Profiles Index

Surveyor 1 - Surveyor 1 Lunar Mission
The Surveyor spacecraft was designed to attain the engineering objectives of the Surveyor program, which included the first lunar soft landing. No instrumentation was carried specifically for scientific experiments, but considerable scientific information was obtained. The Surveyor 1 spacecraft carried two television cameras -- one for approach, which was not used, and one for operations on the lunar surface. Over 100 engineering sensors were on board Surveyor 1.

Venera 6 Spacecraft - USSR Mission to Venus
Venera 6 was launched from a Tyazheliy Sputnik towards Venus to obtain atmospheric data. The spacecraft was very similar to Venera 4 although it was of a stronger design. When the atmosphere of Venus was approached, a capsule containing scientific instruments was jettisoned from the main spacecraft. During descent towards the surface of Venus, a parachute opened to slow the rate of descent. For 51 min on May 17, 1969, data from the Venusian atmosphere were returned.

Venera 5 Spacecraft - USSR Mission to Venus
Venera 5 was launched from a Tyazheliy Sputnik (69-001C) towards Venus to obtain atmospheric data. The spacecraft was very similar to Venera 4 although it was of a stronger design. During satellite descent towards the surface of Venus, a parachute opened to slow the rate of descent. For 53 min on May 16, 1969, while the capsule was suspended from the parachute, data from the Venusian atmosphere were returned.

Voyager 1
Voyager 1 was launched after Voyager 2, but because of a faster route, it exited the asteroid belt earlier than its twin. It began its Jovian imaging mission in April 1978 at a range of 265 million kilometers from the planet; images sent back by January the following year indicated that Jupiter's atmosphere was more turbulent than during the Pioneer flybys in 1973 and 1974.

Explorer 1
Explorer 1 was the first satellite launched by the United States when it was sent into space on January 31, 1958. Following the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency was directed to launch a satellite using its Jupiter C rocket developed under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory received the assignment to design, build and operate the artificial satellite that would serve as the rocket's payload.

Clementine - Lunar Mission
Clementine was the first U.S. spacecraft launched to the Moon in over twenty years (since Explorer 49 in June 1973). The spacecraft, also known as the Deep Space Program Science Experiment (DSPSE), was designed and built to demonstrate a set of lightweight technologies such as small imaging sensors for future low-cost missions flown by the Department of Defense. Clementine carried fifteen advanced flight-test components and ten science instruments.

Lunar Prospector Mission to the Moon
The Lunar Prospector was designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, including mapping of surface composition and possible deposits of polar ice, measurements of magnetic and gravity fields, and study of lunar outgassing events. Data from the 19 month mission will allow construction of a detailed map of the surface composition of the Moon, and will improve our understanding of the origin, evolution, current state, and resources of the Moon.

Mariner 4 - Mission to Mars
Mariner 4 was the first spacecraft to get a close look at Mars. Flying as close as 9,846 kilometers (6,118 miles), Mariner 4 revealed Mars to have a cratered, rust-colored surface, with signs on some parts of the planet that liquid water had once etched its way into the soil. In addition to various field and particle sensors and detectors, the spacecraft had a television camera, which took 22 television pictures covering about 1% of the planet.

Mariner 5 - Mission to Venus
Mariner 5 was originally built as backup for Mariner 4 to Mars, but was never needed. It was refurbished & modified to go to Venus instead. Mariner 5 flew by Venus at a distance of 3,990 km (2,480 miles), & with its more sensitive instruments than Mariner 2, revealed new information about Venus' atmosphere, including its composition of 85-99% carbon dioxide. Mariner 5 also studied the interplanetary space in the vicinity of Venus.

Messenger Mission to Mercury
MESSENGER is a scientific investigation of the planet Mercury. Understanding Mercury, and the forces that have shaped it, is fundamental to understanding the terrestrial planets and their evolution. Messenger was key in this.

Ulysses Mission to the Sun - Jupiter - Comets
The Ulysses mission was an outgrowth of the abandoned International Solar Polar Mission (ISPM) that involved two spacecraft flying over opposite solar poles to investigate the Sun in three dimensions. Eventually, ESA built a single spacecraft for launch on the Space Shuttle. The vehicle was designed to fly a unique trajectory that would use a gravity-assist from Jupiter to take it below the elliptic plane, past the solar south pole, and then above the elliptic to fly over the north pole.