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List of rovers on extraterrestrial bodies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A rover is a planetary surface exploration vehicle designed to move over the rough surface of a planet or other celestial body. Rovers are used to explore, collect information, and take samples of the surface. This is a list of all rovers on extraterrestrial bodies in the Solar System. Since 1970, there have been seven lunar rovers, seven Mars rovers, and three asteroid rovers that have successfully landed and explored these extraterrestrial surfaces. In addition, a small helicopter on Mars, Ingenuity, operated from 2021 to 2024.
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Moon
Main article: Lunar rover
More information Mission, Rover ...
Mission | Rover | Country/Agency | Date of landing | Coordinates | Operational time | Distance travelled | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Luna E-8 No.201 | Lunokhod | ![]() |
10 November 1968 | N/A | 0 days | 0 km | Launch failure |
First launch of the Lunokhod rover. Launch vehicle disintegrated 51 seconds after launch and exploded.[1] | |||||||
Luna 17 | Lunokhod 1 | ![]() |
17 November 1970 | 38.2378°N 35.0017°W / 38.2378; -35.0017 (Lunokhod 1) | 322 days | 10.5 km (6.5 mi) | Successful |
First rover on an extraterrestrial body. | |||||||
Luna 21 | Lunokhod 2 | ![]() |
15 January 1973 | 25.85°N 30.45°E / 25.85; 30.45 (Lunokhod 2) | 117 days | 39 km (24 mi) | Successful |
Farthest distance traveled on the Moon. | |||||||
Chang'e 3 | Yutu | ![]() |
14 December 2013 | 44.1214°N 19.5116°W / 44.1214; -19.5116 (Yutu) | 42 days (mobile) 973 days (total) |
114.8 m (377 ft) | Successful |
First Chinese extraterrestrial rover and first lunar rover in over 40 years. | |||||||
Chang'e 4 | Yutu-2 | ![]() |
3 January 2019 | 45.444°S 177.599°E / -45.444; 177.599 (Yutu 2) | 2413 days | 1.455 km (0.904 mi)[2] as of 3 January 2023[update] |
Operational |
First rover on the far side of the Moon. Longest fully functioning rover on the Moon. | |||||||
Chandrayaan-2 | Pragyan | ![]() |
6 September 2019 | 70.90°S 22.78°E / -70.90; 22.78 (Vikram lander) | 0 days | 0 km | Precluded |
Lost when Vikram lander crash landed on the Moon. | |||||||
Hakuto-R Mission 1 | Rashid | ![]() |
April 2023 | TBD | 0 days | 0 km | Precluded |
Sora-Q | ![]() |
April 2023 | Precluded | ||||
Contact lost during final descent of the Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander. Presumed crash landing and failure. | |||||||
Chandrayaan-3 | Pragyan | ![]() |
23 August 2023 | 69.373°S 32.319°E / -69.373; 32.319 (Pragyan)[3] | 12 days | 101.4 m (333 ft)[4] as of 2 September 2023[update] |
Successful |
First rover to successfully operate near lunar south pole. | |||||||
SLIM | LEV-1 | ![]() |
19 January 2024 | 13.3160°S 25.2510°E / -13.3160; 25.2510 (SLIM LEV-1 & LEV-2) | 1 hour and 51 minutes | Successful | |
LEV-2 (Sora-Q) | Successful | ||||||
A hopper and a rover included in the SLIM mission which demonstrated precision landing technology. | |||||||
Peregrine Mission One | Iris | ![]() |
2024 | TBD | Precluded | ||
Colmena x5 | ![]() |
Precluded | |||||
Colmena would have been deployed using a small catapult mechanism. Mission cancelled along with the cancelled landing of Peregrine lander due to excessive propellant leak.[5] | |||||||
Chang'e 6 | Jinchan | ![]() |
1 June 2024 | 41.63839°S 153.98545°W / -41.63839; -153.98545 | 4 days | Success | |
Conduct infrared spectroscopy of lunar surface and imaged Chang'e 6 lander on lunar surface.[6] | |||||||
IM-2 | MAPP LV1 | ![]() |
6 March 2025 | TBD | Precluded | ||
AstroAnt | ![]() |
Precluded | |||||
Micro-Nova | ![]() |
Precluded | |||||
Yaoki | ![]() |
Precluded | |||||
MAPP and Micro-Nova would have demonstrated a new lunar communication system. IM-2 landed on 6 March 2025. The spacecraft was intact after touchdown but resting on its side, thereby complicating its planned science and technology demonstration mission; this outcome is similar to what occurred with the company's IM-1 Odysseus spacecraft in 2024.[8] | |||||||
Hakuto-R Mission 2 | Tenacious | ![]() |
June 2025 | TBD | Precluded | ||
Hakuto-R Mission 2 featured a rover for surface exploration and data collection. Contact lost during final descent of the Hakuto-R Mission 2 lander. Presumed crash landing and failure. | |||||||
Griffin-1 | CubeRover-1 | ![]() |
Q4 2025 | TBD | Planned | ||
FLIP | ![]() |
Planned | |||||
IM-3 | Lunar Vertex | ![]() |
Q4 2025 | TBD | Planned | ||
CADRE x4 | ![]() |
Planned | |||||
Mission to study Reiner Gamma. | |||||||
Chang’e 7 | Chang’e 7 rover | ![]() |
2026 | TBD | Planned | ||
Chang’e 7 hopper | Planned | ||||||
Will search for water ice in and around craters in the south pole of the Moon. | |||||||
Starship lunar cargo mission | FLEX | ![]() |
2026 | TBD | Planned | ||
Astrolab contracted with SpaceX to send their rover to the Moon aboard Starship[9][10] | |||||||
TBD (CLPS Lander)[11] | Moon to Mars Initiative: Trailblazer (Roo-ver)[12] | ![]() |
2026 | TBD | Planned | ||
Australia's first lunar rover. | |||||||
Astrobotic mission 3 | ⚀ LunaGrid-Lite CubeRover | ![]() |
2026 | TBD | Planned | ||
Third lunar mission by Astrobotic, will land at lunar south pole. LunaGrid-Lite mission. | |||||||
LUPEX | LUPEX Rover | ![]() ![]() |
2028 | TBD | Planned | ||
Joint mission between ISRO and JAXA. | |||||||
Chang’e 8 | Chang’e 8 rover | ![]() |
2028 | TBD | Planned | ||
Chang’e 8 Robot | Planned | ||||||
Chinese ISRU mission in preparation for ILRS. | |||||||
KLEP | KLLR Rover | ![]() |
2032 | TBD | Planned | ||
Second mission of the Korean Lunar Exploration Program.[13] |
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Mars
Main article: Mars rover
More information Mission, Rover ...
Mission | Rover | Country/Agency | Date of landing | Coordinates | Operational time | Distance travelled |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mars 2 | PrOP-M | ![]() | 27 November 1971 | 45°S 47°E | - | - |
First rover to reach Mars. Lost when Mars 2 landing system crash landed on Mars. | ||||||
Mars 3 | PrOP-M | ![]() | 2 December 1971 | 45°S 202°E | - | - |
First rover to successfully land on Mars. The lander stopped communicating about 110 seconds after landing, before the rover was deployed. | ||||||
Mars Pathfinder | Sojourner | ![]() | 4 July 1997 | 38.2378°N 35.0017°W / 38.2378; -35.0017 (Sojourner) | 85 days | 100 m (330 ft) |
First rover to successfully run on Mars. | ||||||
Mars Exploration Rover | Spirit | ![]() | 4 January 2004 | 14.5684°S 175.472636°E / -14.5684; 175.472636 (Spirit) | 6 years 79 days | 7.73 km (4.80 mi) |
Mission ended after rover got stuck in Martian sand. | ||||||
Opportunity | ![]() | 25 January 2004 | 1.9462°S 354.4734°E / -1.9462; 354.4734 (Opportunity) | 14 years 140 days | 45.16 km (28.06 mi) | |
Longest distance travelled by any rover and most days operated. | ||||||
Mars Science Laboratory | Curiosity | ![]() | 6 August 2012 | 4.5895°S 137.4417°E / -4.5895; 137.4417 (Curiosity) | 13 years 6 days | 32.40 km (20.13 mi) as of 24 September 2024[update][14] |
Rover for investigating past and present habitability, climate and geology. | ||||||
Mars 2020 | Perseverance | ![]() | 18 February 2021 | 18.4447°N 77.4508°E / 18.4447; 77.4508 (Mars 2020) | 4 years 175 days | 29.06 km (18.06 mi) as of 24 September 2024[update][15] |
Ingenuity | 3 April 2021 (deployment) | 2 years 340 days | 17.242 km (10.714 mi) in 72 flights[16] | |||
The Ingenuity helicopter is the first aircraft to fly on an extraterrestrial body. | ||||||
Tianwen-1 | Zhurong | ![]() | 14 May 2021 | 25.1°N 109.9°E / 25.1; 109.9 (Zhurong) | 356 days | 1.921 km (1.194 mi) as of 1 May 2022[update][17] |
Inactive after dust storm and Martian winter. | ||||||
MMX | IDEFIX | ![]() ![]() |
2027 | TBD | ||
Rover for studying the surface of Phobos. | ||||||
Mars Sample Return | Mars Sample Recovery Helicopters | ![]() |
2030 | TBD | ||
Two Ingenuity class helicopters designed to retrieve Martian surface samples. |
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Asteroids
More information Body, Mission ...
Body | Mission | Rover | Country/Agency | Date of landing | Location | Operational time | Distance travelled |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
162173 Ryugu | Hayabusa2 | MINERVA-II Rover-1A | ![]() | 21 September 2019 | Tritonis | 36 days[18] | |
MINERVA-II Rover-1B | 3 days[18] | ||||||
Successfully landed, returned images, and hopped along surface. First rovers on an asteroid. | |||||||
MASCOT | ![]() ![]() | 3 October 2018 | Alice's Wonderland | 17 h 14 min[19] | ~17.9 m (59 ft)[19] | ||
Successfully landed, returned images from the surface, and performed multiple hops along surface. | |||||||
MINERVA-II Rover-2 | ![]() | October 2019 | Unknown | 0 days | 0 m | ||
Failed before deployment, so it was released into orbit around the asteroid to perform gravitational measurements before it impacted a few days later. |
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Titan
More information Mission, Rover ...
Mission | Rover | Country/Agency | Date of landing | Location | Operational time | Distance travelled |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dragonfly | ![]() | 2034 | Shangri-La | 10 years (planned) | ||
Rotorcraft to be sent to Titan in 5-25 July 2028. |
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Crewed rovers
More information Mission, Rover ...
Mission | Rover | Country/Agency | Date of landing | Coordinates | Operational time | Distance travelled | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apollo 15 | Lunar Roving Vehicle | ![]() | 7 August 1971 | 26.1322°N 3.6339°E | 3 h 02 min | 27.76 km
(7.75 mi) |
First crewed lunar rover |
Apollo 16 | Lunar Roving Vehicle | ![]() |
21 April 1972 | 8.97301°S 15.50019°E | 3 h 26 min | 26.55 km
(16.50 mi) |
|
Apollo 17 | Lunar Roving Vehicle | ![]() |
11 December 1972 | 20.1908°N 30.7717°E | 4 h 26 min | 35.89 km
(22.30 mi) |
Furthest distance travelled by crewed lunar rover |
Artemis V | Lunar Terrain Vehicle | ![]() |
2030 | TBD | Unpressurised crewed rover for the Artemis program | ||
Chinese Crewed Lunar Mission | Chinese Crewed Rover | ![]() |
2030 | TBD | Rover shown at the National Museum of China on 24 February 2023 | ||
Artemis VII | Lunar Cruiser | ![]() |
2032 | TBD | Developed jointly between JAXA and Toyota |
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Proposed rovers
More information Rover, Country/Agency ...
Rover | Country/Agency | Proposed Date of launched | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
MPR-1 | ![]() |
2025 | In range of a crater | Rover under study for power supply for future mining rovers |
Canadensys Rover | ![]() | 2026 | Lunar South Pole | Rover funded by CSA to scout for water ice on the Moon |
Lunar Trailblazer | ![]() ![]() |
2026 | Lunar South Pole | Small rover studying swarm technologies |
Luna-Grunt | ![]() |
2028 | Rover for proposed Luna 29 sample return mission, details of rover are unknown | |
LIBER | ![]() |
2027 | TBD | Lunar Integrated Bulk Extraction Rover (LIBER) will mine on the lunar surface.[citation needed] |
ExoMars Rosalind Franklin | ![]() |
NET 2028 | 18.275°N 335.368°E / 18.275; 335.368 (Rosalind Franklin) | Rover will search for previous signs of life on Mars. |
HERACLES | ![]() |
2030 | Schrödinger basin | Part of European Large Logistic Lander program, will be used to transport samples and scout for resources on the Moon. |
Asagumo | ![]() |
TBD | Spider-like rover was planned to launch with Peregrine Mission One but its status is currently unknown | |
CELV | ![]() |
TBD | Near a Lunar base | The Cubic Emergency Lunar Vehicle is an emergency crewed rover that will be stored on a larger crewed rover.[20] |
MoonRanger | ![]() |
TBD | Lunar South Pole | Was intended to launch in November 2023 but lunar lander provider Masten Space Systems declared bankruptcy and the rover is on hold |
Rashid 2 | ![]() |
TBD | TBD | Rover development announced after failure of first rover. |
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See also
References
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