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The Hayabusa2 mission, developed by JAXA, successfully collected and returned samples from the asteroid Ryugu. This active space mission deployed a spacecraft to study the near-Earth asteroid, analyzing its composition and surface features. The returned material provides invaluable data for scientis...
The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft undertook a NASA mission to study the asteroid Bennu. Launched in 2016, it successfully collected a sample from the near-Earth object and returned it to Earth in 2023. This represents the first U.S. mission to acquire an extraterrestrial material sample. Scientists utilize...
Chang’e 6 is a Chinese space mission successfully delivering lunar samples from the Moon’s far side in December 2024. This represents the first time a robotic spacecraft has collected and returned material from this permanently shadowed region. The mission's data and samples are valuable for scienti...
The Chang’e 5 spacecraft represents a significant achievement in space exploration. Launched by China in 2020, it successfully retrieved lunar samples from the Oceanus Procellarum region of the Moon. This mission returned approximately 1.7 kilograms of material, providing valuable data for scientist...
The Hayabusa mission, developed by JAXA, successfully retrieved microscopic samples from the asteroid Itokawa in 2010. This marked a historic first, as it was the initial space mission to return material collected from an extraterrestrial body. Scientists utilize these samples to study the compositi...
Luna 20 was an uncrewed Soviet lunar mission that landed on the Moon and returned a soil sample to Earth in 1972. Its spacecraft collected material from the Apollonius highlands, providing a sample from a geologically different region than the mare terrain sampled by Luna 16. The ascent stage carrie...
Luna 16 was an uncrewed Soviet lunar probe launched in September 1970 by the Soviet Union. It achieved the distinction of being the first spacecraft to successfully perform an automated lunar sample return mission. The spacecraft landed in the Mare Fecunditatis region of the Moon, utilized a drill t...
Luna 24 was a Soviet robotic lunar sample return mission launched in August 1976. It successfully landed in Mare Crisium, drilled approximately 2 meters into the lunar surface, and returned 170.1 grams of regolith to Earth. The mission was the final flight of the Soviet Luna program and represented...
Developed by JAXA, this planned robotic mission aims to survey Mars's two moons, Phobos and Deimos, and return a surface sample from Phobos to Earth for analysis.
Planned by the Indian Space Research Organisation, this ambitious lunar mission aims to achieve a successful Moon landing and return surface samples back to Earth.
Chang'e 5-T1 was a Chinese lunar test mission launched in 2014 to demonstrate technologies required for the later Chang'e 5 sample-return mission. The spacecraft traveled around the Moon and released a return capsule that reentered Earth's atmosphere at the high speed associated with a lunar traject...
This joint NASA and ESA campaign aims to retrieve soil and rock samples collected by the Perseverance rover and return them to Earth for detailed laboratory analysis.
Fobos-Grunt was a Russian sample-return mission launched in 2011, notable for failing to leave Earth orbit on its planned trip to Phobos.
