PIX4605629: Pioneer 10 - Pioneer 10 Spacecraft - Pioneer 10 (Pioneer F) probe being tested at TRW in California. Pioneer 10 was launched on 3 March 1972 with as its first destination, the Jupiter Planet, which it flew over on 3 December 1973; it was the first space probe to approach this planet; it was also the first space probe to leave the solar system. Pioneer F (Pioneer - 10) spacecraft. Final assembly at TRW. Launched on March 03 1972, Pioneer F was the first spacecraft designed to travel into the outer solar system and to take the first close - up look at Jupiter on December 03 1973 / Bridgeman Images
PIX4605807: Near Near Asteroid Eros - Near Probe near Asteroid Eros - Artist's view of Near Earth Asteroid Rendez-vous, renamed Near Shoemaker, orbit around Eros asteroid. Launch in February 1996, the probe studied the asteroid Mathilde then Eros, and stopped communicating in February 2001. / Bridgeman Images
PIX4605817: Galileo probe - View of the Galileo probe at the Kennedy Space Center two months before its launch. The Galileo probe was launched on 18 October 1989 and arrived in the vicinity of Jupiter in 1995. After studying Jupiter and its satellites, she disintegrated into the atmosphere of Jupiter on 21 September 2003 / Bridgeman Images
PIX4605829: Galileo probe en route to Jupiter - Artist's view of the Galileo probe just after its deployment by the Atlantis shuttle. The Galileo probe was launched on 18 October 1989 and arrived in the vicinity of Jupiter in 1995. After studying Jupiter and its satellites, she disintegrated into the atmosphere of Jupiter on 21 September 2003 / Bridgeman Images
PIX4605917: Juno Probe - Artist's View - Juno Artist's Rendering - Artist's View of Juno Probe in orbit around Jupiter. Launch in 2011, the Juno probe will reach Jupiter in 2016. Launching from Earth in 2011, the Juno spacecraft will arrive at Jupiter in 2016 to study the giant planet from an elliptical, polar orbit. Juno will repeatedly dive between the planet and its intense belts of charged particle radiation, coming only 5,000 kilometers (about 3,000 miles) from the cloud tops at closest approach. Juno's primary goal is to improve our understanding of Jupiter's formation and evolution. The spacecraft will spend a year investigating the planet's origins, interior structure, deep atmosphere and magnetosphere. Juno's study of Jupiter will help us to understand the history of our own solar system and provide new insight into how planetary systems form and develop in our galaxy and beyond / Bridgeman Images
PIX4605986: Cassini Probe - Huygens orbit around Saturn - Artist's view of the Cassini probe when it was put into orbit around Saturn. The Huygens European module is attached to the probe. The Cassini-Huygens probe was launched on 15 October 1997 and has been placed in orbit around Saturn since 1 July 200 / Bridgeman Images
PIX4606078: The Huygens probe lands on Titan. - Artist's view of the descent of the European probe Huygens on Titan. Huygens landed on the Titan satellite on 14 January 2005. The Cassini-Huygens probe was launched on 15 October 1997 and has been placed in orbit around Saturn since 1 July 200 / Bridgeman Images
PIX4606081: Huygens probe enters the atmosphere of Titan - The Huygens probe entering Titan's atmosphere - Artist's view of the European Huygens probe above the atmosphere of Titan. Huygens landed on the Titan satellite on 14 January 2005. The Cassini-Huygens probe was launched on 15 October 1997 and has been placed in orbit around Saturn since 1 July 2004. This artist's conception shows the Huygens probe close to enter Titan's atmosphere. The probe Huygens landed on Titan surface on January 14, 2005 / Bridgeman Images
PIX4606120: Probe Luna 16 - Luna 16 lifts off - Luna 16 was the first sovietic probe to land on the Moon, take samples of lunar soil and bring them back to Earth. This mission took place from 12 to 24 September 1970. The automated Soviet Luna 16 probe's upper stage blasts off with 100 grams of precious lunar soil that will be studied by Soviet scientists on Earth.This space probe successfully completed an Earth - Moon - Earth mission from September 12, 1970 to September 24, 1970 / Bridgeman Images
PIX4606136: LRO Probe - Artist View - LRO - Artist view - Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a space probe of NASA that will be put into orbit around the Moon in order to map it and identify potential landing sites for sending a human crew around 2020. LRO is expected to be launched in June 2009 with LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite). Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) in Moon orbit. LRO objectives are to find safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, and demonstrate new technology to prepare future human exploration of the Moon. It should be launched in June 2009 with LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) payload aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida / Bridgeman Images
PIX4606147: LRO Probe - Artist View - LRO - Artist view - Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a space probe of NASA that will be put into orbit around the Moon in order to map it and identify potential landing sites for sending a human crew around 2020. LRO is expected to be launched in June 2009 with LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite). Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) in Moon orbit. LRO objectives are to find safe landing sites, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment, and demonstrate new technology to prepare future human exploration of the Moon. It should be launched in June 2009 with LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) payload aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida / Bridgeman Images
PIX4606152: LCROSS Probe - Artist View - LCROSS - Artist view - LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) is a space probe of NASA whose aim is to discover the presence of water ice in a crater perpetually in the shade of the Sun at the southern pole of the Moon. LCROSS must analyze the impact created by the top floor of its Atlas 5 launcher precipitates in this crater. LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) should be launched in June 2009 with Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) payload aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. LCROSS will seek a definitive answer about the presence of water ice at the lunar south pole using the spent second stage Atlas Centaur rocket that will impact on the moon's surface / Bridgeman Images
PIX4606286: Magellan probe orbiting Venus - The Magellan spacecraft orbiting Venus - Artist view - Artist view of the Magellan probe orbiting Venus, collecting data and transmitting it to Earth. The Magellan probe was launched on 4 May 1989 and arrived in orbit around Venus on 10 August 1990. This radar probe mapped 98% of Venus's surface. Magellan spacecraft is shown in elliptical orbit around Venus, collecting data (radar mapping), and then transmitting data back to Earth in this artist concept / Bridgeman Images
PIX4606299: The bepicolombo probe - bepicolombo spacecraft. - bepicolombo will be a mission to explore the planet Mercury, carried out jointly by the Japanese Space Agency and the European Space Agency. Its launch is scheduled for 2013, reaching Mercure in 2019. Two probes form the Bepicolombo mission, the Mercury Planet Orbiter (DFO), which will perform a complete mapping of the surface of Mercury, and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), which will study the Mercurian magnetosphere. The Bepicolombo mission will study planet Mercury. It consists of two individual orbiters: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (DFO), that will map the planet, and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), that will investigate its magnetosphere. It should be launch in 2013 and reach Mercury in 2019. This artist's view shows the two Bepicolombo orbiters (MPO and MMO) mounted on top of their transfer module (cruise configuration) / Bridgeman Images
PIX4606308: The bepicolombo probe - bepicolombo spacecraft. - bepicolombo will be a mission to explore the planet Mercury, carried out jointly by the Japanese Space Agency and the European Space Agency. Its launch is scheduled for 2013, reaching Mercure in 2019. Two probes form the Bepicolombo mission, the Mercury Planet Orbiter (DFO), which will perform a complete mapping of the surface of Mercury, and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), which will study the Mercurian magnetosphere. The Bepicolombo mission will study planet Mercury. It consists of two individual orbiters: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (DFO), that will map the planet, and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), that will investigate its magnetosphere. It should be launch in 2013 and reach Mercury in 2019. This artist's view shows the two Bepicolombo orbiters (MPO and MMO) mounted on top of their transfer module (cruise configuration) / Bridgeman Images
PIX4606350: The bepicolombo probe - bepicolombo spacecraft. - bepicolombo will be a mission to explore the planet Mercury, carried out jointly by the Japanese Space Agency and the European Space Agency. Its launch is scheduled for 2013, reaching Mercure in 2019. Two probes form the Bepicolombo mission, the Mercury Planet Orbiter (DFO), which will perform a complete mapping of the surface of Mercury, and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), which will study the Mercurian magnetosphere. The Bepicolombo mission will study planet Mercury. It consists of two individual orbiters: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (DFO), that will map the planet, and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO), that will investigate its magnetosphere. It should be launch in 2013 and reach Mercury in 2019. This artist's view shows the two Bepicolombo orbiters (MPO and MMO) mounted on top of their transfer module (cruise configuration) / Bridgeman Images
PIX4606413: Phobos probe - Artist's View - Phobos spacecraft - Artist view - The Phobos program was a sovietic space mission, consisting of two probes dedicated mainly to the study of Mars and its two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Launched in 1988, both probes lost contact with Earth. Only Phobos 2 managed to get into orbit around Mars and collect data, including 38 photographs. The Phobos program was an unmanned space mission consisting of two soviet probes launched in 1988 to study Mars and its moons Phobos and Deimos. Phobos 1 had quickly a failure, Phobos 2 became a Mars orbiter and returned 38 images of the red planet / Bridgeman Images
PIX4606433: Probe Penetrator Mars 96 - Penetrator of the Mars 96 spacecraft - Cross-section view of one of the two penetrators of the Mars 96 probe. Numerous measuring instruments were incorporated. The lower part was to sink several metres into the Martian soil. Launched in 1996, the probe could not leave Earth orbit and disintegrate. Cutaway of a penetrator deployed on the martian surface showing the different experiments in the forebody and in the afterbody. The forebody should be separated from the afterbody and dive several meters into the martian soil. Launched in 1996, a rocket failure happened and the probe was desintegrated in the Earth atmosphere / Bridgeman Images
PIX4614913: Mars and its satellites seen with an amateur telescope - Mars with its moons through an amateur telescope - Composite image of the planet Mars accompanied by its two moving satellites, Phobos (left) and Deimos (right). Image taken with a C14 and a webcam on August 28, 2003 in Namibia. Composite image of planet Mars with its moons. Image taken on August 28 2003 from Namibia with a C14 telescope and a webcam. Phobos is moving on the left of the image, Deimos at right / Bridgeman Images