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Sputnik 1

Unmanned space missions are space missions using remote-controlled spacecraft. The first unmanned space mission was Sputnik I, launched October 4, 1957 to orbit the Earth. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Unmanned space mission. ... Sputnik 1 Picture from NASA This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Sputnik 1 Picture from NASA This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... A spacecraft is a vehicle, vessel, craft or device designed to operate beyond the surface of the Earth in outer space. ... Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to be launched into orbit, on October 4, 1957. ... October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

While the terms 'manned' and 'unmanned' are not intentionally gender-specific, some people prefer gender-neutral terms such as unpiloted or uncrewed space missions. Space missions where animals but no humans are on-board are considered unmanned missions. Space missions with a mixed human and other animal crew are considered manned missions. Gender-neutral language (gender-generic, gender-inclusive, non-sexist, or sex-neutral language) is language that attempts to refer neither to males nor females when discussing an abstract or hypothetical person whose sex cannot otherwise be determined. ... Squirrel monkey Baker rode a Jupiter missile (modeled above) into space in 1959 Animals in space originally served to test the survivability of spaceflight before manned space missions were attempted. ...

Many space missions are more suited to unmanned missions rather than manned space missions, due to lower cost and lower risk factors. In addition, some planetary destinations such as Venus or the vicinity of Jupiter are too hostile for human survival, given current technology. Outer planets such as Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are too distant to reach with current manned spaceflight technology, so unmanned probes are the only way to explore them. Human spaceflight is space exploration with a human crew, and possibly passengers (in contrast to unmanned space missions, which are remotely-controlled or robotic space probes). ... Adjective Venusian or (rarely) Cytherean (*min temperature refers to cloud tops only) Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 9. ... Adjective Jovian Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 70 kPa Hydrogen ~86% Helium ~14% Methane 0. ... Adjective Saturnian Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 140 kPa Hydrogen >93% Helium >5% Methane 0. ... Adjective Uranian Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 120 kPa (at the cloud level) Hydrogen 83% Helium 15% Methane 1. ... For other uses, see Neptune (disambiguation). ...

Control

Although generally referred to as remote controlled, some unmanned vehicles have not been. The earliest orbital probes such as Sputnik I and Explorer I transmitted one way data to earth; they were not remote controlled. Soon after the first probes, command systems were developed to allow remote control. Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite to be launched into orbit, on October 4, 1957. ... Explorer-I, officially Satellite 1958 Alpha (and sometimes referred to as Explorer 1), was the first Earth satellite of the United States, having been launched at 10:48pm EST on January 31 (03:48 on 1 February in GMT), 1958, as part of the United States program for the International...

Unmanned space probes use telemetry to radio back to earth acquired data and vehicle status information. Most probes have command systems to allow remote control from the ground. However, increased autonomy is important for distant probes where the light travel time prevents rapid decision and control from earth. Newer probes such as Cassini-Huygens and Mars Exploration Rover are highly autonomous and can operate independently for periods of time using on-board computers. Telemetry is a technology that allows the remote measurement and reporting of information of interest to the system designer or operator. ... Cassini-Huygens is a joint NASA/ESA/ASI unmanned space mission intended to study Saturn and its moons. ... Artists Concept of Rover on Mars (credit: Maas Digital LLC) NASAs Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mission is an ongoing unmanned Mars exploration mission, commenced in 2003, that sent two robotic rovers Spirit and Opportunity to explore the Martian surface and geology. ...

History

Unmanned space missions have been flown by many countries. Most American unmanned missions have been coordinated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and European missions by the European Space Operations Centre, part of ESA (the European Space Agency). The ESA has conducted relatively fewer space exploration missions in the past (one example is the Giotto mission, which encountered comet Halley), but have launched several interplanetary spacecraft in recent years (e.g. Rosetta space probe, Mars Express, Venus Express). ESA has, however, launched many spacecraft to carry out astronomy, and is a collaborator with NASA on the Hubble Space Telescope. There have been many successful Russian space missions. There have also been a few Japanese, Chinese and Indian missions. The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in La Cañada Flintridge, near Los Angeles, California, USA, builds and operates unmanned spacecraft for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). ... Centre in Darmstadt, Germany The European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) is responsible for controlling ESA satellites and space probes. ... The European Space Agency (ESA), established in 1975, is an inter-governmental organization dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member states. ... Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the Moon. ... In this artists concept, Giotto points its white high-gain antenna dish towards earth with the ring of solar cells facing the sun. ... A comet is a small body in the solar system that orbits the Sun and (at least occasionally) exhibits a coma (or atmosphere) and/or a tail â€” both primarily from the effects of solar radiation upon the comets nucleus, which itself is a minor body composed of rock, dust... Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, more generally known as Halleys Comet after Edmond Halley, is a comet that can be seen every 75-76 years. ... Conceptual drawing of the Rosetta orbiter and Philae lander Rosetta is a European Space Agency-led unmanned space mission launched in 2004 intended to study the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. ... Concept model of the Mars Express spacecraft Mars Express is a Mars exploration mission of the European Space Agency and the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. ... Venus Express is the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency. ... A giant Hubble mosaic of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant. ... NASA Insignia Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-09-01, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a telescope in orbit around the Earth, named after astronomer Edwin Hubble for his discovery of galaxies outside the Milky Way and his creation of Hubbles Law, which calculates the rate at which the universe is expanding. ...

Types of missions

Unmanned space missions may be divided into two classes: artificial satellites, which orbit the Earth, and space probes, which leave Earth's orbit to explore the rest of the solar system. See the relevant articles for more information. For other uses, please see Satellite (disambiguation) A satellite is an object that orbits another object (known as its primary). ... Unmanned space missions are those using remote-controlled spacecraft. ...

Active space probes

An active space probe is any device which has left Earth's orbit and is currently in communication with Earth. Active space probes include:

An artists rendering of Stardust (NASA image) The Stardust capsule with cometary and interstellar samples landed at the U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range at 10:10 UTC (15 January 2006) in the Bonneville Salt Flats. ... New Horizons is a NASA unmanned mission to fly by Pluto and its moons. ... Venus Express is the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency. ... Illustration of the Deep Impact space probe after impactor separation (artists conception) Deep Impact is a NASA space probe designed to study the composition of the interior of the comet Tempel 1. ... The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (or MESSENGER for short) is a NASA mission, launched August 3, 2004, designed to study the characteristics and environment of Mercury from orbit. ... Rosetta is a European Space Agency-led unmanned space mission launched in 2004 intended to study the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. ... For other uses, see Hayabusa (disambiguation). ... Cassini-Huygens is a joint NASA/ESA/ASI unmanned space mission intended to study Saturn and its moons. ... Trajectory The Voyager 1 spacecraft is an 815-kilogram unmanned probe of the outer solar system and beyond, launched September 5, 1977, and is currently operational, making it NASAs longest-lasting mission. ... Trajectory Voyager 2 is an unmanned interplanetary spacecraft. ... NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a multipurpose spacecraft designed to conduct reconnaissance and exploration of Mars from orbit. ... The mission patch for Spirit, featuring Marvin the Martian. ... The mission patch for Opportunity, featuring Duck Dodgers (Daffy Duck). ... Oblique view of the Reull Vallis near the Hellas basin, rendered from data obtained by the Mars Express orbiters High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) The Mars Express Orbiter is part of the Mars Express program, a European Space Agency (ESA) mission to Mars. ... Artists concept of the 2001 Mars Odyssey Spacecraft 2001 Mars Odyssey is an unmanned spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. ... Artists conception of Mars Global Surveyor (NASA) The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) is a US spacecraft developed by NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. ... STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is a solar observation mission which was launched on 26 October 2006 at 00:52 GMT.[1] Two identical spacecraft were launched into orbits that cause them to (respectively) pull further ahead and fall gradually behind the earth. ... Ulysses spacecraft Ulysses is an unmanned probe designed to study the Sun at all latitudes. ... The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is a spacecraft that was launched on 2 December 1995 to study the sun, and began normal operations in May 1996. ...

See also

• Geosynchronous satellite
• Landings on other planets
• List of planetary probes
• List of unmanned spacecraft by program
• Manned space mission
• Satellite
• Space exploration
• Space observatory
• Space probe
• Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes
• Timeline of first orbital launches by nationality
• Timeline of planetary exploration

To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Moon Luna 9 - February 3, 1966 Surveyor 1 - June 2, 1966 Luna 13 - December 24, 1966 Surveyor 3 - April 20, 1967 Surveyor 5 - September 11, 1967 Surveyor 6 - November 10, 1967 Surveyor 7 - January 10, 1968 Apollo 11 - manned mission, July 20, 1969 Apollo 12 - manned mission, November 18, 1969... This list includes all individual planetary probes that have studied/were to/will study solar system objects: See also: unmanned space missions, satellites (this list is still incomplete) // Solar probes This list excludes Earth-orbiting observatories Pioneer 5 (USA, 1960) - success Pioneer 6 (USA, 1965) - success Pioneer 7 (USA, 1966... Here is an incomplete list of all unmanned spacecraft categorized by program. ... Human spaceflight is space exploration with a human crew, and possibly passengers (in contrast to unmanned space missions, which are remotely-controlled or robotic space probes). ... MILSTAR:A communication satellite A satellite is any object that orbits another object (which is known as its primary). ... Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the Moon. ... Space telescopes A space observatory is any instrument in outer space which is used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Unmanned space mission. ... Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes // Key: Year - Origin - Target - Status - Description 1950s 1957 - Soviet Union - Earth - Success - Sputnik 1 is launched, the first Earth orbiting satellite 1957 - Soviet Union - Earth - Partial success - Sputnik 2 is launched, the first Earth orbiting satellite with an animal (Laika) 1958 - USA - Earth... While a number of countries have built satellites, only a few have sent objects into orbit using their own launch systems. ... Timeline of planetary exploration by date of launch. ...

External links

• ESA Unmanned Space Missions
• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Unmanned spaceflight discussion forum
• Russia's unmanned moon missions