List of proposed Solar System probes

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There are currently various proposed space probes to focus on the exploration of the Solar System. For planned missions to the Moon see the dedicated list of missions to the Moon, with its section future missions. Launched probes are in the List of Solar System probes and the List of active Solar System probes.

Scheduled missions

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Mission name Launch date Target Description Ref(s)
JapanFranceGermany Martian Moons eXploration and Idefix rover 2026 Mars Phobos sample return mission, Phobos rover, Deimos flyby [1]
United StatesNew Zealand Venus Life Finder NET summer 2026 Venus Atmospheric probe by Rocket Lab and MIT [2]
Europe M-Argo 2027 Asteroid Cubesat mission to a near-Earth asteroid [3]
Japan DESTINY+ 2028 Asteroid Asteroid 3200 Phaethon flyby [4]
United States Dragonfly July 2028 Saturn / Titan Titan rotorcraft lander [5]
Europe Rosalind Franklin 2028 Mars Mars rover, ExoMars [6][7]
China Tianwen-3 2028 Mars Mars sample return mission [8]
United Arab Emirates MBR Explorer 2028 Asteroid Flyby mission to seven asteroids [9]
Europe Ramses 2028 Asteroid Orbiter [10][11]
India Venus Orbiter Mission 2028 Venus Orbiter [12]
China Tianwen-4 September 2029 Jupiter, Uranus Jupiter and Callisto orbiter, Uranus flyby [13][14]
EuropeJapan Comet Interceptor 2029 Comet Flyby of an Oort Cloud comet [15][16]
United States VERITAS 2029 Venus Orbiter [17]
Europe EnVision 2031 Venus Orbiter [18]
India Mangalyaan-2 2031 Mars Orbiter and lander [19][20]
United States DAVINCI 2032 Venus Orbiter and atmospheric probe [21]

Proposed missions

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Mission name Preliminary launch date estimate Target Description Ref(s)
Estimated launch date Estimate by Estimate as of
China Shensuo (Interstellar Express) In 2019, the mission was planned to be launched in 2024. There are no updates after 2019. Outer planets "Voyager-like" mission to outer planets [22][23]
United StatesEurope NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return The original mission plan is under review due to cost constraints; NASA "is expected to confirm the program – and its design – in the second half of 2026". Mars Mars sample return mission [24][25]
China Asteroid deflection mission 2027 CNSA 2025 Asteroid Asteroid deflection mission; one possible target is 2015 XF261 [26][27]
China Solar Polar Orbit Observatory 2029 National Space Science Center 2025 Sun High-inclination solar orbiter, Jupiter flyby [28]
Japan Tera-hertz Explorer Originally planned to be launched in "2020s". There are no updates after 2021. Mars Orbiter and lander [29][30]
United States Uranus Orbiter and Probe NET 2031 NASA 2023 Uranus Orbiter and probe [31][32]
China Venus atmospheric sample return 2033 DSEL/CNSA 2025 Venus Return atmospheric samples from Venus [33]
United States Interstellar Probe 2036 NASA 2022 Outer planets "Voyager on steroids" [34]
Russia Venera-D 2036 Russian Academy of Sciences 2025 Venus Orbiter and lander [35]
United States Enceladus Orbilander 2038 NASA 2023 Saturn / Enceladus Enceladus orbiter/lander [36]
China Mars Research Station for ISRU 2038 DSEL/CNSA 2025 Mars Mars surface research station for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) [33]
China Probe to Neptune and Triton 2039 DSEL/CNSA 2025 Neptune / Triton Exploration of Neptune and its moon Triton [33]
Europe Probe to Enceladus 2042 ESA 2024 Saturn / Enceladus Enceladus lander [37][38]

Suspended missions

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The following missions were suspended or cancelled because of political, budgetary, or other reasons. The spacecraft were already assembled at the time of suspension/cancellation, so these missions can be resumed.

Mission name Cancellation date Description Status and reason Ref(s)
United States Janus 2023 Dual asteroids probe Was expected to be a secondary payload on the Psyche launch. After the delay, it was assessed that Janus wouldn't be able to reach the required trajectory. Both spacecraft were placed into long-term storage. [39]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "MMX - Martian Moons eXploration". MMX - Martian Moons eXploration. Retrieved 2 June 2024. The current schedule has a launch date in JFY 2026, followed by Martian orbit insertion in JFY 2027 and the spacecraft will return to Earth in JFY 2031.
  2. ^ "Rocket Lab Mission to Venus". Venus Missions. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  3. ^ "ESA Technology CubeSats". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  4. ^ "宇宙科学・探査ミッションの進捗状況について" [Space Science and Exploration Mission Progress] (PDF). ISAS (in Japanese). CAO. 9 October 2024. p. 11. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
  5. ^ A. A. Donaldson (25 November 2024). "NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Dragonfly Mission". NASA. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  6. ^ "NASA, European Space Agency Unite to Land Europe's Rover on Mars - NASA". Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  7. ^ Foust, Jeff (2024-04-10). "ESA awards contract to Thales Alenia Space to restart ExoMars". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  8. ^ Jones, Andrew (2024-03-08). "China targets 2030 for Mars sample return mission, potential landing areas revealed". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  9. ^ Kenneth Chang (May 29, 2023). "The United Arab Emirates Is Heading for the Asteroid Belt". The New York Times.
  10. ^ "Introducing Ramses, ESA's mission to asteroid Apophis". www.esa.int.
  11. ^ "Boost in funding expands Space Safety programme". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
  12. ^ "Union Cabinet Approves India's Mission to Venus, and Sample Return from the Moon". www.isro.gov.in. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  13. ^ CNSA Watcher [@CNSAWatcher] (23 December 2023). "Tianwen-4, launching Sept 2029, will journey to Jupiter using Venus & Earth gravity assists. Targeting Jupiter capture by Dec 2035 & a Uranus flyby in March 2045, the mission includes 2 probes, one exploring Jupiter's system and another flying by Uranus" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Andrew Jones published (2022-09-22). "China wants to probe Uranus and Jupiter with 2 spacecraft on one rocket". Space.com. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  15. ^ "ESA's new mission to intercept a comet". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  16. ^ "Comet Interceptor". www.cometinterceptor.space. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  17. ^ "NASA Selects 2 Missions to Study 'Lost Habitable' World of Venus - NASA". Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  18. ^ "ESA selects revolutionary Venus mission EnVision". www.esa.int. ESA. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  19. ^ Kuthunur, Sharmila (17 May 2024). "India's ambitious 2nd Mars mission to include a rover, helicopter, sky crane and a supersonic parachute". Space.com.
  20. ^ "Unmanned helicopter likely to join India's second space odyssey to Mars". rfi. 5 March 2024.
  21. ^ "FY 2025 PRESIDENT'S BUDGET REQUEST SUMMARY". NASA. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  22. ^ Wu, Weiren; Yu, Dengyun; Huang, Jiangchuan; Zong, Qiugang; Wang, Chi; Yu, Guobin; He, Rongwei; Wang, Qian; Kang, Yan; Meng, Linzhi; Wu, Ke; He, Jiansen; Li, Hui (2019-01-09). "Exploring the solar system boundary". Scientia Sinica Informationis. 49 (1): 1. doi:10.1360/N112018-00273. ISSN 2095-9486. S2CID 86476811.
  23. ^ Jones, Andrew (November 19, 2019). "China Considers Voyager-like Mission to Interstellar Space". Planetary.org. The Planetary Society. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  24. ^ "NASA to Explore Two Landing Options for Returning Samples from Mars - NASA". NASA. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  25. ^ Berger, Eric (11 September 2025). "NASA found intriguing rocks on Mars, so where does that leave Mars Sample Return?". Ars Technica. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  26. ^ Lea, Robert (11 July 2024). "China plans to deflect an asteroid by 2030 to showcase Earth protection skills". Space. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  27. ^ Foust, Jeff. "China reschedules planetary defense mission for 2027 launch". spacenews.com. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  28. ^ Jones, Andrew (2025-02-25). "China to send a spacecraft out of the ecliptic to study the Sun's poles". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
  29. ^ Takeshi Kuroda, Yasuko Kasai, Shinichi Nakasuka, Hiroyuki Maezawa, Takayoshi Yamada, Ryohei Takahashi: TEREX-1: A micro-satellite terahertz lander for the exploration of water/oxygen resources on Mars. 43rd COSPAR Scientific Assembly, Abstract B0.5-0006-21 (oral), id.223, January 2021.
  30. ^ Kasai, Yasuko (13 June 2018). "Tera-hertz Explorer, TEREX, Mission" (PDF). University of Tsukuba. NICT. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  31. ^ Simon, Amy; Nimmo, Francis; Anderson, Richard C. (7 June 2021). "Journey to an Ice Giant System: Uranus Orbiter and Probe". Planetary Mission Concept for the 2023–2032 Planetary Science Decadal Survey. NASA. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  32. ^ Foust, Jeff (2023-05-03). "Plutonium availability constrains plans for future planetary missions". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  33. ^ a b c Jones, Andrew (2025-03-27). "China unveils planetary exploration roadmap targeting habitability and extraterrestrial life". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2025-03-30.
  34. ^ Stone, Richard (28 July 2022). "'Voyager on steroids.' Mission would probe mysterious region beyond our Solar System". Science. doi:10.1126/science.ade1070. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  35. ^ "Президент РАН сообщил о переносе сроков российских миссий на Луну и Венеру". Meduza.
  36. ^ MacKenzie, Shannon M.; Kirby, Karen W.; Greenauer, Peter J.; Neveu, Marc; Gold, Rob; Davila, Alfonso; Lunine, Jonathan I.; Cable, Morgan; Craft, Kate; Eigenbrode, Jennifer; Glein, Christopher; Hofgartner, Jason; Mckay, Christopher; Phillips-Lander, Charity; Waite, Hunter; Burton, Dana; Seifert, Helmut; Boye, Jeff; Brock, Spencer; Chen, Michelle; Coker, Rob; Colonel, Grace; Criss, Tom; Crowley, Doug (14 October 2020). "Encealdus Orbilander: A Flagship Mission Concept for Astrobiology". NASA Technical Reports Server. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  37. ^ "Saturn's moon Enceladus top target for ESA". www.esa.int. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  38. ^ "L4 to Enceladus Exploring the habitability of Saturn's Icy Moons". ESA. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  39. ^ "NASA to Store Janus Spacecraft, Mission to Study Asteroid Systems – Janus". blogs.nasa.gov. 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2023-07-11.