This list includes records for unmanned space travel .
Highest speed of unmanned spacecraft
| Speed (rel. To the sun)
|
date
|
Space probe
|
Participating countries / organizations
|
Remarks
|
| 95,300 m / s |
November 6, 2018 |
Parker Solar Probe |
NASA |
Probe for exploring the sun
|
| 70,200 m / s |
December 10, 1974 - March 16, 1986 |
Helios 1 and 2 |
Germany (70%) and USA (30%) |
Probes for exploring the sun
|
| 68,700 m / s |
March 14, 1986 |
Giotto |
ESA |
Probe for exploring Comet Halley
|
Highest speed of unmanned space probes when launched from Earth
| speed
|
date
|
Space probe
|
Participating countries / organizations
|
Remarks
|
| 16,210 m / s |
January 19, 2006 |
New Horizons |
United States |
Probe for exploring Pluto
|
| 15,400 m / s |
October 6, 1990 |
Ulysses |
USA, ESA |
Probe for exploring the sun
|
Greatest distance from space probes to earth
As of June 2018
| Distance (rel. To the sun)
|
Space probe
|
Participating countries
|
Remarks
|
| 21.3 billion km |
Voyager 1 |
United States |
Exploration of the outer solar system
|
| 18.1 billion km |
Pioneer 10 |
United States |
Exploration of the outer solar system, mission ended on January 22, 2003
|
| 17.6 billion km |
Voyager 2 |
United States |
Exploration of the outer solar system
|
| 15.0 billion km |
Pioneer 11 |
United States |
Exploration of the outer solar system, mission ended in November 1995
|
| 6.2 billion km |
New Horizons |
United States |
Exploration of Pluto and its moons
|
Most powerful launch vehicles
The highest payload capacity available worldwide for the first successful unmanned flight of a new rocket
| Max. Payload (t)
|
rocket
|
country
|
Start date
|
payload
|
|
LEO
|
to the moon
|
| 0.5
|
-
|
sputnik
|
Soviet Union
|
4th October 1957
|
Sputnik 1
|
| 1.3
|
-
|
Sputnik (8A91)
|
Soviet Union
|
May 15, 1958
|
Sputnik 3
|
| ≥ 4.5
|
≥ 0.4
|
Vostok
|
Soviet Union
|
2nd January 1959
|
Luna 1
|
| > 4.7
|
(?)
|
Vostok-K
|
Soviet Union
|
May 15, 1960
|
Sputnik 4
|
| ?, 0
|
1.4
|
Molnija
|
Soviet Union
|
February 12, 1961
|
Venera 1
|
| 6th, 0
|
-
|
Vozhod
|
Soviet Union
|
November 11, 1963
|
Cosmos 22
|
| 9, 0
|
(2.2)
|
Saturn I
|
United States
|
January 29, 1964
|
SA-5
|
| 18th, 0
|
(?)
|
Saturn IB
|
United States
|
February 26, 1966
|
AS-203
|
| 118, 0
|
45
|
Saturn v
|
United States
|
November 9, 1967
|
Apollo 4
|
|
> 100, 0
|
> 1000
|
Starship system
|
USA ( SpaceX )
|
≥ 2022 Template: future / in 2 years (planned)
|
Mars flight
|
(In brackets: the rocket was not used for this purpose, at most a theoretically possible payload is known.)
First successful flyby of celestial bodies
| Heavenly bodies
|
Space probe
|
Date / year
|
country
|
| moon |
Lunik 1 |
4th January 1959 |
Soviet Union
|
| Sun |
Helios |
1975 |
Germany and USA
|
| Mercury |
Mariner 10 |
March 29, 1974 |
United States
|
| Venus |
Mariner 2 |
December 14, 1962 |
United States
|
| Mars |
Mariner 4 |
July 15, 1965 |
United States
|
| Phobos |
Fobos-2 |
February 21, 1989 |
USSR
|
| Jupiter |
Pioneer 10 |
3rd December 1973 |
United States
|
| Saturn |
Pioneer 11 |
September 1, 1979 |
United States
|
| Uranus |
Voyager 2 |
January 24, 1986 |
United States
|
| Neptune |
Voyager 2 |
August 25, 1989 |
United States
|
|
Dwarf planet : Ceres
|
Dawn |
March 6, 2015 |
United States
|
|
TNO : Pluto
|
New Horizons |
July 14, 2015 |
United States
|
|
Comet : Giacobini-Zinner
|
ISEE-3 / ICE |
September 11, 1985 |
USA, ESA
|
|
Asteroid : Gaspra
|
Galileo |
October 29, 1991 |
USA, Germany
|
Others
| record
|
Missile
|
Date / year / period
|
country
|
| First entry into space |
A4 |
June 20, 1944 |
Germany
|
| First photo from space |
A4 |
October 24, 1946 |
United States
|
| First satellite in orbit |
Sputnik 1 |
4th October 1957 |
Soviet Union
|
| Oldest satellite still in orbit |
Vanguard 1 |
since March 17, 1958 (62 years and 165 days) |
United States
|
| First spacecraft with solar cells |
Vanguard 1 |
March 17, 1958 |
United States
|
| First space probe to leave Earth's gravitational field |
Lunik 1 |
January 1959 |
Soviet Union
|
| First spacecraft with a radioisotope generator |
Transit 4A |
June 29, 1961 |
United States
|
| First spacecraft with a nuclear reactor |
Snapshot ( OPS 4682 ) (Reactor: SNAP-10A ) |
April 4, 1965 |
United States
|
| First soft landing on another celestial body ( moon ) |
Luna 9 |
3rd February 1966 |
Soviet Union
|
| First successful unmanned return of samples from another celestial body (moon) |
Luna 16 |
September 24, 1970 |
Soviet Union
|
| First rover on another celestial body (moon) |
Lunochod 1 |
17th November 1970 |
Soviet Union
|
| First successful landing on a strange planet ( Venus ) |
Venera 7 |
December 15, 1970 |
Soviet Union
|
| First space probe to orbit another planet ( Mars ) |
Mariner 9 |
November 14, 1971 |
United States
|
| First swing-by maneuver by a space probe |
Mariner 10 |
5th February 1974 |
United States
|
| Longest service life of a space probe (start to last contact) |
Voyager 2 |
since August 20, 1977 (43 years and 9 days) |
United States
|
| First space probe to orbit a Lagrange point (L 1 ) |
ISEE-3 / ICE |
November 20, 1978 |
USA, ESA
|
| First balloon in the atmosphere of another celestial body (Venus) |
Vega 1 |
June 11, 1985 |
Soviet Union
|
| Heaviest space probes (at launch)
|
Fobos 1 and 2 with each 6220 kg |
1988 |
Soviet Union
|
|
Cassini-Huygens with 5712 kg |
1997 |
USA, ESA, Italy
|
| First space probe in a polar orbit around the sun |
Ulysses |
February 8, 1992 |
ESA, USA
|
| First spacecraft, the aerobraking tested
|
Magellan |
1993 |
United States
|
| first used: Mars Global Surveyor
|
1997 |
United States
|
| First rover on another planet (Mars) |
Sojourner |
4th July 1997 |
United States
|
| First space probe with ion propulsion
|
Deep Space 1 |
1998-2001 |
United States
|
| experimental: Zond 2
|
1964 |
Soviet Union
|
| First spacecraft to orbit an asteroid ( Eros ) |
NEAR Shoemaker |
February 14, 2000 |
United States
|
| First landing on an asteroid (Eros) |
NEAR Shoemaker |
February 12, 2001 |
United States
|
| Longest mission of a rover (from landing) |
Opportunity |
14 years and 219 days (from January 25, 2004) |
United States
|
| Longest distance traveled by a rover (on Mars) |
Opportunity |
45 km |
United States
|
| First penetration into the termination shock
|
Voyager 1 |
December 16, 2004 |
United States
|
| First landing on an alien moon ( Titan , Moon of Saturn ) |
Huygens |
January 14, 2005 |
ESA, USA, Italy
|
| First sample returned from the surface of an asteroid ( (25143) Itokawa ) |
Hayabusa |
June 13, 2010 |
Japan
|
| First penetration into interstellar space
|
Voyager 1 |
August 25, 2012 |
United States
|
| First landing on a comet ( Churyumov-Gerassimenko ) |
Philae |
November 12, 2014 |
ESA
|
| First successful landing of a rocket stage |
Falcon 9 |
December 21, 2015 |
SpaceX
|
| Largest number of simultaneously launched satellites |
PSLV |
February 15, 2017 (104 satellites) |
ISRO
|
| Closest approach to the sun |
Parker Solar Probe |
November 6, 2018 (24.8 million km) |
United States
|
Individual evidence
-
^ Parker Solar Probe sets records during first encounter with the sun. November 6, 2018, accessed November 6, 2018 .
-
↑ Probes Leaving the Solar System. Heavens Above, accessed June 10, 2018 .
See also
