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<span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Planetary protection</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Planetary_protection-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Sample-return_missions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Sample-return_missions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Sample-return missions</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Sample-return_missions-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Sample-return missions subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Sample-return_missions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-First_missions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#First_missions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>First missions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-First_missions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-1990s" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#1990s"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>1990s</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-1990s-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-2000s" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#2000s"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>2000s</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-2000s-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-2010s_and_2020s" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#2010s_and_2020s"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.4</span> <span>2010s and 2020s</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-2010s_and_2020s-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Future_missions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Future_missions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.5</span> <span>Future missions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Future_missions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Methods_of_sample_return" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Methods_of_sample_return"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Methods of sample return</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Methods_of_sample_return-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Methods of sample return subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Methods_of_sample_return-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Collector_array" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Collector_array"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>Collector array</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Collector_array-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Aerogel" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Aerogel"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1.1</span> <span>Aerogel</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Aerogel-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Robotic_excavation_and_return" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Robotic_excavation_and_return"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2</span> <span>Robotic excavation and return</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Robotic_excavation_and_return-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-List_of_missions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#List_of_missions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>List of missions</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-List_of_missions-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle List of missions subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-List_of_missions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Crewed_missions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Crewed_missions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.1</span> <span>Crewed missions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Crewed_missions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Robotic_missions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Robotic_missions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.2</span> <span>Robotic missions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Robotic_missions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" 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Available in 17 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-17" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">17 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D9%87%D9%85%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A9_%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AA" title="مهمة العودة بالعينات – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="مهمة العودة بالعينات" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missi%C3%B3_de_retorn_de_mostres" title="Missió de retorn de mostres – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Missió de retorn de mostres" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sample_return_mission" title="Sample return mission – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Sample return mission" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specimen-alveniga_misio" title="Specimen-alveniga misio – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Specimen-alveniga misio" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%A3%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AA_%D8%A2%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%86_%D9%86%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86%D9%87" title="مأموریت آوردن نمونه – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="مأموریت آوردن نمونه" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_de_retour_d%27%C3%A9chantillons" title="Mission de retour d'échantillons – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Mission de retour d'échantillons" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%83%98%ED%94%8C_%EB%A6%AC%ED%84%B4_%EB%AF%B8%EC%85%98" title="샘플 리턴 미션 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="샘플 리턴 미션" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misi_pengembalian_sampel" title="Misi pengembalian sampel – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Misi pengembalian sampel" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missione_di_ritorno_del_campione" title="Missione di ritorno del campione – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Missione di ritorno del campione" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0_%D0%B7%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BA_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%86%D0%B8" title="Мисија за повраток на примероци – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Мисија за повраток на примероци" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misi_kembali_sampel" title="Misi kembali sampel – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Misi kembali sampel" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B5%E3%83%B3%E3%83%97%E3%83%AB%E3%83%AA%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%B3" title="サンプルリターン – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="サンプルリターン" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss%C3%A3o_de_retorno_de_amostra" title="Missão de retorno de amostra – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Missão de retorno de amostra" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A1vratov%C3%A1_sonda" title="Návratová sonda – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Návratová sonda" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%96rnek_getirme_g%C3%B6revi" title="Örnek getirme görevi – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Örnek getirme görevi" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nhi%E1%BB%87m_v%E1%BB%A5_mang_v%E1%BB%81_m%E1%BA%ABu_v%E1%BA%ADt" title="Nhiệm vụ mang về mẫu vật – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Nhiệm vụ mang về mẫu vật" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%87%E6%A0%B7%E8%BF%94%E5%9B%9E" title="采样返回 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="采样返回" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q1093833#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Sample-return_mission" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li 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from <a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample_return_mission&redirect=no" class="mw-redirect" title="Sample return mission">Sample return mission</a>)</span></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Spacecraft mission</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Apollo_15_Genesis_Rock.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Apollo_15_Genesis_Rock.jpg/260px-Apollo_15_Genesis_Rock.jpg" decoding="async" width="260" height="260" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Apollo_15_Genesis_Rock.jpg/390px-Apollo_15_Genesis_Rock.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Apollo_15_Genesis_Rock.jpg/520px-Apollo_15_Genesis_Rock.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1024" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Genesis_Rock" title="Genesis Rock">Genesis Rock</a>, returned by the <a href="/wiki/Apollo_15" title="Apollo 15">Apollo 15</a> lunar mission in 1971.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:OSIRIS-REx_Sample_Return_(NHQ202309240003).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/OSIRIS-REx_Sample_Return_%28NHQ202309240003%29.jpg/260px-OSIRIS-REx_Sample_Return_%28NHQ202309240003%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="260" height="173" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/OSIRIS-REx_Sample_Return_%28NHQ202309240003%29.jpg/390px-OSIRIS-REx_Sample_Return_%28NHQ202309240003%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/OSIRIS-REx_Sample_Return_%28NHQ202309240003%29.jpg/520px-OSIRIS-REx_Sample_Return_%28NHQ202309240003%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5392" data-file-height="3592" /></a><figcaption>The sample return capsule from NASA’s <a href="/wiki/OSIRIS-REx" title="OSIRIS-REx">OSIRIS-REx</a> mission shortly after touching down in the desert in Utah</figcaption></figure> <p>A <b>sample-return mission</b> is a <a href="/wiki/Spacecraft" title="Spacecraft">spacecraft</a> mission to collect and return samples from an extraterrestrial location to Earth for analysis. Sample-return missions may bring back merely atoms and molecules or a deposit of complex compounds such as loose material and rocks. These samples may be obtained in a number of ways, such as soil and rock excavation or a collector array used for capturing particles of solar wind or cometary debris. Nonetheless, concerns have been raised that the return of such samples to planet Earth may endanger Earth itself.<sup id="cite_ref-SA-20220623_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SA-20220623-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>To date, samples of <a href="/wiki/Moon_rock" title="Moon rock">Moon rock</a> from Earth's <a href="/wiki/Moon" title="Moon">Moon</a> have been collected by robotic and crewed missions; the comet <a href="/wiki/Wild_2" class="mw-redirect" title="Wild 2">Wild 2</a> and the asteroids <a href="/wiki/25143_Itokawa" title="25143 Itokawa">25143 Itokawa</a>, <a href="/wiki/162173_Ryugu" title="162173 Ryugu">162173 Ryugu</a>, and <a href="/wiki/101955_Bennu" title="101955 Bennu">101955 Bennu</a> have been visited by robotic spacecraft which returned samples to Earth; and samples of the <a href="/wiki/Solar_wind" title="Solar wind">solar wind</a> have been returned by the robotic <i><a href="/wiki/Genesis_(spacecraft)" title="Genesis (spacecraft)">Genesis</a></i> mission. </p><p>In addition to sample-return missions, samples from three identified non-terrestrial bodies have been collected by other means: samples from the Moon in the form of <a href="/wiki/Lunar_meteorite" title="Lunar meteorite">Lunar meteorites</a>, samples from <a href="/wiki/Mars" title="Mars">Mars</a> in the form of <a href="/wiki/Martian_meteorite" title="Martian meteorite">Martian meteorites</a>, and samples from <a href="/wiki/4_Vesta" title="4 Vesta">Vesta</a> in the form of <a href="/wiki/HED_meteorite" title="HED meteorite">HED meteorites</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Scientific_use">Scientific use</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Scientific use"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:MarsMeteorite-NWA7034-716969main_black_beauty_full.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/MarsMeteorite-NWA7034-716969main_black_beauty_full.jpg/220px-MarsMeteorite-NWA7034-716969main_black_beauty_full.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="293" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/MarsMeteorite-NWA7034-716969main_black_beauty_full.jpg/330px-MarsMeteorite-NWA7034-716969main_black_beauty_full.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/MarsMeteorite-NWA7034-716969main_black_beauty_full.jpg/440px-MarsMeteorite-NWA7034-716969main_black_beauty_full.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1944" data-file-height="2592" /></a><figcaption>A meteorite thought to be from Mars</figcaption></figure> <p>Samples available on Earth can be analyzed in <a href="/wiki/Laboratory" title="Laboratory">laboratories</a>, so we can further our understanding and knowledge as part of the <a href="/wiki/Discovery_and_exploration_of_the_Solar_System" title="Discovery and exploration of the Solar System">discovery and exploration of the Solar System</a>. Until now, many important scientific discoveries about the <a href="/wiki/Solar_System" title="Solar System">Solar System</a> were made remotely with <a href="/wiki/Telescope" title="Telescope">telescopes</a>, and some Solar System bodies were visited by orbiting or even landing spacecraft with instruments capable of <a href="/wiki/Remote_sensing" title="Remote sensing">remote sensing</a> or sample analysis. While such an investigation of the Solar System is technically easier than a sample-return mission, the scientific tools available on Earth to study such samples are far more advanced and diverse than those that can go on spacecraft. Further, analysis of samples on Earth allows follow up of any findings with different tools, including tools that can tell intrinsic extraterrestrial material from terrestrial contamination,<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and those that have yet to be developed; in contrast, a spacecraft can carry only a limited set of analytic tools, and these have to be chosen and built long before launch. </p><p>Samples analyzed on Earth can be matched against findings of remote sensing for more insight into the <a href="/wiki/Formation_and_evolution_of_the_Solar_System" title="Formation and evolution of the Solar System">processes that formed the Solar System</a>. This was done, for example, with findings by the <a href="/wiki/Dawn_(spacecraft)" title="Dawn (spacecraft)"><i>Dawn</i> spacecraft</a>, which visited the asteroid Vesta from 2011 to 2012 for imaging, and samples from <a href="/wiki/HED_meteorite" title="HED meteorite">HED meteorites</a> (collected on Earth until then), which were compared to data gathered by Dawn.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> These meteorites could then be identified as material ejected from the large impact crater <a href="/wiki/Rheasilvia" title="Rheasilvia">Rheasilvia</a> on Vesta. This allowed deducing the composition of the crust, <a href="/wiki/Mantle_(geology)" title="Mantle (geology)">mantle</a> and core of Vesta. Similarly, some <a href="/wiki/Asteroid_spectral_types" title="Asteroid spectral types">differences in the composition of asteroids</a> (and, to a lesser extent, different compositions of <a href="/wiki/Comet" title="Comet">comets</a>) can be discerned by imaging alone. However, for a more precise inventory of the material on these different bodies, more samples will be collected and returned in the future, to match their compositions with the data gathered through telescopes and <a href="/wiki/Astronomical_spectroscopy" title="Astronomical spectroscopy">astronomical spectroscopy</a>. </p><p>One further focus of such investigation—besides the basic composition and <a href="/wiki/Historical_geology" title="Historical geology">geologic history</a> of the various Solar System bodies—is the presence of the <a href="/wiki/Organic_compound" title="Organic compound">building blocks of life</a> on comets, asteroids, <a href="/wiki/Mars" title="Mars">Mars</a> or the moons of the <a href="/wiki/Gas_giant" title="Gas giant">gas giants</a>. Several sample-return missions to asteroids and comets are currently in the works. More samples from asteroids and comets will help determine whether life formed in space and was carried to Earth by meteorites. Another question under investigation is whether <a href="/wiki/Extraterrestrial_life" title="Extraterrestrial life">extraterrestrial life</a> formed on other Solar System bodies like Mars or on <a href="/wiki/Natural_satellite_habitability" class="mw-redirect" title="Natural satellite habitability">the moons of the gas giants</a>, and whether life might even exist there. The result of NASA's last "Decadal Survey" was to prioritize a Mars sample-return mission, as Mars has a special importance: it is comparatively "nearby", might have harbored life in the past, and might even continue to sustain life. <a href="/wiki/Jupiter" title="Jupiter">Jupiter's</a> moon <a href="/wiki/Europa_(moon)" title="Europa (moon)">Europa</a> is another important focus in the search for life in the Solar System. However, due to the distance and other constraints, Europa might not be the target of a sample-return mission in the foreseeable future. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Planetary_protection">Planetary protection</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Planetary protection"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Planetary_protection" title="Planetary protection">Planetary protection</a> and <a href="/wiki/Extraterrestrial_sample_curation" title="Extraterrestrial sample curation">Extraterrestrial sample curation</a></div> <p>Planetary protection aims to prevent biological contamination of both the target <a href="/wiki/Celestial_body" class="mw-redirect" title="Celestial body">celestial body</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Earth_(planet)" class="mw-redirect" title="Earth (planet)">Earth</a> in the case of sample-return missions. A sample return from Mars or other location with the potential to host life is a <a href="/wiki/Planetary_protection" title="Planetary protection">category V mission under COSPAR</a>, which directs to the containment of any unsterilized sample returned to Earth. This is because it is unknown what the effects such hypothetical life would be on humans or the <a href="/wiki/Biosphere" title="Biosphere">biosphere</a> of Earth.<sup id="cite_ref-Lederberg_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lederberg-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For this reason, <a href="/wiki/Carl_Sagan" title="Carl Sagan">Carl Sagan</a> and <a href="/wiki/Joshua_Lederberg" title="Joshua Lederberg">Joshua Lederberg</a> argued in the 1970s that we should do sample-return missions classified as category V missions with extreme caution, and later studies by the NRC and ESF agreed.<sup id="cite_ref-Lederberg_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lederberg-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-nrc2009_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-nrc2009-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-iMars_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-iMars-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-esf2010_PP_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-esf2010_PP-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-NAS_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NAS-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Sample-return_missions">Sample-return missions</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Sample-return missions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="First_missions">First missions</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: First missions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Apollo_11_2004_scan.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Apollo_11_2004_scan.jpg/220px-Apollo_11_2004_scan.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="222" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Apollo_11_2004_scan.jpg/330px-Apollo_11_2004_scan.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Apollo_11_2004_scan.jpg/440px-Apollo_11_2004_scan.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2349" data-file-height="2373" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Apollo_11" title="Apollo 11">Apollo 11</a> was the first mission to return extraterrestrial samples.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:NASA_Lunar_Sample_60016.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/NASA_Lunar_Sample_60016.jpg/220px-NASA_Lunar_Sample_60016.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/NASA_Lunar_Sample_60016.jpg/330px-NASA_Lunar_Sample_60016.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/NASA_Lunar_Sample_60016.jpg/440px-NASA_Lunar_Sample_60016.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3888" data-file-height="2592" /></a><figcaption>Lunar sample 60016 on display at Space Center Houston Lunar Samples Vault, at NASA's Johnson Space Center</figcaption></figure> <p>In July 1969, <a href="/wiki/Apollo_11" title="Apollo 11">Apollo 11</a> achieved the first successful sample return from another Solar System body when it returned 22 kilograms (49 lb) of Lunar surface material. This was followed by 34 kilograms (75 lb) of material and <a href="/wiki/Surveyor_3" title="Surveyor 3">Surveyor 3</a> <a href="/wiki/Surveyor_3#Retrieved_parts" title="Surveyor 3">parts</a> from <a href="/wiki/Apollo_12" title="Apollo 12">Apollo 12</a>, 42.8 kilograms (94 lb) of material from <a href="/wiki/Apollo_14" title="Apollo 14">Apollo 14</a>, 76.7 kilograms (169 lb) of material from <a href="/wiki/Apollo_15" title="Apollo 15">Apollo 15</a>, 94.3 kilograms (208 lb) of material from <a href="/wiki/Apollo_16" title="Apollo 16">Apollo 16</a>, and 110.4 kilograms (243 lb) of material from <a href="/wiki/Apollo_17" title="Apollo 17">Apollo 17</a>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (March 2019)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> The <a href="/wiki/Apollo_program" title="Apollo program">Apollo program</a> as a whole returned over 382 kg (842 lb) of <a href="/wiki/Moon_rock" title="Moon rock">lunar rocks</a> and <a href="/wiki/Regolith" title="Regolith">regolith</a>, including <a href="/wiki/Lunar_soil" class="mw-redirect" title="Lunar soil">lunar soil</a>, to the <a href="/wiki/Lunar_Receiving_Laboratory" title="Lunar Receiving Laboratory">Lunar Receiving Laboratory</a> in <a href="/wiki/Houston" title="Houston">Houston</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Orloff-EVA_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Orloff-EVA-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Today, 75% of the samples are stored at the <a href="/wiki/Lunar_Sample_Laboratory_Facility" title="Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility">Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility</a> built in 1979.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 1970, the robotic <a href="/wiki/Soviet_space_program" title="Soviet space program">Soviet</a> mission <a href="/wiki/Luna_16" title="Luna 16">Luna 16</a> returned 101 grams (3.6 oz) of lunar soil, followed by <a href="/wiki/Luna_20" title="Luna 20">Luna 20</a>'s return of 55 grams (1.9 oz) in 1974, and <a href="/wiki/Luna_24" title="Luna 24">Luna 24</a>'s return of 170 grams (6.0 oz) in 1976. Although they recovered far less than the Apollo missions, they did this fully automatically. Apart from these three successes, other attempts under the <a href="/wiki/Luna_programme" title="Luna programme">Luna programme</a> failed. The first two missions were intended to compete with Apollo 11 and were undertaken shortly before it in June and July 1969. <a href="/wiki/Luna_E-8-5_No._402" title="Luna E-8-5 No. 402">Luna E-8-5 No. 402</a> failed at start, and <a href="/wiki/Luna_15" title="Luna 15">Luna 15</a> crashed on the Moon. Later, other sample-return missions failed: <a href="/wiki/Kosmos_300" title="Kosmos 300">Kosmos 300</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kosmos_305" title="Kosmos 305">Kosmos 305</a> in 1969, <a href="/wiki/Luna_E-8-5_No._405" title="Luna E-8-5 No. 405">Luna E-8-5 No. 405</a> in 1970, <a href="/wiki/Luna_E-8-5M_No._412" title="Luna E-8-5M No. 412">Luna E-8-5M No. 412</a> in 1975 had unsuccessful launches, and <a href="/wiki/Luna_18" title="Luna 18">Luna 18</a> in 1971 and <a href="/wiki/Luna_23" title="Luna 23">Luna 23</a> in 1974 had unsuccessful landings on the Moon.<sup id="cite_ref-EA-E8_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EA-E8-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 1970, the Soviet Union planned for a 1975 first <a href="/wiki/Mars_sample-return_mission" title="Mars sample-return mission">Mars sample-return mission</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Mars_5NM" class="mw-redirect" title="Mars 5NM">Mars 5NM</a> project. This mission was planned to use an <a href="/wiki/N1_rocket" class="mw-redirect" title="N1 rocket">N1 rocket</a>, but this rocket never flew successfully and the mission evolved into the <a href="/wiki/Mars_5M" title="Mars 5M">Mars 5M</a> project, which would use a double launch with the smaller <a href="/wiki/Proton_(rocket_family)" title="Proton (rocket family)">Proton</a> rocket and an assembly at a <a href="/wiki/Salyut" class="mw-redirect" title="Salyut">Salyut</a> space station. This Mars 5M mission was planned for 1979, but was canceled in 1977 due to technical problems and complexity.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="1990s">1990s</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: 1990s"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The Orbital Debris Collection (ODC) experiment deployed on the <a href="/wiki/Mir_space_station" class="mw-redirect" title="Mir space station">Mir space station</a> for 18 months in 1996–97 used <a href="/wiki/Aerogel" title="Aerogel">aerogel</a> to capture particles from low Earth orbit, including both interplanetary dust and man-made particles.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="2000s">2000s</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: 2000s"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:GenSC_collection2_150dpi.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/GenSC_collection2_150dpi.jpg/250px-GenSC_collection2_150dpi.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="177" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/GenSC_collection2_150dpi.jpg/375px-GenSC_collection2_150dpi.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/GenSC_collection2_150dpi.jpg/500px-GenSC_collection2_150dpi.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="850" /></a><figcaption>An artist's rendering of <i>Genesis</i> collecting <a href="/wiki/Solar_wind" title="Solar wind">solar wind</a>.</figcaption></figure> <p>The next mission to return extraterrestrial samples was the <i><a href="/wiki/Genesis_(spacecraft)" title="Genesis (spacecraft)">Genesis</a></i> mission, which returned solar wind samples to Earth from beyond Earth orbit in 2004. Unfortunately, the <i>Genesis</i> capsule failed to open its parachute while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere and crash-landed in the Utah desert. There were fears of severe contamination or even total mission loss, but scientists managed to save many of the samples. They were the first to be collected from beyond lunar orbit. <i>Genesis</i> used a collector array made of wafers of ultra-pure <a href="/wiki/Silicon" title="Silicon">silicon</a>, <a href="/wiki/Gold" title="Gold">gold</a>, <a href="/wiki/Sapphire" title="Sapphire">sapphire</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Diamond" title="Diamond">diamond</a>. Each different wafer was used to collect a different part of the <a href="/wiki/Solar_wind" title="Solar wind">solar wind</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Stardust_Capsule_on_Ground.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Stardust_Capsule_on_Ground.jpg/250px-Stardust_Capsule_on_Ground.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="249" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Stardust_Capsule_on_Ground.jpg/375px-Stardust_Capsule_on_Ground.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Stardust_Capsule_on_Ground.jpg/500px-Stardust_Capsule_on_Ground.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1664" data-file-height="1656" /></a><figcaption>Sample-return capsule from the <i><a href="/wiki/Stardust_(spacecraft)" title="Stardust (spacecraft)">Stardust</a></i> mission</figcaption></figure> <p><i>Genesis</i> was followed by <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Stardust_(spacecraft)" title="Stardust (spacecraft)">Stardust</a></i> spacecraft, which returned comet samples to Earth on 15 January 2006. It safely passed by <a href="/wiki/Comet_Wild_2" class="mw-redirect" title="Comet Wild 2">Comet Wild 2</a> and collected dust samples from the comet's <a href="/wiki/Coma_(cometary)" class="mw-redirect" title="Coma (cometary)">coma</a> while imaging the comet's nucleus. <i>Stardust</i> used a collector array made of low-density aerogel (99% of which is space), which has about 1/1000 of the density of glass. This enables the collection of cometary particles without damaging them due to high impact velocities. Particle collisions with even slightly porous solid collectors would result in the destruction of those particles and damage to the collection apparatus. During the cruise, the array collected at least seven interstellar dust particles.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="2010s_and_2020s">2010s and 2020s</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: 2010s and 2020s"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In June 2010 the <a href="/wiki/Japan_Aerospace_Exploration_Agency" class="mw-redirect" title="Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency">Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency</a> (JAXA) <a href="/wiki/Hayabusa" title="Hayabusa">Hayabusa</a> probe returned asteroid samples to Earth after a rendezvous with (and a landing on) <a href="/wiki/S-type_asteroid" title="S-type asteroid">S-type asteroid</a> <a href="/wiki/25143_Itokawa" title="25143 Itokawa">25143 Itokawa</a>. In November 2010, scientists at the agency confirmed that, despite failure of the sampling device, the probe retrieved micrograms of dust from the asteroid, the first brought back to Earth in pristine condition.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The Russian <a href="/wiki/Fobos-Grunt" title="Fobos-Grunt">Fobos-Grunt</a> was a failed sample-return mission designed to return samples from <a href="/wiki/Phobos_(moon)" title="Phobos (moon)">Phobos</a>, one of the moons of Mars. It was launched on 8 November 2011, but failed to leave Earth orbit and crashed after several weeks into the southern Pacific Ocean.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:OSIRIS-REX_SamCam_TAGSAM_Event_2020-10-20_small.gif" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/OSIRIS-REX_SamCam_TAGSAM_Event_2020-10-20_small.gif/180px-OSIRIS-REX_SamCam_TAGSAM_Event_2020-10-20_small.gif" decoding="async" width="180" height="180" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/OSIRIS-REX_SamCam_TAGSAM_Event_2020-10-20_small.gif/270px-OSIRIS-REX_SamCam_TAGSAM_Event_2020-10-20_small.gif 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2d/OSIRIS-REX_SamCam_TAGSAM_Event_2020-10-20_small.gif/360px-OSIRIS-REX_SamCam_TAGSAM_Event_2020-10-20_small.gif 2x" data-file-width="682" data-file-height="682" /></a><figcaption>OSIRIS-REx collecting a sample from asteroid <a href="/wiki/101955_Bennu" title="101955 Bennu">101955 Bennu</a><br />— <i>(<a href="/wiki/File:OSIRIS-REX_SamCam_TAGSAM_Event_2020-10-20.gif" title="File:OSIRIS-REX SamCam TAGSAM Event 2020-10-20.gif">Full-sized image</a>)</i></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Maps14227-fig-0005-m.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Maps14227-fig-0005-m.jpg/180px-Maps14227-fig-0005-m.jpg" decoding="async" width="180" height="281" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Maps14227-fig-0005-m.jpg/270px-Maps14227-fig-0005-m.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Maps14227-fig-0005-m.jpg/360px-Maps14227-fig-0005-m.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1983" data-file-height="3091" /></a><figcaption>Samples from Bennu delivered to Earth</figcaption></figure> <p>The <a href="/wiki/JAXA" title="JAXA">Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency</a> (JAXA) launched the improved <i><a href="/wiki/Hayabusa2" title="Hayabusa2">Hayabusa2</a></i> space probe on 3 December 2014. <i>Hayabusa2</i> arrived at the target <a href="/wiki/Near-Earth_asteroid" class="mw-redirect" title="Near-Earth asteroid">near-Earth</a> <a href="/wiki/C-type_asteroid" title="C-type asteroid">C-type asteroid</a> <a href="/wiki/162173_Ryugu" title="162173 Ryugu">162173 Ryugu</a> (previously designated <span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/1999_JU3" class="mw-redirect" title="1999 JU3">1999 JU<span style="position: relative; top: 0.3em;"><span style="font-size:80%;">3</span></span></a></span>) on 27 June 2018.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It surveyed the asteroid for a year and a half and took samples. It left the asteroid in November 2019<sup id="cite_ref-Departure_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Departure-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and returned to Earth on 6 December 2020.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/OSIRIS-REx" title="OSIRIS-REx">OSIRIS-REx</a> mission was launched in September 2016 on a mission to return samples from the asteroid <a href="/wiki/101955_Bennu" title="101955 Bennu">101955 Bennu</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The samples are expected to enable scientists to learn more about the time before the birth of the Solar System, initial stages of planet formation, and the source of organic compounds that led to the formation of life.<sup id="cite_ref-OSIRIS-REx_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-OSIRIS-REx-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It reached the proximity of Bennu on 3 December 2018,<sup id="cite_ref-NYT-20181203_28-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NYT-20181203-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> where it began analyzing its surface for a target sample area over the next several months. It collected its sample on 20 October 2020,<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and landed back on Earth again on 24 September 2023, making OSIRIS-REx the fifth successful sample return mission for mankind, in its return of samples from an extra-terrestrial body.<sup id="cite_ref-NYT-20230924_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NYT-20230924-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-NYT-20210510_33-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NYT-20210510-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Shortly after the sample container was retrieved and transferred to an "airtight chamber at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas", the lid on the container was opened. Scientists commented that they "found black dust and debris on the avionics deck of the OSIRIS-REx science canister" on the initial opening. Later study was planned. On 11 October 2023, the recovered capsule was opened to reveal a "first look" at the asteroid sample contents.<sup id="cite_ref-PHY-20230927_35-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-PHY-20230927-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-NYT-20231011_36-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NYT-20231011-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 13 December 2023, further studies of the returned sample were reported and revealed <a href="/wiki/Organic_molecule" class="mw-redirect" title="Organic molecule">organic molecules</a> as well as unknown materials which require more study to have a better idea of their composition and makeup.<sup id="cite_ref-LS-20231213_37-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-LS-20231213-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-GZM-20231215_38-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-GZM-20231215-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 13 January 2024, NASA reported finally fully opening, after three months of trying, the recovered container with samples from the Bennu asteroid.<sup id="cite_ref-EG-20240113_39-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EG-20240113-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-GZM-20240122_40-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-GZM-20240122-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The total weight of the recovered material weighed 121.6 g (4.29 oz), over twice the mission's goal.<sup id="cite_ref-GZM-202402025_41-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-GZM-202402025-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Chang%27e-6_lunar_regolith.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="First lunar regolith sample from the far side of the Moon collected by China's Chang'e 6 mission." src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Chang%27e-6_lunar_regolith.jpg/220px-Chang%27e-6_lunar_regolith.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="221" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Chang%27e-6_lunar_regolith.jpg/330px-Chang%27e-6_lunar_regolith.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Chang%27e-6_lunar_regolith.jpg/440px-Chang%27e-6_lunar_regolith.jpg 2x" data-file-width="774" data-file-height="779" /></a><figcaption>First lunar regolith sample from the far side of the Moon collected by China's <a href="/wiki/Chang%27e_6" title="Chang'e 6">Chang'e 6</a> mission.</figcaption></figure> <p>China's <a href="/wiki/China_National_Space_Administration" title="China National Space Administration">CNSA</a> launched the <a href="/wiki/Chang%27e_5" title="Chang'e 5">Chang'e 5</a> and <a href="/wiki/Chang%27e_6" title="Chang'e 6">6</a> lunar sample-return mission on 23 November 2020 and 3 May 2024 respectively, which returned to Earth with 2 kilograms of lunar soil each on 16 December 2020 and 25 June 2024 respectively.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> These were the first lunar sample-return missions in over 40 years.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Chang'e 6 mission, which landed in the <a href="/wiki/Apollo_(crater)" title="Apollo (crater)">Apollo crater basin</a> in the southern hemisphere of the lunar far side, was the first to retrieve samples from the <a href="/wiki/Far_side_of_the_Moon" title="Far side of the Moon">far side of the Moon</a>, as all previous collective lunar samples having been collected from the <a href="/wiki/Near_side_of_the_Moon" title="Near side of the Moon">near side</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Future_missions">Future missions</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Future missions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>CNSA is planning a mission called <a href="/wiki/Tianwen-2" title="Tianwen-2">Tianwen-2</a> to return samples from <a href="/wiki/469219_Kamo%CA%BBoalewa" title="469219 Kamoʻoalewa">469219 Kamoʻoalewa</a> which is planned to launch in 2025.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_45-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> CNSA plans for a Mars sample return mission by 2030.<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Also, the <a href="/wiki/China_National_Space_Administration" title="China National Space Administration">Chinese Space Agency</a> is designing a sample-retrieval mission from <a href="/wiki/Ceres_(dwarf_planet)" title="Ceres (dwarf planet)">Ceres</a> that would take place during the 2020s.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>JAXA is developing the <a href="/wiki/Martian_Moons_eXploration" title="Martian Moons eXploration">MMX</a> mission, a sample-return mission to <a href="/wiki/Phobos_(moon)" title="Phobos (moon)">Phobos</a> that will be launched in 2026.<sup id="cite_ref-yomiuri-20231206_49-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-yomiuri-20231206-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> MMX will study both <a href="/wiki/Moons_of_Mars" title="Moons of Mars">moons of Mars</a>, but the landing and the sample collection will be on Phobos. This selection was made because of the two moons, Phobos's orbit is closer to Mars and its surface may have particles blasted from Mars. Thus the sample may contain material originating on Mars itself.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A propulsion module carrying the sample is expected to return to Earth in 2031.<sup id="cite_ref-yomiuri-20231206_49-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-yomiuri-20231206-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>NASA and <a href="/wiki/European_Space_Agency" title="European Space Agency">ESA</a> have long planned a <a href="/wiki/NASA-ESA_Mars_Sample-Return_Mission" class="mw-redirect" title="NASA-ESA Mars Sample-Return Mission">Mars Sample-Return Mission</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-NYT-20200728_51-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NYT-20200728-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Perseverance_(rover)" title="Perseverance (rover)"><i>Perseverance</i> rover</a>, deployed in 2020, is collecting drill core samples and stashing them on the Mars surface.<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> As of September 2023, it has gathered one atmospheric sample and 8 igneous rock samples, 11 sedimentary rock samples and a pair of regolith samples.<sup id="cite_ref-mars.nasa.gov_53-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-mars.nasa.gov-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 22 November 2023, NASA announced that it was cutting back on the Mars sample-return mission due to a shortage of funds.<sup id="cite_ref-POL-20231122_54-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-POL-20231122-54"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In January 2024, the proposed NASA plan was challenged due to budget and scheduling considerations, and investigation into alternate plans begun.<sup id="cite_ref-SPC-20240115_55-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SPC-20240115-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Russia has plans for <a href="/wiki/Luna-Glob" title="Luna-Glob">Luna-Glob</a> missions to return samples from the Moon by 2027 and <a href="/wiki/Mars-Grunt" title="Mars-Grunt">Mars-Grunt</a> to return samples from Mars in the late 2020s.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (June 2023)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Methods_of_sample_return">Methods of sample return</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Methods of sample return"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Tagsamlast.gif" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Tagsamlast.gif/400px-Tagsamlast.gif" decoding="async" width="400" height="123" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Tagsamlast.gif/600px-Tagsamlast.gif 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Tagsamlast.gif/800px-Tagsamlast.gif 2x" data-file-width="1041" data-file-height="320" /></a><figcaption>Animation of TAGSAM arm moving</figcaption></figure> <p>Sample-return methods include, but are not restricted to the following: </p> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Genesis_Collector_Array.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Genesis_Collector_Array.jpg/200px-Genesis_Collector_Array.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="137" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Genesis_Collector_Array.jpg/300px-Genesis_Collector_Array.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Genesis_Collector_Array.jpg/400px-Genesis_Collector_Array.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1295" data-file-height="890" /></a><figcaption>A Genesis collector array consisting of a grid of ultra-pure wafers of silicon, gold, sapphire, and diamond</figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Collector_array">Collector array</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Collector array"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A collector array may be used to collect millions or billions of atoms, molecules, and fine particulates by using wafers made of different elements. The molecular structure of these wafers allows the collection of various sizes of particles. Collector arrays, such as those flown on <i>Genesis</i>, are ultra-pure in order to ensure maximal collection efficiency, durability, and analytical distinguishability.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (November 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>Collector arrays are useful for collecting tiny, fast-moving atoms such as those expelled by the Sun through the solar wind, but can also be used for collection of larger particles such as those found in the coma of a comet. The NASA spacecraft known as <i>Stardust</i> implemented this technique. However, due to the high speeds and size of the particles that make up the coma and the area nearby, a dense solid-state collector array was not viable. As a result, another means for collecting samples had to be designed to preserve the safety of the spacecraft and the samples themselves.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (November 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Aerogel">Aerogel</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Aerogel"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Meteoroid_track_through_aerogel_from_EURECA_mission.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Meteoroid_track_through_aerogel_from_EURECA_mission.jpg/200px-Meteoroid_track_through_aerogel_from_EURECA_mission.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="157" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Meteoroid_track_through_aerogel_from_EURECA_mission.jpg/300px-Meteoroid_track_through_aerogel_from_EURECA_mission.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Meteoroid_track_through_aerogel_from_EURECA_mission.jpg/400px-Meteoroid_track_through_aerogel_from_EURECA_mission.jpg 2x" data-file-width="690" data-file-height="540" /></a><figcaption>A particle captured in aerogel</figcaption></figure> <p><a href="/wiki/Aerogel" title="Aerogel">Aerogel</a> is a <a href="/wiki/Silicon_dioxide" title="Silicon dioxide">silica</a>-based porous solid with a sponge-like structure, 99.8% of whose volume is empty space. Aerogel has about 1/1000 of the density of glass. An aerogel was used in the <i>Stardust</i> spacecraft because the dust particles the spacecraft was to collect would have an impact speed of about 6 km/s. A collision with a dense solid at that speed could alter their chemical composition or vaporize them completely.<sup id="cite_ref-:1_56-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-56"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>56<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Since the aerogel is mostly transparent, and the particles leave a carrot-shaped path once they penetrate the surface, scientists can easily find and retrieve them. Since its pores are on the <a href="/wiki/Nanometer" class="mw-redirect" title="Nanometer">nanometer</a> scale, particles, even ones smaller than a grain of sand, do not merely pass through the aerogel completely. Instead, they slow to a stop and then are embedded within it. The <i>Stardust</i> spacecraft has a tennis-racket-shaped collector with aerogel fitted to it. The collector is retracted into its capsule for safe storage and delivery back to Earth. Aerogel is quite strong and easily survives both launching and space environments.<sup id="cite_ref-:1_56-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-56"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>56<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Robotic_excavation_and_return">Robotic excavation and return</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Robotic excavation and return"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Some of the riskiest and most difficult types of sample-return missions are those that require landing on an extraterrestrial body such as an asteroid, moon, or planet. It takes a great deal of time, money, and technical ability to even initiate such plans. It is a difficult feat that requires that everything from launch to landing to retrieval and launch back to Earth is planned out with high precision and accuracy.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (November 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>This type of sample return, although having the most risks, is the most rewarding for planetary science. Furthermore, such missions carry a great deal of public outreach potential, which is an important attribute for <a href="/wiki/Space_exploration" title="Space exploration">space exploration</a> when it comes to public support. The only successful robotic sample-return missions of this type have been Soviet <a href="/wiki/Luna_programme" title="Luna programme">Luna</a> and Chinese <a href="/wiki/Chinese_Lunar_Exploration_Program" title="Chinese Lunar Exploration Program">Chang'e</a> landers. While other missions collected materials from asteroids by various means, they did so without "landing", given their very low gravity.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (November 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="List_of_missions">List of missions</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: List of missions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lunar_sample_return_map_2024.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Lunar_sample_return_map_2024.jpg/220px-Lunar_sample_return_map_2024.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="144" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Lunar_sample_return_map_2024.jpg/330px-Lunar_sample_return_map_2024.jpg 1.5x, 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.sticky-header-multi,body.skin-vector-2022 .mw-parser-output .sticky-header,body.skin-vector-2022 .mw-parser-output .sticky-header-multi{display:table}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .sticky-header>caption,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .sticky-header-multi>caption{display:table-caption}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .sticky-header-multi.wikitable{background-color:#101418}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .sticky-header-multi.wikitable{background-color:#101418}}</style> <table class="wikitable sortable sticky-header"> <tbody><tr> <th>Launch date </th> <th>Operator </th> <th>Name </th> <th>Sample origin </th> <th>Samples returned </th> <th>Recovery date </th> <th>Mission result </th></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001969-07-16-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">16 July 1969</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Apollo_11" title="Apollo 11">Apollo 11</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Moon" title="Moon">Moon</a> </td> <td>22 kilograms (49 lb) </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001969-07-24-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">24 July 1969</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001969-11-14-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">14 November 1969</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> United States </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Apollo_12" title="Apollo 12">Apollo 12</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td>34 kilograms (75 lb) and <a href="/wiki/Surveyor_3" title="Surveyor 3">Surveyor 3</a> <a href="/wiki/Surveyor_3#Retrieved_parts" title="Surveyor 3">parts</a><sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-57"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>note 1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-58" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-58"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>57<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001969-11-24-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">24 November 1969</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001970-04-11-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">11 April 1970</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> United States </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Apollo_13" title="Apollo 13">Apollo 13</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001970-04-17-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">17 April 1970</span> </td> <td style="background: #FFC7C7; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-failure">Failure </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001971-01-31-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">31 January 1971</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> United States </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Apollo_14" title="Apollo 14">Apollo 14</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td>43 kilograms (95 lb) </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001971-02-09-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">9 February 1971</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001971-07-26-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">26 July 1971</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> United States </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Apollo_15" title="Apollo 15">Apollo 15</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td>77 kilograms (170 lb) </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001971-08-07-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">7 August 1971</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001972-04-16-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">16 April 1972</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> United States </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Apollo_16" title="Apollo 16">Apollo 16</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td>95 kilograms (209 lb) </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001972-04-27-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">27 April 1972</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001972-12-07-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">7 December 1972</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> United States </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Apollo_17" title="Apollo 17">Apollo 17</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td>111 kilograms (245 lb) </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001972-12-19-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">19 December 1972</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001996-03-22-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">22 March 1996</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/23px-Flag_of_Russia.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/35px-Flag_of_Russia.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/45px-Flag_of_Russia.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Mir_Environmental_Effects_Payload" title="Mir Environmental Effects Payload">Earth-Orbital Debris Collection</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit" title="Low Earth orbit">Low Earth orbit</a> </td> <td><span data-sort-value="0 !">Particles</span> </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001997-10-06-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">6 October 1997</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success<sup id="cite_ref-59" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-59"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>58<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002015-04-14-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">14 April 2015</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Japan" title="Japan"><img alt="Japan" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/23px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/35px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/45px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Japan </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Tanpopo_(mission)" class="mw-redirect" title="Tanpopo (mission)">Tanpopo mission</a> </td> <td>Low Earth orbit </td> <td><span data-sort-value="0 !">Particles</span> </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002018-02-01-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">February 2018</span><sup id="cite_ref-60" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-60"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>59<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Robotic_missions">Robotic missions</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Robotic missions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1253789634"> <table class="wikitable sortable sticky-header"> <tbody><tr> <th>Launch date </th> <th>Operator </th> <th>Name </th> <th>Sample origin </th> <th>Samples returned </th> <th>Recovery date </th> <th>Mission result </th></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001969-06-14-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">14 June 1969</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Luna_E-8-5_No._402" title="Luna E-8-5 No. 402">Luna E-8-5 No. 402</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td style="background: #FFC7C7; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-failure">Failure </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001969-07-13-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">13 July 1969</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union"><img alt="Soviet Union" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Soviet Union </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Luna_15" title="Luna 15">Luna 15</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td style="background: #FFC7C7; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-failure">Failure </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001969-09-23-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">23 September 1969</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union"><img alt="Soviet Union" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Soviet Union </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Kosmos_300" title="Kosmos 300">Kosmos 300</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td style="background: #FFC7C7; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-failure">Failure </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001969-10-22-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">22 October 1969</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union"><img alt="Soviet Union" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Soviet Union </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Kosmos_305" title="Kosmos 305">Kosmos 305</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td style="background: #FFC7C7; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-failure">Failure </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001970-02-06-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">6 February 1970</span><sup id="cite_ref-EA-E8_13-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EA-E8-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union"><img alt="Soviet Union" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Soviet Union </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Luna_E-8-5_No._405" title="Luna E-8-5 No. 405">Luna E-8-5 No. 405</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td style="background: #FFC7C7; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-failure">Failure </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001970-09-12-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">12 September 1970</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union"><img alt="Soviet Union" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Soviet Union </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Luna_16" title="Luna 16">Luna 16</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td>101 grams (3.6 oz) </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001970-09-24-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">24 September 1970</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001971-09-02-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">2 September 1971</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union"><img alt="Soviet Union" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Soviet Union </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Luna_18" title="Luna 18">Luna 18</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td style="background: #FFC7C7; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-failure">Failure </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001972-02-14-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">14 February 1972</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union"><img alt="Soviet Union" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Soviet Union </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Luna_20" title="Luna 20">Luna 20</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td>55 grams (1.9 oz) </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001972-02-25-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">25 February 1972</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001974-11-02-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">2 November 1974</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union"><img alt="Soviet Union" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Soviet Union </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Luna_23" title="Luna 23">Luna 23</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td style="background: #FFC7C7; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-failure">Failure </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001975-10-16-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">16 October 1975</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union"><img alt="Soviet Union" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Soviet Union </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Luna_E-8-5M_No._412" title="Luna E-8-5M No. 412">Luna E-8-5M No. 412</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td style="background: #FFC7C7; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-failure">Failure </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001976-08-09-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">9 August 1976</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union"><img alt="Soviet Union" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Soviet Union </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Luna_24" title="Luna 24">Luna 24</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td>170 grams (6.0 oz) </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001976-08-22-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">22 August 1976</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000001999-02-07-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">7 February 1999</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> United States </td> <td><i><a href="/wiki/Stardust_(spacecraft)" title="Stardust (spacecraft)">Stardust</a></i> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/81P/Wild" title="81P/Wild">81P/Wild</a> </td> <td><span data-sort-value="0 !">Particles</span>, weighing approx 1 gram (0.035 oz) </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002006-01-15-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">15 January 2006</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002001-08-08-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">8 August 2001</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> United States </td> <td><i><a href="/wiki/Genesis_(spacecraft)" title="Genesis (spacecraft)">Genesis</a></i> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Solar_wind" title="Solar wind">Solar wind</a> </td> <td><span data-sort-value="0 !">Particles</span> </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002004-09-09-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">9 September 2004</span> </td> <td style="background: #FFB; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-partial">Partial success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002003-05-09-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">9 May 2003</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/23px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/35px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/45px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Japan" title="Japan">Japan</a> </td> <td><i><a href="/wiki/Hayabusa" title="Hayabusa">Hayabusa</a></i> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/25143_Itokawa" title="25143 Itokawa">25143 Itokawa</a> </td> <td><span data-sort-value="0 !">Particles</span>, weighing less than 1 gram (0.035 oz) </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002010-06-13-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">13 June 2010</span> </td> <td style="background: #FFB; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-partial">Partial success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002011-11-08-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">8 November 2011</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia"><img alt="Russia" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/23px-Flag_of_Russia.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/35px-Flag_of_Russia.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/45px-Flag_of_Russia.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Russia </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Fobos-Grunt" title="Fobos-Grunt">Fobos-Grunt</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Phobos_(moon)" title="Phobos (moon)">Phobos</a> </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td style="background: #FFC7C7; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-failure">Failure </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002014-12-03-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">3 December 2014</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Japan" title="Japan"><img alt="Japan" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/23px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/35px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/45px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Japan </td> <td><i><a href="/wiki/Hayabusa2" title="Hayabusa2">Hayabusa2</a></i> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/162173_Ryugu" title="162173 Ryugu">162173 Ryugu</a> </td> <td>5.4 grams (0.19 oz)<sup id="cite_ref-61" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-61"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>60<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (including gas samples) </td> <td><span data-sort-value="02020-12-31 !">6 December 2020</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002016-09-08-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">8 September 2016</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> United States </td> <td><a href="/wiki/OSIRIS-REx" title="OSIRIS-REx">OSIRIS-REx</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/101955_Bennu" title="101955 Bennu">101955 Bennu</a> </td> <td>121.6 grams (4.29 oz)<sup id="cite_ref-NYT-20231011_36-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NYT-20231011-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-62" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-62"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>61<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002023-09-24-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">24 September 2023</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002020-11-23-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">23 November 2020</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/45px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/China" title="China">China</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Chang%27e_5" title="Chang'e 5">Chang'e 5</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td>1,731 grams (61.1 oz) </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002020-12-16-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">16 December 2020</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002024-05-03-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">3 May 2024</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/China" title="China"><img alt="China" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/45px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> China </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Chang%27e_6" title="Chang'e 6">Chang'e 6</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td>1,935.3 grams (68.27 oz)<sup id="cite_ref-CE6Sample_63-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CE6Sample-63"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>62<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td><span data-sort-value="000000002024-06-25-0000" style="white-space:nowrap">25 June 2024</span> </td> <td style="background: #9EFF9E; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Success </td></tr> <tr> <td>2025 </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/China" title="China"><img alt="China" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/45px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> China </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Tianwen-2" title="Tianwen-2">Tianwen-2</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/469219_Kamo%CA%BBoalewa" title="469219 Kamoʻoalewa">469219 Kamoʻoalewa</a> </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td>2027 </td> <td style="background: #E7E7FF; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-planned">Planned<sup id="cite_ref-64" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-64"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>63<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td><span data-sort-value="02026-12-31 !">2026</span> </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Japan" title="Japan"><img alt="Japan" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/23px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/35px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/45px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> Japan </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Martian_Moons_eXploration" title="Martian Moons eXploration">MMX</a> </td> <td>Phobos </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td><span data-sort-value="02031-12-31 !">2031</span> </td> <td style="background: #E7E7FF; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-planned">Planned </td></tr> <tr> <td>2028 </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States"><img alt="United States" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a></span></span> United States /<br /><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe"><img alt="Europe" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Flag_of_Europe.svg/23px-Flag_of_Europe.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Flag_of_Europe.svg/35px-Flag_of_Europe.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Flag_of_Europe.svg/45px-Flag_of_Europe.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="810" data-file-height="540" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/European_Space_Agency" title="European Space Agency">European Space Agency</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/NASA-ESA_Mars_Sample_Return" title="NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return">NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Mars" title="Mars">Mars</a> </td> <td>500 grams (18 oz)<br /><sup id="cite_ref-65" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-65"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>note 2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-66" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-66"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>64<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td>2033 </td> <td style="background: #CEF; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-success">Ongoing<sup id="cite_ref-67" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-67"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>note 3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>2028 </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_India.svg/23px-Flag_of_India.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_India.svg/35px-Flag_of_India.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_India.svg/45px-Flag_of_India.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/India" title="India">India</a> </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Chandrayaan-4" title="Chandrayaan-4">Chandrayaan-4</a> </td> <td>Moon </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td>2028 </td> <td style="background: #E7E7FF; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-planned">Planned </td></tr> <tr> <td>2028 </td> <td><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/China" title="China"><img alt="China" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/45px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> China </td> <td><a href="/wiki/Tianwen-3" title="Tianwen-3">Tianwen-3</a> </td> <td>Mars </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">— </td> <td>2031 </td> <td style="background: #E7E7FF; color:black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-planned">Planned<sup id="cite_ref-68" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-68"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>65<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1184024115">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Asteroid_mining" title="Asteroid mining">Asteroid mining</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Exploration_of_Mars" title="Exploration of Mars">Exploration of Mars</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Exploration_of_the_Moon" title="Exploration of the Moon">Exploration of the Moon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Extraterrestrial_sample_curation" title="Extraterrestrial sample curation">Extraterrestrial sample curation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_lunar_probes" title="List of lunar probes">List of lunar probes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robotic_exploration_of_the_Moon" class="mw-redirect" title="Robotic exploration of the Moon">Robotic exploration of the Moon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_Solar_System_exploration" title="Timeline of Solar System exploration">Timeline of Solar System exploration</a></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-57"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-57">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The <a href="/wiki/Apollo_12" title="Apollo 12">Apollo 12</a> astronauts removed several components from <a href="/wiki/Surveyor_3" title="Surveyor 3">Surveyor 3</a>, including the television camera, and returned them to Earth, where they are treated as lunar samples by <a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a>. It returned about 10 kilograms (22 lb) of the Surveyor 3's original landing mass of 302 kilograms (666 lb) to Earth to study the effects of long term exposure. Surveyor 3 is the only probe visited by humans on another world.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-65"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-65">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The <a href="/wiki/Perseverance_(rover)" title="Perseverance (rover)"><i>Perseverance</i></a> rover is gathering samples for eventual return to Earth. As of September 2023, it has gathered one atmospheric sample and 8 igneous rock sample, 11 sedimentary rock samples and a pair of regolith samples.<sup id="cite_ref-mars.nasa.gov_53-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-mars.nasa.gov-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-67"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-67">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/NASA" title="NASA">NASA</a>'s <a href="/w/index.php?title=Mars_Ascent_Vehicle&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Mars Ascent Vehicle (page does not exist)">Mars Ascent Vehicle</a> and the <a href="/wiki/ESA" class="mw-redirect" title="ESA">ESA</a>'s <a href="/w/index.php?title=Earth_Return_Orbiter&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Earth Return Orbiter (page does not exist)">Earth Return Orbiter</a> are still in the planning stages.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sample-return_mission&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-SA-20220623-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-SA-20220623_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFDavid2022" class="citation news cs1">David, Leonard (23 June 2022). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/controversy-grows-over-whether-mars-samples-endanger-earth/">"Controversy Grows Over whether Mars Samples Endanger Earth - Planetary scientists are eager to bring Red Planet rocks, soil and even air to Earth, but critics fear the risk of contaminating our world's biosphere"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Scientific_American" title="Scientific American">Scientific American</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">12 October</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times&rft.atitle=NASA+Unveils+First+Glimpse+of+%27Scientific+Treasure%27+Collected+From+Asteroid+-+Scientists+said+they+got+more+material+than+expected+from+the+Osiris-Rex+mission+during+its+seven-year+journey+to+the+asteroid+Bennu.&rft.date=2023-10-11&rft.aulast=Chang&rft.aufirst=Kenneth&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2023%2F10%2F11%2Fscience%2Fnasa-asteroid-osiris-rex-bennu.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASample-return+mission" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-LS-20231213-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-LS-20231213_37-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKuthunur2023" class="citation news cs1">Kuthunur, Sharmila (13 December 2023). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/what-is-that-material-potentially-hazardous-asteroid-bennu-stumps-scientists-with-its-odd-makeup">"<span class="cs1-kern-left"></span>'What is that material?': Potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu stumps scientists with its odd makeup - Scientists found signs of organic molecules in the first samples of potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu, as well as a 'head scratching' material that has yet to be identified"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/LiveScience" class="mw-redirect" title="LiveScience">LiveScience</a></i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20231214014121/https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/what-is-that-material-potentially-hazardous-asteroid-bennu-stumps-scientists-with-its-odd-makeup">Archived</a> from the original on 14 December 2023<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">13 December</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=LiveScience&rft.atitle=%27What+is+that+material%3F%27%3A+Potentially+hazardous+asteroid+Bennu+stumps+scientists+with+its+odd+makeup+-+Scientists+found+signs+of+organic+molecules+in+the+first+samples+of+potentially+hazardous+asteroid+Bennu%2C+as+well+as+a+%27head+scratching%27+material+that+has+yet+to+be+identified.&rft.date=2023-12-13&rft.aulast=Kuthunur&rft.aufirst=Sharmila&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.livescience.com%2Fspace%2Fspace-exploration%2Fwhat-is-that-material-potentially-hazardous-asteroid-bennu-stumps-scientists-with-its-odd-makeup&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASample-return+mission" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-GZM-20231215-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-GZM-20231215_38-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRabie2023" class="citation news cs1">Rabie, Passant (15 December 2023). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://gizmodo.com/nasa-osiris-rex-asteroid-samples-bennu-stuck-container-1851102598">"It's Been 2 Months. Why Can't NASA Open the Asteroid Sample Container? - The space agency is having to develop new tools to crack open the canister containing bits from asteroid Bennu"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Gizmodo" title="Gizmodo">Gizmodo</a></i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20231215230642/https://gizmodo.com/nasa-osiris-rex-asteroid-samples-bennu-stuck-container-1851102598">Archived</a> from the original on 15 December 2023<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">16 December</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Gizmodo&rft.atitle=It%27s+Been+2+Months.+Why+Can%27t+NASA+Open+the+Asteroid+Sample+Container%3F+-+The+space+agency+is+having+to+develop+new+tools+to+crack+open+the+canister+containing+bits+from+asteroid+Bennu&rft.date=2023-12-15&rft.aulast=Rabie&rft.aufirst=Passant&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fgizmodo.com%2Fnasa-osiris-rex-asteroid-samples-bennu-stuck-container-1851102598&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASample-return+mission" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-EG-20240113-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-EG-20240113_39-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMacDonald2024" class="citation news cs1">MacDonald, Cheyenne (13 January 2024). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.engadget.com/nasa-finally-got-the-stuck-lid-off-its-asteroid-bennu-sample-container-185814782.html">"NASA finally got the stuck lid off its asteroid Bennu sample container - Thanks to some stubborn fasteners, the agency spent three months locked out of the sample OSIRIS-REx dropped off"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Engadget" title="Engadget">Engadget</a></i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20240114015754/https://www.engadget.com/nasa-finally-got-the-stuck-lid-off-its-asteroid-bennu-sample-container-185814782.html">Archived</a> from the original on 14 January 2024<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">13 January</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Engadget&rft.atitle=NASA+finally+got+the+stuck+lid+off+its+asteroid+Bennu+sample+container+-+Thanks+to+some+stubborn+fasteners%2C+the+agency+spent+three+months+locked+out+of+the+sample+OSIRIS-REx+dropped+off.&rft.date=2024-01-13&rft.aulast=MacDonald&rft.aufirst=Cheyenne&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.engadget.com%2Fnasa-finally-got-the-stuck-lid-off-its-asteroid-bennu-sample-container-185814782.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASample-return+mission" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-GZM-20240122-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-GZM-20240122_40-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRabie2024" class="citation news cs1">Rabie, Passant (22 January 2024). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://gizmodo.com/nasa-osiris-rex-canister-reveal-asteroid-sample-trove-1851184737">"NASA Finally Opened the Asteroid Container and Holy Crap That's a Lot of Asteroid - After months of struggling to get to the bulk of the OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample, the space agency has unveiled a treasure trove of ancient rocks and dust"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Gizmodo" title="Gizmodo">Gizmodo</a></i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20240123011843/https://gizmodo.com/nasa-osiris-rex-canister-reveal-asteroid-sample-trove-1851184737">Archived</a> from the original on 23 January 2024<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">22 January</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Gizmodo&rft.atitle=NASA+Finally+Opened+the+Asteroid+Container+and+Holy+Crap+That%27s+a+Lot+of+Asteroid+-+After+months+of+struggling+to+get+to+the+bulk+of+the+OSIRIS-REx+asteroid+sample%2C+the+space+agency+has+unveiled+a+treasure+trove+of+ancient+rocks+and+dust.&rft.date=2024-01-22&rft.aulast=Rabie&rft.aufirst=Passant&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fgizmodo.com%2Fnasa-osiris-rex-canister-reveal-asteroid-sample-trove-1851184737&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASample-return+mission" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-GZM-202402025-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-GZM-202402025_41-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRabie2024" class="citation news cs1">Rabie, Passant (15 February 2024). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://gizmodo.com/how-much-nasa-osiris-rex-collected-asteroid-space-1851261317">"We Finally Know How Much of That Asteroid OSIRIS-REx Grabbed in Space - Engineers struggled to open the sample canister for months, but it was all worth it for twice the amount of asteroid they thought they were getting"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Gizmodo" title="Gizmodo">Gizmodo</a></i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20240216145102/https://gizmodo.com/how-much-nasa-osiris-rex-collected-asteroid-space-1851261317">Archived</a> from the original on 16 February 2024<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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href="https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/lunar/lsc/">The Lunar Sample Compendium</a> by NASA</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/stardust/catalog/index.cfm#search">Stardust Sample Catalog Database</a> by NASA</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/gencatalog/index.cfm">Genesis Solar Wind Samples Catalog</a> by NASA</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/hayabusa/available.cfm">Hayabusa Samples</a> by NASA</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20051129044954/http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/samplereturns.html">Mars Exploration: <i>Sample Returns</i></a> Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars Exploration Program on sample return missions.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/">Stardust <i>Homepage</i></a> Jet Propulsion Laboratory <i>Stardust</i> mission website.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov/">Genesis Mission <i>Homepage</i></a> Jet Propulsion Laboratory <i>Genesis</i> mission website.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/tech/aerogel.html">Stardust: <i>Aerogel</i></a> <i>Stardust</i> website on aerogel technology.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050917105514/http://www.jaxa.jp/missions/projects/sat/exploration/muses_c/index_e.html">JAXA <i>Hayabusa</i></a> JAXA <i>Hayabusa</i> project update.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6281">Evaluating the Biological Potential in Samples Returned from Planetary Satellites and Small Solar System Bodies</a> The National Academies, Space Science Board 1998</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist 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href="/wiki/Timeline_of_spaceflight" title="Timeline of spaceflight">Timeline of spaceflight</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">General</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Space_exploration" title="Space exploration">Space exploration</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_space_exploration" title="Outline of space exploration">outline</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_space_exploration" title="Timeline of space exploration">timeline</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lists_of_spacecraft" class="mw-redirect" title="Lists of spacecraft">Spacecraft</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_spaceflight_records" title="List of spaceflight records">Spaceflight records</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Space_Race" title="Timeline of the Space Race">Space Race</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_rocket_and_missile_technology" title="Timeline of rocket and missile technology">Rocket and missile technology</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Human_spaceflight" title="Human spaceflight">Human spaceflight</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">General</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_crewed_spacecraft" title="List of crewed spacecraft">Crewed spacecraft</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_human_spaceflights#Timeline" title="List of human spaceflights">timeline</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_spaceflight_programs" title="Human spaceflight programs">by program</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_human_spaceflights" title="List of human spaceflights">Spaceflights</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_human_spaceflights,_1961%E2%80%931970" title="List of human spaceflights, 1961–1970">1961–1970</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_human_spaceflights,_1971%E2%80%931980" title="List of human spaceflights, 1971–1980">1971–1980</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_human_spaceflights,_1981%E2%80%931990" title="List of human spaceflights, 1981–1990">1981–1990</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_human_spaceflights,_1991%E2%80%932000" title="List of human spaceflights, 1991–2000">1991–2000</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_human_spaceflights,_2001%E2%80%932010" title="List of human spaceflights, 2001–2010">2001–2010</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_human_spaceflights,_2011%E2%80%932020" title="List of human spaceflights, 2011–2020">2011–2020</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_human_spaceflights,_2021%E2%80%93present" title="List of human spaceflights, 2021–present">2021–present</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Soviet_human_spaceflight_missions" title="List of Soviet human spaceflight missions">Soviet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Russian_human_spaceflight_missions" title="List of Russian human spaceflight missions">Russian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Vostok_and_Voskhod_missions" title="List of Vostok and Voskhod missions">Vostok and Voskhod</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Soyuz_missions" title="List of Soyuz missions">Soyuz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Project_Mercury" title="Project Mercury">Mercury</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Project_Gemini" title="Project Gemini">Gemini</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Apollo_missions" title="List of Apollo missions">Apollo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Skylab" title="Skylab">Skylab</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/China_Manned_Space_Program" title="China Manned Space Program">Shenzhou</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Indian_Human_Spaceflight_Programme" title="Indian Human Spaceflight Programme">Gaganyaan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spacelab" title="Spacelab">Spacelab</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Artemis_missions" title="List of Artemis missions">Artemis</a></li> <li>Civilian spaceflight <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_fully_civilian_crewed_orbital_spaceflights" title="List of fully civilian crewed orbital spaceflights">Orbital</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_fully_civilian_crewed_suborbital_spaceflights" title="List of fully civilian crewed suborbital spaceflights">Suborbital</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Salyut_programme" title="Salyut programme">Salyut</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Salyut_expeditions" title="List of Salyut expeditions">Expeditions</a></li> <li>Spaceflights <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_human_spaceflights_to_Salyut_space_stations" title="List of human spaceflights to Salyut space stations">crewed</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_uncrewed_spaceflights_to_Salyut_space_stations" title="List of uncrewed spaceflights to Salyut space stations">uncrewed</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Salyut_spacewalks" title="List of Salyut spacewalks">Spacewalks</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Salyut_visitors" title="List of Salyut visitors">Visitors</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><i><a href="/wiki/Mir" title="Mir">Mir</a></i></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Mir_expeditions" title="List of Mir expeditions">Expeditions</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_ESA_space_expeditions" title="List of ESA space expeditions">ESA</a></li></ul></li> <li>Spaceflights <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_human_spaceflights_to_Mir" title="List of human spaceflights to Mir">crewed</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_uncrewed_spaceflights_to_Mir" title="List of uncrewed spaceflights to Mir">uncrewed</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Mir_spacewalks" title="List of Mir spacewalks">Spacewalks</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Mir_visitors" title="List of Mir visitors">Visitors</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/International_Space_Station" title="International Space Station">ISS</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_International_Space_Station_expeditions" title="List of International Space Station expeditions">Expeditions</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_ESA_space_expeditions" title="List of ESA space expeditions">ESA</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_visiting_expeditions_to_the_International_Space_Station" title="List of visiting expeditions to the International Space Station">Visiting</a></li></ul></li> <li>Spaceflights <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_human_spaceflights_to_the_International_Space_Station" title="List of human spaceflights to the International Space Station">crewed</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Uncrewed_spaceflights_to_the_International_Space_Station" title="Uncrewed spaceflights to the International Space Station">uncrewed</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_International_Space_Station_spacewalks" title="List of International Space Station spacewalks">Spacewalks</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_visitors_to_the_International_Space_Station" title="List of visitors to the International Space Station">Visitors</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_deployed_from_the_International_Space_Station" title="List of spacecraft deployed from the International Space Station">Deployed</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Tiangong_space_station" title="Tiangong space station">Tiangong</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Tiangong_Space_Station_expeditions" title="List of Tiangong Space Station expeditions">Expeditions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_human_spaceflights_to_the_Tiangong_space_station" title="List of human spaceflights to the Tiangong space station">Crewed Spaceflights</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Tiangong_space_station_spacewalks" title="List of Tiangong space station spacewalks">Spacewalks</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Space_Shuttle" title="Space Shuttle">Shuttle</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Space_Shuttle_crews" title="List of Space Shuttle crews">Crews</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Space_Shuttle_missions" title="List of Space Shuttle missions">Missions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Space_Shuttle_rollbacks" title="List of Space Shuttle rollbacks">Rollbacks</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">People</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lists_of_astronauts" title="Lists of astronauts">Astronauts</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_astronauts_by_name" title="List of astronauts by name">by name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_astronauts_by_year_of_selection" title="List of astronauts by year of selection">by year of selection</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Apollo_astronauts" title="List of Apollo astronauts">Apollo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Gemini_astronauts" title="List of Gemini astronauts">Gemini</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mercury_Seven#Group_members" title="Mercury Seven">Mercury</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Chinese_astronauts" title="List of Chinese astronauts">Chinese</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Asian_astronauts" title="List of Asian astronauts">Asian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_European_astronauts" title="List of European astronauts">European</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_cosmonauts" title="List of cosmonauts">Cosmonauts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_women_astronauts" title="List of women astronauts">women</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Muslim_astronauts" title="List of Muslim astronauts">Muslim</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Arab_astronauts" title="List of Arab astronauts">Arab</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_African-American_astronauts" title="List of African-American astronauts">African American</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Ibero-American_spacefarers" title="List of Ibero-American spacefarers">Ibero-America</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lists_of_space_scientists" title="Lists of space scientists">Space scientists</a></li> <li>Space travelers <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_space_travelers_by_name" class="mw-redirect" title="List of space travelers by name">by name</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_space_travellers_by_first_flight" title="List of space travellers by first flight">by first flight</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_space_travelers_by_nationality" title="List of space travelers by nationality">by nationality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_billionaire_spacetravellers" title="List of billionaire spacetravellers">billionaires</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_space_travel_by_nationality" title="Timeline of space travel by nationality">timeline by nationality</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_spaceflight-related_accidents_and_incidents" title="List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents">Spaceflight-related human fatalities</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Extravehicular_activity" title="Extravehicular activity">EVA</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_spacewalks_and_moonwalks_1965%E2%80%931999" title="List of spacewalks and moonwalks 1965–1999">1965–1999</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_spacewalks_2000%E2%80%932014" title="List of spacewalks 2000–2014">2000–2014</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_spacewalks_2015%E2%80%932024" title="List of spacewalks 2015–2024">2015–2024</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_spacewalks_since_2025" title="List of spacewalks since 2025">2025–present</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_cumulative_spacewalk_records" title="List of cumulative spacewalk records">Cumulative spacewalk records</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_longest_spacewalks" title="List of longest spacewalks">Longest spacewalks</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_spacewalkers" title="List of spacewalkers">Spacewalkers</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Discovery_and_exploration_of_the_Solar_System" title="Discovery and exploration of the Solar System">Solar System<br />exploration</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_Solar_System_exploration" title="Timeline of Solar System exploration">Timeline</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_interplanetary_voyages" title="List of interplanetary voyages">Interplanetary voyages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_landings_on_extraterrestrial_bodies" title="List of landings on extraterrestrial bodies">Landings on other planets</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_rovers_on_extraterrestrial_bodies" title="List of rovers on extraterrestrial bodies">rovers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_artificial_objects_on_extraterrestrial_surfaces" title="List of artificial objects on extraterrestrial surfaces">artificial objects</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_objects_at_Lagrange_points" title="List of objects at Lagrange points">Objects at Lagrange points</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Solar_System_probes" title="List of Solar System probes">Probes</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_active_Solar_System_probes" title="List of active Solar System probes">active</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_proposed_Solar_System_probes" title="List of proposed Solar System probes">future</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_extraterrestrial_orbiters" title="List of extraterrestrial orbiters">orbiters</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_artificial_objects_leaving_the_Solar_System" title="List of artificial objects leaving the Solar System">leaving the Solar System</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_lunar_probes" title="List of lunar probes">lunar probes</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_missions_to_the_Moon" title="List of missions to the Moon">Missions to the Moon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_artificial_satellites_and_space_probes" title="Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes">Timeline of satellites</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Sample-return mission</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Mars_sample-return_mission" title="Mars sample-return mission">Mars</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Geocentric_orbit" title="Geocentric orbit">Earth-orbiting<br />satellites</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_communications_satellite_firsts" title="List of communications satellite firsts">Communications satellite firsts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/CubeSat" title="CubeSat">CubeSats</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/PocketQube" title="PocketQube">PocketQube</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Earth_observation_satellites" title="List of Earth observation satellites">Earth observation satellites</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_first_Earth_observation_satellites" title="Timeline of first Earth observation satellites">Timeline of first Earth observation satellites</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_satellites_in_geosynchronous_orbit" title="List of satellites in geosynchronous orbit">Geosynchronous orbit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_GOES_satellites" title="List of GOES satellites">GOES</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_GPS_satellites" title="List of GPS satellites">GPS</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Kosmos_satellites" title="List of Kosmos satellites">Kosmos</a></li> <li>Magnetospheric</li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_NRO_launches" title="List of NRO launches">NRO</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_TDRS_satellites" title="List of TDRS satellites">TDRS</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_USA_satellites" class="mw-redirect" title="List of USA satellites">USA</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Vehicles</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_orbital_launch_systems" title="List of orbital launch systems">Orbital launch systems</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Comparison_of_orbital_launch_systems" title="Comparison of orbital launch systems">Comparison</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_sounding_rockets" title="List of sounding rockets">Sounding rocket list</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lists_of_spacecraft" class="mw-redirect" title="Lists of spacecraft">Spacecraft</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_uncrewed_spacecraft_by_program" class="mw-redirect" title="List of uncrewed spacecraft by program">uncrewed</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_crewed_spacecraft" title="List of crewed spacecraft">crewed</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_heaviest_spacecraft" title="List of heaviest spacecraft">heaviest</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_rocket_stages" title="List of rocket stages">Upper stages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sounding_rocket" title="Sounding rocket">Sounding rocket</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Small-lift_launch_vehicle" title="Small-lift launch vehicle">Small-lift launch vehicle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Medium-lift_launch_vehicle" title="Medium-lift launch vehicle">Medium-lift launch vehicle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Heavy-lift_launch_vehicle" title="Heavy-lift launch vehicle">Heavy-lift launch vehicle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Super_heavy-lift_launch_vehicle" title="Super heavy-lift launch vehicle">Super heavy-lift launch vehicle</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Launches<br />by rocket type</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Ariane_launches" title="List of Ariane launches">Ariane</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Antares_launches" title="List of Antares launches">Antares</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Atlas_launches" title="List of Atlas launches">Atlas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Atlas_LV3B_launches" title="List of Atlas LV3B launches">Atlas LV3B</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Atlas_LV3C_launches" title="List of Atlas LV3C launches">Atlas LV3C</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Black_Brant_launches" title="List of Black Brant launches">Black Brant</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Electron_launches" title="List of Electron launches">Electron</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Delta_DM-19_launches" title="List of Delta DM-19 launches">Delta DM-19</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Delta_1_launches" title="List of Delta 1 launches">Delta 1</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Delta_II_launches" title="List of Delta II launches">Delta II</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Delta_III_launches" title="List of Delta III launches">Delta III</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Delta_IV_Heavy_launches" title="List of Delta IV Heavy launches">Delta IV Heavy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Delta_IV_Medium_launches" title="List of Delta IV Medium launches">Delta IV Medium</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Delta_IV_launches" title="List of Delta IV launches">Delta IV</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches" title="List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches">Falcon 9 and Heavy</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches_(2010%E2%80%932019)" title="List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches (2010–2019)">2010–2019</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches_(2020%E2%80%932022)" title="List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches (2020–2022)">2020–2022</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_GSLV_launches" title="List of GSLV launches">GSLV</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_H-II_series_and_H3_launches" title="List of H-II series and H3 launches">H-II and H3</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Kosmos_launches" title="List of Kosmos launches">Kosmos</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Long_March_launches" title="List of Long March launches">Long March</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Minotaur_(rocket_family)" title="Minotaur (rocket family)">Minotaur</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Proton_launches" title="List of Proton launches">Proton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_PSLV_launches" title="List of PSLV launches">PSLV</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_R-7_launches" title="List of R-7 launches">R-7 (including Semyorka, Molniya, Vostok, Voskhod and Soyuz)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Scout_launches" title="List of Scout launches">Scout</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Space_Launch_System_launches" title="List of Space Launch System launches">SLS</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Starship_launches" title="List of Starship launches">Starship</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Thor_and_Delta_launches" title="List of Thor and Delta launches">Thor and Delta</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Thor-Agena_launches" title="List of Thor-Agena launches">Thor-Agena</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Thor-Able_launches" title="List of Thor-Able launches">Thor DM-18 Able</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Thor_DM-18_Agena-A_launches" title="List of Thor DM-18 Agena-A launches">Thor DM-18 Agena-A</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Thor_DM-18_launches" title="List of Thor DM-18 launches">Thor DM-18</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Thor_DM-21_Agena-B_launches" title="List of Thor DM-21 Agena-B launches">Thor DM-21 Agena-B</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Titan_launches" title="List of Titan launches">Titan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Tsyklon_launches" title="List of Tsyklon launches">Tsyklon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_V-2_test_launches" title="List of V-2 test launches">V-2 tests</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Vega_launches" title="List of Vega launches">Vega</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Vulcan_launches" title="List of Vulcan launches">Vulcan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Zenit_launches" title="List of Zenit launches">Zenit</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;line-height:1.15em;">Launches by spaceport</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Satish_Dhawan_Space_Centre_launches" title="List of Satish Dhawan Space Centre launches">Satish Dhawan</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" 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