Space mission types

Here are some of the common space mission types.

1. Flyby: A flyby mission involves sending a spacecraft past a planet or moon without entering orbit or landing. The spacecraft collects data and images during the flyby. Examples include the Voyager missions that conducted flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

2. Orbiter: An orbiter mission involves sending a spacecraft into orbit around a planet or moon. Orbiters study the target's surface, atmosphere, and magnetic field from a stable orbit. Examples include the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Juno mission at Jupiter.

3. Lander: A lander mission involves sending a spacecraft to land on the surface of a planet or moon. Landers gather data and images from the surface. The Huygens probe landing on Saturn's moon Titan and the InSight lander on Mars, Chandrayaan-2 are examples.

4. Rover: A rover mission includes sending a lander with a mobile robotic vehicle designed to move across the surface. Rovers explore larger areas, analyze rocks and soil, and conduct scientific experiments. The Mars rovers (Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, Perseverance), Chandrayaan-3 are prominent examples.

5. Orbiter and Lander Combination: Some missions involve both an orbiter and a lander. The orbiter can relay data from the lander to Earth and provide broader observations of the planet or moon. The Viking missions to Mars had both orbiter and lander components.

6. Impactor/Crash-Land Mission: An impactor mission intentionally crashes a spacecraft onto a planet or moon's surface. This approach is used to study the impact site and eject material for analysis. The Deep Impact mission targeted a comet, and the LCROSS mission impacted the Moon. India's Chandrayaan-1 also was crash land mission targeting moon.

7. Sample Return: Sample return missions involve collecting samples from a celestial body's surface and returning them to Earth for detailed analysis. The OSIRIS-REx mission collected samples from the asteroid Bennu, and future missions like the Mars Sample Return mission aim to return samples from Mars.

8. Flyby-Assist: Some missions use the gravity of a planet or moon to alter their trajectory, increasing speed or changing direction. For instance, the Parker Solar Probe used Venus flybys to gradually get closer to the Sun.

9. Balloon and Probe: For some planets, like Venus, where surface conditions are harsh, balloon missions and probes descending through the atmosphere are used to study the environment at different altitudes.

10. Space Telescopes: While not landing on planets, space telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope observe and study distant planets, their atmospheres, and other celestial phenomena.

Chandrayaan-3 is expected to land on Moon on 23 August 2023. India will become 4th country to do so only after US, Russia and China!!