Login
SatBench Logo

Exploring Weather, Waves, and Weird Projects

List of rovers on extraterrestrial bodies

Last updated: 2025-07-26 12:26:46

List of rovers on extraterrestrial bodies

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.

Moon

Mars

Mission Rover Country/Agency Date of landing Coordinates Operational time Distance travelled
Mars 2PrOP-MSoviet Union USSR27 November 197145°S 47°E / 45°S 47°E / -45; 47 (Mars 2 lander)--
First rover to reach Mars. Lost when Mars 2 landing system crash landed on Mars.
Mars 3PrOP-MSoviet Union USSR2 December 197145°S 202°E / 45°S 202°E / -45; 202 (Mars 3 lander)--
First rover to successfully land on Mars. The lander stopped communicating about 110 seconds after landing, before the rover was deployed.
Mars PathfinderSojournerUnited States NASA4 July 199738°14′16″N 35°00′06″W / 38.2378°N 35.0017°W / 38.2378; -35.0017 (Sojourner)85 days100 m (330 ft)
First rover to successfully run on Mars.
Mars Exploration RoverSpiritUnited States NASA4 January 200414°34′06″S 175°28′21″E / 14.5684°S 175.472636°E / -14.5684; 175.472636 (Spirit)6 years 79 days7.73 km (4.80 mi)
Mission ended after rover got stuck in Martian sand.
OpportunityUnited States NASA25 January 20041°56′46″S 354°28′24″E / 1.9462°S 354.4734°E / -1.9462; 354.4734 (Opportunity)14 years 140 days45.16 km (28.06 mi)
Longest distance travelled by any rover and most days operated.
Mars Science LaboratoryCuriosityUnited States NASA6 August 20124°35′22″S 137°26′30″E / 4.5895°S 137.4417°E / -4.5895; 137.4417 (Curiosity)12 years 341 days32.40 km (20.13 mi)
as of 24 September 2024[14]
Rover for investigating past and present habitability, climate and geology.
Mars 2020PerseveranceUnited States NASA18 February 202118°26′41″N 77°27′03″E / 18.4447°N 77.4508°E / 18.4447; 77.4508 (Mars 2020)4 years 145 days29.06 km (18.06 mi)
as of 24 September 2024[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-1ZhurongChina CNSA14 May 202125°06′N 109°54′E / 25.1°N 109.9°E / 25.1; 109.9 (Zhurong)356 days1.921 km (1.194 mi)
as of 1 May 2022[17]
Inactive after dust storm and Martian winter.
MMX IDEFIX FranceGermanyCNES/DLR 2027 TBD
Rover for studying the surface of Phobos.
Mars Sample Return Mars Sample Recovery Helicopters United States NASA 2030 TBD
Two Ingenuity class helicopters designed to retrieve Martian surface samples.

Asteroids

Body Mission Rover Country/Agency Date of landing Location Operational time Distance travelled
162173 RyuguHayabusa2MINERVA-II Rover-1AJapan JAXA21 September 2019Tritonis36 days[18]
MINERVA-II Rover-1B3 days[18]
Successfully landed, returned images, and hopped along surface. First rovers on an asteroid.
MASCOTGermanyFrance DLR/CNES3 October 2018Alice's Wonderland17 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-2Japan JAXAOctober 2019Unknown0 days0 m
Failed before deployment, so it was released into orbit around the asteroid to perform gravitational measurements before it impacted a few days later.

Titan

Mission Rover Country/Agency Date of landing Location Operational time Distance travelled
DragonflyUnited States NASA2034Shangri-La10 years (planned)
Rotorcraft to be sent to Titan in 5-25 July 2028.

Crewed rovers

Mission Rover Country/Agency Date of landing Coordinates Operational time Distance travelled Notes
Apollo 15Lunar Roving VehicleUnited States NASA7 August 197126.1322°N 3.6339°E 3 h 02 min27.76 km

(7.75 mi)

 First crewed lunar rover
Apollo 16 Lunar Roving Vehicle United States NASA 21 April 1972 8.97301°S 15.50019°E 3 h 26 min 26.55 km

(16.50 mi)
Apollo 17 Lunar Roving Vehicle United States NASA 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 United States NASA 2030 TBD Unpressurised crewed rover for the Artemis program
Chinese Crewed Lunar Mission Chinese Crewed Rover China CNSA 2030 TBD Rover shown at the National Museum of China on 24 February 2023
Artemis VII Lunar Cruiser Japan JAXA 2032 TBD Developed jointly between JAXA and Toyota

Proposed rovers

Rover Country/Agency Proposed Date of launched Location Notes
MPR-1 Canada STELLS 2025 In range of a crater Rover under study for power supply for future mining rovers
Canadensys RoverCanada Canadensys2026Lunar South PoleRover funded by CSA to scout for water ice on the Moon
Lunar Trailblazer Australia Netherlands Delft University of Technology 2026 Lunar South Pole Small rover studying swarm technologies
Luna-Grunt Russia Roscosmos 2028 Rover for proposed Luna 29 sample return mission, details of rover are unknown
LIBER Singapore Qosmosys 2027 TBD Lunar Integrated Bulk Extraction Rover (LIBER) will mine on the lunar surface.[citation needed]
ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Europe ESA NET 2028 18°16′30″N 335°22′05″E / 18.275°N 335.368°E / 18.275; 335.368 (Rosalind Franklin) Rover will search for previous signs of life on Mars.
HERACLES Canada CSA 2030 Schrödinger basin Part of European Large Logistic Lander program, will be used to transport samples and scout for resources on the Moon.
Asagumo United Kingdom Spacebit TBD Spider-like rover was planned to launch with Peregrine Mission One but its status is currently unknown
CELV China Jilin University/CAST 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 United States Astrobotic/Carnegie Mellon University 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 United Arab Emirates MBRSC TBD TBD Rover development announced after failure of first rover.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Siddiqi, Asif A. (2002). "1969" (PDF). Deep Space Chronicle: A Chronology of Deep Space and Planetary Probes 1958–2000. Monographs in Aerospace History, No. 24. NASA History Office. pp. 73–80. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  2. ↑ Andrew Jones (2021-10-05). "1,000 days on the moon! China's Chang'e 4 lunar far side mission hits big milestone". Space.com. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
  3. ↑ Chandrayaan 3 - After The Landing What Happens Next?, 27 August 2023, retrieved 2023-08-28
  4. ↑ "Chandrayaan-3 Mission: All planned Rover movements have been verified. The Rover has successfully traversed a distance of about 100 meters. Rover payloads LIBS and APXS are turned ON. All payloads on the propulsion module, lander module, and rover are performing nominally. #Chandrayaan_3 #Ch3". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  5. ↑ Wattles, Jackie; Fisher, Kristin (2024-01-08). "Peregrine mission abandons Moon landing attempt after suffering 'critical' fuel loss". CNN. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  6. ↑ Jones, Andrew (6 May 2024). "China's Chang'e-6 is carrying a surprise rover to the moon". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  7. ↑ "AstroAnt". MIT Media Lab. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  8. ↑ Foust, Jeff (6 March 2025). "IM-2 lunar lander on its side after touchdown". SpaceNews. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  9. ↑ Dinner, Josh (April 1, 2023). "SpaceX Starship will launch this new private moon rover in 2026 (video)". Space.com. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  10. ↑ Foust, Jeff (November 21, 2023). "Astrolab announces first customers for commercial lunar rover mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  11. ↑ "Moon to Mars Initiative: Trailblazer Stage 1". business.gov.au. 2024-09-18. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  12. ↑ Samantha Mathewson (2023-12-06). "Australia votes to name its 1st moon rover 'Roo-ver'". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  13. ↑ "South Korea seeks $459 million for lunar lander project". 30 August 2022.
  14. ↑ "Where Is Curiosity?". mars.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 24 September 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  15. ↑ "Where is Perseverance?". Mars 2020 Mission Perseverance Rover. NASA. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  16. ↑ "Mars Helicopter Flight Log". Mars Helicopter Tech Demo. NASA. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "中欧火星探测器成功开展在轨中继通信试验". 新华网. 2021-12-01. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  18. 1 2 Yoshimitsu, Tetsuo; Kubota, Takashi; Tomiki, Atsushi; Yoshikaw, Kent (2019-10-24). Operation results of MINERVA-II twin rovers onboard Hayabusa2 asteroid explorer (PDF). 70th International Astronautical Congress. International Astronautical Federation. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  19. 1 2 Davis, Jason (28 August 2019). "Hayabusa2 Lander Mania: Results from MASCOT, Plans for MINERVA-II2". The Planetary Society. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  20. ↑ "MSN". MSN.

View original on Wikipedia