separate the different sources of Earth's magnetic field, from the liquid core and the crust to the oceans and the electric currents high above us, to understand how the field is generated and why it is weakening in some regions. This field shields us from cosmic radiation and solar particles, so the data also serve space-weather research and the magnetic models used for navigation. Notes: One of the three Swarm satellites measuring Earth's magnetic field and the ionosphere. Swarm C flies side by side with Swarm A to measure field gradients. Still operating. Website: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Swarm Sources: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Swarm View: https://perigee.info/?sel=39453 ### BRITE-Toronto (BRITE-CA1) (id `40020`) agency CSA / University of Toronto · country ca · launched 2014-06-19 · status unknown · NORAD 40020 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Bright-star photometry nanosatellite Goals: BRITE-Toronto shares the goal of the BRITE-Constellation: measuring tiny brightness variations of the sky's brightest and most luminous stars, which are hard to monitor precisely through Earth's turbulent atmosphere. These vibrations reveal the hidden interiors of massive stars, the ancestors of supernovae that forged many of the elements found in planets like Earth. Notes: Canadian member of the BRITE-Constellation (red filter), built by the University of Toronto's Space Flight Laboratory. Last reported as one of the three still operating; its builder now lists it as a legacy mission and no recent official update exists, so listed as unknown. Website: https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/brite/ Sources: https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/brite/, https://sflmissions.com/brite-toronto-brite-montreal/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=40020 ### Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) (id `40059`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2014-07-02 · status active · NORAD 40059 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Atmospheric CO₂ measurement Goals: OCO-2 was built to find out where carbon dioxide, the main gas behind human-caused climate change, enters and leaves the atmosphere: which regions release it, which forests, oceans or soils absorb it, and how this changes with the seasons. The faint glow of photosynthesis it also measures helps track plant health, droughts and crop yields. Notes: Maps carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and plant fluorescence from space. Threatened with termination in 2025, it kept operating; in August 2026 NASA selected Caltech to run OCO-2 and OCO-3 for up to five years. Website: https://ocov2.jpl.nasa.gov/ Sources: https://ocov2.jpl.nasa.gov/, https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/data/alerts-outages/oco-2-instrument-anomaly-from-july-28-august-13-2026 View: https://perigee.info/?sel=40059 ### BRITE-Heweliusz (BRITE-PL2) (id `40119`) agency Polish Academy of Sciences (CBK PAN) · country pl · launched 2014-08-19 · status unknown · NORAD 40119 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Bright-star photometry nanosatellite Goals: BRITE-Heweliusz and its sister nanosatellites watch the brightest stars in the sky, mostly hot and massive ones, measuring tiny changes in their brightness over long periods. These changes reveal how the stars vibrate, rotate and blow off winds, telling astronomers about their interiors and evolution; massive stars matter because they forge many chemical elements and scatter them into space. Notes: Polish member of the BRITE-Constellation (red filter), named after astronomer Johannes Hevelius. Last reported as one of the three still operating; no recent official update, so listed as unknown. Website: https://brite-constellation.at/ Sources: https://brite-constellation.at/constellation/basic_information/, https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/brite-poland View: https://perigee.info/?sel=40119 ### Magnetospheric Multiscale 1 (MMS 1) (id `40482`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2015-03-13 · status active · NORAD 40482 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Magnetic reconnection in Earth's magnetosphere Goals: MMS was built to understand magnetic reconnection, in which magnetic field lines from the Sun and the Earth break and reconnect, suddenly turning magnetic energy into heat and fast-moving particles. By catching it in action, the mission seeks to learn what triggers it, how electrons drive it and how it accelerates particles, knowledge that helps explain space weather near Earth and similar events across the universe. Notes: One of four identical spacecraft flying in a tight tetrahedron on a highly elliptical orbit to study magnetic reconnection, the explosive release of energy behind aurorae and space weather. Still operating. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mms/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mms/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=40482 ### Magnetospheric Multiscale 2 (MMS 2) (id `40483`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2015-03-13 · status active · NORAD 40483 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Magnetic reconnection in Earth's magnetosphere Goals: MMS was built to understand magnetic reconnection, in which magnetic field lines from the Sun and the Earth break and reconnect, suddenly turning magnetic energy into heat and fast-moving particles. By catching it in action, the mission seeks to learn what triggers it, how electrons drive it and how it accelerates particles, knowledge that helps explain space weather near Earth and similar events across the universe. Notes: One of four identical spacecraft flying in a tight tetrahedron on a highly elliptical orbit to study magnetic reconnection, the explosive release of energy behind aurorae and space weather. Still operating. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mms/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mms/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=40483 ### Magnetospheric Multiscale 3 (MMS 3) (id `40484`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2015-03-13 · status active · NORAD 40484 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Magnetic reconnection in Earth's magnetosphere Goals: MMS was built to understand magnetic reconnection, in which magnetic field lines from the Sun and the Earth break and reconnect, suddenly turning magnetic energy into heat and fast-moving particles. By catching it in action, the mission seeks to learn what triggers it, how electrons drive it and how it accelerates particles, knowledge that helps explain space weather near Earth and similar events across the universe. Notes: One of four identical spacecraft flying in a tight tetrahedron on a highly elliptical orbit to study magnetic reconnection, the explosive release of energy behind aurorae and space weather. Still operating. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mms/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mms/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=40484 ### Magnetospheric Multiscale 4 (MMS 4) (id `40485`) agency NASA · country us · launched 2015-03-13 · status active · NORAD 40485 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Magnetic reconnection in Earth's magnetosphere Goals: MMS was built to understand magnetic reconnection, in which magnetic field lines from the Sun and the Earth break and reconnect, suddenly turning magnetic energy into heat and fast-moving particles. By catching it in action, the mission seeks to learn what triggers it, how electrons drive it and how it accelerates particles, knowledge that helps explain space weather near Earth and similar events across the universe. Notes: One of four identical spacecraft flying in a tight tetrahedron on a highly elliptical orbit to study magnetic reconnection, the explosive release of energy behind aurorae and space weather. Still operating. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mms/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mms/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=40485 ### AstroSat (id `40930`) agency ISRO · country in · launched 2015-09-28 · status active · NORAD 40930 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Multi-wavelength space observatory (UV to X) Goals: AstroSat was designed to study the most energetic objects in the universe in several kinds of light at once: neutron stars and black holes paired with ordinary stars, the magnetic fields of neutron stars, star-forming regions in other galaxies and X-ray sources that flare up briefly. It was also meant to carry out a limited deep survey of the sky in ultraviolet light. Notes: India's first dedicated space observatory, observing simultaneously in ultraviolet, optical and X-rays. Designed for 5 years, it completed 10 years of operations in September 2025 and is still delivering data. Website: https://www.isro.gov.in/AstroSat.html Sources: https://www.isro.gov.in/Celebrating_Ten_years_of_AstroSat.html View: https://perigee.info/?sel=40930 ### DAMPE "Wukong" (id `41173`) agency CAS · country cn · launched 2015-12-17 · status active · NORAD 41173 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Cosmic-ray and dark-matter detector Goals: DAMPE hunts for signs of dark matter, the invisible material that makes up most of the mass in the universe, by looking for unexpected features in the energies of cosmic electrons and gamma rays. It also aims to learn where the most energetic cosmic rays come from and how they travel through our galaxy, and to open new discoveries in high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. Notes: Dark Matter Particle Explorer, nicknamed Wukong after the Monkey King: measures high-energy cosmic-ray electrons, protons and gamma rays in search of dark-matter signatures. Designed for 3 years, still operating after 10. Website: https://www.nssdc.ac.cn/mobile/nssdc_en/html/task/wukong.html Sources: https://www.nssdc.ac.cn/mobile/nssdc_en/html/task/wukong.html View: https://perigee.info/?sel=41173 ### PISAT (id `41784`) agency PES University / ISRO · country in · launched 2016-09-26 · status unknown · NORAD 41784 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Student Earth-imaging nanosatellite Goals: PISAT's main goal was educational: to give engineering students and teachers hands-on experience of designing, building and testing a real satellite to space-industry standards, with ISRO's guidance. Its camera was meant to show that a small university-built nanosatellite can take pictures of the Earth for remote-sensing applications. Notes: 5-kg imaging nanosatellite (80 m resolution) built by students of PES University, Bengaluru, with ISRO support, launched on PSLV-C35. No recent official status: listed as unknown. Website: https://www.isro.gov.in/Stud_pisat.html Sources: https://news.pes.edu/10125/, https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/pisat View: https://perigee.info/?sel=41784 ### Insight-HXMT (Huiyan) (id `42758`) agency CAS / CNSA · country cn · launched 2017-06-15 · status active · NORAD 42758 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: X-ray space telescope Goals: Insight-HXMT was built to study how matter behaves in the extreme gravity and magnetic fields around black holes and neutron stars, by observing X-rays from binary star systems. It also scans the plane of the Milky Way to discover new sources that suddenly brighten and to monitor known variable ones, and it watches for gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe. Notes: Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope, China's first X-ray astronomy satellite, studying black holes, neutron stars and gamma-ray bursts. Still operating: its Cycle 9 call for observations was issued in May 2026. Website: https://hxmt.nssdc.ac.cn/ Sources: https://hxmt.nssdc.ac.cn/, https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2017-034A View: https://perigee.info/?sel=42758 ### Flying Laptop (id `42831`) agency University of Stuttgart (IRS) · country de · launched 2017-07-14 · status unknown · NORAD 42831 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: University technology and Earth-imaging satellite Goals: Flying Laptop was built mainly to test new small-satellite technologies, developed by doctoral students with industry partners, in real space conditions, and to train students in building and operating a spacecraft. Its cameras study how the Earth's surface reflects sunlight when seen from different angles, and the mission also tested whether ships can be tracked from space by combining images with their radio position signals. Notes: 110-kg small satellite of the University of Stuttgart; its demonstrations include a laser downlink and on-board computing. Last reported working well years after launch; no recent official status, so listed as unknown. Website: https://www.irs.uni-stuttgart.de/en/research/satellitetechnology-and-instruments/smallsatelliteprogram/flying-laptop/ Sources: https://www.irs.uni-stuttgart.de/en/research/satellitetechnology-and-instruments/smallsatelliteprogram/flying-laptop/, https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/flying-laptop View: https://perigee.info/?sel=42831 ### Zhangheng-1 (CSES-1) (id `43194`) agency CNSA / CEA / ASI · country cn · launched 2018-02-02 · status active · NORAD 43194 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Ionosphere and seismo-electromagnetic research Goals: CSES-1 aims to find out whether earthquakes are preceded or accompanied by measurable disturbances in the ionosphere, the electrically charged upper layer of the atmosphere, and in the particles of Earth's radiation belts. Understanding such links could improve knowledge of how the solid Earth, the atmosphere and the ionosphere are coupled; its data also serve to study space weather and the Sun's influence on near-Earth space. Notes: China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite, built with Italian instruments, monitors electromagnetic fields and particles in the ionosphere, including possible links with earthquakes. Since June 2025 it flies with its successor CSES-2 as a pair. Website: https://www.cseslimadou.it/ Sources: https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/cses, https://spacenews.com/china-launches-new-seismo-electromagnetic-satellite-with-european-partners/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=43194 ### SALSAT (id `46495`) agency TU Berlin · country de · launched 2020-09-28 · status unknown · NORAD 46495 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Radio-spectrum monitoring nanosatellite Goals: SALSAT was built to find out how the radio frequencies used by satellites and radio amateurs are actually occupied around the world, and where interference occurs, so that this limited resource can be shared more efficiently and sustainably. It also tested on-board processing of its measurements with a small neural network and a wear-free attitude control system based on a magnetic fluid. Notes: Spectrum Analysis Satellite of TU Berlin: maps the use of VHF, UHF and S-band frequencies around the world to detect interference; its data fed an open-access world map published in 2024. No recent official status: listed as unknown. Website: https://www.tu.berlin/en/raumfahrttechnik/research/current-projects/salsat Sources: https://www.tu.berlin/en/news/reports/salsat-mission, https://www.tu.berlin/en/news/press-release/combating-interference-in-orbit View: https://perigee.info/?sel=46495 ### Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) (id `49954`) agency NASA / ASI · country us · launched 2021-12-09 · status active · NORAD 49954 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: X-ray polarimetry space telescope Goals: IXPE was built to measure, for the first time across many kinds of cosmic objects, the polarisation of X-rays, that is the direction in which their light vibrates. This reveals the shape and magnetic fields of places too small or too distant to be imaged, such as the surroundings of black holes, pulsars, the jets of active galaxies and the remains of exploded stars, and shows how their X-rays are produced. Notes: Built with the Italian Space Agency. Still operating. Website: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/ixpe/ Sources: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/ixpe/ View: https://perigee.info/?sel=49954 ### SMILE (id `69123`) agency ESA / CAS · country eu · launched 2026-05-19 · status active · NORAD 69123 · verified 2026-10-03 Purpose: Solar wind–magnetosphere interaction imaging Goals: SMILE aims to understand how Earth's magnetic shield reacts to the solar wind, the stream of particles blowing from the Sun. It will study what happens where the solar wind strikes that shield, what triggers the sudden disturbances called substorms on Earth's night side, and how magnetic storms grow and fade, with the hope of one day warning of dangerous space weather days, rather than about an hour, in advance. Notes: Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, a joint ESA–Chinese Academy of Sciences mission taking the first global X-ray images of Earth's magnetosphere. Reached its 121,000 km-apogee orbit on 20 June 2026; science was to begin in September 2026 after commissioning. Website: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Smile 3D model: https://scifleet.esa.int/model/smile/ Sources: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Smile, https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/06/Smile_reaches_science_orbit View: https://perigee.info/?sel=69123 ## Landing and impact sites (Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus, Titan) ### Apollo 11 (id `site:apollo-11`) agency NASA · country us · date 1969-07-20 · type crewed · lat 0.67416°, lon 23.47314° Note: Lunar Module descent stage Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_sites.html, https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aapollo-11 ### Apollo 12 (id `site:apollo-12`) agency NASA · country us · date 1969-11-19 · type crewed · lat -3.0128°, lon -23.4219° Note: Lunar Module descent stage Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_sites.html, https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aapollo-12 ### Apollo 14 (id `site:apollo-14`) agency NASA · country us · date 1971-02-05 · type crewed · lat -3.64589°, lon -17.47194° Note: Lunar Module descent stage Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_sites.html, https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aapollo-14 ### Apollo 15 (id `site:apollo-15`) agency NASA · country us · date 1971-07-30 · type crewed · lat 26.13239°, lon 3.6333° Note: Lunar Module descent stage Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_sites.html, https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aapollo-15 ### Apollo 16 (id `site:apollo-16`) agency NASA · country us · date 1972-04-21 · type crewed · lat -8.9734°, lon 15.5011° Note: Lunar Module descent stage Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_sites.html, https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aapollo-16 ### Apollo 17 (id `site:apollo-17`) agency NASA · country us · date 1972-12-11 · type crewed · lat 20.1911°, lon 30.7723° Note: Lunar Module descent stage Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunar_sites.html, https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aapollo-17 ### Luna 9 (id `site:luna-9`) agency USSR · country su · date 1966-02-03 · type soft · lat 7.08°, lon -64.37° Note: Historical tracking estimate (Oceanus Procellarum); lander never positively identified in LROC images, uncertainty up to tens of km Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunarussr.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aluna-9 ### Luna 13 (id `site:luna-13`) agency USSR · country su · date 1966-12-24 · type soft · lat 18.87°, lon -62.05° Note: Historical tracking estimate; lander never positively identified in LROC images Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunarussr.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aluna-13 ### Luna 16 (id `site:luna-16`) agency USSR · country su · date 1970-09-20 · type soft · lat -0.5137°, lon 56.3638° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938, https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunarussr.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aluna-16 ### Luna 17 (id `site:luna-17`) agency USSR · country su · date 1970-11-17 · type soft · lat 38.23764°, lon -35.00163° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938, https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunarussr.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aluna-17 ### Lunokhod 1 (id `site:lunokhod-1`) agency USSR · country su · date 1971-09-14 · type rover-last-known · lat 38.315°, lon -35.0081° Note: Final rover position; date is last contact Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Alunokhod-1 ### Luna 20 (id `site:luna-20`) agency USSR · country su · date 1972-02-21 · type soft · lat 3.7863°, lon 56.6242° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938, https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunarussr.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aluna-20 ### Luna 21 (id `site:luna-21`) agency USSR · country su · date 1973-01-15 · type soft · lat 25.9994°, lon 30.4076° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938, https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunarussr.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aluna-21 ### Lunokhod 2 (id `site:lunokhod-2`) agency USSR · country su · date 1973-05-11 · type rover-last-known · lat 25.8323°, lon 30.9222° Note: Final rover position; date is end of operations Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Alunokhod-2 ### Luna 23 (id `site:luna-23`) agency USSR · country su · date 1974-11-06 · type soft · lat 12.6667°, lon 62.1511° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aluna-23 ### Luna 24 (id `site:luna-24`) agency USSR · country su · date 1976-08-18 · type soft · lat 12.7142°, lon 62.2129° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938, https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/lunarussr.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aluna-24 ### Surveyor 1 (id `site:surveyor-1`) agency NASA · country us · date 1966-06-02 · type soft · lat -2.4745°, lon -43.3398° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Asurveyor-1 ### Surveyor 3 (id `site:surveyor-3`) agency NASA · country us · date 1967-04-20 · type soft · lat -3.0162°, lon -23.418° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Asurveyor-3 ### Surveyor 5 (id `site:surveyor-5`) agency NASA · country us · date 1967-09-11 · type soft · lat 1.4551°, lon 23.1943° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Asurveyor-5 ### Surveyor 6 (id `site:surveyor-6`) agency NASA · country us · date 1967-11-10 · type soft · lat 0.4742°, lon -1.4275° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Asurveyor-6 ### Surveyor 7 (id `site:surveyor-7`) agency NASA · country us · date 1968-01-10 · type soft · lat -40.9812°, lon -11.5127° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Asurveyor-7 ### Chang'e 3 (id `site:change-3`) agency CNSA · country cn · date 2013-12-14 · type soft · lat 44.1214°, lon -19.5117° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Achange-3 ### Yutu (id `site:yutu`) agency CNSA · country cn · date 2016-08-03 · type rover-last-known · lat 44.1208°, lon -19.5122° Note: Rover immobile since early 2014; date is end of mission Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Ayutu ### Chang'e 4 (Statio Tianhe) (id `site:change-4`) agency CNSA · country cn · date 2019-01-03 · type soft · lat -45.4562°, lon 177.5885° Note: LROC refined value (Dec 2020, +/-13 m); LROC Jan 2019 gave 45.457S 177.589E Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1168, https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1087 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Achange-4 ### Chang'e 5 (id `site:change-5`) agency CNSA · country cn · date 2020-12-01 · type soft · lat 43.0576°, lon -51.9161° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1172 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Achange-5 ### Chang'e 6 (id `site:change-6`) agency CNSA · country cn · date 2024-06-01 · type soft · lat -41.6385°, lon -153.9852° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1374 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Achange-6 ### Chandrayaan-3 Vikram (Shiv Shakti Point) (id `site:chandrayaan-3-vikram`) agency ISRO · country in · date 2023-08-23 · type soft · lat -69.3741°, lon 32.32° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1314 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Achandrayaan-3-vikram ### Chandrayaan-2 Vikram (id `site:chandrayaan-2-vikram`) agency ISRO · country in · date 2019-09-06 · type hard · lat -70.881°, lon 22.784° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1131 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Achandrayaan-2-vikram ### Chandrayaan-1 Moon Impact Probe (Jawahar Point) (id `site:chandrayaan-1-mip`) agency ISRO · country in · date 2008-11-14 · type impact · lat -89.55°, lon -122.93° Note: Refined estimate (Stooke et al., LPSC 2021); crater not identified; earlier published estimates 89.76S 39.40W and 89.54S 44.71W Sources: https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2021/pdf/1013.pdf View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Achandrayaan-1-mip ### SLIM (id `site:slim`) agency JAXA · country jp · date 2024-01-19 · type soft · lat -13.316°, lon 25.251° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1358 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aslim ### IM-1 Odysseus (id `site:im-1-odysseus`) agency Intuitive Machines · country us · date 2024-02-22 · type soft · lat -80.13°, lon 1.44° Note: Came to rest tipped over Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1360 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aim-1-odysseus ### IM-2 Athena (id `site:im-2-athena`) agency Intuitive Machines · country us · date 2025-03-06 · type soft · lat -84.7906°, lon 29.1957° Note: Came to rest on its side in a crater near Mons Mouton Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1408 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aim-2-athena ### Blue Ghost Mission 1 (id `site:blue-ghost-m1`) agency Firefly Aerospace · country us · date 2025-03-02 · type soft · lat 18.5623°, lon 61.8103° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1407 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Ablue-ghost-m1 ### Beresheet (id `site:beresheet`) agency SpaceIL / IAI · country il · date 2019-04-11 · type hard · lat 32.5956°, lon 19.3496° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1101 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aberesheet ### HAKUTO-R Mission 1 (id `site:hakuto-r-m1`) agency ispace · country jp · date 2023-04-25 · type hard · lat 47.581°, lon 44.094° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1302 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Ahakuto-r-m1 ### Luna 25 (id `site:luna-25`) agency Roscosmos · country ru · date 2023-08-19 · type hard · lat -57.865°, lon 61.36° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1311 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aluna-25 ### ispace Mission 2 Resilience (id `site:ispace-m2-resilience`) agency ispace · country jp · date 2025-06-05 · type hard · lat 60.4445°, lon -4.588° Note: Impact 2025-06-05 18:13 UTC (2025-06-06 JST) Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1456 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aispace-m2-resilience ### LCROSS Centaur upper stage (id `site:lcross-centaur`) agency NASA · country us · date 2009-10-09 · type impact · lat -84.678°, lon -48.725° Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2009-031B View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Alcross-centaur ### LCROSS Shepherding Spacecraft (id `site:lcross-ssc`) agency NASA · country us · date 2009-10-09 · type impact · lat -84.72°, lon -49.62° Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2009-031B View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Alcross-ssc ### GRAIL-A (Ebb) (id `site:grail-a-ebb`) agency NASA · country us · date 2012-12-17 · type impact · lat 75.6088°, lon -26.594° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Agrail-a-ebb ### GRAIL-B (Flow) (id `site:grail-b-flow`) agency NASA · country us · date 2012-12-17 · type impact · lat 75.6508°, lon -26.8341° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Agrail-b-flow ### LADEE (id `site:ladee`) agency NASA · country us · date 2014-04-18 · type impact · lat 11.8494°, lon -93.2494° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aladee ### SMART-1 (id `site:smart-1`) agency ESA · country eu · date 2006-09-03 · type impact · lat -34.4°, lon -46.2° Note: Approximate impact point published by ESA Sources: https://sci.esa.int/web/smart-1-lunar-impact/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Asmart-1 ### Ranger 6 (id `site:ranger-6`) agency NASA · country us · date 1964-02-02 · type impact · lat 9.3864°, lon 21.4806° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aranger-6 ### Ranger 7 (id `site:ranger-7`) agency NASA · country us · date 1964-07-31 · type impact · lat -10.634°, lon -20.677° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aranger-7 ### Ranger 8 (id `site:ranger-8`) agency NASA · country us · date 1965-02-20 · type impact · lat 2.6376°, lon 24.7881° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aranger-8 ### Ranger 9 (id `site:ranger-9`) agency NASA · country us · date 1965-03-24 · type impact · lat -12.8281°, lon -2.3884° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aranger-9 ### Apollo 13 S-IVB (id `site:apollo-13-sivb`) agency NASA · country us · date 1970-04-15 · type impact · lat -2.555°, lon -27.8875° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aapollo-13-sivb ### Apollo 14 S-IVB (id `site:apollo-14-sivb`) agency NASA · country us · date 1971-02-04 · type impact · lat -8.181°, lon -26.0305° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aapollo-14-sivb ### Apollo 15 S-IVB (id `site:apollo-15-sivb`) agency NASA · country us · date 1971-07-29 · type impact · lat -1.2897°, lon -11.8245° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aapollo-15-sivb ### Apollo 16 S-IVB (id `site:apollo-16-sivb`) agency NASA · country us · date 1972-04-19 · type impact · lat 1.921°, lon -24.623° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aapollo-16-sivb ### Apollo 17 S-IVB (id `site:apollo-17-sivb`) agency NASA · country us · date 1972-12-10 · type impact · lat -4.1681°, lon -12.3307° Sources: https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/938 View: https://perigee.info/?view=moon&sel=site%3Aapollo-17-sivb ### Viking 1 Lander (Thomas Mutch Memorial Station) (id `site:viking-1`) agency NASA · country us · date 1976-07-20 · type soft · lat 22.27°, lon -47.95° Note: NSSDCA explicitly: 22.27 N, 312.05 E planetocentric; 312.05 E -> -47.95. VL1 longitude is the IAU prime-meridian tie (47.95137 W, Kuchynka et al. 2014). Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1975-075C, https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Aviking-1 ### Viking 2 Lander (Gerald Soffen Memorial Station) (id `site:viking-2`) agency NASA · country us · date 1976-09-03 · type soft · lat 47.6673°, lon 134.2809° Note: NSSDCA value (frame not stated); corroborated by HiRISE PSP_001501_2280 (lander located in image; image centre 47.673 N, 134.300 E planetocentric). Mars24 gives 48.27 N, 134.28 E, inconsistent with both, not used. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1975-083C, https://www.uahirise.org/PSP_001501_2280, https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Aviking-2 ### Mars Pathfinder (Carl Sagan Memorial Station) and Sojourner (id `site:mars-pathfinder`) agency NASA · country us · date 1997-07-04 · type soft · lat 19.0972°, lon -33.2539° Note: Wikipedia 19.09722 N, 33.25389 W (citation unclear); corroborated by HiRISE PSP_001890_1995 image centre 19.086 N, 326.763 E (planetocentric) and PIA09105 (19.1 N, 326.8 E). NSSDCA 19.33 N 33.55 W and Mars24 19.47 N 326.75 E are older/inconsistent. Sojourner stayed within ~10 m of the lander. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Pathfinder, https://www.uahirise.org/PSP_001890_1995, https://pds-rings.seti.org/press_releases/pages/PIA09xxx/PIA09105.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Amars-pathfinder ### Spirit landing site (Columbia Memorial Station) (id `site:spirit-landing`) agency NASA · country us · date 2004-01-04 · type soft · lat -14.572°, lon 175.478° Note: NSSDCA 14.572 S, 175.478 E; Mars24 175.48 E, -14.57 (from Li et al.). Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2003-027A, https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Aspirit-landing ### Spirit last position (Troy) (id `site:spirit-last`) agency NASA · country us · date 2010-03-22 · type rover-last-known · lat -14.6°, lon 175.5° Note: Rounded to 0.1 deg (~6 km) in JPL caption of HiRISE image of 2009-06-13; Spirit was stuck at Troy from May 2009. Date = last communication (Mars24). Sources: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia12205-orbital-view-of-spirit-at-troy/, https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Aspirit-last ### Opportunity landing site (Challenger Memorial Station) (id `site:opportunity-landing`) agency NASA · country us · date 2004-01-25 · type soft · lat -1.946°, lon -5.527° Note: NSSDCA 1.946 S, 354.473 E (IAU 2000 body-centred); 354.473 E -> -5.527. Last position (Perseverance Valley) unverified, see unverified list. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2003-032A, https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Aopportunity-landing ### Phoenix (id `site:phoenix`) agency NASA · country us · date 2008-05-25 · type soft · lat 68.22°, lon -125.75° Note: Mars24 234.25 E, 68.22 N (provided by D. Bass); 234.25 E -> -125.75. NSSDCA 'nominally 68.15 N, 125.9 W' is a pre-landing/older value. Sources: https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html, https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2007-034A View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Aphoenix ### Curiosity landing site (Bradbury Landing) (id `site:curiosity-landing`) agency NASA · country us · date 2012-08-06 · type soft · lat -4.5895°, lon 137.4416° Note: First localized waypoint in NASA MMGIS feed (sol 3, before first drive): 137.441633 E, -4.589467. Mars24: 137.44 E, 4.59 S. Sources: https://mars.nasa.gov/mmgis-maps/MSL/Layers/json/MSL_waypoints.json, https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Acuriosity-landing ### Curiosity (recent position) (id `site:curiosity-current`) agency NASA · country us · date 2026-09-21 · type rover-last-known · lat -4.82514°, lon 137.38885° Note: NASA MMGIS current waypoint fetched 2026-09-27: sol 5021, site 125 drive 558, 137.3888471 E, -4.82513971. Date computed from sol number (approx +/-1 d). Changes as the rover drives; refresh from feed. Sources: https://mars.nasa.gov/mmgis-maps/MSL/Layers/json/MSL_waypoints_current.json View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Acuriosity-current ### InSight (id `site:insight`) agency NASA · country us · date 2018-11-26 · type soft · lat 4.5°, lon 135.62° Note: Mars24 135.62 E, 4.50 N (planetocentric). Golombek et al. 2020 (Earth Space Sci., doi:10.1029/2020EA001248) reports 4.502384 N, 135.623447 E, but that page could not be opened (HTTP 403). Sources: https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Ainsight ### Perseverance landing site (Octavia E. Butler Landing) (id `site:perseverance-landing`) agency NASA · country us · date 2021-02-18 · type soft · lat 18.4446°, lon 77.4509° Note: First MMGIS waypoint (sol 13, before first drive): 77.45088572 E, 18.44462715 N. Mars24: 77.45 E, 18.44 N. Sources: https://mars.nasa.gov/mmgis-maps/M20/Layers/json/M20_waypoints.json, https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Aperseverance-landing ### Perseverance (recent position) (id `site:perseverance-current`) agency NASA · country us · date 2026-09-15 · type rover-last-known · lat 18.43687°, lon 77.23205° Note: NASA MMGIS current waypoint fetched 2026-09-27: sol 1980, end-of-drive localization, 77.23205444 E, 18.43687407 N. Date computed from sol number (approx +/-1 d); refresh from feed. Sources: https://mars.nasa.gov/mmgis-maps/M20/Layers/json/M20_waypoints_current.json View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Aperseverance-current ### Ingenuity final resting place (Valinor Hills) (id `site:ingenuity-final`) agency NASA · country us · date 2024-01-18 · type soft · lat 18.49727°, lon 77.32253° Note: NASA MMGIS helicopter waypoint for flight 72 (sol 1036, 'Jan. 18, 2024'): 77.32253449 E, 18.49726866 N. Name 'Valinor Hills' per JPL PIA26237. Rotor blades damaged on this landing; final position. Sources: https://mars.nasa.gov/mmgis-maps/M20/Layers/json/m20_heli_waypoints.json, https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia26237-ingenuity-at-valinor-hills/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Aingenuity-final ### Tianwen-1 lander / Zhurong landing site (id `site:tianwen-1-lander`) agency CNSA · country cn · date 2021-05-14 · type soft · lat 25.066°, lon 109.925° Note: 109.925 E, 25.066 N per EurekAlert (CAS) release / Liu et al. 2022; Mars24 109.93 E, 25.07 N. Touchdown late 14 May UTC (15 May Beijing time). Zhurong last-known position (~1.9 km south) unverified. Sources: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/987713, https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Atianwen-1-lander ### Mars 3 lander (id `site:mars-3`) agency Soviet Union · country su · date 1971-12-02 · type soft · lat -45°, lon -158° Note: APPROXIMATE: predicted landing site 45 S, 202 E (-> -158). Candidate hardware identified in HiRISE ESP_031036_1345 (2013) but no coordinates published in sources opened. Soft landing, silent after ~20 s. Sources: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia16920-could-this-be-the-mars-soviet-3-lander/, https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Amars-3 ### Mars 2 lander (crash) (id `site:mars-2`) agency Soviet Union · country su · date 1971-11-27 · type hard · lat -45°, lon 47° Note: APPROXIMATE: Mars24 'impacted at about 47 E -45 N' (Hellas). Never imaged/located. First human-made object on Mars (crash). Sources: https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Amars-2 ### Mars 6 lander (crash) (id `site:mars-6`) agency Soviet Union · country su · date 1974-03-12 · type hard · lat -23.9°, lon -19.42° Note: APPROXIMATE: Mars24 'impacted at about 19.42 W -23.90 N' near Samara Valles. Not located in orbital imagery. Sources: https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Amars-6 ### Beagle 2 (id `site:beagle-2`) agency ESA/UK · country gb · date 2003-12-25 · type soft · lat 11.52879°, lon 90.43139° Note: Bridges et al. 2017 (R. Soc. Open Sci. 4:170785): 'more exactly 90.43139 E, 11.52879 N' from HiRISE-CTX-HRSC co-registration. Landed intact, only partially deployed. Sources: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10026075/1/Identification%20of%20the%20Beagle.pdf, https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Abeagle-2 ### Schiaparelli EDM (crash) (id `site:schiaparelli`) agency ESA · country eu · date 2016-10-19 · type hard · lat -2.07°, lon -6.21° Note: ESA: 353.79 E, 2.07 S (dark impact mark, HiRISE/CTX); 353.79 E -> -6.21. Crashed ~5.4 km west of target. Sources: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Exploration/ExoMars/Mars_Reconnaissance_Orbiter_views_Schiaparelli_landing_site, https://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/mars24/help/landers.html View: https://perigee.info/?view=mars&sel=site%3Aschiaparelli ### MESSENGER (id `site:messenger-impact`) agency NASA · country us · date 2015-04-30 · type impact · lat 54.4°, lon -149.9° Note: First spacecraft to orbit Mercury (2011–2015): it mapped the whole planet and found water ice in permanently shadowed polar craters. Out of propellant, it struck the surface at 3.91 km/s on the far side as seen from the Earth, on a ridge north-east of the Shakespeare basin, making a crater about 16 m wide. Position: NASA's prediction 24 hours before the impact (54.4° N, 210.1° E); the crater has not been photographed yet. Sources: https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19443, https://science.nasa.gov/photojournal/overview-of-the-impact-region/ View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Amessenger-impact ### Venera 7 (id `site:venera-7`) agency USSR (Lavochkin) · country su · date 1970-12-15 · type soft · lat -5°, lon -9° Note: First spacecraft to send data from the surface of another planet: about 475 °C. Its parachute tore and it struck the ground at about 17 m/s, yet it kept transmitting a weak signal for 23 minutes. Position known to about 1° (some 100 km). Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1970-060A View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Avenera-7 ### Venera 8 (id `site:venera-8`) agency USSR (Lavochkin) · country su · date 1972-07-22 · type soft · lat -10.7°, lon -24.75° Note: First landing on the day side (63 minutes on the surface): it showed that enough sunlight reaches the ground to take pictures, and measured the potassium, uranium and thorium of the soil. Position: centre of a landing area about 150 km in radius. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1972-021A, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19930005108 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Avenera-8 ### Venera 9 (id `site:venera-9`) agency USSR (Lavochkin) · country su · date 1975-10-22 · type soft · lat 31.01°, lon -68.36° Note: Took the first pictures ever from the surface of another planet (53 minutes on the surface): a slope strewn with sharp-edged rocks near Beta Regio. Position: centre of a landing area about 150 km in radius. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1975-050D, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19930005108 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Avenera-9 ### Venera 10 (id `site:venera-10`) agency USSR (Lavochkin) · country su · date 1975-10-25 · type soft · lat 15.42°, lon -68.49° Note: Photographed flat slabs of rock some 2,200 km from Venera 9 and found a rock similar to basalt (65 minutes on the surface). Position: centre of a landing area about 150 km in radius. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1975-054D, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19930005108 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Avenera-10 ### Venera 11 (id `site:venera-11`) agency USSR (Lavochkin) · country su · date 1978-12-25 · type soft · lat -14°, lon -61° Note: Studied the atmosphere and detected what may be lightning during its descent; its camera covers did not open and its soil sample was lost (95 minutes on the surface). Position known to about 1° (some 100 km). Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1978-084D View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Avenera-11 ### Venera 12 (id `site:venera-12`) agency USSR (Lavochkin) · country su · date 1978-12-21 · type soft · lat -7°, lon -66° Note: Twin of Venera 11: it measured the make-up and electrical activity of the atmosphere, but its camera covers did not open either (110 minutes on the surface). Position known to about 1° (some 100 km). Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1978-086C View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Avenera-12 ### Venera 13 (id `site:venera-13`) agency USSR (Lavochkin) · country su · date 1982-03-01 · type soft · lat -7.55°, lon -56.31° Note: First colour pictures of the surface of Venus; it drilled a soil sample and analysed it on board (a basalt rich in potassium). Built for 32 minutes, it lasted 127. Position: centre of a landing area about 150 km in radius. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1981-106D, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19930005108 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Avenera-13 ### Venera 14 (id `site:venera-14`) agency USSR (Lavochkin) · country su · date 1982-03-05 · type soft · lat -13.05°, lon -49.81° Note: Landed on a plain of layered rock some 950 km from Venera 13 and took colour pictures (57 minutes on the surface); by bad luck, its soil probe hit its own ejected lens cap. Position: centre of a landing area about 150 km in radius. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1981-110D, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19930005108 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Avenera-14 ### Vega 1 lander (id `site:vega-1-lander`) agency USSR (IKI, Lavochkin), with CNES · country su · date 1985-06-11 · type soft · lat 8.1°, lon 175.85° Note: Dropped on the way to Halley’s Comet, with a balloon that floated in the clouds; its soil drill started too early, during the descent, so no surface sample was analysed (56 minutes on the surface). Position: centre of a landing area about 150 km in radius. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1984-125E, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19930005108 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Avega-1-lander ### Vega 2 lander (id `site:vega-2-lander`) agency USSR (IKI, Lavochkin), with CNES · country su · date 1985-06-15 · type soft · lat -7.14°, lon 177.67° Note: Analysed a rock of a kind rare on the plains of Venus (anorthosite-troctolite), before its spacecraft flew on to Halley’s Comet. NASA’s catalogue gives 164.5° E; the refined position is used here. Position: centre of a landing area about 150 km in radius. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1984-128E, https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19930005108 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Avega-2-lander ### Pioneer Venus Large Probe (id `site:pioneer-venus-large-probe`) agency NASA · country us · date 1978-12-09 · type hard · lat 4.4°, lon -56° Note: Measured the composition of the clouds under its parachute, then fell freely to the ground; like the three small probes, it was not built to survive the impact. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1978-078D View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Apioneer-venus-large-probe ### Pioneer Venus North Probe (id `site:pioneer-venus-north-probe`) agency NASA · country us · date 1978-12-09 · type hard · lat 59.3°, lon 4.8° Note: Sounded the atmosphere at high northern latitudes, on the night side, down to the ground. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1978-078E View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Apioneer-venus-north-probe ### Pioneer Venus Day Probe (id `site:pioneer-venus-day-probe`) agency NASA · country us · date 1978-12-09 · type hard · lat -31.3°, lon -43° Note: Sounded the day side; though not built to survive the impact, it kept transmitting from the ground for 67 minutes. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1978-078G View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Apioneer-venus-day-probe ### Pioneer Venus Night Probe (id `site:pioneer-venus-night-probe`) agency NASA · country us · date 1978-12-09 · type hard · lat -28.7°, lon 56.7° Note: Sounded the night side at southern mid-latitudes; it went on transmitting for 2 seconds after the impact. Sources: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1978-078F View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Apioneer-venus-night-probe ### Huygens (id `site:huygens`) agency ESA (with NASA and ASI) · country eu · date 2005-01-14 · type soft · lat -10.573°, lon 167.665° Note: First landing in the outer Solar System: it photographed rounded pebbles of ice on damp ground near Adiri, below channels carved by liquid methane, and sent 72 minutes of data from the surface through Cassini. Position from the 2010 trajectory reconstruction (10.573° S, 192.335° W in Titan’s west longitudes). Sources: https://sci.esa.int/web/cassini-huygens/-/36368-huygens-lands-on-titan, https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2015/EGU2015-162-2.pdf, https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1997-061C View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=site%3Ahuygens ## Launch sites ### Cape Canaveral / Kennedy Space Center (id `launch:cape-canaveral`) country us · lat 28.4889°, lon -80.5778° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Canaveral_Space_Force_Station, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Space_Center View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Acape-canaveral ### Vandenberg Space Force Base (id `launch:vandenberg`) country us · lat 34.7513°, lon -120.5202° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandenberg_Space_Force_Base View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Avandenberg ### Wallops Island / Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (id `launch:wallops`) country us · lat 37.8433°, lon -75.4781° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_Regional_Spaceport, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallops_Flight_Facility, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explorer_9 View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Awallops ### Starbase (Boca Chica) (id `launch:starbase`) country us · lat 25.997°, lon -97.157° Note: First orbital launch (Starship Flight 14, 2026-09-28) deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, giving Starbase its own SATCAT launch-site code (STARB). Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starbase, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Starship_launches, https://www.npr.org/2026/09/28/nx-s1-5983418/spacex-starship-first-orbital-flight-14-nasa View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Astarbase ### Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (Kodiak) (id `launch:kodiak`) country us · lat 57.4353°, lon -152.34° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Spaceport_Complex_%E2%80%93_Alaska View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Akodiak ### Guiana Space Centre (Kourou) (id `launch:kourou`) country gf · lat 5.169°, lon -52.6903° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guiana_Space_Centre View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Akourou ### Baikonur Cosmodrome (id `launch:baikonur`) country kz · lat 45.965°, lon 63.305° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baikonur_Cosmodrome View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Abaikonur ### Plesetsk Cosmodrome (id `launch:plesetsk`) country ru · lat 62.9256°, lon 40.5778° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plesetsk_Cosmodrome View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Aplesetsk ### Vostochny Cosmodrome (id `launch:vostochny`) country ru · lat 51.8846°, lon 128.3348° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vostochny_Cosmodrome, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_in_spaceflight View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Avostochny ### Kapustin Yar (id `launch:kapustin-yar`) country ru · lat 48.59°, lon 45.72° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapustin_Yar View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Akapustin-yar ### Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (id `launch:jiuquan`) country cn · lat 40.9581°, lon 100.2911° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiuquan_Satellite_Launch_Center, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dong_Fang_Hong_1 View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Ajiuquan ### Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (id `launch:taiyuan`) country cn · lat 38.8491°, lon 111.608° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiyuan_Satellite_Launch_Center View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Ataiyuan ### Xichang Satellite Launch Center (id `launch:xichang`) country cn · lat 28.2456°, lon 102.0267° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xichang_Satellite_Launch_Center View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Axichang ### Wenchang Space Launch Site (id `launch:wenchang`) country cn · lat 19.6145°, lon 110.9511° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wenchang_Space_Launch_Site View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Awenchang ### Satish Dhawan Space Centre (Sriharikota) (id `launch:sriharikota`) country in · lat 13.72°, lon 80.23° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satish_Dhawan_Space_Centre View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Asriharikota ### Tanegashima Space Center (id `launch:tanegashima`) country jp · lat 30.4°, lon 130.97° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanegashima_Space_Center, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaki_Launch_Complex View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Atanegashima ### Uchinoura Space Center (id `launch:uchinoura`) country jp · lat 31.2519°, lon 131.0819° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uchinoura_Space_Center, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohsumi_(satellite) View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Auchinoura ### Naro Space Center (id `launch:naro`) country kr · lat 34.4319°, lon 127.535° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naro_Space_Center, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_in_spaceflight View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Anaro ### Palmachim Airbase (id `launch:palmachim`) country il · lat 31.8978°, lon 34.6906° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmachim_Airbase View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Apalmachim ### Semnan Space Center (Imam Khomeini Spaceport) (id `launch:semnan`) country ir · lat 35.2346°, lon 53.9221° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semnan_Space_Center, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imam_Khomeini_Space_Launch_Terminal View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Asemnan ### Shahroud Space Center (id `launch:shahroud`) country ir · lat 36.2009°, lon 55.3339° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahroud_Space_Center View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Ashahroud ### Sohae Satellite Launching Station (id `launch:sohae`) country kp · lat 39.66°, lon 124.705° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sohae_Satellite_Launching_Station View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Asohae ### Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 (Mahia) (id `launch:mahia`) country nz · lat -39.26085°, lon 177.86586° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_Lab_Launch_Complex_1 View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Amahia ### Andøya Spaceport (id `launch:andoya`) country no · lat 69.1087°, lon 15.5887° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And%C3%B8ya_Space, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_in_spaceflight View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Aandoya ### SaxaVord Spaceport (id `launch:saxavord`) country gb · lat 60.8184°, lon -0.7692° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SaxaVord_Spaceport View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Asaxavord ### Esrange Space Center (id `launch:esrange`) country se · lat 67.8781°, lon 21.1623° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esrange View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Aesrange ### Alcântara Space Center (id `launch:alcantara`) country br · lat -2.3394°, lon -44.4175° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alc%C3%A2ntara_Space_Center View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Aalcantara ### Bowen Orbital Spaceport (id `launch:bowen`) country au · lat -19.95807°, lon 148.11292° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilmour_Space_Technologies, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_in_spaceflight View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Abowen ### Spaceport Kii (id `launch:kii`) country jp · lat 33.5443°, lon 135.8895° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceport_Kii View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Akii ### Kwajalein Atoll (Reagan Test Site) (id `launch:kwajalein`) country mh · lat 8.7167°, lon 167.7333° Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Space_and_Missile_Test_Range, https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/swift/2026/07/03/mission-to-boost-nasas-swift-launches-from-marshall-islands/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in_spaceflight, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omelek_Island View: https://perigee.info/?sel=site%3Akwajalein ## Comets (solar view; positions from JPL Horizons) ### Halley’s Comet (id `comet:halley`) designation 1P/Halley · discovered 1758-12-25 · Horizons DES=1P;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: The most famous comet, recorded for more than 2,000 years. Edmond Halley showed that the comets of 1531, 1607 and 1682 were one object and predicted its return; Johann Palitzsch saw it again on 1758-12-25. It comes back about every 76 years: around its last perihelion, on 1986-02-09, the Vega 1 and 2, Suisei, Sakigake and Giotto probes flew past it, Giotto within 596 km of its 15 × 8 km nucleus. It returns in 2061, visible to the naked eye again; its dust causes the Eta Aquariid (May) and Orionid (October) meteor showers. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=1P, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/1p-halley/, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Giotto_overview, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=1P, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley%27s_Comet View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Ahalley ### Comet Encke (id `comet:encke`) designation 2P/Encke · discovered 1786-01-17 · Horizons DES=2P;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: The comet with the shortest known period: it goes around the Sun every 3.3 years, coming closer to it than Mercury. Discovered by Pierre Méchain on 1786-01-17, it is named after Johann Franz Encke, who computed its orbit in 1819. Its dust causes the Taurid meteor showers of October and November, known for their fireballs. Its next perihelion is on 2027-02-10; it is usually a binocular or telescope target. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=2P, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/2p-encke/, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=2P View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Aencke ### Comet Tempel 1 (id `comet:tempel-1`) designation 9P/Tempel 1 · discovered 1867-04-03 · Horizons DES=9P;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Discovered by Wilhelm Tempel on 1867-04-03, this comet about 6 km across goes around the Sun every 5.6 years. On 2005-07-04 NASA’s Deep Impact released an impactor that struck it, throwing out fine dust and ice from beneath its surface. Stardust, on its extended NExT mission, flew past it on 2011-02-14 and photographed the crater. Its next perihelion is on 2028-02-12; it is a telescope target. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=9P, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/9p-tempel-1/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/deep-impact-epoxi/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/stardust/, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=9P View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Atempel-1 ### Comet Pons-Brooks (id `comet:pons-brooks`) designation 12P/Pons-Brooks · discovered 1812-07-12 · Horizons DES=12P;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Found by Jean-Louis Pons in Marseille on 1812-07-12 and again by William Brooks in 1883, it returns about every 71 years. Before its perihelion on 2024-04-21 it had a series of outbursts, during which its coma took on a horned shape that earned it the nickname “devil comet”. It reached about magnitude 4 in spring 2024, visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. It will return in 2095. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=12P, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=12P, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12P/Pons%E2%80%93Brooks View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Apons-brooks ### Comet Olbers (id `comet:olbers`) designation 13P/Olbers · discovered 1815-03-06 · Horizons DES=13P;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Discovered on 1815-03-06 by Heinrich Olbers, the German physician and astronomer also known for Olbers’ paradox on why the night sky is dark. It goes around the Sun about every 70 years. At its last perihelion, on 2024-06-30, it reached about magnitude 6 to 7, a binocular object. It will return in 2094. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=13P, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=13P, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13P/Olbers View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Aolbers ### Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 (id `comet:schwassmann-wachmann-1`) designation 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 · discovered 1927-11-15 · Horizons DES=29P;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Discovered at Hamburg Observatory on 1927-11-15 by Arnold Schwassmann and Arno Arthur Wachmann. Its nearly circular orbit keeps it just beyond Jupiter, 5.8 to 6.3 au from the Sun, which it circles every 14.9 years. Even that far out it is always active, and several times a year sudden outbursts brighten it by up to 5 magnitudes within hours from its usual magnitude 16. Its nucleus, about 60 km across, is one of the largest known; it is a telescope target. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=29P, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=29P, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/29P/Schwassmann%E2%80%93Wachmann View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Aschwassmann-wachmann-1 ### Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko (id `comet:churyumov-gerasimenko`) designation 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko · discovered 1969-10-22 · Horizons DES=67P;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Spotted on 1969-10-22 by Klim Churyumov on a photographic plate taken by Svetlana Gerasimenko. This duck-shaped comet about 4 km across, which goes around the Sun every 6.5 years, is the first one a spacecraft orbited: ESA’s Rosetta arrived on 2014-08-06, sent the Philae lander to its surface on 2014-11-12 and ended its mission by touching down on it on 2016-09-30. Its next perihelion is in 2028; it is a telescope target. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=67P, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Rosetta, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Rosetta/Frequently_asked_questions, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/67p-churyumov-gerasimenko/, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=67P View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Achuryumov-gerasimenko ### Comet Hartley 2 (id `comet:hartley-2`) designation 103P/Hartley 2 · discovered 1986-03-15 · Horizons DES=103P;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Discovered by Malcolm Hartley at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia, on 1986-03-15; it goes around the Sun every 6.5 years. On 2010-11-04 the Deep Impact spacecraft, on its extended EPOXI mission, flew about 700 km from its small peanut-shaped nucleus, 2.25 km long, and saw jets of carbon dioxide carrying chunks of ice. That year it reached about magnitude 5, faintly visible to the naked eye. Its next perihelion is around 2030. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=103P, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/103p-hartley-hartley-2/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/deep-impact-epoxi/, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=103P, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/103P/Hartley View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Ahartley-2 ### Comet Hale-Bopp (id `comet:hale-bopp`) designation C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) · discovered 1995-07-23 · Horizons DES=C/1995 O1;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Discovered on 1995-07-23, independently, by Alan Hale in New Mexico and Thomas Bopp in Arizona, while it was still beyond Jupiter. Its nucleus, about 60 km across, is unusually large, and it stayed visible to the naked eye for about 18 months, a record, shining brightest around its perihelion on 1997-04-01. It goes around the Sun in about 2,500 years and is now far beyond the planets, within reach of large telescopes only. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=C%2F1995%20O1, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/c-1995-o1-hale-bopp/, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=C/1995+O1, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Hale%E2%80%93Bopp View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Ahale-bopp ### Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (id `comet:tsuchinshan-atlas`) designation C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) · discovered 2023-01-09 · Horizons DES=C/2023 A3;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: First seen on 2023-01-09 by China’s Purple Mountain Observatory (Tsuchinshan) and found again on 2023-02-22 by the ATLAS survey in South Africa. It passed 0.39 au from the Sun on 2024-09-27 and 0.47 au from the Earth on 2024-10-12, a bright naked-eye comet with a long tail in the evening sky. It is now leaving the inner solar system, possibly for good, and can be followed only with telescopes. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=C%2F2023%20A3, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=C/2023+A3, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2023_A3_(Tsuchinshan%E2%80%93ATLAS) View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Atsuchinshan-atlas ### Comet Tempel 2 (id `comet:tempel-2`) designation 10P/Tempel 2 · discovered 1873-07-04 · Horizons DES=10P;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Discovered by Wilhelm Tempel on 1873-07-04, it goes around the Sun every 5.4 years and has a very dark nucleus. In its current apparition it passed perihelion on 2026-08-02, 1.42 au from the Sun, and came within 0.41 au of the Earth the next day, reaching about magnitude 8 to 9. It is now fading: a telescope target. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=10P, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=10P, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10P/Tempel View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Atempel-2 ### Comet Howell (id `comet:howell`) designation 88P/Howell · discovered 1981-08-29 · Horizons DES=88P;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Discovered by Ellen Howell at Palomar Observatory on 1981-08-29, it goes around the Sun every 5.5 years. In its current apparition it passed perihelion on 2026-03-18 and reached about magnitude 10. It is now moving away from the Sun and fading: a telescope target. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=88P, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=88P, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/88P/Howell View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Ahowell ### Comet Hartley-IRAS (id `comet:hartley-iras`) designation 161P/Hartley-IRAS · discovered 1983-11-04 · Horizons DES=161P;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Photographed by Malcolm Hartley at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia, on 1983-11-04 and detected six days later by IRAS, the first infrared space telescope. It goes around the Sun every 21.5 years, in the opposite direction to the planets. In its current apparition it passes perihelion on 2026-11-27, 1.27 au from the Sun, and should reach only about magnitude 11: a telescope target. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=161P, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=161P, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/161P/Hartley%E2%80%93IRAS View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Ahartley-iras ### Comet NEAT (169P) (id `comet:neat-169p`) designation 169P/NEAT · discovered 2002-03-15 · Horizons DES=169P;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Found on 2002-03-15 by the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking survey (NEAT), it first looked like an asteroid: it is a weakly active comet that goes around the Sun every 4.2 years. Its dust is the source of the Alpha Capricornid meteor shower at the end of July. In its current apparition it passed 0.17 au from the Earth on 2026-08-11 and perihelion on 2026-09-21; it is a faint telescope target. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=169P, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=169P, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/169P/NEAT View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Aneat-169p ### Comet McNaught (220P) (id `comet:mcnaught-220p`) designation 220P/McNaught · discovered 2004-05-20 · Horizons DES=220P;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Discovered by Robert McNaught at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia, on 2004-05-20, it goes around the Sun every 5.5 years. In its current apparition it passed perihelion on 2026-06-14; large outbursts in late May and on 2026-08-05 made it hundreds of times brighter for a while. It is a telescope target. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=220P, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=220P, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/220P/McNaught View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Amcnaught-220p ### Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein (id `comet:bernardinelli-bernstein`) designation C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) · discovered 2021-06 · Horizons DES=C/2014 UN271;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Found in 2021 by Pedro Bernardinelli and Gary Bernstein in archive images of the Dark Energy Survey, taken from Chile. In 2022 the Hubble Space Telescope showed that its nucleus is about 130 km across, the largest ever seen in a comet, some 50 times larger than most. It comes from the Oort cloud and will pass closest to the Sun around January 2031, at about 10.9 au, just beyond Saturn’s orbit. It will remain a telescope target. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=C%2F2014%20UN271, https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-confirms-largest-comet-nucleus-ever-seen/, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=C/2014+UN271, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2014_UN271 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Abernardinelli-bernstein ### Comet Bok (C/2026 A2) (id `comet:bok-2026-a2`) designation C/2026 A2 (Bok) · discovered 2026-01-15 · Horizons DES=C/2026 A2;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: First reported on 2026-01-15 from the Bok telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona, whose name it bears. It comes from the outer solar system on a very elongated orbit. In its current apparition it passes perihelion on 2026-12-22, 1.94 au from the Sun, outside the Earth’s orbit: a telescope target. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=C%2F2026%20A2, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=C/2026+A2 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Abok-2026-a2 ### Comet ATLAS (C/2024 J3) (id `comet:atlas-2024-j3`) designation C/2024 J3 (ATLAS) · discovered 2024-05-06 · Horizons DES=C/2024 J3;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Discovered on 2024-05-06 by the ATLAS survey in Chile, more than two years before its perihelion. It stays far from the Sun: it passes perihelion on 2026-11-25 at 3.87 au, beyond the asteroid belt, on a nearly parabolic orbit. It is a telescope target throughout this apparition. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=C%2F2024%20J3, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=C/2024+J3 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Aatlas-2024-j3 ### Comet ATLAS (C/2024 T5) (id `comet:atlas-2024-t5`) designation C/2024 T5 (ATLAS) · discovered 2024-10-02 · Horizons DES=C/2024 T5;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Discovered on 2024-10-02 by the ATLAS survey in South Africa. It stays far from the Sun on a nearly parabolic orbit and will pass perihelion on 2027-05-06 at 3.84 au, beyond the asteroid belt. It is a telescope target throughout this apparition. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=C%2F2024%20T5, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=C/2024+T5 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Aatlas-2024-t5 ### Comet Leonard (P/2026 R2) (id `comet:leonard-2026-r2`) designation P/2026 R2 (Leonard) · discovered 2026-09-14 · Horizons DES=P/2026 R2;CAP;NOFRAG · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: Discovered on 2026-09-14 by the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona and named after its observer, Gregory Leonard. This newly found periodic comet goes around the Sun in about 22 years. It passes perihelion on 2026-10-25, 0.79 au from the Sun, inside the Earth’s orbit: a telescope target. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=P%2F2026%20R2, https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=P/2026+R2 View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=comet%3Aleonard-2026-r2 ## Notable asteroids (solar view; positions from JPL Horizons) ### Vesta (id `asteroid:4-vesta`) designation 4 Vesta · diameter 525.4 km · discovered 1807-03-29 · Horizons 4; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: The second-largest body of the asteroid belt after the dwarf planet Ceres, and the brightest asteroid seen from Earth: at its best it can just be seen with the naked eye under a dark sky. NASA’s Dawn orbited it in 2011–2012 and mapped Rheasilvia, an impact basin about 500 km across around its south pole, with a central peak more than 20 km high. Debris from such impacts reaches the Earth as the HED meteorites, so pieces of Vesta are kept in museums. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=4, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/4-vesta/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/dawn/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_Vesta View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A4-vesta ### Pallas (id `asteroid:2-pallas`) designation 2 Pallas · diameter 511 km · discovered 1802-03-28 · Horizons 2; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: The second asteroid ever discovered, by Heinrich Olbers on 1802-03-28, and the third-largest body of the asteroid belt. Its orbit is tilted by about 35° to the plane of the planets, which makes it hard to reach: no spacecraft has visited it. Images from ESO’s Very Large Telescope show a surface riddled with large craters, which earned it the nickname “golf ball asteroid”. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=2, https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2114a/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_Pallas View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A2-pallas ### Hygiea (id `asteroid:10-hygiea`) designation 10 Hygiea · diameter 433 km · discovered 1849-04-12 · Horizons 10; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: The fourth-largest body of the asteroid belt, dark and rich in carbon, discovered by Annibale de Gasparis in Naples on 1849-04-12. Images from ESO’s Very Large Telescope in 2017–2018 showed that it is nearly round, so it might qualify as the smallest dwarf planet of the Solar System; the International Astronomical Union has not reclassified it. It is the largest member of the Hygiea family, asteroids born from a giant impact on it. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=10, https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1918/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Hygiea View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A10-hygiea ### Interamnia (id `asteroid:704-interamnia`) designation 704 Interamnia · diameter 332 km · discovered 1910-10-02 · Horizons 704; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: With a mean diameter of about 332 km, the fifth-largest asteroid after Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Hygiea, yet one of the least studied. Discovered by Vincenzo Cerulli on 1910-10-02, it bears the Latin name of Teramo, the Italian town where he worked. Its low density and the water-bearing minerals on its surface suggest that it may contain ice. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=704, https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2114a/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/704_Interamnia View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A704-interamnia ### Europa (id `asteroid:52-europa`) designation 52 Europa · diameter 319 km · discovered 1858-02-04 · Horizons 52; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: One of the largest asteroids, about 319 km across, dark and rich in carbon. Hermann Goldschmidt discovered it from his balcony in Paris on 1858-02-04. It shares its name with Jupiter’s moon Europa: both honour the same figure of Greek mythology. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=52, https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2114a/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/52_Europa View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A52-europa ### Davida (id `asteroid:511-davida`) designation 511 Davida · diameter 298 km · discovered 1903-05-30 · Horizons 511; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: One of the largest asteroids, about 298 km across, and one of the most massive: a dark body made of carbon-rich rock. Raymond Smith Dugan discovered it at Heidelberg on 1903-05-30 and named it after David Peck Todd, an astronomy professor at Amherst College. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=511, https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2114a/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/511_Davida View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A511-davida ### Sylvia (id `asteroid:87-sylvia`) designation 87 Sylvia · diameter 271 km · discovered 1866-05-16 · Horizons 87; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: A dark asteroid about 271 km across, orbiting in the outer belt with the Cybele group. It was the first asteroid known to have two moons: Romulus, found in 2001, and Remus, announced in 2005. Norman Pogson, who discovered it at Madras (now Chennai, India) on 1866-05-16, named it after Rhea Silvia, the mother of the twins Romulus and Remus. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=87, https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2114a/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/87_Sylvia View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A87-sylvia ### Eunomia (id `asteroid:15-eunomia`) designation 15 Eunomia · diameter 270 km · discovered 1851-07-29 · Horizons 15; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: The largest stony (S-type) asteroid, about 270 km across, elongated and irregular; it turns once every 6 hours and 5 minutes. Discovered by Annibale de Gasparis in Naples on 1851-07-29, it gives its name to the Eunomia family, one of the largest groups of asteroids sharing its orbit and composition, fragments of an ancient collision. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=15, https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2114a/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_Eunomia View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A15-eunomia ### Euphrosyne (id `asteroid:31-euphrosyne`) designation 31 Euphrosyne · diameter 268 km · discovered 1854-09-01 · Horizons 31; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: A dark, nearly round asteroid about 268 km across, discovered by James Ferguson at the US Naval Observatory in Washington on 1854-09-01. Its orbit is steeply tilted, by about 26°. In 2019, images from ESO’s Very Large Telescope revealed a small moon about 8 km across. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=31, https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2114a/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/31_Euphrosyne View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A31-euphrosyne ### Cybele (id `asteroid:65-cybele`) designation 65 Cybele · diameter 263 km · discovered 1861-03-08 · Horizons 65; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: A dark asteroid about 263 km across in the outer belt, thought to be a primordial body left almost intact since the birth of the Solar System. It gives its name to the Cybele group, asteroids orbiting beyond the 2:1 resonance with Jupiter. Wilhelm Tempel discovered it at Marseille on 1861-03-08; it was first named “Maximiliana” after a Bavarian king, a modern name that astronomers rejected. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=65, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/65_Cybele View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A65-cybele ### Hektor (id `asteroid:624-hektor`) designation 624 Hektor · diameter 256 km · discovered 1907-02-10 · Horizons 624; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: The largest Jupiter trojan: it shares Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun, about 60° ahead of the planet (the L4 point). It is strongly elongated, about 400 km long, possibly two lobes in contact, and in 2006 the Keck telescope found a small moon about 12 km across, Skamandrios. Discovered by August Kopff at Heidelberg on 1907-02-10, it is named after the Trojan hero Hector. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=624, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/624_Hektor View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A624-hektor ### Juno (id `asteroid:3-juno`) designation 3 Juno · diameter 254 km · discovered 1804-09-01 · Horizons 3; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: The third asteroid discovered, by Karl Ludwig Harding on 1804-09-01; like Ceres, Pallas and Vesta, it was counted as a planet for decades. About 254 km across, it is one of the two largest stony (S-type) asteroids. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=3, https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso2114a/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_Juno View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A3-juno ### Patientia (id `asteroid:451-patientia`) designation 451 Patientia · diameter 254 km · discovered 1899-12-04 · Horizons 451; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: One of the largest asteroids, about 254 km across, yet little studied. Auguste Charlois discovered it at Nice on 1899-12-04; it turns once every 9.7 hours. At favourable oppositions it reaches magnitude 10.4, within reach of small telescopes. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=451, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/451_Patientia View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A451-patientia ### Camilla (id `asteroid:107-camilla`) designation 107 Camilla · diameter 254 km · discovered 1868-11-17 · Horizons 107; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: A dark asteroid about 254 km across in the outer belt (Cybele group), discovered by Norman Pogson at Madras (now Chennai, India) on 1868-11-17. It has two small moons, found in 2001 (about 13 km across) and 2016 (about 4 km across), which makes it a triple system. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=107, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/107_Camilla View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A107-camilla ### Lutetia (id `asteroid:21-lutetia`) designation 21 Lutetia · diameter 98 km · discovered 1852-11-15 · Horizons 21; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: ESA’s Rosetta flew past it on 2010-07-10 at about 3,160 km, on its way to comet 67P: about 121 km long, it was then the largest asteroid seen up close by a spacecraft. Its images show a very old, heavily cratered surface. Hermann Goldschmidt discovered it in Paris on 1852-11-15 and named it after Lutetia, the Latin name of the city. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=21, https://sci.esa.int/web/rosetta/-/47389-21-lutetia, https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Rosetta, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21_Lutetia View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A21-lutetia ### Ida (id `asteroid:243-ida`) designation 243 Ida · diameter 31.4 km · discovered 1884-09-29 · Horizons 243; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: NASA’s Galileo flew past this stony asteroid, about 60 km long, on 1993-08-28 on its way to Jupiter. Its images revealed Dactyl, a moon about 1.4 km across: the first moon ever found around an asteroid. Ida was discovered by Johann Palisa in Vienna on 1884-09-29. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=243, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/243-ida/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/galileo/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/243_Ida View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A243-ida ### Mathilde (id `asteroid:253-mathilde`) designation 253 Mathilde · diameter 52.8 km · discovered 1885-11-12 · Horizons 253; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: NASA’s NEAR Shoemaker flew past it on 1997-06-27, on its way to Eros. Mathilde is very dark and rich in carbon, with craters almost as wide as itself, and its low density shows that it is porous, perhaps a pile of rubble. It turns very slowly, once every 17.4 days. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=253, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/253-mathilde/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/near-shoemaker/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/253_Mathilde View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A253-mathilde ### Eros (id `asteroid:433-eros`) designation 433 Eros · diameter 16.84 km · discovered 1898-08-13 · Horizons 433; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: The first near-Earth asteroid discovered, by Carl Gustav Witt in Berlin on 1898-08-13: a stony, potato-shaped body about 34 km long. NASA’s NEAR Shoemaker flew past it in 1998, orbited it from 2000-02-14 and, at the end of its mission on 2001-02-12, landed on it: the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid and to land on one. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=433, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/433-eros/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/near-shoemaker/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/433_Eros View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A433-eros ### Gaspra (id `asteroid:951-gaspra`) designation 951 Gaspra · diameter 12.2 km · discovered 1916-07-30 · Horizons 951; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: The first asteroid visited by a spacecraft: NASA’s Galileo flew past it on 1991-10-29 at about 1,600 km, on its way to Jupiter. This irregular stony asteroid, about 18 km long, is covered with small craters but few large ones, a sign of a fairly young surface. Grigory Neujmin discovered it at Simeiz, in Crimea, on 1916-07-30. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=951, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/galileo/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/951_Gaspra View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A951-gaspra ### Šteins (id `asteroid:2867-steins`) designation 2867 Šteins · diameter 5.3 km · discovered 1969-11-04 · Horizons 2867; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: A small asteroid about 6.8 km wide, shaped like a cut diamond, that ESA’s Rosetta flew past on 2008-09-05 at about 800 km. It is a rare, bright E-type asteroid; a crater about 2 km wide marks its south pole. Discovered by Nikolai Chernykh in Crimea on 1969-11-04, it is named after the Latvian astronomer Kārlis Šteins. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=2867, https://esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Rosetta/Rosetta_spacecraft_meets_asteroid_Steins, https://sci.esa.int/web/rosetta/-/43356-2867-steins, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2867_%C5%A0teins View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A2867-steins ### Toutatis (id `asteroid:4179-toutatis`) designation 4179 Toutatis · diameter 2.45 km · discovered 1989-01-04 · Horizons 4179; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: An elongated near-Earth asteroid about 4.5 km long that tumbles slowly instead of spinning around one axis. Christian Pollas discovered it at Caussols, France, on 1989-01-04 and named it after a Gaulish god. Radar mapped it from Earth during its close passes, and China’s Chang’e 2, after leaving the Moon, flew close past it on 2012-12-13: the first Chinese probe to visit an asteroid. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=4179, https://www.planetary.org/articles/12141551-change-2-imaging-of-toutatis, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4179_Toutatis View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A4179-toutatis ### Annefrank (id `asteroid:5535-annefrank`) designation 5535 Annefrank · diameter 4.8 km · discovered 1942-03-23 · Horizons 5535; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: NASA’s Stardust flew past it on 2002-11-02 at about 3,080 km, a rehearsal for its encounter with comet Wild 2. Its images showed an irregular stony asteroid about 6.6 km long. Karl Reinmuth discovered it at Heidelberg on 1942-03-23; it is named after Anne Frank, the young diarist who died in a Nazi camp. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=5535, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/stardust/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5535_Annefrank View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A5535-annefrank ### Braille (id `asteroid:9969-braille`) designation 9969 Braille · diameter 1.6 km · discovered 1992-05-27 · Horizons 9969; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: NASA’s Deep Space 1 flew past it on 1999-07-29 at only 26 km, but its camera lost track of it during the approach and the close-up images were missed. Braille is about 2 km long and its orbit crosses that of Mars. Discovered at Palomar by Eleanor Helin and Kenneth Lawrence on 1992-05-27, it is named after Louis Braille, who invented the writing system used by blind people. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=9969, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/deep-space-1/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9969_Braille View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A9969-braille ### Itokawa (id `asteroid:25143-itokawa`) designation 25143 Itokawa · diameter 0.33 km · discovered 1998-09-26 · Horizons 25143; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: A small, peanut-shaped near-Earth asteroid about 535 m long, explored by JAXA’s Hayabusa in 2005. Its images showed a rubble pile: boulders and gravel held together by its very weak gravity. Hayabusa touched down on it in November 2005 and brought back to Earth, on 2010-06-13, the first grains ever collected from an asteroid. It is named after Hideo Itokawa, a pioneer of Japanese rocketry. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=25143, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/25143-itokawa/, https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/past/hayabusa.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25143_Itokawa View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A25143-itokawa ### Ryugu (id `asteroid:162173-ryugu`) designation 162173 Ryugu · diameter 0.896 km · discovered 1999-05-10 · Horizons 162173; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: A dark, carbon-rich near-Earth asteroid about 900 m across, shaped like a spinning top. JAXA’s Hayabusa2 explored it in 2018–2019: it dropped small hopping rovers and the MASCOT lander, blasted an artificial crater and collected samples during two touchdowns. Its capsule, holding 5.4 g of Ryugu, landed in Australia on 2020-12-06; the samples contain water-bearing minerals and organic molecules. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=162173, https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/, https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/current/hayabusa2.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/162173_Ryugu View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A162173-ryugu ### Bennu (id `asteroid:101955-bennu`) designation 101955 Bennu · diameter 0.49 km · discovered 1999-09-11 · Horizons 101955; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: A near-Earth asteroid about 490 m across, shaped like a spinning top and made of loosely bound rubble. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx orbited it from 2018-12-03, collected a sample on 2020-10-20 and dropped it in Utah on 2023-09-24: 121.6 g, the largest asteroid sample ever returned. The sample contains amino acids and all five nucleobases of DNA and RNA. Bennu has a small chance, about 1 in 2,700, of hitting the Earth in 2182. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=101955, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/101955-bennu/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/osiris-rex/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A101955-bennu ### Didymos (id `asteroid:65803-didymos`) designation 65803 Didymos · diameter 0.765 km · discovered 1996-04-11 · Horizons 65803; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: A near-Earth asteroid about 770 m across with a small moon, Dimorphos, about 150 m across, which circled it in 11 hours 55 minutes. On 2022-09-26 NASA’s DART spacecraft struck Dimorphos on purpose and shortened its orbit by about 32 minutes: the first test of deflecting an asteroid. Italy’s LICIACube CubeSat photographed the impact; ESA’s Hera is due to survey the pair from late 2026. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=65803, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/didymos/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/dart/, https://www.asi.it/en/planets-stars-universe/solar-system-and-beyond/liciacube/, https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/65803_Didymos View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A65803-didymos ### Dinkinesh (id `asteroid:152830-dinkinesh`) designation 152830 Dinkinesh · diameter 0.738 km · discovered 1999-11-04 · Horizons 152830; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: A small main-belt asteroid about 740 m across, the first target of NASA’s Lucy, which flew 425 km from it on 2023-11-01. Lucy discovered that it has a moon, Selam, about 220 m across and itself made of two lobes in contact: the first contact-binary moon ever seen. Its name means “you are wonderful” in Amharic: it is the Ethiopian name of the Lucy fossil. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=152830, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/dinkinesh/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lucy/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/152830_Dinkinesh View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A152830-dinkinesh ### Donaldjohanson (id `asteroid:52246-donaldjohanson`) designation 52246 Donaldjohanson · diameter 4.8 km · discovered 1981-03-02 · Horizons 52246; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: An elongated main-belt asteroid about 8.8 km long, made of two lobes joined by a narrow neck. NASA’s Lucy flew past it at 960 km on 2025-04-20, a rehearsal before the Jupiter trojans. It tumbles slowly, turning end over end about once every 10.5 days. It is named after Donald Johanson, who discovered the Lucy fossil in 1974: the first asteroid named after a living person to be visited by a spacecraft. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=52246, https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/asteroids/donaldjohanson/, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lucy/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/52246_Donaldjohanson View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A52246-donaldjohanson ### Torifune (id `asteroid:98943-torifune`) designation 98943 Torifune · diameter 0.54 km · discovered 2001-02-03 · Horizons 98943; · verified 2026-10-26 Notes: A small near-Earth asteroid, about 840 m long and 340 m wide, discovered by LINEAR on 2001-02-03 (designation 2001 CC21). JAXA’s Hayabusa2 flew past it on 2026-07-05 about 400 m from its surface, the closest flyby of any Solar System body so far, steered by new on-board guidance software. Its name comes from Ame-no-torifune, a god and his ship in Japanese mythology. Sources: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=98943, https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2026/07/20260730-1_e.html, https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/topics/20260705_flyby/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/98943_Torifune View: https://perigee.info/?view=solar&sel=asteroid%3A98943-torifune ## Glossary - **NORAD**: The catalogue number given to every object tracked in Earth orbit by the US Space Force (it took over this catalogue from NORAD, the North American air defence command, which started it). Numbers are handed out in order of discovery: Sputnik’s rocket is No. 1, and since July 2026 new objects get six-digit numbers (100000 and up). - **COSPAR**: The international designation of a launched object: the launch year, the launch’s number in that year, then a letter for each piece put in orbit by that launch. 1998-067A is the first piece (the ISS’s Zarya module) of the 67th launch of 1998. - **Operator**: The company or organisation that runs the satellite from the ground (SpaceX, OneWeb, a space agency…). Here it is deduced from the CelesTrak group the satellite belongs to, such as “starlink”. - **Hosted payload**: An instrument carried by a satellite on behalf of another organisation, like a passenger: for example a navigation or Earth-observation instrument riding on a telecommunications satellite. - **Country / owner**: The country or international organisation responsible for the object in the official satellite catalogue (SATCAT). It is usually a country (US, PRC for China, CIS for Russia…) or an agency (ESA), rarely a company. - **SATCAT codes**: The short code the official satellite catalogue (SATCAT) uses to say where each object was launched from. They are often old names: AFETR, for Cape Canaveral, stands for “Air Force Eastern Test Range”. It is how the satellites launched from this site are found in the catalogue. - **Altitude**: The height of the object above the surface of the body it orbits, measured from its average level (not from the mountains or valleys below). It changes along the orbit unless the orbit is a perfect circle. - **Speed**: How fast the object moves relative to the centre of the body it orbits, in kilometres per second. The lower the orbit, the faster: about 7.7 km/s (27 000 km/h) for the International Space Station, 3 km/s in geostationary orbit. - **Perigee / apogee / Periapsis / apoapsis**: An orbit is an ellipse. Its lowest point is the periapsis (called perigee around the Earth) and its highest point the apoapsis (apogee around the Earth). Both are given here as altitudes above the surface. When they are close, the orbit is almost circular. - **Period / Orbital period**: The time the object takes to go once around its orbit. About 90 minutes for a low satellite, one day for a geostationary one, one year for the Earth around the Sun. - **Inclination / Inclination (to the equator)**: The tilt of the orbit relative to a reference plane, usually the equator of the central body. 0° means the object circles above the equator, 90° that it flies over the poles, and more than 90° that it goes round in the opposite direction to the body’s rotation. - **Elements epoch**: The date and time at which the orbital elements (the numbers describing the orbit) were measured. The position is computed forward from that moment, so it becomes less accurate as the elements get older: after 14 days they are flagged as stale. - **Elements from**: Who measured the orbit used here. By default, the US Space Force tracks objects with radars and telescopes and publishes their orbits (through CelesTrak). Some operators publish their own, more precise data, from which CelesTrak computes better-fitting elements (“SupGP”). - **Groups**: The lists CelesTrak sorts satellites into: a constellation (Starlink, OneWeb…), a navigation system (GPS, Galileo…), or a type of mission (weather, space stations, science…). - **JPL Horizons ID**: The number of the object in JPL Horizons, the NASA service that computes the positions of planets, moons and spacecraft. Spacecraft have negative numbers (−85 is the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter). - **Ephemeris window**: An ephemeris is a table giving the position and speed of an object at regular times. This is the period covered by the table downloaded from JPL Horizons: inside it, the position is interpolated between the table’s values and is very accurate; outside it, it is estimated from the laws of orbits and shown as approximate. - **Mean radius**: The distance from the centre of the body to its surface, averaged over the whole surface, since no body is a perfect sphere. - **Equatorial / polar radius**: A spinning planet bulges at its equator and is flattened at its poles. The equatorial radius is measured from the centre to the equator, the polar radius from the centre to a pole. Saturn, which spins fast, is about 10 % wider than it is tall. - **Semi-axes**: The body is shaped like a stretched ball (an ellipsoid). Its three semi-axes are the distances from its centre to its surface along its longest, middle and shortest directions. - **Coordinates**: The position on the surface: the latitude (north or south of the equator, in degrees) and the longitude (east or west of the body’s prime meridian, the reference line chosen by astronomers, like Greenwich on the Earth). - **Sol**: A day on Mars, from one noon to the next: 24 h 39 min 35 s. Missions count their sols from the landing day, sol 0. - **Distance to the Sun**: The distance between the object and the centre of the Sun, in astronomical units (AU). One AU is the average Sun–Earth distance, about 150 million kilometres. - **Distance to the Earth**: The distance between the object and the Earth. The light time is how long light, or a radio message, takes to cover that distance at 300 000 km/s: the delay before a command sent from the Earth reaches a probe. - **Heliocentric speed**: The speed of the object relative to the Sun (“helio” means Sun). The Earth itself travels around the Sun at about 30 km/s; the closer to the Sun, the faster objects move. - **Speed relative to the planet**: How fast the moon moves around its planet, measured from the planet’s centre. - **Semi-major axis**: Half of the longest diameter of the orbit’s ellipse: the average of the closest and farthest distances from the central body. It sets the orbit’s size and its period. - **Eccentricity**: A number describing how stretched the orbit is: 0 is a perfect circle, values close to 1 are very elongated ellipses. The Moon’s orbit around the Earth is 0.055. - **moonPhase**: The part of the Moon lit by the Sun that we see from the Earth. It changes as the Moon goes around the Earth: new moon (dark), first quarter, full moon, last quarter, then new moon again. - **Designation**: The star’s name in Bayer’s system (1603): a Greek letter, usually given in order of brightness, followed by the name of its constellation. α Orionis (Betelgeuse) is the “alpha” of Orion. - **Constellation**: One of the 88 regions of the sky defined by the International Astronomical Union, named after a figure drawn by ancient sky-watchers. Stars of a constellation look close together but can be at very different distances. - **Spectral type**: A code sorting stars by the light they give off, which depends on their surface temperature. The letters go from the hottest (O, blue) to the coolest (M, red): O, B, A, F, G, K, M; a digit refines the class. The Roman numeral gives the size: V for a main-sequence star like the Sun (G2V), III for a giant, I for a supergiant. - **Apparent magnitude**: How bright the star looks from the Earth. The scale runs backwards: the lower the number, the brighter the star. Each step of 1 means about 2.5 times brighter. Sirius, the brightest star at night, is −1.5; the faintest stars seen with the naked eye are about 6. - **Distance**: Stars are so far away that their distance is given in light-years: the distance light travels in one year, about 9 460 billion kilometres. The light we see from a star 100 light-years away left it 100 years ago. - **Radius**: The size of the star compared with the Sun’s radius (696 000 km, 109 times the Earth’s). Giant stars can be hundreds of times larger than the Sun. - **Mass**: The amount of matter in the star. It decides almost everything about it: how hot and bright it shines, how long it lives and how it ends. Stars heavier than the Sun burn their fuel much faster. - **Surface temperature / Surface temperature (effective)**: The temperature of the star’s visible surface, in kelvins (0 K is absolute zero, −273 °C). It sets the star’s colour: red stars are about 3 000 K, the Sun 5 800 K, blue stars over 10 000 K. “Effective” means the temperature a perfect radiator would need to give off the same light. - **Luminosity**: The total energy the star gives off every second, as light and other radiation, whatever its distance from us. A star can look faint because it is far away while being far more luminous than the Sun. - **Position (J2000)**: The star’s place on the sky, like a longitude and latitude projected onto the sky: right ascension (RA, in hours, minutes and seconds) along the celestial equator and declination (Dec, in degrees) north or south of it. J2000 means the coordinates as of the year 2000, since the Earth’s axis slowly wobbles. - **Rotation**: The Sun turns on itself in about 25 days at its equator, and more slowly near its poles, since it is not solid. Seen from the Earth, which moves around it in the same direction, a turn seems to take two days longer. - **Carrington rotation**: Astronomers have numbered the Sun’s rotations since 9 November 1853, following Richard Carrington. The central meridian is the solar longitude facing the Earth right now, which tells which side of the Sun we see. - **Active regions**: Areas of the Sun where strong magnetic fields come through the surface. They often hold sunspots, darker because they are cooler, and they are where solar flares are born. NOAA numbers them each day. - **Classification**: A body that orbits the Sun and is massive enough for its own gravity to have made it round, but that has not cleared its orbit of other objects, unlike a planet (International Astronomical Union, 2006). The IAU recognises five: Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake and Eris. Other large bodies beyond Neptune are “candidates”: astronomers think they are round, but their shape or size has not been measured well enough for the IAU to decide.