List of NASA missions


This is a list of NASA missions, both crewed and robotic, since its establishment in 1958.

Current missions

There are over 70 currently active missions.

X-Plane program

Since 1945, NACA and, since 1958, NASA have conducted the X-Plane Program. The program was originally intended to create a family of experimental aircraft not intended for production beyond the limited number of each design built solely for flight research. The first X-Plane, the Bell X-1, was the first rocket-powered airplane to break the sound barrier on October 14, 1947. X-Planes have set numerous milestones since then, both crewed and unpiloted.

Crewed missions

Human spaceflight

has successfully launched over 200 crewed flights. Two have ended in failure, causing the death of the entire crew: STS-51-L in 1986, and STS-107 in 2003.
ProgramStart dateEnd dateNo. of launched
crewed missions		Notes
Mercury program195919636First U.S. crewed program
Gemini program1963196610Program used to practice space rendezvous and EVAs
Apollo program1961197211Brought first human to the Moon
Skylab197319743The crewed missions only took place in 1973 and 1974; first American space station
Apollo–Soyuz Test Project197519751Joint with Soviet Union
Space Shuttle19812011135First missions in which a spacecraft was reused
Shuttle-Mir Program199519989Russian partnership
International Space Station1998Ongoing54Joint with Roscosmos, CSA, ESA, and JAXA
Project Constellation200320100Cancelled program to bring humans to the Moon again, to Mars and beyond
Artemis program2017Ongoing0Current program to bring humans to the Moon again

Notes:

Future

On May 7, the Obama Administration announced the launch of an independent review of planned U.S. human space flight activities with the goal of ensuring that the nation is on a vigorous and sustainable path to achieving its boldest aspirations in space. The review was conducted by a panel of experts led by Norman Augustine, the former CEO of Lockheed Martin, who served on the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology under both Democrat and Republican presidents.
The "Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans" was to examine ongoing and planned National Aeronautics and Space Administration development activities, as well as potential alternatives and present options for advancing a safe, innovative, affordable, and sustainable human space flight program in the years following Space Shuttle retirement. The panel worked closely with NASA and sought input from the United States Congress, the White House, the public, industry, and international partners as it developed its options. It presented its results on October 22, 2009.
In February 2010, Obama announced his proposal to cancel the Constellation Program as part of the 2011 Economic Projects. Constellation was officially cancelled by the NASA Budget Authorization Act on 11 October 2010.
NASA brought the Orion spacecraft back to life from the defunct Constellation Program and successfully test launched the first capsule on December 5, 2014 aboard EFT-1. After a near perfect flight traveling above Earth, the spacecraft was recovered for study. NASA plans to use the Orion crew vehicle to send humans to deep space locations such as the Moon and Mars starting in the 2020s. Orion will be powered by NASA's new heavy lift vehicle, the Space Launch System, which is currently under development.
Artemis 1 is planned to be the first flight of the SLS and will be launched as a test of the completed Orion and SLS system. During the mission, an uncrewed Orion capsule will spend 10 days in a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon before returning to Earth. Artemis 2, the first crewed mission of the program, will launch four astronauts in 2022 on a free-return flyby of the Moon at a distance of.
After Artemis 2, the Power and Propulsion Element of the Lunar Gateway and three components of an expendable lunar lander are planned to be delivered on multiple launches from commercial launch service providers.
Artemis 3 is planned to launch in 2024 aboard a SLS Block 1 rocket and will use the minimalist Gateway and expendable lander to achieve the first crewed lunar landing of the program. The flight is planned to touch down on the lunar south pole region, with two astronauts staying there for about one week.

Robotic missions

Suborbital

- Earth Observing System
- Great Observatories
- High Energy Astronomy Observatory program
- Living With a Star
- New Millennium Program
- Origins program
- Small Explorer program
- Solar Terrestrial Probes program
-Lunar Orbiter program
- Lunar Precursor Robotic Program
-Pioneer program
- Ranger program
- Surveyor program

Martian

- Mariner program
- Mars Exploration Rovers
- Mars Pathfinder
- Mars Polar Lander
- Mars Science Laboratory
- Mars Scout program
- Viking program

Asteroidal/cometary

- Discovery Program
- New Millennium Program
- New Frontiers program
- Mariner program - Venus
- New Frontiers program
- Pioneer program
- Voyager program

Solar

- Living With a Star
- Solar Terrestrial Probes program
- Origins Program
- New Frontiers program

Cancelled or undeveloped missions

- Origins program
- Mars Scout program