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A space probe is an unmanned space mission in which a spacecraft leaves Earth's orbit. The first successful space probe was the Soviet Luna 1, which studied the Moon in 1959. Subsequently, space agencies in the United States, Europe and Japan have flown probes to each of the 8 planets in the solar system and several asteroids and comets.
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List of space probes
This is a condensed version of the more detailed List of planetary probes.
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Lunar probes
Smart 1 — European Lunar orbital (2003).
LUNAR-A — Japanese lunar orbiter and penetrators, launch scheduled for 2004 but delayed ever since.
SELENE — Japanese lunar orbiter and lander, launch postponed to Jan 2006.
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Mars probes
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General solar system probes
Stardust probe — US comet flyby and sample return, launched 1999, returned January 15, 2006
Genesis — first solar wind sample return mission, 2001–2004 (crash)
CONTOUR — US comet flyby mission; launch failure in 2003
Hayabusa — Japanese asteroid orbiter, lander and sample return, launched 2003
Rosetta — European comet orbiter and lander (Philae); launched 2004
MESSENGER — US Mercury orbiter, launched 2004
Deep Impact — successful US comet impactor, launched 2005
Venus Express — ESA probe to be sent for the observation of the Venus's weather in 2005.
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