You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 3.91.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪L235‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider or colocation provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts and colocation providers may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host or colocation provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a colocation provider's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a colocation web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host or colocation provider (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host or colocation provider.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and requests should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 21:36, 3 July 2026.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by ‪Wiki13‬. The reason given is Open proxy/Webhost: Visit the FAQ if you are affected .
- Start of block: 13:43, 5 May 2022
- Expiry of block: 13:43, 5 May 2024
Your current IP address is 3.91.25.123. The blocked range is 3.91.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((short description|Type of spacecraft))
((More citations needed|date=September 2020))
((update|date=August 2023))
((use dmy dates|date=August 2020))
((multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=300
| image1 = Viking2lander1.jpg
| image2 = Luna-9 model.jpg
| image3 = Surveyor 3 on Moon.jpg
| image4 = Lander departure (15160421913).png
| image5 = Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle in landing configuration in lunar orbit from the Command and Service Module Columbia.jpg
| image6 = Challenger Memorial Station At Meridiani Planum.jpg
| image7 = Space probe Venera on the venus surface (artist recreation).jpg
| footer = Examples of landers. From top left, clockwise: the [[Viking 2]] lander on Mars; a model of [[Luna 9]], the first successful lander on another planetary body; [[Philae (lander)|Philae]] on its way to land on the comet [[67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko]]; the lander module of the [[Opportunity (rover)|Opportunity]] rover on Mars; an artistic representation of a [[Venera]] lander on Venus; [[Apollo 11]] [[lunar module]] Eagle in landing configuration in lunar orbit; the lander [[Surveyor 3]] on the Moon photographed by [[Apollo 12]] astronaut [[Alan Bean]].
))

A '''lander''' is a [[spacecraft]] that descends towards, then comes to rest on the surface of an [[astronomical body]] other than [[Earth]].<ref>((cite book|last1=Ball|first1=Andrew|last2=Garry|first2=James|last3=Lorenz|first3=Ralph|last4=Kerzhanovich|first4=Viktor|title=Planetary Landers and Entry Probes|date=May 2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|bibcode=2007plep.book.....B |isbn=978-0-521-82002-8|url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007plep.book.....B/abstract))</ref>((Page needed|date=August 2020)) In contrast to an impact probe, which makes a [[hard landing]] that damages or destroys the probe upon reaching the surface, a lander makes a [[soft landing (rocketry)|soft landing]] after which the probe remains functional.

For bodies with [[Celestial body atmosphere|atmospheres]], the landing occurs after [[atmospheric reentry|atmospheric entry]]. In these cases, landers may employ [[Parachute|parachutes]] to slow them down enough to maintain a low [[terminal velocity]]. In some cases, small landing rockets will be fired just before impact in order to reduce the lander's velocity. Landing may be accomplished by [[Spacecraft attitude control|controlled descent]] and set down on [[Spacecraft lander landing gear|landing gear]], with the possible addition of a post-landing attachment mechanism (such as the mechanism used by ''[[Philae (spacecraft)|Philae]]'') for celestial bodies with low gravity. Some missions (for example, [[Luna 9]] and [[Mars Pathfinder]]) used inflatable airbags to cushion the lander's impact rather than utilizing more traditional landing gear.

When a high-velocity impact is intentionally planned in order to study the consequences of impact, the spacecraft is called an impactor.<ref>((cite web|first1=Phil|last1=Davis|first2=Kirk|last2=Munsell|website=Deep Impact Legacy Site (archive)|title=Technology – Impactor – The Plan|url=http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/deepimpact/tech/impactor.cfm|publisher=NASA/JPL|date=23 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426050106/http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/deepimpact/tech/impactor.cfm|access-date=2009-04-22|archive-date=2009-04-26))</ref>

Several [[terrestrial planet|terrestrial bodies]] have been subject to lander or impactor exploration. Among them are Earth's [[Moon]]; the planets [[Venus]], [[Mars]], and [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]]; Saturn's moon [[Titan (moon)|Titan]]; [[asteroid]]s; and [[comet]]s.

==Landers==

===Lunar===
((main|Moon landing))
[[File: Lunar surface shortly after landing, Apollo 16.jpg|thumb|right|The lunar surface through the [[Apollo 16]] [[Apollo Lunar Module|Lunar Module]] window shortly after landing]]
[[File: Surveyor 3 on Moon.jpg|thumb|[[Surveyor 3]] on the Moon]]
Beginning with [[Luna 2]] in 1959, the first few spacecraft to reach the lunar surface were impactors, not landers. They were part of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Luna program]] or the American [[Ranger program]].

In 1966, the Soviet [[Luna 9]] became the first spacecraft to achieve a lunar soft landing and to transmit photographic data to Earth. The American [[Surveyor program]] (1966–1968) was designed to determine where Apollo could land safely. As a result, these robotic missions required soft landers to sample the lunar soil and determine the thickness of the dust layer, which was unknown before Surveyor.

The U.S.-crewed [[Apollo Lunar Module]]s (1969–1972) with [[Rover (space exploration)|rover]]s (1971–1972) and late Soviet large robotic landers (1969–), [[Lunokhod programme|Lunokhod]]s (1970–1973) and [[sample return mission]]s (1970–1976) used a rocket descent engine for a soft landing of astronauts and lunar rovers on the Moon.

The Chinese [[Chang'e 3]] mission and its ''[[Yutu (rover)|Yutu]]'' ('[[Jade Rabbit]]') rover landed on 14 December 2013. In 2019, China's [[Chang'e 4]] mission successfully landed the ''[[Yutu-2]]'' rover on the [[far side of the Moon]].<ref>((cite web|url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/01/china-returning-moon-change-4-mission/|last=Barbosa|first=Rui C.|date=3 January 2019|title=China lands Chang'e-4 mission on the far side of the Moon|access-date=2020-08-18|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819042755/https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/01/china-returning-moon-change-4-mission/|archive-date=2020-08-19))</ref> [[Chang'e 5]] and [[Chang'e 6]] are designed to be sample return missions.<ref name=ChineseLunar>((cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/cnsa_moon_future.html|last=Williams|first=David R.|title=Future Chinese Lunar Missions|date=12 December 2019|url-status=live|publisher=NASA Goddard Space Flight Center|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401233547/https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/cnsa_moon_future.html|archive-date=2020-04-01))</ref> Chang'e 5 is currently scheduled for 2020, while Chang'e 6 is planned for 2023<ref>((cite press release|url=https://presse.cnes.fr/sites/default/files/drupal/201911/default/cp156-2019_-_chine_va.pdf|last1=Pascale|first1=Bresson|last2=Sart|first2=Raphaël|title=State visit of President Macron to China – In 2023, Chang'e 6 will deploy the French DORN instrument on the Moon to study the lunar exosphere|publisher=[[CNES]]|access-date=2020-08-18|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819044347/https://presse.cnes.fr/sites/default/files/drupal/201911/default/cp156-2019_-_chine_va.pdf|archive-date=2020-08-19))</ref> or 2024.<ref name=ChineseLunar/> [[Chang'e 5]] mission landed on the Moon on 1 December 2020, China completed the [[Chang'e 5]] mission on 16 December 2020 with the return of approximately 2 kilograms of lunar sample.

On 6 September 2019, the lander ''[[Vikram (spacecraft)|Vikram]]'' on [[Chandrayaan-2]], attempting to land on the lunar south polarregion. Due to software glitch, it lost contact and crashed moments before landing.<ref>((Cite web |title=India has found its Vikram lander after it crashed into the moon’s surface |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/09/06/133128/india-s-chandrayaan-2-lander-likely-crashed-into-the-moons-surface/ |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=MIT Technology Review |language=en))</ref><ref>((Cite news |date=2019-09-08 |title=Vikram lander located on lunar surface, wasn't a soft landing: Isro |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/vikram-lander-located-did-not-soft-land-on-moon-isro/articleshow/71037009.cms |access-date=2023-08-22 |issn=0971-8257))</ref>

About 4 years later, on 23 August 2023, the lander ''[[Vikram (spacecraft)|Vikram]]'' on [[Chandrayaan-3]] successfully touched down on the lunar south pole, close to the crater Manzinus U. This made it the first lander to soft land at the south pole of the Moon.<ref>((Cite web |last=Jones |first=Andrew |date=2023-08-23 |title=Chandrayaan-3: India becomes fourth country to land on the moon |url=https://spacenews.com/chandrayaan-3-india-becomes-fourth-country-to-land-on-the-moon/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US))</ref><ref>((Cite news |date=2023-08-23 |title=India First to Land Near Moon South Pole After Russia Fails |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-23/india-set-for-first-south-pole-moon-landing-after-russia-crash |access-date=2023-08-23))</ref>

Japan became the fifth country to land a lunar probe on On 19 January 2024, by successfully landing its [[Smart Lander for Investigating Moon |SLIM lander]].

On 22 February 2024, Intuitive Machine's [[Intuitive_Machines_Nova-C#IM-1 mission|''Odysseus'']] successfully landed on the Moon after taking off on a SpaceX [[Falcon 9]]. This was the first successful landing of a [[Private spaceflight|privately owned spacecraft]] on the Moon.<ref>[https://www.space.com/spacex-intuitive-machines-nova-c-moon-lander-launch-preparations SpaceX gearing up to launch Intuitive Machines private moon lander in February] Space.com. By Mike Wall.  Jan. 31, 2024. Retrieved Feb. 5, 2024. </ref><ref>((cite web |last1=David |first1=Emillia |title=Odysseus achieves the first US Moon landing since 1972 |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/22/24080498/odysseus-lunar-lander-nasa-moon-intuitive-machines |website=The Verge |date=22 February 2024 |access-date=23 February 2024))</ref>

===Venus===
((main|Venus#Exploration))
The Soviet [[Venera program]] included a number of [[Venus]] landers, some of which were crushed during descent much as Galileo's Jupiter "lander" and others which successfully touched down. [[Venera 3]] in 1966 and [[Venera 7]] in 1970 became the first impact and soft landing on Venus respectively. The Soviet [[Vega program]] also placed two balloons in the Venusian atmosphere in 1985, which were the first aerial tools on other planets.

===Mars===
((main|Mars landing))
((see also|Mars rover|Mars sample return mission))
[[File:Mars Viking 12a001.png|thumb|upright=1.3|First "clear" image ever transmitted from the surface of [[Mars]] – shows [[List of rocks on Mars#Viking|rocks]] near the ''[[Viking 1]]'' lander (July 20, 1976)]]
The Soviet Union's [[Mars 1962B]] became the first mission intended to impact on Mars in 1962. In 1971, the lander of the [[Mars 3]] probe conducted the first [[soft landing (rocketry)|soft landing]] on Mars, but communication was lost within a minute after touchdown, which occurred during one of the worst global dust storms since the beginning of telescopic observations of the Red Planet. Three other landers, [[Mars 2]] in 1971 and [[Mars 5]] and [[Mars 6]] in 1973, either crashed or failed to even enter the planet's atmosphere. All four landers used an aeroshell-like heat shield during [[Mars atmospheric entry|atmospheric entry]]. Mars 2 and Mars 3 landers carried the first small skis-walking [[Mars rover]]s, [[PrOP-M]], that did not work on the planet.

The Soviet Union planned the heavy [[Marsokhod]] [[Mars 4NM]] mission in 1973 and the [[Mars sample return mission|Mars sample return]] [[Mars 5NM]] mission in 1975, but neither occurred due to needing the [[N1 (rocket)|N1 super-launcher]] that was never flown successfully. A double-launching Soviet [[Mars 5M]] (Mars-79) sample return mission was planned for 1979 but cancelled due to complexity and technical problems.

NASA's ''[[Viking 1]]'' and ''[[Viking 2]]'' were launched respectively in August and September 1975, each comprising an orbiter vehicle and a lander. ''Viking 1'' landed in July 1976 ''Viking 2'' in September 1976. The [[Viking program]] rovers were the first successful, functioning Mars landers. The mission ended in May 1983, after both landers had stopped working.

[[Mars 96]] was the first complex post-Soviet Russian mission with an orbiter, lander, penetrators. Planned for 1996, it failed at launch. A planned repeat of this mission, Mars 98, was cancelled due to lack of funding.
   
The U.S. ''[[Mars Pathfinder]]'' was launched in December 1996 and released the first acting rover on Mars, ''[[Sojourner (rover)|Sojourner]]'', in July 1997. It worked until September 1997.

The [[Mars Polar Lander]] ceased communication on 3 December 1999 prior to reaching the surface and is presumed to have crashed.
 
The European ''[[Beagle 2]]'' lander deployed successfully from the ''[[Mars Express]]'' spacecraft but the signal confirming a landing which should have come on 25 December 2003 was not received. No communication was ever established and ''Beagle 2'' was declared lost on 6 February 2004. The proposed 2009 British ''[[Beagle 3]]'' lander mission to search for life, past or present, was not adopted.

The American [[Mars Exploration Rover]]s ''[[Spirit (rover)|Spirit]]'' and ''[[Opportunity (rover)|Opportunity]]'' were launched in June and July 2003. They reached the Martian surface in January 2004 using landers featuring airbags and parachutes to soften impact. ''Spirit'' ceased functioning in 2010, more than five years past its design lifetime.<ref>((cite news|url=http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20090810a.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814163152/http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20090810a.html|archive-date=14 August 2009|title=Meteorite Found on Mars Yields Clues About Planet's Past|date=10 August 2009|publisher=NASA|access-date=2009-09-08))</ref> As of 13 February 2019, ''Opportunity'' was declared effectively dead, having exceeded its three-month design lifetime by well over a decade.<ref name="nasaStatus">((cite web|url=http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_opportunityAll.html|title=Opportunity Status|publisher=NASA|access-date=19 August 2014|archive-date=20 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140620024319/http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status_opportunityAll.html))</ref>
 
The U.S. spacecraft ''[[Phoenix (spacecraft)|Phoenix]]'' successfully achieved soft landing on the surface of Mars on 25 May 2008, using a combination of parachutes and rocket descent engines.

[[Mars Science Laboratory]], which carried the rover ''[[Curiosity (rover)|Curiosity]]'', was launched by [[NASA]] on 26 November 2011. It landed in the [[Aeolis Palus]] region of [[Gale Crater]] on Mars on 6 August 2012.

China launched the [[Tianwen-1]] mission, on 23 July 2020. It includes an orbiter, a lander and a 240 kilograms rover. The orbiter was placed into orbit on 10 February 2021. The ''[[Zhurong (rover)|Zhurong]]'' successfully soft landed on 14 May 2021 and deployed on 22 May 2021.

((Mars map indicating landers)) 
((Clear))

===Martian moons===
((main|Moons of Mars#Exploration by spacecraft|))
While several flybys conducted by Mars orbiting probes have provided images and other data about the Martian moons [[Phobos (moon)|Phobos]] and [[Deimos (moon)|Deimos]], only few of them intended to land on the surface of these satellites. Two probes under the Soviet [[Phobos program]] were successfully launched in 1988, but in 1989 the intended landings on Phobos and Deimos were not conducted due to failures in the spacecraft system. The post-Soviet Russian [[Fobos-Grunt]] probe was an intended sample return mission to Phobos in 2012 but failed after launch in 2011.

In 2007 [[European Space Agency]] and [[EADS Astrium]] proposed and developed the mission to Phobos to 2016 with lander and sample return, but it stayed as a project. Since 2007 the [[Canadian Space Agency]] has considered a mission to Phobos called Phobos Reconnaissance and International Mars Exploration (PRIME), which would include an orbiter and lander. Recent proposals include a 2008 [[NASA Glenn Research Center]] Phobos and Deimos sample return mission, the 2013 [[Phobos Surveyor]], and the [[OSIRIS-REx#OSIRIS-REx II|OSIRIS-REx II]] mission concept.

The [[Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency]] (JAXA) plans to launch the [[Martian Moons Exploration]] (MMX) mission in 2024, a sample return mission targeting Phobos.<ref name="S Clark">((cite web|url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/11/20/nasa-confirms-contribution-to-japanese-led-mars-mission/|title=NASA confirms contribution to Japanese-led Mars mission|first=Stephen|last=Clark|website=Spaceflight Now|date=20 November 2017))</ref> MMX will land and collect samples from Phobos multiple times, along with deploying a rover jointly developed by [[CNES]] and the [[German Aerospace Center]] (DLR).<ref name="MMXroverJAXAPR">((cite press release|last1=Yamakawa|first1=Hiroshi|last2=Le Gall|first2=Jean-Yves|last3=Ehrenfreund|first3=Pascale|last4=Dittus|first4=Hansjörg|date=October 3, 2018|title=Joint Statement with Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and German Aerospace Center (DLR) regarding Martian Moons eXploration|url=http://global.jaxa.jp/press/2018/10/files/Joint_Statement_MMX.pdf|publisher=[[JAXA]]|access-date=October 30, 2018))</ref> By using a corer sampling mechanism, the spacecraft aims to retrieve a minimum of 10((nbsp))g of samples. MMX will return to Earth in 2029.<ref name="fujimoto20170111">((cite web|url=http://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/meetings/jan2017/presentations/Fujimoto.pdf|title=JAXA's exploration of the two moons of Mars, with sample return from Phobos|last1=Fujimoto|first1=Masaki|publisher=[[Lunar and Planetary Institute]]|date=11 January 2017|access-date=23 March 2017))</ref>

===Titan ===
((main|Titan (moon)#Observation and exploration))
[[File:Huygens surface color.jpg|thumb|right|Surface of Saturn's moon [[Titan (moon)|Titan]] as seen by the [[Huygens (spacecraft)|''Huygens'' probe]] after landing in 2005]]

The ''[[Huygens probe|Huygens]]'' probe, carried to [[Saturn]]'s [[natural satellite|moon]] Titan by ''[[Cassini probe|Cassini]]'', was specifically designed to survive landing on land or on liquid. It was thoroughly drop-tested to make sure it could withstand impact and continue functioning for at least three minutes. However, due to the low-speed impact, it continued providing data for more than two hours after it landed. The landing on Titan in 2005 was the first landing on the planet's satellites outside the Moon.

The proposed U.S. [[Titan Mare Explorer]] (TiME) mission considered a lander that would splash down in a lake in Titan's northern hemisphere and float on the surface of the lake for few months. Spain's proposed [[Titan Lake In-situ Sampling Propelled Explorer]] (TALISE) mission is similar to the TiME lander but has its own propulsion system for controlling shipping.

===Comets and asteroids===
((main|Asteroid#Exploration|Comet#Spacecraft missions))
''[[Vesta (spacecraft)|Vesta]]'', the multi-aimed Soviet mission, was developed in cooperation with European countries for realization in 1991–1994 but canceled due to the Soviet Union disbanding. It included a flyby of Mars, where ''Vesta'' would deliver an [[aerostat]] (balloon or airship) and small landers or penetrators, followed by flybys of [[Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres]] or [[4 Vesta]] and some other [[asteroid]]s with the impact of a large penetrator on one of them.((Clarify|date=August 2020))

The first landing on a [[small Solar System body]] (an object in the Solar System that is not a moon, planet, or dwarf planet) was performed in 2001 by the probe [[NEAR Shoemaker]] at asteroid [[433 Eros]] despite the fact that NEAR was not originally designed to be capable of landing.

Japanese ''[[Hayabusa (spacecraft)|Hayabusa]]'' probe made several attempts to land on [[25143 Itokawa]] in 2005 with mixed success, including a failed attempt to deploy a [[rover (space exploration)|rover]]. Designed to rendezvous and land on a low-gravity body, ''Hayabusa'' became the second spacecraft to land on an asteroid, and in 2010 the first sample return mission from an asteroid.

The ''[[Rosetta space probe|Rosetta]]'' probe, launched 2 March 2004, put the first robotic lander ''Philae'' on the comet [[67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko|Churyumov–Gerasimenko]] on 12 November 2014. Due to the extremely low gravity of such bodies, the landing system included a harpoon launcher intended to anchor a cable in the comet's surface and pull the lander down.

[[JAXA]] launched the ''[[Hayabusa2]]'' asteroid space probe in 2014 to deliver several landing parts (including Minerva II and German Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) landers and a Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI) penetrator) in 2018–2019 to return samples to Earth by 2020.

The [[China National Space Administration|Chinese Space Agency]] is designing a sample retrieval mission from Ceres that would take place during the 2020s.<ref>((cite web|url=http://english.nssc.cas.cn/ns/NU/201410/W020141016603613379886.pdf|title=China's Deep-space Exploration to 2030|author1=Zou Yongliao|author2=Li Wei|author3=Ouyang Ziyuan|publisher=Chinese Academy of Sciences|pages=12–13))</ref>

===Mercury===
((main|Exploration of Mercury))
Launched in October 2018 and expected to reach Mercury in December 2025, [[European Space Agency|ESA]]'s [[BepiColombo]] mission to Mercury was originally designed to include the [[Mercury Surface Element]] (MSE). The lander would have carried a 7&nbsp;kg payload consisting of an imaging system (a descent camera and a surface camera), a heat flow and physical properties package, an [[alpha particle]] [[X-ray spectrometer]], a [[magnetometer]], a [[seismometer]], a soil penetrating device (mole), and a micro-rover. The MSE aspect of the mission was cancelled in 2003 due to budgetary constraints.<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.esa.int/For_Media/Press_Releases/Critical_decisions_on_Cosmic_Vision|title=N° 75–2003: Critical decisions on Cosmic Vision|date=7 November 2003|publisher=[[European Space Agency]]))</ref>

===Moons of Jupiter===
((main|Exploration of Jupiter|Moons of Jupiter#Exploration by spacecraft))
A few [[Jupiter]] probes provide many images and other data about its moons. Some proposed missions with landing on Jupiter's moons were canceled or not adopted. The small nuclear-powered [[Europa (moon)|Europa]] lander was proposed as part of NASA's [[Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter]] (JIMO) mission that was canceled in 2006.

ESA launched the [[Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer]] (JUICE) mission in 2023. In addition, NASA offered the ESA the opportunity to design a lander or impactor to fly alongside NASA's proposed orbiter in the [[Europa Clipper]] mission planned for 2025. As Europa is hypothesized to have [[Europa (moon)#Subsurface ocean|water beneath its icy surface]], missions are sent to investigate its [[Planetary habitability|habitability]] and assess its [[Astrobiology|astrobiological]] potential by confirming the existence of water on the moon and determining the water's characteristics.

==Impactors==
((Other uses|Deliberate crash landings on extraterrestrial bodies))
[[File:Deep Impact HRI.jpeg|thumb|The collision of comet [[Tempel 1|9P/Tempel]] and the ''[[Deep Impact (spacecraft)|Deep Impact]]'' probe]]

===Deep Space 2===
The [[Deep Space 2]] impactor probe was to be the first spacecraft to penetrate below the surface of another planet. However, the mission failed with the loss of its mother ship, ''[[Mars Polar Lander]]'', which lost communication with Earth during entry into Mars' atmosphere on 3 December 1999.

===''Deep Impact''===
((main|Deep Impact (spacecraft)))
Comet [[Tempel 1]] was visited by NASA's ''[[Deep Impact (spacecraft)|Deep Impact]]'' probe on 4 July 2005. The [[impact crater]] formed was approximately 200((nbsp))m wide and 30–50((nbsp))m deep, and scientists detected the presence of [[silicate]]s, [[carbonate]]s, [[smectite]], [[amorphous carbon]] and [[polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon]]s.<ref name="Deep Impact Home">((cite web |title=Deep Impact: A Smashing Success |publisher=Deep Impact homepage |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/deepimpact/main/index.html |access-date=May 11, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050713055939/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/deepimpact/main/index.html |archive-date=July 13, 2005))</ref><ref name="Bloomberg">((cite news |last=Dolmetsch |first=Chris |title=Deep Impact Launches Projectile to Blow Hole in Comet (Update1) |publisher=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a7aFRLrijlBM&refer=us |date=July 3, 2005 |access-date=May 11, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050911024350/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a7aFRLrijlBM&refer=us |archive-date=September 11, 2005 ))</ref>

===Moon Impact Probe===
((main|Moon Impact Probe)) 
The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) developed by the [[Indian Space Research Organisation]] (ISRO), India's national space agency, was a [[moon|lunar]] probe that was released on 14 November 2008 by ISRO's [[Chandrayaan-1]] lunar [[remote sensing]] orbiter. Chandrayaan-1 was launched on 22 October 2008. It led to the discovery of the [[Lunar water|presence of water on the Moon]].<ref name="Water found">((cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/mip-detected-water-on-moon-way-back-in-june-isro-chairman/article24854.ece|title=MIP detected water on Moon way back in June: ISRO Chairman|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=September 25, 2009|access-date=2013-06-09|location=Bangalore))</ref><ref name="India first">((cite news|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/1292942/report-chandrayaan-first-discovered-water-on-moon-but|title=Chandrayaan first discovered water on moon, but...|work=[[Daily News and Analysis]]|date=25 September 2009|access-date=2013-06-09|location=Bangalore))</ref>

===LCROSS===
((main|LCROSS))
The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) was a [[robotic spacecraft]] operated by [[NASA]] to perform a lower-cost means of determining the nature of [[hydrogen]] detected at the polar regions of the [[Moon]].<ref name="NASA">((cite conference |last1=Tompkins|first1=Paul D.|last2=Hunt|first2=Rusty|last3=D'Ortenzio|first3=Matt D.|last4=Strong|first4=James|last5=Galal|first5=Ken|last6=Bresina|first6=John L.|last7=Foreman|first7=Darin|last8=Barber|first8=Robert|last9=Shirley|first9=Mark|last10=Munger|first10=James|last11=Drucker|first11=Eric|title=Flight Operations for the LCROSS Lunar Impactor Mission |conference=SpaceOps 2010 |website=NASA Technical Reports Server |date=25 April 2010 |hdl=2060/20100026403 |hdl-access=free))</ref> The main LCROSS mission objective was to explore the presence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater near a lunar polar region.<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/overview/index.html|title=NASA – LCROSS: Mission Overview|publisher=NASA|access-date=2009-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505062437/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/overview/index.html|archive-date=2010-05-05))</ref> LCROSS was launched together with the [[Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter]] (LRO) on 18 June 2009, as part of the shared [[Lunar Precursor Robotic Program]]. LCROSS was designed to collect and relay data from the impact and debris plume resulting from the launch vehicle's spent [[Centaur (rocket stage)|Centaur]] upper rocket stage striking the crater [[Cabeus (crater)|Cabeus]] near the south pole of the Moon. Centaur impacted successfully on 9 October 2009, at 11:31 [[UTC]]. The "shepherding spacecraft" (carrying the LCROSS mission payload)<ref name=LCROSSpresskit>((cite report|url=http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/360020main_LRO_LCROSS_presskit2.pdf|title=LRO/LCROSS Press Kit v2|date=June 2009|publisher=NASA|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027111849/http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/360020main_LRO_LCROSS_presskit2.pdf|archive-date=27 October 2009))</ref> descended through Centaur's plume of debris, and collected and relayed data before impacting six minutes later at 11:37 UTC. The project was successful in discovering water in Cabeus.<ref name="spectralResult">((cite news|first=Jonas|last=Dino|author2=Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite Team|title=LCROSS Impact Data Indicates Water on Moon|date=November 13, 2009|publisher=[[NASA]]|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/main/prelim_water_results.html|access-date=2009-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106005538/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/main/prelim_water_results.html|archive-date=2010-01-06))</ref>

===''MESSENGER''===
((main|MESSENGER))
The NASA ''[[MESSENGER]]'' (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging) mission to Mercury launched on 3 August 2004 and entered orbit around the planet on 18 March 2011.<ref name="MESSENGERLaunch">((cite press release| publisher=NASA / JHUAPL| date= August 2004| title= MESSENGER NASA's Mission to Mercury Launch Press Kit| url= http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/168019main_MESSENGER_71504_PressKit.pdf| access-date= February 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070824103010/http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/168019main_MESSENGER_71504_PressKit.pdf|archive-date=August 24, 2007))</ref> Following a mapping mission, ''MESSENGER'' was directed to impact Mercury's surface on 30 April 2015. The spacecraft's impact with Mercury occurred near 3:26((nbsp))pm EDT on 30 April 2015, leaving a crater estimated to be 16((nbsp))m in diameter.<ref name="space.com.end">((cite news|url=http://www.space.com/29281-messenger-spacecraft-mercury-crash.html|work=Space.com|date=April 30, 2015|title= Farewell, MESSENGER! NASA Probe Crashes Into Mercury|access-date=May 2, 2015))</ref><ref>((cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-completes-messenger-mission-with-expected-impact-on-mercurys-surface |publisher=NASA|date=April 30, 2015| title=Press Release: NASA Completes MESSENGER Mission with Expected Impact on Mercury's Surface|access-date=May 2, 2015))</ref>

===AIDA===
The ESA's [[AIDA (mission)|AIDA]] mission concept would investigate the effects of impact crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid. The [[Double Asteroid Redirection Test|DART]] spacecraft impacted asteroid [[65803 Didymos]]'s moon [[Dimorphos]] in 2022, and the Hera spacecraft will arrive in 2027 to investigate the effects of the impact.<ref name="nsf201901">((cite news|last=Bergin|first=Chris|date=January 7, 2019|title=Hera adds objectives to planetary defense test mission |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/01/hera-objectives-planetary-defense-mission/|newspaper=[[NASASpaceFlight.com]]|access-date=2019-01-11))</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of artificial objects on the Moon]]
* [[List of artificial objects on Mars]]
* [[List of artificial objects on Venus]]

==References==
((reflist))

==External links==
*((Commons category-inline|Landers (spacecraft)))

((Spaceflight))

[[Category:Spaceflight concepts]]
[[Category:Soviet inventions]]
[[Category:Landers (spacecraft)| ]]
[[Category:Space probes]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

Lander (spacecraft) (edit)
Template:Align (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Ambox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Ambox globe (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Ambox globe current red (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Black (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite book (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite conference (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite news (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite press release (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite report (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Cite web (view source) (protected)
Template:Clarify (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Clear (view source) (protected)
Template:Clickable (edit)
Template:Commons category-inline (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:DMCA (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Dated maintenance category (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Dated maintenance category (articles) (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Delink (view source) (protected)
Template:FULLROOTPAGENAME (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Features and artificial objects on Mars (edit)
Template:Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Fix (view source) (protected)
Template:Fix-span (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Fix/category (view source) (protected)
Template:Greater color contrast ratio (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Icon (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:If empty (view source) (protected)
Template:Legend/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Legend inline (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:Mars map indicating landers (edit)
Template:More citations needed (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Multiple image (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Multiple image/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Nbsp (view source) (protected)
Template:Ns has subpages (view source) (protected)
Template:Other uses (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Page needed (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Template:SUBJECTSPACE formatted (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:See also (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Short description (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description/lowercasecheck (view source) (protected)
Template:Sister-inline (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Spaceflight (edit)
Template:Spaces (view source) (protected)
Template:Update (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Use dmy dates (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:White (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Yesno (view source) (protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/blacklist (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/shared (view source) (protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1 (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Color contrast (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Color contrast/colors (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Commons link (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:DecodeEncode (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Delink (view source) (protected)
Module:Disambiguation/templates (view source) (protected)
Module:Find sources (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/links (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/templates/Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Format link (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote list (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Icon (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Icon/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:If empty (view source) (protected)
Module:Labelled list hatnote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Message box (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/ambox.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Multiple image (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Namespace detect/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Ns has subpages (view source) (protected)
Module:Other uses (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/setindex (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/softredirect (view source) (protected)
Module:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:TableTools (view source) (protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:Wikitext Parsing (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to Lander (spacecraft).

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lander_(spacecraft)"