Asteroids
The proposed OSIRIS mission to bring back a sample of an asteroid has been selected for a Discovery program concept study, see the NASA press release.
General Information
Missions to Asteroids
Current and Past Missions
- Rosetta - ESA Comet Mission, will fly by asteroids Steins and Lutetia (2004)
- Hayabusa (Muses-C) - ISAS (Japan) Sample Return Mission to Asteroid 25143 Itokawa (2003)
- Genesis - NASA Discovery Solar Wind Sample Return Mission (2001)
- Stardust - NASA Comet Coma Sample Return Mission, flew by asteroid AnneFrank (1999)
- Deep Space 1 - NASA Flyby Mission to asteroid Braille (1998)
- Cassini - NASA/ESA Mission to Saturn through the Asteroid Belt (1997)
- NEAR - NASA Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous with 433 Eros
- Galileo - NASA Mission to Jupiter via asteroids Gaspra and Ida
Future Missions
- Dawn - NASA Orbiter of Asteroids Ceres and Vesta (2007)
- NEAP - Rendezvous Mission to Asteroid 4660 Nereus (2007)
Data
Press Releases
Also of Interest
Meteors and Meteorites