Space missions

NASA mission status board, 1992

This page lists all known **space missions** in the Apple TV+ series *For All Mankind*.

### See also

* Apollo missions
	+ Comparison of show & real Apollo missions
* Space Shuttle missions
* Sea Dragon missions

## Main missions

*Missions seen or mentioned directly in the show*

### Notes

* The dates in this table relate to the date of the episode in which they were seen on the mission boards. The actual missions may happen on other dates.

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 There is a discrepancy with the OV-numbers of the Space Shuttle *Beagle* and *Kon-Tiki* on the various mission boards. *Kon-Tiki* has OV-107, while *Beagle* has OV-109 but also OV-107 in another scene. Most probably OV-109 is supposed to be the correct ID.
Note that while in season 3 the shuttle's IDs are mostly consistant, they were a huge mess in season 2, where they changed constantly.
2. ↑ There is a discrepancy with this mission. The mission status boards seen in the episodes 3x06 and 3x07 show different vehicles for Jamestown 227.
3. ↑ There is a discrepancy with the STS-number of this mission. The mission status boards seen in the episodes 3x06 and 3x07 show different numbers (95-E/G) for Jamestown 231.
4. ↑ There is a discrepancy with this mission. The mission status boards seen in the episodes 3x06 and 3x07 tell different things about the mission and the vehicle used for SD-47.

### Behind the scenes

1. ↑ **Spirit**
*Spirit*W (MER-A) was a real Mars roverW and one of two rovers launched in summer 2003 as part of NASA's MER missionW. *Spirit* landed within the impact crater GusevW in January 2004 and was operational until March 2010.
In the *For All Mankind* timeline, *Spirit* appears to have the same mission at the same location, but is in operation over 10 years earlier than it was in reality.
2. ↑ **Opportunity**
*Opportunity*W (MER-B) was a real Mars roverW and one of two rovers launched in summer 2003 as part of NASA's MER missionW. *Opportunity* landed in Meridiani PlanumW in January 2004 and was operational until June 2018. This was 57 times its designed lifespan, exceeding the initial plan by over 14 years.
In the *For All Mankind* timeline, *Opportunity* appears to have the same mission at the same location, but is in operation over 10 years earlier than it was in reality.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 **Aurora**
Aurora appears to be a JPL mission on, or more probably in orbit above, the Venusian plain Leda PlanitiaW.
In reality, a spaceflight programme from the European Space AgencyW named Aurora programmeW existed, with the objective to implement a European long-term plan for the robotic and human exploration of solar system bodies. However, the program is no longer active.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 **Mariner**
The Mariner programW was a NASA program to explore other planets. 10 robotic interplanetary probes were designed and built by JPLW between 1962 and late 1973, visiting the planets Venus, Mars and Mercury for the first time, and returning to Venus and Mars for additional close observations. Mariner 1 failed at launch in July 1962, followed by Mariner 2 in August, which made the first Venus flyby with data returned. The last spacecraft of the program launched in November 1973, performing the first ever flyby of Mercury.
In the *For All Mankind* timeline, the program appears to be still active by 1995 with the last known missions being Mariner 32 + 33, exploring the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 **Endurance**
In *For All Mankind*, Endurance seems to be the mission's name of a fictional vehicle or probe operating on Mars.
In reality, a NASA founded autonomous underwater vehicle with the name ENDURANCEW exists, designed to map the geochemistry and biology of underwater terrains in Antarctica in three dimensions. NASA hopes to build upon lessons learned during testing for exploring objects in the Solar System known to harbor sizable bodies of water, such as Jupiter's moon Europa.
*Endurance* was also a fictional NASA starship in the 2014 film InterstellarW.
6. ↑ **Pioneer**
Pioneer 23 in *For All Mankind* appears to be a JPL mission in Neptune's orbit.
In reality, the Pioneer programW were two series of lunar and planetary space probes, the first running from 1958 to 1960, and the second from 1965 to 1992. The best known missions are *Pioneer 10W* and *Pioneer 11W*, which were the first human-built objects to achieve escape velocity from the Solar System. Both vehicles carry a gold-anodized aluminum Pioneer plaqueW with a message from mankind, in the event that either spacecraft is ever found by intelligent lifeforms from other planetary systems.
7. ↑ **Galileo**
In reality, the Galileo projectW was a robotic space program of NASA that studied the planet Jupiter and its moons, as well as several other Solar System bodies. It launched in fall 1989 aboard the Space Shuttle *Atlantis* and arrived at Jupiter in December 1995. However, there was no "Galileo V" in reality, the spacecraft's name was just *GalileoW*.
In *For All Mankind*, Galileo V appears to be the show's version of the real-life Mars Polar LanderW, given its name (MPL-2), its mission (climate study), and its location (Planum AustraleW). The Mars Polar Lander, also Mars Surveyor '98, was a NASA/JPL robotic lander launched in January 1999 to study the climate of Planum Australe near the Martian south pole. However, the lander was lost after its descent phase and never established communication.
In *For All Mankind*, the probe appears to have landed several years earlier and is in operation in March 1995.
See also:   mars.nasa.gov: Mars Polar Lander
8. ↑ **ALSEP**
ALSEP in reality stands for Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments PackageW, packages comprising a set of scientific instruments placed by the astronauts at the landing site of each of the five Apollo missions after Apollo 11. The five ALSEPs were deployed and ran until the support operations were terminated in fall 1977 due to budgetary considerations.
In *For All Mankind*, the project appears to still be somehow active in 1995.
9. ↑ **Ares**
The Ares VW, in real-life, was the planned cargo launch component of the cancelled NASA Constellation programW, which was meant to replace the Space Shuttle after its retirement in 2011. Ares V was also planned to carry supplies for a human presence on Mars. The uncrewed Ares V would complement the smaller, and human-rated Ares I rocket for the launching of the 4–6 person Orion spacecraft.
In *For All Mankind*, a mission with the designation "Ares V" and a vehicle named *Orion-3* is performing a system test in early 1995, which could be a hint that a version of this launch system may be introduced in season 4.
10. ↑ **Voyager**
The Voyager programW in reality consists of two interstellar probes, *Voyager 1W* and *Voyager 2W*. They were both launched in 1977 and took advantage of a favorable alignment of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, to fly near them while collecting data. As of 2023, both probes are still in operation past the outer boundary of the heliosphere in interstellar space.
In *For All Mankind*, the program seems to be running more than two probes, with *Voyager-5* operating beyond Neptune's orbit in March 1995.
11. ↑ **Chandra**
The Chandra X-ray ObservatoryW is a real space telescope. In reality, it was launched aboard the Space Shuttle *Columbia* in July 1999. Although initially given an expected lifetime of 5 years, it is still in operation as of 2023.
In the *For All Mankind* timeline, the telescope is already in operation by early 1995.
See also:   nasa.gov: NASA's Chandra website

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Season 3, Episode 2: "Game Changer" (Mission status board @ 57:45) → Screenshot
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Season 3, Episode 2: "Game Changer" (Mission status board @ 07:47) → Screenshot
3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Season 3, Episode 6: "New Eden" (Mission status board @ 44:50) → Screenshot
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Season 3, Episode 7: "Bring It Down" (Mission status board @ 43:00) → Screenshot
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 Season 3, Episode 7: "Bring It Down" (Mission status board @ 43:03) → Screenshot
6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 Season 3, Episode 6: "New Eden" (Mission status board @ 44:25) → Screenshot