2015 Event NASA's New Horizons probe reestablishes contact to transmit the first close photos of Pluto and its moons; the probe launched in 2006 and has traveled over 3 billion miles; it will continue transmitting data for the next 16 months 2015 Event NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft ends its three-year orbit around Mercury with a planned crash into the planet's surface; originally, the probe was to orbit and collect data for one year, but fuel saving efforts extended its mission for two more years 2014 Event The European Space Agency makes history by landing a probe named Philae on the surface of a comet; scientists report that the probe anchors did not fire and that the vessel appears to have made two landings 2014 Event India has successfully launched a space probe into orbit around Mars on its first attempt, making it the first Asian country to orbit the planet; at $74 million, the spacecraft cost about 11% of the U.S. Maven, which reached Mars orbit two days prior 2014 Event NASA Mars probe MAVEN is on track to enter the planet's orbit after a 10-month journey; the probe will collect data for a year on the upper Martian atmosphere to potentially answer questions about climate change on the planet 2013 Event The Chang'e 3 lunar probe is launched by China; the probe, headed for the moon, includes a robotic lander and the Yutu, Jade Rabbit buggy 2013 Event The PSLV-XL rocket carrying the Mars Orbiter Mission probe is launched by India's Space Research Organization; the will eventually be sent to Mars 2013 Event NASA's Voyager 1 space probe makes history by advancing past the solar system - becoming the first man-made object to reach interstellar space 2013 Event In California, NASA launches a space probe to observe the Sun; the probe is referred to as the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, or IRIS 2012 Event New findings from MESSENGER, NASA's space probe, indicate almost definitively, that the north pole of Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, has water ice buried beneath the surface 2011 Event The European Space Agency makes contact with the Fobos-Grunt probe 48 hours after the spacecraft's window for launch to Mars closes 2009 Event The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/LCROSS is launched by NASA to probe the Moon 2005 Event The Huygens probe lands on Saturn's moon Titan 1997 Event U.S. space probe Pathfinder lands on Ares Vallis Mars 1995 Event U.S. space probe Galileo begins orbiting Jupiter 1995 Event U.S. space probe Ulyssus completes 2nd passage behind Sun 1995 Event Space probe Ulysses begins 2nd passage behind the Sun 1994 Event Space probe Ulyssus completes 1st passage behind the Sun 1994 Event Japanese space probe Sakigake passes Earth for 3rd time 1994 Event Space probe Magellan burns up in atmosphere of Venus 1994 Event Space probe Ulyssus passes south pole of Sun 1994 Event U.S. space probe Clementine launched 1994 Event U.S. space probe Clementine launched 1993 Event Japanese space probe Sakigake passes Earth 1990 Event Space probe Voyager 1 takes photograph of entire solar system 1989 Event U.S. Venus probe Magellan launched from Space shuttle 1988 Event Soviet Union launches Phobos 1 to probe Martian moon (unsuccessful) 1986 Event Japanese probe Sakigake flies by Halley's Comet at 6.8 million km 1986 Event Soviet probe Vega 2 flies by Halley's Comet at 8,030 km 1986 Event Japanese probe Suisei passes Halley's Comet at 109,800 km 1985 Event Japan launches its 2nd probe of Halley's Comet, Suisei 1985 Event Japan launches Planet A, a probe to Halley's comet 1985 Event Russian space probe Vega 2 lands on Venus 1985 Event Russian space probe Vega 1 lands on Venus 1985 Event Japan launches Sakigake space probe to Halley's Comet 1985 Event Japanese space probe Sakigake launched to Halley's comet 1980 Event U.S. space probe Voyager I approaches 77,000-mi (124,000 km) of Saturn 1980 Event Voyager 1 space probe discovers 15th moon of Saturn 1976 Event US-German Helios B solar probe launched into solar orbit 1975 Event Viking 2 Mars probe launch 1974 Event Space probe Helios 1 launched 1969 Event Russian probe Venera 6 landed on Venus 1968 Event U.S.S.R. launches space probe Zond 4; fails to leave Earth orbit 1968 Event Surveyor 7 space probe soft lands on Moon 1967 Event Soviet Venera 4 becomes 1st probe to send data back from Venus 1965 Event U.S. Mariner IV, 1st Mars probe, passes at 6,100 miles (9,800 km) 1964 Event Mariner 4 launched; 1st probe to fly by Mars 1963 Event Soviet lunar probe failure 1962 Event Mariner 2 launched; 1st probe to fly by Venus 1962 Event 1st U.S. Venus probe, Mariner 1, fails at lift-off 1961 Event U.S. lunar probe Ranger 1 reaches 190 km from Earth, falls back 1961 Event Sputnik 7 launches into Earth orbit; probable Venus probe failure 1959 Event U.S.S.R.'s Luna 2 becomes 1st probe to contact another celestial body 1959 Event 1st U.S. probe to enter solar orbit, Pioneer 4, launched 1958 Event U.S. lunar probe Pioneer 3 reaches 107,269 km, falls back 1958 Event 2nd U.S. Moon probe, Pioneer 1, reaches 113,810 km, falls back 1958 Event World's 1st Moon probe, US's Thor-Able, explodes at T +77 sec 1771 Birthday Georg F. Creuzer, German philological/historian, Idea und Probe
