List of rovers on extraterrestrial bodies facts for kids
A rover is a special vehicle designed to move across the surface of a planet or other celestial body. Rovers help us explore, gather information, and collect samples from these distant worlds. They are like robotic geologists and explorers!
Since 1970, many rovers have successfully landed and explored surfaces beyond Earth. These include seven rovers on the Moon, seven on Mars, and three on asteroids. Also, a small helicopter named Ingenuity flew on Mars from 2021 until 2024, showing us that flight is possible on other planets!
Contents
Exploring the Moon with Rovers
| Mission | Rover | Country/Agency | Date of landing | Coordinates | Operational time | Distance travelled | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luna E-8 No.201 | Lunokhod | Soviet Union (Lavochkin) | 10 November 1968 | N/A | 0 days | 0 km | Launch failure |
| This was the first launch attempt for a Lunokhod rover. The rocket failed shortly after launch. | |||||||
| Luna 17 | Lunokhod 1 | Soviet Union | 17 November 1970 | 38°14′16″N 35°00′06″W / 38.2378°N 35.0017°W | 322 days | 10.5 km (6.5 mi) | Successful |
| This was the first rover to successfully land and operate on another celestial body! | |||||||
| Luna 21 | Lunokhod 2 | Soviet Union | 15 January 1973 | 25°51′N 30°27′E / 25.85°N 30.45°E | 117 days | 39 km (24 mi) | Successful |
| This rover traveled the farthest distance on the Moon for many years. | |||||||
| Chang'e 3 | Yutu | China (CNSA) | 14 December 2013 | 44°07′17″N 19°30′42″W / 44.1214°N 19.5116°W | 42 days (mobile) 973 days (total) |
114.8 m (377 ft) | Successful |
| This was China's first rover on another world and the first lunar rover in over 40 years. | |||||||
| Chang'e 4 | Yutu-2 | China (CNSA) | 3 January 2019 | 45°26′38″S 177°35′56″E / 45.444°S 177.599°E | 2653 days | 1.455 km (0.904 mi) as of 3 January 2023[update] |
Operational |
| This rover was the first to land on the far side of the Moon. It is also the longest-operating rover on the Moon. | |||||||
| Chandrayaan-2 | Pragyan | India (ISRO) | 6 September 2019 | 70°54′S 22°47′E / 70.90°S 22.78°E | 0 days | 0 km | Precluded |
| This rover was lost when its lander, Vikram, crashed on the Moon. | |||||||
| Hakuto-R Mission 1 | Rashid | UAE (MBRSC) | April 2023 | TBD | 0 days | 0 km | Precluded |
| Sora-Q | Japan (Tomy/JAXA) | April 2023 | Precluded | ||||
| Contact was lost during the lander's final descent, leading to a presumed crash. | |||||||
| Chandrayaan-3 | Pragyan | India (ISRO) | 23 August 2023 | 69°22′23″S 32°19′08″E / 69.373°S 32.319°E | 12 days | 101.4 m (333 ft) as of 2 September 2023[update] |
Successful |
| This rover was the first to successfully explore near the lunar south pole. | |||||||
| SLIM | LEV-1 | Japan (JAXA) | 19 January 2024 | 13°18′58″S 25°15′04″E / 13.3160°S 25.2510°E | 1 hour and 51 minutes | Successful | |
| LEV-2 (Sora-Q) | Successful | ||||||
| These small robots were part of the SLIM mission, which showed how to land precisely on the Moon. | |||||||
| Peregrine Mission One | Iris | USA (CMU) | 2024 | TBD | Precluded | ||
| Colmena x5 | Mexico (UNAM) | Precluded | |||||
| This mission was canceled because of a fuel leak in the Peregrine lander. | |||||||
| Chang'e 6 | Jinchan | China (CNSA) | 1 June 2024 | 41°38′18″S 153°59′08″W / 41.63839°S 153.98545°W | 4 days | Success | |
| This rover studied the Moon's surface using infrared light and took pictures of its lander. | |||||||
| IM-2 | MAPP LV1 | USA (Lunar Outpost) | 6 March 2025 | TBD | Precluded | ||
| AstroAnt | USA (MIT) | Precluded | |||||
| Micro-Nova | USA (Intuitive Machines) | Precluded | |||||
| Yaoki | Japan (Dymon) | Precluded | |||||
| The IM-2 mission landed on March 6, 2025. The spacecraft was sideways, which made its science goals difficult to achieve. | |||||||
| Hakuto-R Mission 2 | Tenacious | Luxembourg (ispace Europe) | June 2025 | TBD | Precluded | ||
| Contact was lost during the lander's final descent, leading to a presumed crash. | |||||||
| Griffin-1 | CubeRover-1 | USA (Astrobotic) | 2026 | TBD | Planned | ||
| FLIP | USA (Astrolab) | Planned | |||||
| IM-3 | Lunar Vertex | USA (NASA) | 2026 | TBD | Planned | ||
| CADRE x4 | USA (NASA) | Planned | |||||
| This mission plans to study a magnetic area on the Moon called Reiner Gamma. | |||||||
| Chang’e 7 | Chang’e 7 rover | China (CNSA) | 2026 | TBD | Planned | ||
| Chang’e 7 hopper | Planned | ||||||
| This mission will search for water ice in craters near the Moon's south pole. | |||||||
| Starship lunar cargo mission | FLEX | USA (Astrolab) | 2026 | TBD | Planned | ||
| Astrolab plans to send its rover to the Moon using a Starship rocket. | |||||||
| TBD (CLPS Lander) | Moon to Mars Initiative: Trailblazer (Roo-ver) | Australia (ASA) | 2026 | TBD | Planned | ||
| This will be Australia's first lunar rover. | |||||||
| Astrobotic mission 3 | ⚀ LunaGrid-Lite CubeRover | USA (Astrobotic) | 2026 | TBD | Planned | ||
| This mission will land at the lunar south pole to test a power grid system. | |||||||
| LUPEX | LUPEX Rover | Japan/India (JAXA/ISRO) | 2028 | TBD | Planned | ||
| This is a joint mission between India and Japan. | |||||||
| Chang’e 8 | Chang’e 8 rover | China (CNSA) | 2028 | TBD | Planned | ||
| Chang’e 8 Robot | Planned | ||||||
| This Chinese mission will test how to use resources found on the Moon, preparing for a future lunar station. | |||||||
| KLEP | KLLR Rover | South Korea (KARI) | 2032 | TBD | Planned | ||
| This is the second mission of South Korea's lunar exploration program. | |||||||
Mars Rovers: Exploring the Red Planet
| Mission | Rover | Country/Agency | Date of landing | Coordinates | Operational time | Distance travelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mars 2 | PrOP-M | Soviet Union | 27 November 1971 | 45°S 47°E / 45°S 47°E | - | - |
| This was the first rover to reach Mars! However, it was lost when its landing system crashed. | ||||||
| Mars 3 | PrOP-M | Soviet Union | 2 December 1971 | 45°S 202°E / 45°S 202°E | - | - |
| The lander stopped working shortly after landing, so the rover was never deployed. | ||||||
| Mars Pathfinder | Sojourner | USA (NASA) | 4 July 1997 | 38°14′16″N 35°00′06″W / 38.2378°N 35.0017°W | 85 days | 100 m (330 ft) |
| This was the first rover to successfully drive on Mars! | ||||||
| Mars Exploration Rover | Spirit | USA (NASA) | 4 January 2004 | 14°34′06″S 175°28′21″E / 14.5684°S 175.472636°E | 6 years 79 days | 7.73 km (4.80 mi) |
| This mission ended after the rover got stuck in soft Martian sand. | ||||||
| Opportunity | USA (NASA) | 25 January 2004 | 1°56′46″S 354°28′24″E / 1.9462°S 354.4734°E | 14 years 140 days | 45.16 km (28.06 mi) | |
| This rover traveled the longest distance and operated for the most days of any rover on Mars. | ||||||
| Mars Science Laboratory | Curiosity | USA (NASA) | 6 August 2012 | 4°35′22″S 137°26′30″E / 4.5895°S 137.4417°E | 13 years 246 days | 32.40 km (20.13 mi) as of 24 September 2024[update] |
| Curiosity is still exploring Mars, looking for signs of past life and studying the planet's geology. | ||||||
| Mars 2020 | Perseverance | USA (NASA) | 18 February 2021 | 18°26′41″N 77°27′03″E / 18.4447°N 77.4508°E | 5 years 50 days | 29.06 km (18.06 mi) as of 24 September 2024[update] |
| Ingenuity | 3 April 2021 (deployment) | 2 years 340 days | 17.242 km (10.714 mi) in 72 flights | |||
| The Ingenuity helicopter was the first aircraft to fly on another celestial body! | ||||||
| Tianwen-1 | Zhurong | China (CNSA) | 14 May 2021 | 25°06′N 109°54′E / 25.1°N 109.9°E | 356 days | 1.921 km (1.194 mi) as of 1 May 2022[update] |
| This rover became inactive after a dust storm and the Martian winter. | ||||||
| MMX | Idefix | France/Germany (CNES/DLR) | 2027 | TBD | ||
| This rover is planned to study the surface of Phobos, one of Mars's moons. | ||||||
Asteroid Rovers: Tiny Explorers
| Body | Mission | Rover | Country/Agency | Date of landing | Location | Operational time | Distance travelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 162173 Ryugu | Hayabusa2 | MINERVA-II Rover-1A | Japan (JAXA) | 21 September 2019 | Tritonis | 36 days | |
| MINERVA-II Rover-1B | 3 days | ||||||
| These were the first rovers to successfully land on an asteroid! They sent back images and hopped across the surface. | |||||||
| MASCOT | Germany/France (DLR/CNES) | 3 October 2018 | Alice's Wonderland | 17 h 14 min | ~17.9 m (59 ft) | ||
| MASCOT landed, sent back images, and performed several hops on the asteroid's surface. | |||||||
| MINERVA-II Rover-2 | Japan (JAXA) | October 2019 | Unknown | 0 days | 0 m | ||
| This rover failed before it could deploy and was later used for gravity measurements around the asteroid. | |||||||
Future Missions to Titan
| Mission | Rover | Country/Agency | Date of landing | Location | Operational time | Distance travelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragonfly | USA (NASA) | 2034 | Shangri-La | 10 years (planned) | ||
| Dragonfly is a special rotorcraft (like a helicopter) that will fly around Titan, a moon of Saturn, starting in 2028. | ||||||
Rovers for Astronauts: Driving on the Moon
| Mission | Rover | Country/Agency | Date of landing | Coordinates | Operational time | Distance travelled | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo 15 | Lunar Roving Vehicle | USA (NASA) | 7 August 1971 | 26.1322°N 3.6339°E | 3 h 02 min | 27.76 km | First crewed lunar rover |
| Apollo 16 | Lunar Roving Vehicle | USA (NASA) | 21 April 1972 | 8.97301°S 15.50019°E | 3 h 26 min | 26.55 km | |
| Apollo 17 | Lunar Roving Vehicle | USA (NASA) | 11 December 1972 | 20.1908°N 30.7717°E | 4 h 26 min | 35.89 km | This rover traveled the furthest distance with astronauts on the Moon. |
| Artemis V | Lunar Terrain Vehicle | USA (NASA) | 2030 | TBD | This unpressurized rover is planned for the Artemis program to carry astronauts. | ||
| Chinese Crewed Lunar Mission | Chinese Crewed Rover | China (CNSA) | 2030 | TBD | A rover for Chinese astronauts, shown in 2023. | ||
| Artemis VII | Lunar Cruiser | Japan (JAXA) | 2032 | TBD | This rover is being developed by JAXA and Toyota. | ||
Future Rover Ideas: What's Next?
| Rover | Country/Agency | Proposed Date of launched | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPR-1 | Canada (STELLS) | 2025 | In range of a crater | This rover is being studied to provide power for future mining rovers. |
| Canadensys Rover | Canada (Canadensys) | 2026 | Lunar South Pole | This rover will scout for water ice on the Moon. |
| Lunar Trailblazer | Australia/Netherlands (Delft University) | 2026 | Lunar South Pole | A small rover designed to test "swarm" technologies (many small robots working together). |
| Luna-Grunt | Russia (Roscosmos) | 2028 | This rover is part of a proposed mission to bring samples back from the Moon. | |
| LIBER | Singapore (Qosmosys) | 2027 | TBD | The Lunar Integrated Bulk Extraction Rover (LIBER) plans to mine resources on the Moon. |
| ExoMars Rosalind Franklin | Europe (ESA) | NET 2028 | 18°16′30″N 335°22′05″E / 18.275°N 335.368°E | This rover will search for signs of past life on Mars. |
| HERACLES | Canada (CSA) | 2030 | Schrödinger basin | This rover will help transport samples and look for resources on the Moon. |
| Asagumo | UK (Spacebit) | TBD | This spider-like rover was planned for a mission but its current status is unknown. | |
| CELV | China (Jilin University/CAST) | TBD | Near a Lunar base | The Cubic Emergency Lunar Vehicle is a small emergency rover for astronauts. |
| MoonRanger | USA (Astrobotic/CMU) | TBD | Lunar South Pole | This rover is currently on hold after its original lander provider went out of business. |
| Rashid 2 | UAE (MBRSC) | TBD | TBD | Development for this rover was announced after the first Rashid rover mission failed. |
See also
- List of landings on extraterrestrial bodies
- List of extraterrestrial orbiters
- List of Solar System probes
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