Discover The Fate Of History's 26 Most Famous Spacecraft

"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”

Over 50 years ago, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and pilot Michael Collins became the first people to reach the moon. The success of the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969 has since gone down in history.

But have you ever wondered where the most famous satellites, probes, manned craft, and space stations end up once they've served their purpose? From museums here on Earth to infinity and beyond, click or scroll on to discover the final destinations of some of the most iconic spacecraft in history.

Sputnik 1: Earth's atmosphere

The USSR launched Sputnik 1, the world's very first artificial satellite, on October 4, 1957. The pioneering spacecraft remained in orbit for three months before it fell to Earth and burned up in the atmosphere.

Explorer 1: Earth's atmosphere

Hot on the heels of the Soviets, the USA launched its debut satellite on January 31, 1958. Explorer 1 was the first spacecraft to detect the Van Allen radiation belt. It remained in orbit until 1970, vaporising on re-entry over the Pacific Ocean.

This image shows a NASA Jupiter C rocket launching the Explorer 1 satellite into orbit at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex.

Vanguard 1: Earth's orbit

Vanguard 1 was the fourth artificial satellite and the first to boast solar power. Launched on March 17, 1958, the American spacecraft is also the oldest satellite still in orbit. A "derelict object," it's expected to stay there for several hundred years.

This image shows the satellite at Cape Canaveral ahead of launch.

Luna 2: Autolycus crater, Mare Imbrium, Moon

The first spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon, the Soviet Luna 2 craft landed just east of the Mare Imbrium plain near the crater of Autolycus on September 13, 1959. It remains there to this day.

Vostok 1: RKK Energiya museum, Korolyov, Russia

The Soviet Vostok spacecraft carrying cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was launched at 06.07 UT on April 12, 1961 and reached Earth's orbit, making Gagarin the first human in space. The craft re-entered the atmosphere at 07.35 UT and landed in Engels, USSR. It's now on display at Korolyov's RKK Energiya museum near Moscow.

Freedom 7: John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, USA

Hot on the heels of its Cold War adversary, just a few weeks later the US launched the nation's first manned spacecraft on May 5, 1961. Piloted by Alan Shepard, Freedom 7 ended up in the Atlantic Ocean not far from the Bahamas and now lives at the JFK Library in Boston.

This picture shows Shepard and the capsule being picked up by helicopter soon after reentry.

Mariner 2: Sun's inner orbit

The first space probe to fly by a planet, Mariner 2 passed as close as 21,607 miles to Venus on December 14, 1962. The trailblazing American craft is in orbit around the Sun and will remain circling the star until it breaks up.

Telstar 1: Earth's orbit

The world's first communications satellite, Telstar 1 rocketed into Earth's orbit on July 10, 1962. The first privately funded satellite launch, it made history by allowing the live broadcast of television images between the United States and Europe.

Now out of action, the obsolete craft still revolves around our planet to this day.

Ariel 1: Earth's atmosphere

Ariel 1, named after a spirit in Shakespeare's The Tempest, was the UK's first satellite and the first that wasn't American or Soviet. Launched on April 26, 1962, the British spacecraft remained in orbit until April 24, 1976, when it came crashing down to Earth.

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Mariner 4: Sun's outer orbit

To the dismay of the Soviets, America's Mariner 4 performed the first flyby of Mars in July 1965, beaming back the first detailed images of the Red Planet's surface. The craft is in perpetual heliocentric orbit somewhere between Mars and Jupiter.

Gemini 3: Grissom Memorial Museum, Indiana, USA

Nicknamed the Molly Brown by its crew members Gus Grissom and John Young, Gemini 3 flew three Earth orbits on March 23, 1965 and came down safely by parachute in the Atlantic. The spacecraft is now on display at the Grissom Memorial Museum in Mitchell, Indiana. 

This picture shows Grissom in the spacecraft just before the hatches were secured prior to launch.

Saturn V: Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA

The rocket launcher that made that first lunar mission so successful was the Saturn V. On July 16, 1969, the huge 364-foot (111m) rocket launcher sent Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and pilot Michael Collins into space on their mission to set foot on the moon.

The Saturn V now sits in the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As Armstrong himself said: "This Saturn gave us a magnificent ride... It was beautiful!”

Columbia: National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC, USA

Perhaps the most famous spacecraft of all time, the Columbia transported the Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon. They landed on Mare Tranquillitatis plain on July 24, 1969 in the Lunar Excursion Module known as Eagle.

Eagle was left in space, but Columbia returned to Earth safely. Today, the command module can be seen at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, the spacecraft was taken on a tour around America and displayed in museums in Houston, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Cincinnati.

This picture shows Columbia shortly after its return to Earth.

Odyssey: Cosmosphere, Kansas, USA

Against all the odds, the crew of the Apollo 13 mission managed to get back to Earth in one piece following a catastrophic oxygen tank explosion in its command module, the Odyssey. The US spacecraft splashed down in the South Pacific Ocean on April 17, 1970 and now resides at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. 

This picture shows James Lovell Jr. and Fred Haise Jr., two of the three astronauts onboard the stricken craft, peering inside the restored module.

Venera 7: Guinevere Planitia, Venus

The first spacecraft to land on another planet, the USSR's Venera 7 touched down on Venus on December 15, 1970. The planet's sizzling surface, which is hot enough to melt aluminum and lead, meant the craft ultimately met a fiery end.

Skylab: Western Australia

America's first space station was in orbit from 1973 to 1979, when the out-of-control 77-tonne spacecraft came hurtling back to Earth. A huge media event at the time, the demise of Skylab had the world on tenterhooks.

Thankfully, it disintegrated over Western Australia with no casualties.

Mir: Point Nemo, South Pacific Ocean

By contrast, Russia was able to control the re-entry of the Mir Space Station, which was launched by the USSR in 1986. Mir came down on March 23, 2001 in Point Nemo, an area of the South Pacific known as the "spacecraft cemetery." Point Nemo is the furthest spot away from any land on the planet and is the final resting place of around 300 spent spacecraft. 

Pioneer 10: Constellation of Taurus

After completing its mission to Jupiter in 1974, America's Pioneer 10 probe became the first of five artificial objects to leave the proximity of the major planets of the Solar System, passing Neptune in 1983.

The spacecraft is in the constellation of Taurus and heading towards Aldebaran, aka Alpha Tauri, a star 68 light years away. If undisturbed, it will reach it in two million years.

Pioneer 11: Scutum constellation

Pioneer 11, the first probe to encounter Saturn and its rings, was launched on April 6, 1973. It left the solar system on February 23, 1990. The US spacecraft is currently in the Scutum constellation and should cross into interstellar space in 2027.

Viking 1: Chryse Planitia, Mars

NASA's Viking 1 was the first spacecraft to land on Mars, touching down on the Red Planet on July 20, 1976. It remains where it landed, on the Chryse Planitia (Golden Plain) in the northern equatorial region of the planet.

Voyager 2: Interstellar space

Launched in 1977, 16 days before its twin Voyager 1, the Voyager 2 probe explored the outer planets of our solar system before crossing into interstellar space in 2018.

If it stays intact, the American craft will pass the stars Ross 248 and Sirius and is destined to roam interstellar space for infinity.

Voyager 1: Interstellar space

The most distant object built by humans, Voyager 1 was launched on September 5, 1977 and made it to interstellar space on August 25, 2012 after years of sending back vital data about our galaxy. It continued to communicate with Earth until late last year, when a glitch saw it send back "gibberish code," according to NASA. 

Incredibly, NASA scientists managed to fix the problem and after sending a "poke" across space, Voyager 1 is once again returning usable data. Former astronaut Chris Hadfield had perhaps the best take on the remarkable repair job: "Imagine a computer chip fails in your 1977 vehicle. Now imagine it’s in interstellar space, 15bn miles away."

Like its twin, Voyager 1 is poised to wander interstellar space, whizzing by the star Gliese 445 in about 40,000 years from now. 

Giotto: Sun's inner orbit

European spacecraft Giotto was the first to have a close encounter with a comet. On March 13, 1986 it flew close by Halley's Comet and sent back this image. The probe remains in a heliocentric orbit around the Sun, roughly parallel to the Earth's.

New Horizons: Kuiper Belt

The fifth artificial object to make it past the Solar System, the New Horizons probe was launched by NASA in 2006 and is currently moving through the Kuiper Belt, having passed Pluto.

The craft's final destination is the constellation of Sagittarius, if it survives the unimaginably long journey.

Rosetta: Ma'at region, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

The European Space Agency's Rosetta probe carried out a detailed analysis of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It ended its mission in spectacular fashion on September 30, 2016 by crash-landing in the comet's Ma'at region.

Tiangong-1: South Pacific Ocean

China's out-of-control space station, Tiangong-1, made headlines when it fell to Earth on April 2, 2018. To the relief of the millions of people in the potential crash zone, the runaway spacecraft met its end in the South Pacific Ocean, around 1,900 miles from Point Nemo.

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