Mission tracker
Every Mars mission, tracked
Eight spacecraft are working at Mars today: two RoverA rover is a robot vehicle that drives across Mars, following plans its team on Earth sends ahead of each drive.More in the glossary on the ground and six OrbiterAn orbiter circles Mars without landing, studying the planet from above — and many also relay rover data back to Earth.More in the glossary overhead. Two more are on the way or about to launch, and four are being built or planned. This table follows all 25 missions, working, upcoming and ended, with their latest status.
Updated Sources (10)
All missions
Showing 25 of 25 missions
- Types
- RoverA rover is a robot vehicle that drives across Mars, following plans its team on Earth sends ahead of each drive.More in the glossary
- OrbiterAn orbiter circles Mars without landing, studying the planet from above — and many also relay rover data back to Earth.More in the glossary
- LanderA lander touches down on Mars and works from one spot, unlike a rover, which drives.More in the glossary
- Helicopter
- Sample returnA sample return mission collects rock, soil or dust from another world and brings it back to Earth to study in labs.More in the glossary
- Rocket
| Mission | Where | Status | Now / next | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On the surface · 2 | ||||
| PerseveranceRover · NASA | Jezero Crater | Active | Day 2,004 · Exploring “Lac de Charmes”, west of Jezero’s rim · 45.13 km driven by Sep 15, 2026 (sol 1,980) | |
| CuriosityRover · NASA | Gale Crater | Active | Day 5,039 · On Mount Sharp; analyzing a sample drilled from “Basque Lakes”, its 48th drill target (Oct 5, 2026) | |
| In orbit · 6 | ||||
| Mars Reconnaissance OrbiterOrbiter · NASA | Mars orbit since 2006 | Active | Relaying rover data, about 850 megabits a day in Feb–May 2026; HiRISE passed 100,000 images in Oct 2025 | |
| Mars OdysseyOrbiter · NASA | Mars orbit since 2001 | Active | The longest continually active mission orbiting another planet; still working in 2026 | |
| Mars ExpressOrbiter · Europe (ESA) | Mars orbit since 2003 | Active | Europe’s longest-serving Mars orbiter; ESA extended it again in June 2026 | |
| Trace Gas OrbiterOrbiter · Europe (ESA) | Mars orbit since 2016 | Active | Sniffs trace gases such as methane; the busiest data relay for NASA’s rovers in 2026 | |
| HopeOrbiter · UAE | Mars orbit since 2021 | Active | Maps Martian weather and the upper atmosphere; the UAE extended the mission to 2028 | |
| Tianwen-1Orbiter · China (CNSA) | Mars orbit since 2021 | Active | China’s orbiter; relayed Zhurong’s data and kept surveying Mars through 2025, CNSA said in Apr 2026 | |
| Heading there · 2 | ||||
| ESCAPADE (Blue & Gold)Twin orbiters · NASA, UC Berkeley, Rocket Lab | Looping around Sun–Earth L2 | On the way | Waiting near Earth; NASA plans an Earth flyby toward Mars in Nov 2026 and arrival in Sep 2027 | |
| MMXSample return · Japan (JAXA) | Tanegashima, Japan | Getting ready to launch | Launch Oct 20, 2026 (JST) → Mars 2027 → Phobos samples home in Japan’s fiscal 2031 | |
| In development · 4 | ||||
| StarshipRocket · SpaceX | Earth-orbit tests from Starbase, Texas | Being tested | Reached orbit on Flight 14 (Sep 28, 2026) · Musk: Mars city work to begin in about 5 to 7 years | |
| Mars Telecommunications OrbiterRelay orbiter · Blue Origin, for NASA | Mars orbit (planned) | Under protest | Delivery by Dec 31, 2028; Rocket Lab’s protest of the award is pending (GAO decision due Dec 21) | |
| Rosalind FranklinRover · Europe (ESA) | Oxia Planum (target) | Planned | ESA targets launch in late 2028 on a NASA-provided Falcon Heavy; landing at Oxia Planum in 2030 | |
| Tianwen-3Sample return · China (CNSA) | Landing site to be announced | Planned | Mars sample return; launch around 2028, samples back around 2031, China says | |
| Ended · 11 | ||||
| MAVENOrbiter · NASA | Mars orbit 2014–2025 | Lost | Last heard Dec 6, 2025; NASA said in June 2026 it can't be recovered and began decommissioning | |
| Mars Sample ReturnSample return · NASA and Europe (ESA) | — | Cancelled | Congress’s FY2026 spending deal (signed Jan 23, 2026) declined to fund it; ESA’s chief says it won’t go ahead | |
| IngenuityHelicopter · NASA | Jezero Crater | Ended | 72 flights; a hard landing on Jan 18, 2024 broke its rotor blades | |
| InSightLander · NASA | Elysium Planitia | Ended | Mission ended in December 2022 as dust covered its solar panels | |
| ZhurongRover · China (CNSA) | Utopia Planitia | Asleep | Entered hibernation in May 2022 and has not woken | |
| OpportunityRover · NASA | Meridiani Planum | Ended | Designed for 90 sols, worked until a 2018 dust storm; mission declared over Feb 13, 2019 | |
| SpiritRover · NASA | Gusev Crater | Ended | Stuck in soft soil in 2009; last contact Mar 22, 2010; mission ended May 2011 | |
| Sojourner (Mars Pathfinder)Rover · NASA | Ares Vallis | Ended | First rover on Mars; sent data for 83 sols in 1997 | |
| Viking 1 and 2Orbiters and landers · NASA | Chryse Planitia and Utopia Planitia | Ended | First fully successful Mars landings (1976); first photos from the surface and first tests for life | |
| PhoenixLander · NASA | Vastitas Borealis | Ended | Landed in the Martian Arctic in May 2008; did science on 149 of its 152 sols; last signal Nov 2, 2008 | |
| Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission)Orbiter · India (ISRO) | Mars orbit 2014–2022 | Ended | India's first Mars mission reached orbit on its first attempt; contact lost in 2022 | |
Last checked ; each row shows its own dateSources: NASA, ESA, JAXA, CNSA, UAE Space Agency, SpaceX, Blue Origin
Coming up
Full launch calendar →Countdowns appear only for exact times. Dates known to the month or the year read that way.
Questions
How many spacecraft are at Mars right now?
8: two rovers on the surface (Perseverance and Curiosity) and six orbiters. MAVEN went silent in December 2025, and NASA ended the mission in June 2026.
What is the next mission to Mars?
Japan’s MMX, scheduled to launch on Oct 20, 2026 (Japan time) to bring back samples of Mars’s moon Phobos. NASA’s ESCAPADE twins, launched in November 2025, swing past Earth toward Mars in November 2026.
How many rovers are on Mars?
Two are working: Perseverance and Curiosity. Six rovers have driven on Mars since 1997, and NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter flew there.
Which agencies have spacecraft at Mars?
NASA, Europe (ESA), China (CNSA) and the UAE. India lost contact with its orbiter, Mangalyaan, in 2022; Japan’s MMX is next.
What happened to Mars Sample Return?
It was effectively cancelled. Congress’s FY2026 spending agreement, signed into law on Jan 23, 2026, declined to support the program, so Perseverance’s samples stay on Mars for now.
Sources
- NASA — NASA Says Farewell to MAVEN Mars MissionPrimary · checked Oct 2, 2026
- JAXA — Launch of the MMX spacecraft onboard the H3 Launch Vehicle No. 10Primary · checked Oct 2, 2026
- NASA Science — ESCAPADE mission blogPrimary · checked Oct 2, 2026
- U.S. Government Publishing Office — Public Law 119-74 (FY2026 appropriations)Primary · checked Oct 2, 2026
- U.S. House Committee on Appropriations — Division A – Commerce, Justice, Science: Joint Explanatory Statement (MSR, p. 54)Primary · checked Oct 4, 2026
- ESA — Mars ExpressPrimary · checked Oct 2, 2026
- NASA Science — Mars Relay NetworkPrimary · checked Oct 2, 2026
- ISRO — Mars Orbiter Mission FAQPrimary · checked Oct 2, 2026
- Xinhua — China to carry out intensive space missions in 2026: CNSASecondary · checked Oct 2, 2026
- U.S. Government Accountability Office — B-424825.1: Rocket Lab USA, Inc.Primary · checked Oct 2, 2026